The Haunting (4 page)

     The fire in her eyes was apparent. She looked like the kind of girl who didn't take shit from anyone. One kick from her and that was all he needed. There was also a kindness in her heart. She didn't have to cover for him like that. Had it been him, there’s no way he would have let something like that slide. He could tell she was special.   

     He wanted to tell her how sorry he was again. There was no way he would have ever done that if he had been awake and lucid. She caught him off guard is all. You just don’t let your guard down in his line of work. He had to be alert at all times and he hadn't been today. Evan was home taking care of their mother while Jace was out all night collecting for Cesar trying to earn some extra money. His brother and mother were all he had in the world and he would do anything to protect and care for them. He was going to be gone for a few days and needed the money for food and everyday necessities until he got back. After this trip money would no longer be an issue. They would have more than enough to take care of their mother with plenty left over.    

     Thinking about his family was a welcome distraction. He didn't have to think about the woman sitting next to him, which was an entirely different type of distraction all by itself. Jace had to apologize to her again. It would eat him away inside if he didn't. But, what the fuck was he going say to her? She probably thought he got off on that kind of stuff. Who got hard after almost choking someone to death? A sick and demented person that's who.     

     She was looking out the window the whole ride sitting as far away from him as humanly possible. He didn't blame her though. If he was in her shoes he would've asked to change seats immediately. He cleared his throat before he spoke. "I'm really sorry miss. You caught me off guard."   

     She continued to look out the window. "Kelly."  

    Jace barely heard her and was shocked that she even said anything to him. He was expecting her to completely ignore him. "Excuse me?"   

     "Kelly. My name is Kelly."    

     "Kelly, I can't tell you how sorry I am. That's not me at all. I would never put my hands on a woman like that. Ever."    

     She turned and looked at him; he heard a hint of anger in her voice. He couldn’t blame her though. “I said it was okay. I'm fine. Really."    

    Jace felt hurt. What was this alien feeling inside him? He was The Flame. He didn't give a shit what anyone thought. Why did he care if she forgave him or not? The only problem was he did care, more than he wanted to admit. "Look, Kelly, I don't know what else I can say to make you believe me. I was sleeping and you caught me off guard. I didn't mean to hurt you."     

     Kelly turned to face him and smiled at him softly. "I know you didn't. It was my fault really. I never should have kicked you like that. I tried to wake you, but you wouldn't move. I guess we're both at fault here.  I should have better manners…."    

    "Jace"     

    Her smiled widened. "Jace. What a nice name. Well, what do you say we start over?"    

    Jace returned the gesture. He couldn't remember the last time he smiled at a woman. It had been a while. Lately, he was never in the mood to be happy. His mother was terminally ill and it didn't feel right to him to be going out and having a good time while she lay dying in bed. He wasn't thinking of that now and it made him feel guilty that he was starting to enjoy talking to Kelly. Her smile was infectious and he couldn't help but to smile back at her.     

    "I'd say starting over is a good idea."    

   Kelly stared at him and squinted her eyes a little. “You look familiar Jace. I feel like we've met before."     

   Jace shifted in his seat.
Here it comes
. He would have loved to tell her that she didn't, but fact of the matter was, she had. Cesar had frequented the strip club where she worked and he had to literally carry the man out on more than one occasion for his drunken and rowdy behavior. Jace was the only who could physically control Cesar. It wasn't easy to hold down an almost six foot two hundred and twenty five pound man. Especially when he was high and drinking. Jace was just a bit shorter then Cesar and didn't weigh much less than him either.  

       But, Jace couldn't bring himself to tell her that he had seen her dancing in the club before and what was worse, he would sometimes stand in the back of the club watching her at the bar.  She would have definitely thought he was some sort of crazed creepy maniac and was stalking her. So, he lied. "No, I don't think we've met before."     

     He always wondered why she worked in such a disgusting place. It didn't bother him that those girls had to strip to make money, hey, everyone has to earn money to live. It was the club itself that was horrid. It was run by a toad of a man who didn't give two shits about the women he employed. He treated them like trash and allowed his customers to do the same.   

     Kelly didn't belong there. Jace knew that right away. The first time he saw her there, she was sitting at the bar after a set with her nose in a book. Who reads in a place like that? She was definitely out of place. Yes, he could tell she didn't belong in a place that seedy.     

     When he saw her boarding the bus with her wide brown eyes staring up at him, he was rendered speechless. Why was she traveling on the same bus as him? He was curious, but at the same time he didn't want to be distracted by her. His plan was to ignore her. Little did he know he would be sitting here doing the total opposite. Well, he couldn't ignore her now. Not after he almost choked the life out of her, now could he?    

    Jace was starting to feel uncomfortable. He was feeling guilty about leaving his family home alone and this girl was distracting him. The way she looked at him with such intent, it was more than he could handle. His first instinct was to shut down and be the man that The Flame was. Not the groveling man he had become sitting on this bus with her. He had to keep his game face on.  She would be nothing more than a distraction to him. She was a gorgeous distraction, but still a distraction he could do without.

     He sat up in his seat and stared straight ahead. It wasn't going to be easy to ignore her, but he had no choice in the matter. He leaned back in the seat and closed his eyes pretending to go to sleep.              

Chapter Four

     Kelly arrived at the studio an hour before her scheduled interview. Today was the day the network was going to have contestants sign contracts for the new reality game show, The Haunting. This has to be the most ridiculous thing she had ever done. She was not a person that loved to be in the spotlight despite her occupation. The only reason she applied for the job in the first place was because she needed money and needed it fast. Being on her own in a big city had proved to be more difficult than she’d bargained for.   

