DEATH (The Justice Cycle Book 1) by J Kiefer (best classic books to read TXT) 📗

of his mind and started his morning routine. He glanced down at his watch and realized that he only had about twenty minutes to get to the station and meet up with Dana for the long drive to the city. Not wanting to be late, he kicked himself into second gear and was done with his morning routine and out the door in five minutes flat. Which was a new record for the usually slow-moving Jared.

He arrived at the precinct a few minutes later than he anticipated and was met by a very annoyed Dana. She was tapping her foot and looking at her watch as he stepped out of his car. He knew by the redness in her face that she was angry. He couldn’t help noticing how beautiful her fiery brown eyes were, even though she was using them to launch daggers at him. Being that she was on the short side, she looked like an angry little pixie. Fierce but cute.

Jared approached her slowly and cautiously, like he was about to wrangle a dangerous animal. “Sorry, partner. Steve stopped by last night and I didn’t get to bed till late.”

She rolled her impossibly large brown eyes, and no matter how hard he tried, he could not stop his heart from skipping a beat. What was happening to him?

“It’s okay, but we really need to get going. Johansson went on ahead of us and I have the locket right here,” she said, holding it up.

Jared could not take his eyes from it and hesitantly took it from her. She watched him curiously as he stared at it.

“You okay?” she asked.

“Yeah,” he replied dreamily.

“Well, if you are through staring at the pretty locket, we really need to leave, or we are going to be late and make Johansson look like an idiot in front of his superiors.”

“All right, partner, I get it. We don’t want to look like upstate hick cops to the sophisticated city folks.” Jared crossed his eyes and gave her a big goofy grin.

Dana couldn’t help laughing. She hit him hard on the arm and pushed him playfully. “You are such an idiot.”

“I know. But you love me anyway. Don’t worry, partner, we will get there with plenty of time to spare. I am positive that no one could ever mistake you for a hick.”

Dana blinked a few times and looked up at him. He had never given her such an obvious compliment before without immediately offsetting it with a sarcastic remark. Their eyes met and they just looked at each other. Neither of them said anything or averted their gaze. Dana did not want to get her hopes up, but for the first time in her life, she felt as if Jared really saw her. Not as the childhood friend and partner, but as something more. Before the feelings could take hold, she shook her head.

She cleared her throat and turned away from him. “We really need to get moving. I’ll drive. My car gets better gas mileage, plus you drive like a maniac.”

He watched her walk away from him, and without thinking, took the locket out of the plastic bag it was in and placed it around his neck. As soon as it touched his neck, he instantly forgot it was there and went back to watching Dana. He could tell she was flustered, and for the first time since he’d met her at the ripe old age of ten, he hoped he was the reason why.

Dana was his best friend and had been ever since they were kids. He told her everything, every joy, and every hurt. In fact, whenever anything happened to him, no matter how mundane or significant, Dana was the first person he thought about telling. Maybe his brother was right. Maybe he did love her.

They drove for about three hours, talking and laughing about everything and anything. Of course, the case was always at the forefront of both of their minds, and for Jared, the locket as well. No matter how hard he tried, he could not shake this almost obsessive desire to touch it. Not wanting to come across as crazy he kept the internal struggle to himself, and for obvious reasons, did not mention it to Danna. If he told her about the powerful effects the locket was having on him, it would only upset her more than she already was. The last thing he wanted to do was give more credence to the disturbing events she had experienced while it was in her possession.

Once they had left behind the rolling hills, quaint farmhouses, and green forests of upstate New York and entered more urban terrain, they both knew that it would only be a few more minutes before they crossed the outskirts of greater New York City. Dana was a bit fatigued from so much driving, and they decided to make a quick pit stop while they were still in the relative comfort of the suburbs.

They pulled off at the next exit and found a little mom-and-pop gas station with a tiny coffee shop attached to it. Jared got out to stretch his legs and decided to fill up the car while Dana went inside to use the restroom. He was finished pumping gas before Dana returned, so he went inside to get them both some coffee for the last leg of the drive into the city.

Jared grabbed himself a bear claw, paid for the beverages, and was back out in the car before she returned. As she approached the small sedan, he couldn’t help but notice that her hair looked a little different. Her shoulder-length auburn hair hung down and wavy instead of tied up in the ponytail she usually sported.

God, she’s beautiful.

He just stared at her thunderstruck when she got back into the car. He was still holding the two cups of coffee and the bear claw was dangling from his lips. Dana noticed him staring at her and became self-conscious.

“What?” she asked.

He mumbled