Chapter 13

An hour later, a knock sounded at my door. Again, Jett didn't wait for me to answer before he opened it, but he didn't come inside. "I've got to pop out for a bit. Do you need me to pick up anything for you?"

I shook my head. "No, thanks."

"Right. I'll be back in about an hour. My brother's downstairs if you need anything."

"Your brother?" I raised my eyebrows. "What the hell for?"

"To take care of you while I'm gone."

"I think I can manage 'til you get back."

"All the same, he'll be staying."

The authority in his voice made me think it wasn't up for discussion. I didn't understand why, and I was pretty sure Jett wasn't going to tell me. "Fine."

He flashed me an easy smile. "Don't miss me too much."

I rolled my eyes. "Goodbye, Jett."

He closed the door, and I was once again left wondering what was up with that boy and why he thought I needed looking after so badly that he would ask his brother, who I'd never met, to babysit me while he stepped out for a bit. God, the way Jett acted was way over the top for a concerned neighbour. My credit card could easily pay for a home nurse. But no, he insisted on being the one to care for me.

The doorbell rang, interrupting my thoughts. I picked up the remote and switched on the TV. I flipped to the channel that displayed the living room. A guy who looked to be in his early to mid-twenties with dark-brown hair, tanned skin, jeans hanging off his hips, and a black T-shirt opened the door. He was obviously Jett's brother, but I didn't have a clue what his name was. He stepped back, and another guy who looked to be my age entered the house. They stepped into a manly hug and sure enough, I saw an exchange between the two.

Jett's brother kept his hand closed as he leaned against the door while the other guy shoved whatever he'd received down in his pocket. They chatted a few minutes, making me wish once again that the system included audio.

When the guy left, Jett's brother closed the door and pocketed something. Between Jett and his brother, my home had turned into the local go-to place for addicts to find their next fix. Knowing my luck, the cops were staking out the house and would ping me for an accessory.

Jett's brother wandered off camera, toward the kitchen. I furiously flicked through the channels, hoping to find a view in there to see what he was doing.

For a moment, I wondered if he was planting evidence, and he and Jett planned to frame me. Then I laughed. What was I thinking? The guy was a drug dealer. There was no way he would leave any of his stuff at my house. If everyone, including cops, already knew about what Jett's family did, then I was pretty sure they were untouchable. Yet I didn't get why that was. In all the news stories on other gangs and drug lords, the police were able to charge them, but Jett's family somehow always walked free.

By the time I found a camera showing the kitchen, he was walking back into the lounge room with my tub of ice cream in one hand and a spoon in the other. I switched back to that camera. He flopped down on the lounge, put his feet on the coffee table, then opened the tub and dug in. Who the hell did he think he was? It was one thing to turn my house into a dealing venue, but it was another to take a girl's ice cream. He had stepped over the line, especially because it was my last tub, and I couldn't ask Jett to pick up some more for me because I wasn't supposed to know I was out of the stuff.

A few minutes later, the doorbell rang again. Jett's brother put down the ice cream and went to answer it. Two girls were standing on the porch: a blonde dressed in denim shorts that just covered her ass and a tank top, and a redhead wearing a short beach dress that showed far too much boob.

Blondie stepped forward and kissed Jett's brother on the lips. He wrapped an arm around her waist, lifted her off the ground, and turned around so that she was inside my house before he dropped her to her feet. My mouth dropped open as he pushed her against the wall and kissed her as if they were about to drop their pants and do it in my lounge with another girl present. The red-haired girl stepped inside and looked around the room, then her mouth started moving as she said something to them.

Jett's brother managed to tear his lips away from Blondie's mouth to say something. The redhead didn't look happy with his response. She walked off in a huff and sat on the sofa, crossing her arms over her chest.

Jett's brother gave Blondie one last kiss then pulled her over to sit on the sofa. She played with his hair while he finished off the rest of the ice cream. Every so often, she would plant kisses on his neck or shoulder, but he didn't respond. He obviously had no emotional attachment to the girl, and I wondered why she would make a fool of herself with someone who clearly didn't want anything but sex from her. But maybe just having sex wasn't what she wanted, too.

I really didn't want to watch any more of what was going on downstairs, but at the same time, I wanted to know what they were getting up to in my house.

Less than ten minutes later, I heard the sound of a motorbike. My heart skipped a beat when I realised why the second girl was there. She hadn't been checking out my house; she had been looking for Jett.

When Jett came in, Red's face lit up. She stood and strutted over to him then ran her hands up his back and across his shoulders as she kissed him on the back of his neck. Fire burned inside of me. I was jealous. I wanted to be able to run my hands...

