Lockdown Read Free Page A

right?”
    “Sure, but how do you know Jake won’t tell them the truth?”
    “He wouldn’t want to spoil the party by laying that on them.”
    “You’re probably right, but how do you know this Noah guy will even be available?”
    “No time like the present to find out, right?” Jessica turned toward the keyboard, barely able to contain her excitement. This was the most outlandish thing she’d done in… maybe ever.
    “I don’t know, Jess.” Ava bit her lip. “What if Jake’s right? This guy could be dangerous.”
    “I’ll arrange to meet him in a public place. There will be dozens of people at the party; we’ll never be alone. Besides, Jake, the watchdog, and my brother, the police chief, are going to be there. Do you really think he’s going to step out of line when I have my own personal security team?”
    Ava laughed. “I guess not. Hey, if he’s as hot as he looks in his picture, he might even be able to help you forget all about Jake.”
    If only. “Can you believe he lives less than an hour away? How great is that?”
    “I know. I chose a local site so it would be feasible for you to actually hook up with a guy if you saw someone who interested you. I have to admit, I didn’t expect you to like the first guy I found for you.”
    Jessica shrugged. “I’m sure other hot guys are on the site, but this is the one Jake saw. He never forgets a face. Trust me; he’ll know exactly who this guy is as soon as he sees him.” She giggled. “It’ll make him crazy knowing that I actually followed through with it after he told me not to.”
    “Is Jake the only reason you’re doing this, hon? ‘Cause if he is…”
    “He’s not. I’m sick and tired of living this way, Ava.” She sighed. “Everyone, including Jake, sees me as little Ms. Goodie Two-Shoes. I’m the former cheerleader/homecoming queen who doesn’t smoke or drink or swear.” She looked her friend in the eye, pleading with her to understand and support her decision to change. “I’m wasting the best years of my life daydreaming about a guy who’s never going to take me seriously. I’m tired of it. I don’t want to live my life to please other people any more. I just want to be happy.”
    “Oh, honey,” Ava said, drawing her into a hug. “I want you to be happy, too. Whatever I can do to help, you know I will.”
    “You can start by helping me talk this guy into taking me to Daddy’s party.”
    Ava laughed as she picked up the digital camera beside her computer. “I don’t think that’s going to be a problem. We’ll just email him a picture of you, and you can consider it a done deal, my friend.”
     
     
    Jake cursed a blue streak all the way back to the police station. The more he thought about Jess putting herself at risk by going out with some stranger she met online, the more pissed off he got. If she was doing this just to get to him, she was wasting her time. But what if this had nothing to do with him? What if she was serious about getting on with her life?
    He stormed into the police station, nodding to the two other officers on duty as he made his way to his desk. He had to get his mind off that little temptress, or he was going to go crazy.
    “Hey, Jake, is that you?” his boss asked.
    Jake grimaced. Jess’s brother, Tucker, was the last person he wanted to deal with right now.
    “Yeah, it’s me, man. What’s up?”
    “Can you come in here for a minute? I want to talk to you about something.”
    Jake tried to come up with a viable excuse to avoid him within the span of ten seconds, but with Jess still fresh on his mind, he couldn’t think straight. “Yeah, just give me a minute.” He straightened his desk, checked his voice mail messages, got a cup of coffee, and took a few deep breaths before making his way to Tucker’s office. “What can I do for you?”
    Tucker gestured to the chair across from his desk. “Have a seat. I want to talk to you about something.”
    Jake prayed it had something to do