     It was good for a while to get her on her feet, but she wanted more out of life. She wanted to be something more than just an exotic dancer with a beautiful body. She wanted to make a difference in the world and becoming a doctor was more important to her than anything. This show was a once in a lifetime opportunity to get the money she needed to pay for medical school.    

    The receptionist at the front desk asked her to sit in the lounge to and wait to be called in. Kelly was directed to the end of the hall, she paused in the doorway. There were people already waiting in the huge room. She took a moment to analyze the others who she assumed would be her competition. What a sad looking bunch of souls.   

    One woman in particular caught her attention. She stood by the window scratching at her bruised arms and she couldn't stop fidgeting. Her straight brown hair looked oily and her skin was covered in acne.  It appeared she hadn't bathed in weeks.    

    The man on the far side of the room wore one of the most expensive suits she’d ever seen.  The suit was black with thin white pinstripes, his shirt was buttoned all the way up. The tie he had on was so tight around his neck even she felt suffocated. A stiff man with an obvious chip on his shoulder. It didn't seem like he was desperate for money. So what was he doing here?  

    There were two other people sitting on the opposite ends of a black leather couch. A young man not more than twenty years old and a woman with shoulder length curly red hair. Freckles adorned her pale skin and her face looked sullen. She was a beautiful woman and Kelly wondered what would make such a beautiful woman look so defeated.

    If this was to be her competition then this was going to be the easiest money Kelly ever made. When she walked into the room everyone turned in her direction. She decided now was a good time to start intimidating them and to let them know her confidence would not be wavered. "What? Can, I help you?" Her eyes focused hard on each of them. Her idea must have worked, no one said a word and their glares faltered.   

    Kelly took a seat in the back of the room and realized there was one person missing. Over the phone the producer had said there would be six people staying in the house. Counting herself there was only five here so far. She guessed the last person would arrive shortly. Whoever it was didn't matter to her in the slightest. No one was going to win that money but her.    

    Twenty minutes had passed before the secretary came into the room to let them know the producer would be starting the group interview. When the woman turned to leave the last contestant walked through the door. Their eyes locked, both equally shocked to see the other.
Great. Just fucking great
. There’s no way she could intimidate him.  

    The receptionist was practically drooling all over him. She flashed a smile, tilted her head to the side, and flipped her straight blonde over her shoulder.  She apologized for her clumsiness while she ran her long manicured fingers across the fire tattoo on his arm. What a pathetic excuse for a woman she was. Kelly was irritated with this woman and the way she threw herself at him. But, why would she even care in the first place?  

    Then she remembered how it felt to sit on his lap. Heat rose to her cheeks and she wanted to throttle the woman who was making an ass of herself. Kelly had never felt like she wanted to hurt someone before, until now. What was so special about this insignificant woman that bothered her so much? Was this what jealousy felt like? Couldn't be. Why should she be jealous? He wasn't her boyfriend. He wasn't even her friend.  

    She thought they might have been for a moment when he apologized to her, but he quickly became the cold person she’d bumped into before boarding the bus on the way over here. What the hell was that about anyway? Had she said something wrong? No, it wasn't her. It was him. H
e
was the one acting like someone with a multiple personality disorder. Why she forgave him for what he did she didn't know. One thing she was positive about, he wasn't going to scare her out of winning that money.  

    The scene playing out in front of her suddenly took an amusing turn when Jace gave that receptionist the same look he had given her when she bumped into him at the bus terminal. That ice cold stare would make anyone feel like a tiny bug waiting to be squished by his enormous foot.   

     With that analogy in her mind she looked at his feet. He did have really big feet. She wondered if the saying about men who had big feet were true. You know, big feet, big below the waist.
Jeez
, why couldn't she keep her mind out of the gutter when it came to him? He wasn’t her type at all. She hated cocky guys. They were so full of themselves. Oh hell, what did she know about her type?  Of all the men that came into the club not a single one was her type. The men Tina set her up with weren't her type either. She was starting to think she would never find Mr. Right.  

    One thing was for sure. Jace was definitely not the man for her. The receptionist must have come to that same conclusion because she left the room in a huff. Kelly felt a sense of satisfaction in knowing he didn't give the time of day to that little tart.    

     No one in the room made eye contact with Jace. His presence demanded respect and that's exactly what he got. These people were so pathetic. She was in no way going to lie down while Jace stepped all over her to win that money. Although, laying down with him sounded like a pretty good idea to her.  

  
Wait a second. If you keep thinking like that, you will most definitely lose that money. He will take full advantage of your wanton behavior and run right over you to get what he wants. Oh, but those sparkling blue eyes of his and that ripped chest looked yummy enough to take a bite of. No! Kelly you have to keep focused on the task at hand. Win that money for school!
  It was obvious he had no interest in her anyway. She certainly wasn't going to beg him for anything.   

  Jace sauntered over to the black leather couch and placed himself between the redheaded woman and the young kid. When he sat the other two quickly moved as far to the edge of the sofa as they could.  He didn't even look in Kelly's direction. It was like they had never met a few hours ago. The least he could do was acknowledge her existence. He had no problem acknowledging her while she was sitting on his lap, now had he?
You want to play hard ball buddy? Then that's exactly what we're going to do.