I shook my head and switched off the TV. I tried to think of something to do to distract myself, but I was practically bedridden, and the only things within reach were the TV remote and phone. I decided to check Facebook in the hope that some of my friends from Sydney would be online.

Just as I was reaching for my phone, my bedroom door swung open. Jett sauntered over to my bed. "I've got a present for you." He dropped a chemist's bag on the bed.

I put on a mask of nonchalance, swallowed the lump in my throat, and asked, "From a chemist?"

He shrugged. "Okay, so maybe present wasn't the right word. But it's still something you need."

I opened the bag and peeped inside. "Fresh bandages?" I looked up at him. "Surely you could do better than that."

Laughing, he snatched the bag from my hands and sat beside me. "Next time I'll have to remember to get you some jellybeans, too." He pulled out the gauze and unwrapped it.

Before he had a chance to remove the old one, I quickly peeled it off. Jett leaned forward and ran his thumb below my wound, then gently tugged at my skin. I thought it should've hurt even with his sensitive touch, but the only thing I felt was heat rushing to the spot, following the movement of his thumb across my boob. Of course I was imagining it was much more intimate than what it actually was, but I couldn't help it. I was turning into that girl.

"It needs a clean," Jett said, pulling me out of my girly-girl–induced stupor.

"Huh?"

He looked up at me, his brown eyes melting the defensive layer I was so desperately trying to keep up. God, what was wrong with me? It wasn't as if Jett had actually shown any interest in me other than taking care of me while I was hurt. Heartbreak was certainly in my future, especially if that girl downstairs was anything to go by.

"I'll be back in a sec." He stood and went into the bathroom. A moment later, he returned holding some cotton balls, a small bowl of water, and a hand towel.

"No antiseptic?" I asked.

"Nope." He sat down and put the bowl on the nightstand. He dipped a cotton ball into the water then gently swiped it over my wound.

I sucked in a sharp breath. A trickle of water ran down my boob, and Jett caught it with a swipe of his thumb. Holy hell! The stupid things he was doing to my insides were ridiculous. I picked up the towel and tucked it into my tank top so there wouldn't be any need for his fingers to become more acquainted with my breasts.

"You're getting more movement back," he said. "The pain must be easing?"

I nodded. "It still hurts but not as much as it did yesterday."

"And tomorrow it should be even better."

I shifted nervously. "Speaking of... I don't suppose your wanting to keep an eye on me will stretch to driving me to school tomorrow?"

He narrowed his eyes at me. "You know, I think they'll give you a pass, considering you were shot two days ago."

"Yeah, the school might, but my father won't."

He looked at me as if I were crazy then shrugged. "If you say so."

"Is that a yes? You'll drive me to school?" I bit my lip.

"And pick you up."

I smiled with relief. The last thing I wanted was to deal with more of my father's crap. "Thank you."

"Don't mention it." He took the plastic off the back of the gauze and then pressed the material against my skin. "All done." He stood and picked up the paper bag. "I'm going to go for a surf. Do you want me to get you anything before I head out?"

"Some more water, please."

He refilled my glass in the bathroom then headed for the door. "My brother will be staying 'til I come back."

That probably meant Blondie and her friend Red would stay, too. "He can go home. I don't need someone to stay here with me while you're just down on the beach. You said yourself I'm looking better..." I trailed off when a smirk crept over Jett's face. I closed my eyes in embarrassment and shooed him out the door.

When I was sure enough time had passed for him to go downstairs, I turned on the TV. Sure enough, the girls were still there. But Red didn't look as happy to see Jett as she had earlier. She didn't even look in his direction, which made me think he hadn't been as welcoming to her displays of affection as I had originally thought.

Without saying a word to his brother, who still had Blondie hanging on him, Jett walked out the front door. I quickly fumbled with the remote, trying to find the channel for the outside cameras. Once I had Jett on the screen again, I watched as he walked down the driveway then took a left toward his house.

I flipped back to the footage of downstairs and saw his brother stand and walk to the door. For a minute, I thought he had more guests coming over to my house, but he opened it, and no one was on the other side. He looked back to the girls, who seemed to take the hint. He was kicking them out. What kind of guy would be so happy to see a girl, then half an hour later, he couldn't wait to get rid of her? That didn't make sense, but then again, not much did when it came to him and Jett.

Blondie kissed him on the cheek and waited a second for a reciprocation that never came. She rolled her eyes and followed Red out.

Jett's brother slammed the door and closed his eyes as he shook his head. He ran his hands through his dark messy hair. He didn't seem very happy. I couldn't decide whether his expression held disgust or shame. Maybe it was a mixture of both.

