Free Ambrosia Shore by Christie Anderson Page B

made me want to cringe.
    “There’s no big mystery,” I said to Jax, trying to sound relaxed. “I’m just a nobody who’s dating Rayne Stevens, and Rayne happens to be best friends with a guy who turned out to be a criminal. I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time and got caught in the middle of it, that’s all.”
    “Right,” Jax said sarcastically, “that makes perfect sense. Just in the wrong place…at the wrong time…”
    I wasn’t sure why I had bothered giving Jax an explanation in the first place. He was obviously not as dumb as he looked…or acted.
    “Fine, Jax,” I said. “You figured it out…I have a secret. But just so we’re clear, you should know that you’re probably the last person I’d ever consider telling.”
    “Good,” he answered. “Because you should know…there’s nothing I love more than a challenge.”
    I tried my best to ignore his remark. There weren’t many people I’d come across in my life that I couldn’t get along with—in fact, I could probably count them on less than one hand—but Jax was the newest exception to that list.
    “Can we please just get back to the real reason for this call?” I said. “Don’t you have any friends with border clearance; ones that wouldn’t mind doing you a small favor by running across the border to make a quick phone call to the Ambassador without asking any questions about the details?”
    “It’s possible I have a few of those I could call,” Jax offered. “So, why don’t you go grab your things, and we can see who we can get a hold of on our way back to the city?”
    “The city? What are you talking about?” I started to say, but then I felt someone’s presence right behind me, causing me to whirl around.
    “Surprise,” Jax said with a devilish grin, standing right behind me like he’d been spying on me for who knew how long.
    I stumbled backward. “What, what are you doing here?”
    “I came here for you of course,” he said. “Isn’t it obvious?”
    It had only been a day since I’d last seen him, but Jax looked completely different than I remembered; kind of scary, in a sexy-crazy sort of way, almost like an eccentric, pimped-out rock star or something. And even though I had seen Jax’s violet eyes the day before when Rayne chased him down like a thief at Santa Monica Pier, they seemed different too—more vivid. It probably had something to do with all the ridiculous eyeliner he was wearing.
    I looked him over. “What happened to your…” I paused trying to think where to start; the spiky white hair, or the red alligator combat boots. “to your…everything?” I finally said, twirling my finger around the front of him.
    Jax shrugged. “This is what I always wear; everyone knows that. Haven’t you seen me in the papers recently? Or the Modern People channel?”
    I shook my head.
    “Sadie…come on… I was on the cover of Vigor just last month. Didn’t you see it?”
    “Vigor?” I repeated.
    Jax looked at me like I was completely clueless. “You know, the second highest selling magazine in Banya…”
    “Sorry,” I said. “I must have missed that one.”
    Jax folded his arms to his chest and eyed me. “Oh that’s right, you were a little busy…off playing high school Earth-girl, if I remember correctly.”
    “Jax, how did you even know I was here?” I asked, successfully changing the subject. I looked down at the cell phone in my hand and had an eerie flashback. “Wait, were you tracking my phone?”
    Jax answered casually. “Well, I tried that as soon as you first called me of course, but the phone you’re using is untraceable. Smart for you , but not nearly as fun for me.”
    I looked at him in disbelief. “Right, of course you did. What was I thinking?”
    “No, actually,” Jax continued, “when I called my father earlier he mentioned the location where he intercepted Rayne’s arrest, so it wasn’t exactly hard to figure out where you’d be.”
    “But wasn’t that