Jett

33

Unedited

This one is actually a bit of a filler chapter but it's necessary to set up the next chapter which is where things start to get a bit more interesting

By the time they reached Mark and Chelsea, the slight purse to Jett's lips and the crinkle between her brows had melted away.

Once she had parked, Jett pulled down the visor on her side to reveal its small mirror and fiddled with her hair a bit. If it were anyone else it'd be a harmless manoeuvre, perhaps a self-conscious tick to ensure that everything looked okay. The problem was that Kayden wasn't even sure that Jett knew what the word self-conscious meant and she spoke like a thousand languages. As he watched curiously, he realised that she played particular attention to her right side, fluffing it here and there to ensure that it adequately covered her ear.

That was when it clicked.

"I can't believe you," he exclaimed, watching her with a newly founded incredulity

She didn't bother to respond, just gave herself one last once over. Her olive toned skin caught the light of a nearby street lamp as she moved, causing shadows and golden highlights to dance across her features. Seemingly satisfied with herself she moved to leave.

Though, before she could, Kayden grabbed her arm "Jett this isn't some mission, these are my friends, you don't need the ear piece." What was she planning to do? Call for back up as soon as something slightly suspicious happened? Or was she just letting the other girls listen in on the conversation in case Mark said something incriminating and she missed it? Whatever she was thinking, it was ridiculous.

"I don't trust Mark," she replied as she shook his arm off "something isn't right about him."

Kayden rolled his eyes at that "well duh, his sister is dead, his mum is on the other side of the country and his dad is a drug dealer of course something isn't right!" Kayden couldn't remember ever being genuinely annoyed at Jett. He had definitely been frustrated by her but never annoyed to such an extent. He had grown up with Mark, they were practically brothers, so it almost felt like a personal attack when she spoke about him as if he were some sort of a criminal.

"His father tried to kill you just a few days ago," she reminded him calmly, her blank expression a stark contrast to his annoyed one. "I don't feel like taking unnecessary risks."

"You aren't defined by the actions of your parents," Kayden ground out.

Something about the words shocked her. Whether it was the sentence itself or the heat with which Kayden had said it, Jett's blank expression broke for a split second.

"People do actually have these things called choices in life."

At that Jett bit her lip before grimacing "sometimes when it comes to family, you really don't, no matter how hard you try." Her words were quiet, a distant expression crossing over her features.

A second or two passed before she ran her fingers through her hair in what seemed to be frustration and turned towards him. Her dark eyes met his with an intensity he wasn't able to look away from. "Do you trust him?"

"What?"

"Mark," she clarified, gaze not wavering, "do you trust him?"

With only a moment's hesitation to process her words, Kayden nodded. He had to admit that, perhaps, he had doubted Mark's innocence for a short period after their run in with Rob. Though, thinking of the pained look on Mark's face when they were talking about his father the other day, Kayden knew he'd never willingly team up with the man.