Not wanting to watch any more, I flipped through the channels but found nothing interesting, so I turned off the TV. I spotted my iPad on my desk and decided I should study. I knew it was going to hurt like a bitch to get up, but I certainly didn't want to ask Jett's brother to get it for me.

I carefully swung my legs over the edge of the mattress. I sucked in a breath, preparing for the pain, but when I stood, there was hardly any. Not wanting to overanalyse something Jett kept reminding me that I knew nothing about, I straightened and walked cautiously toward my desk. I picked up my tablet and held it to my stomach.

On my way back to the bed, I somehow made a detour to the balcony door. I was definitely not trying to get a peek of someone without his shirt on because I was not that girl. But when I saw Jett with his board under his arm as he walked down the beach toward the water, my stomach flipped out. Sighing, I leaned against the doorframe and watched as he jogged through the water then jumped onto his board.

"You're wasting your time. He doesn't do relationships."

I turned around to find Jett's brother standing right behind me. The heat rushed to my face when I realised that I was in my underwear. Nice way to meet the brother.

He smirked. "I see what he means. You do look cute when you're embarrassed." He ran the backs of his fingers down my shoulder.

I wanted to quickly walk away, but that wasn't an option. I turned my back to him and looked down at the beach. "What's your name?"

"Zane." His breath brushed against my shoulder, and I realised he'd closed the distance between us even more.

"Well, Zane, you might be surprised to know that I'm not like all the others. I don't have a thing for your brother, so I couldn't care less if he does or doesn't do relationships."

He brushed my hair to the side. "Good, because I was thinking..."

The hairs on the back of my neck were standing on end. Biting down on the pain, I spun around and gave him my best don't-try-that-with-me look, but his grin grew even wider. Who did he think he was coming into my room? Did he think I was just going to throw myself at him? Well, he was in for a surprise. I was so not like the girl he'd just kicked out.

He tilted his head and looked out the window for a moment before returning his gaze to me. "Never mind." He took three steps back then turned around and headed for the hallway.

My breath caught in my throat. His T-shirt had ridden up at the back, displaying a gun tucked into the waistband of his jeans. Fear engulfed every fibre of my being. I had never seen a gun in real life, and it scared me so much so that I was surprised I hadn't peed my pants.

Once I had my breathing under control, I waddled back to bed, furious that Zane could presume I would just fall at his feet the minute he showed some interest in me. I wanted to tell him to get the hell out of my house, but I could barely get to the bathroom and back, much less order someone out of my house and expect to be obeyed. I was seriously going to have a conversation with Jett when he got back. A killer after me or not, Zane was never stepping foot into my house again.

I switched on the TV so I could keep an eye on Jett's gun-wielding brother downstairs. I wanted to run out of the house and get as far away from Zane as possible, but that wasn't going to happen. How had I gotten myself into such a mess? And who was I kidding... having a crush on someone as dangerous as Jett? That wasn't me. I didn't do danger. And if Jett was anything like his family, then I had to find a way to alienate myself from him. Zane was just watching TV in the lounge, so I swiped my tablet open. I had four new emails. I clicked on Jess's message first. God, I wished she was up on the Gold Coast with me. Or better yet, I wished I was back in Sydney, where none of that mess would've happened.

Hey, Zara,

I just thought I should give you a heads up. Maddie heard from Cassidy, who heard from Michelle, that Josh has plans to get you back at Schoolies, and we think it has something to do with GHB. Okay, so maybe there was no mention of GHB, but that must be his plan because there's no way in hell you'd take him back after what happened, and he is dodgy as hell. I wouldn't put it past him to try something like that.

So, what's been happening? Any cute guys?

Jess xxx

I had to laugh when I read her last question. There was so much I wanted to tell her, but my being shot wasn't something I could divulge until she came for Schoolies, just in case her mum found out then called my father. I knew she'd freak when she saw a bullet wound in my chest.

Hey, Jess,

I'd like to see Josh try. I'd cut his balls off! LOL!

As for cute guys, holy hell I've found one. Problem is, he's a player from what I've heard—although he hasn't tried anything on me...

And then there's another problem—he's the son of a drug lord and lives two doors down from me. I know you probably think I'm full of shit, but I just saw a gun in his brother's pants. And no, I wasn't getting acquainted with him when I saw it.

Anyway, better get back to studying. I've only got one more week left. Yay! Can't wait for you to get up here!

Zara xxx

Disregarding what looked to be three spamemails, I opened my math revision work and tried to study. But after I'd readthe same page five times and still didn't have a clue what it said, I decided Iwas wasting my time. All I could think about was the run-in I'd had with Zane.If I was honest with myself, I was more concerned that Zane had caught meperving on his brother than the fact that he had a gun, which made no sense atall.