Ruthless

Chapter 8

Jean pulled open the top drawer in her dresser and looked down at her tops in dismay. She couldn't think of one thing that would look right in New York City. Weren't people there supposed to dress sophisticated and classy? She had cutoff shorts and a huge collection of branded t-shirts she'd gotten for free over the years.

She supposed her going-out clothes weren't too bad. Considering how Katherine dressed, Jean had always leaned more conservative, so her "dressy" tanks could work. Maybe.

Oh well. According to Colin, she didn't have to pretend to be anyone she wasn't. She looked the part and was desperate enough that he could manipulate her into doing what he wanted: Show up. Fake a DNA test. Get paid. Dressing well didn't factor into that plan, thank goodness.

She settled on packing a mix of comfortable clothes and some of her "nicer" ones that would fit into her carry-on sized duffel bag. She would've been happy to make Colin pay for her to check luggage, but, considering she rarely ever traveled, she didn't have any large pieces of luggage.

Shoes...there was lots of walking in New York, right? So maybe no heels. Just the tennis shoes she wore every day at work and her flat boots. That would have to be enough, because she couldn't fit much more in her bag.

She pulled the zipper shut and made her way to the bathroom to pull all her toiletries together. Wasn't there some rule now about going through security? Some stuff had to be in a plastic bag?

Damn it. She leaned against the sink and pulled her phone out of her back pocket, trying to bring up the TSA regulations. Hopefully they'd at least make it easy to find.

Someone rang the bell to the trailer and Jean looked up from her phone. She'd hoped to get her speed packing done before Colin got there, but it looked as though she hadn't made it. Stupid TSA. If it weren't for that search, she so would've made it.

She didn't know why it became so important for her to be ready before Colin got there. Maybe because he'd be standing over her with that judgey look while he waited for her to pack. She'd had enough of those judgey looks during her short conversation with Katherine to last her a lifetime.

Not that he had any reason to be angry at Katherine. If anything, he should be grateful for her addictions. Of course, there was always the option that he actually felt bad for all the shit Katherine had put her through, but Jean didn't think that was very likely.

She hadn't been lying. Colin was cute when he got pissed off. The little smoldering look he'd give her every time she challenged him. To be fair, he was always cute. As much as she hated to admit it. Usually a guy's personality would have a bigger impact on her opinion of their attractiveness. The bigger the asshole, the less hot they were to her. The strange hidden talent had never failed her before.

But then Colin Carter walked into her life and her stupid brain somehow couldn't get the idea that he was the most beautiful thing she'd ever seen out of her head.

So she did have to admit that pissing him off gave her a little thrill. Served him right.

The bell rang again and she sighed. Speak of the devil. She pushed away from the sink, crossed through the living room to the door and pulled it open. Except it wasn't Colin's impatient mug waiting for her.

"Mark? What are you doing here?" She couldn't hide the surprise from her voice as she looked past her ex-boyfriend to see whether he was alone. Not that he would ever bring Annabelle here. She'd probably burst into flames if she ever set foot in a trailer park.

"Your mother called me. She said she was worried about you and this new guy you're running around with."

Jean's mouth dropped in shock. Katherine called Mark? Mark, the son of a bitch who broke her heart? She'd known Katherine wasn't quite right in the head, but this was too far. "I don't think it's really any of your business who I'm running around with."