His eyelids lower as he stares at me. “That all depends.”

I resist an eye roll. “How much do you want?”

He leans up to the window and fogs up the glass with his breathing. “How much you got?”

“Not a lot.”

“How about fifty bucks.”

I shake my head. “Twenty.”

“Twenty-five.” He makes a grabby hand. “Yeah, twenty-five will get me a lot.”

I remove my wallet from my pocket and grab twenty-five dollars.

“Are you sure you want to do that?” Clara whispers so Lester won’t hear her. “He doesn’t look very reliable.”

“Yeah, but the two of them hang out with the same crowd so he could know where she is.” I roll the window down, and the stench of garbage mixed with smoke and booze whisks inside the cab. I’m fairly positive he is the culprit of the stench.

“Thanks, Jax.” He steals the money from my hands, his bloodshot eyes lighting up like a kid opening presents on Christmas morning.

“Tell me what you know, or I’ll take it back,” I warn, pulling the emergency brake.

He stuffs the cash into the pocket of his oversized coat then glances up and down the road before shuffling closer. “The last I heard, she was with that Marcus guy everyone’s been talking about.”

“Yeah, so I’ve heard.”

He lowers his voice. “He’s not someone you want to piss off, you know.”

“And my mother pissed him off.”

His shifty gaze darts to a car driving by in the lane next to us. “You know how your mother gets. She’s always thinking about herself. That kind of attitude is what gets people into trouble with big shots like Marcus.” He rests his arms on the windowsill and leans in. “He even has his own bodyguards and everything.”

I trap my breath in my lungs as the stench of him stings my nostrils. “Do you know where I can find this Marcus?”

“If I did, I wouldn’t tell you,” he says. “You don’t want to mess around with him.”

“Let’s not stand here and pretend you actually give as shit about me.” I flex my fingers as my jaw ticks. “How much more do you want?”

His eyes drift to the sky as he considers it. “Fifteen.”

“Ten.”

“Twelve.”

Shaking my head, I snatch a ten and two ones from my wallet, and chuck the money at him. “Now where can I find this Marcus?” I ask Lester as he scrambles to collect the money as it gets blown away by the wind.

“There’s a club called Neon Madness. It’s down in the main center of town.” He catches the bills in his greedy little hands. “Go tomorrow, though. He’s more likely to show up on a Friday night.”

“Neon Madness,” I mutter under my breath as I roll the window back up. Then I unlock the emergency brake, press on the gas, and drive forward. “That must be a new place.”

“You think he was telling the truth?” Clara asks, side braiding her hair. “He seemed kind of shady.”

“He seemed like a meth head, which is what he is.”

“Hey, are you okay? I mean, it had to be hard seeing him.”

“I’m fine,” I lie then sigh exhaustedly. “I’m just ready to go home. That’s all.”

“Is there anything I can do to help?” She ties a band around her hair, securing the braid in place.

“I can think of a few things you can do when we get back to the room that might cheer me up.” I wiggle my brows suggestively.

But truth is, after seeing Lester—after being reminded of my past and the pain he caused me—I’d rather her just hold me.

Chapter Twelve

Clara

Jax looks so sad after talking to Lester, and I want nothing more than to make him feel better. After I told him about my mother and my life, he was so understanding and made me feel at ease. I need to return the favor, which is exactly what I do when we get back to the motel.

“I was thinking we could eat at this restaurant tonight,” Jax says, shutting the motel room door. “It’s not fancy or anything, but I’m getting burnt out on hamburgers and fries.”

I drop my purse on a table near the window. “Me too.”

“So it’s a date then.” He skims the screen of his phone before setting it down on the nightstand. Then he removes the ring from his finger and the wallet from his pocket and places them beside the phone.

“It can be a date on one condition.” I sink into a chair and slump back, worn out. While there have been good times on this trip, it's also been mentally draining.

I almost can’t wait to get home, back to my crazy world. I miss my mom. Nelli. I miss the warmth of my home. Funny, it took leaving and seeing such an ugly side of life to appreciate my world.

“Bargaining time.” Jax lies down on the mattress and stretches out his arms. His shirt rides up, and I get an eyeful of the lean muscles carving his stomach. “My favorite time of the day.”

“Mine too,” I agree distractedly, gawking at him like he’s delicious candy I want to take a bite out of.

“Are you enjoying yourself?” he asks haughtily, raising the hem of his shirt higher.

I could try to pretend I wasn’t just eye fucking his body, but at this point the effort would be worthless. I’m pretty much drooling.

“So, the bargain.” I artlessly change the subject, leaning over to unbuckle my sandals. “I’ll go to the restaurant with you and even let you call it a date, just as long as you’ll let me pay for dinner.”