Broken Promises

Chapter 9

            Jack paused in front of the door. It felt like home. But she was nervous. And she knew exactly why. At this point, she didn't know if Riddick knew who was responsible for the hit on him. She wasn't even sure he knew there was one. Fuck. She sighed heavily, adjusted the backpack slung over her shoulder, and turned the knob on the door.

            She knew Imam would be gone – he always had business during the days. And judging from past times, Riddick would be off somewhere doing Lord knows what to get them some more money. The thought of him made her stomach turn. She sighed again and dropped her bag next to the door.

            Hours to waste. What would she spend the time doing? She plopped down in front of the computer and toodled around for a while until she heard the door open.

            "Imam?" she called timidly.

            "Hey Kid," came Riddick's reply. She cringed and swore under her breath before standing to greet him.

            "Hey Riddick," she responded. He looked her up and down.

            "You grew up," he noted. She rolled her eyes. This routine again.

            "Yeah, people generally do that as they age," she smarted. He smirked. "What are you doing here?" He shrugged.

            "Got people on my tail again."

            "Imam said that," she interjected. "Why come back here instead of uncharted territory?" He smiled. Still smart, at least.

            "Thought I'd just pay you two a visit before doing just that." He reached out, and she shied away quickly. His eyebrow rose. "What's with you?" he asked.

            "Been a while," she mumbled. He gave her a weird look and headed into the kitchen. She followed.

            "How's school going?" Her eyes darted up to his. He grinned. "Or rather, how are the financial aid checks helping with rent?" She couldn't help but return the smile.

            "Promise not to tell Imam," she begged. He shook his head and laughed.

            "You remind me of me when I was your age," he said.

            "I try."

            "Don't," he said quickly. "You're better than that. You've got a whole life ahead of you. Don't try to waste it to be like me." She swallowed hard.

            "I need to talk to you," she whispered. His eyebrow rose. "I don't know if you know this or not, but there's a hit out on you and you've got to be – "

            "Now, how would you know that?" came a voice from behind Jack. Riddick's eyes shifted behind Jack's shoulder and she whirled around.

            "Cassidy Hodge?"

            "In the flesh," Cassidy grinned evilly. Jack turned back to Riddick, all color drained from her face.

            "Riddick, you've got to listen to me – "

            "Now, why would he go and do a thing like that after what you did to him?" Cassidy interjected.

            "I didn't do anything to him," Jack fumed, turning back around to face the barrel of a gun. Her hands went up slowly.

            "'I didn't do anything to him'," Cassidy mimicked, a mocking look on her face. "Bullshit, Jack, and you and I both know it."

            "What's she talking about, Riddick?" Jack asked, her voice trembling. She didn't turn to face Riddick this time, keeping her gaze on the firearm pointed at her nose.

            "Where'd you get $35,000, Jack?" Riddick asked gently, walking around to stand in front of Cassidy, making a triangle of the three people standing in the kitchen. Jack's face registered confusion.

            "What?"

            "The $35,000 for the hits, dear heart," Cassidy spat. "One on me, and one on Riddick."

            "That wasn't me," she insisted, turning to Riddick, her eyes meeting and holding his. "Riddick, you've got to believe me, please," she begged.

            "Oh, look. How cute," Cassidy said. "She's groveling."

            "Shut the fuck up, Cassidy," Riddick growled. Cassidy's eyes swung over to Riddick.

            "Don't start protecting her again after all this, Riddick," she warned.

            "After all of what?" Jack asked.

            "You need to shut the fuck up," Cassidy said quickly, her eyes shifting back over to the slight girl pressed up against the counter. "You know this needs to be done, Riddick. Are you gonna do this, or am I?" Riddick's eyes shifted between Cassidy's and Jack's.

            "Cassidy ordered the hits, Riddick, not me. That's why I had some friends of mine trying to hunt you down – to warn you. You gotta believe me. Riddick, you know I would never do this, just – "

            "Shut. Up." Both words came out of Cassidy's mouth in the form of a growl. Riddick looked over at her and then back to Jack, holding a hand up to Cassidy to silence her.

            "She ordered the hit on you and took it herself, and then she gave you the hit on her to make it easier to track you down. It was her, Riddick, not me. You know I could never do that to you."

            "So why did you quit school and start hoarding the money?" He ordered. She stammered and her eyes fell from his. "Jack…"

            "I was saving it so I could come with you and help you out on the skiff," she blurted, instantly turning a deep shade of crimson.

            "Jesus Christ," Cassidy sighed. "You really think he's gonna buy that, kid?"

            "I was watching the whole time. She paid a prostitute to come in and play contact at the warehouse on Julian. She played the whole thing out to make you think it was me. Jesus, Riddick. C'mon. You know me."

            "You're making it a lot easier for me to decide I'm gonna do you kid," Cassidy informed. "Shut the fuck up."

            "She got you thinking that it was me so she could get you alone and kill you when the time was right," Jack said quickly. "I knew as soon as Imam called that something was wrong – that's why I asked if anyone was here with you. I new Imam was lying, and I knew I had to get here as soon as I could to warn you."

            Riddick was so busy staring at Jack, trying to figure out if she was telling the truth or not, when everything went into slow motion. He didn't even hear the gun go off. Cassidy's arm spun around just as Jack lunged toward him. She tackled him, straight to the ground, laying across his chest. Her eyes were wide, filled with fear, and Riddick just stared up at her.

            "Now we're even," she whispered, a strained smile crossing her blood stained lips before she collapsed fully onto him. He rolled out from underneath her.

            "Whew," Cassidy breathed, staring down at Jack's still body. Riddick glared at her as he approached her, and she glanced up at him. "You okay?" Before she could react, his hand snatched the gun from hers, sliding the clip from the handle. She just stared at it in his hands. "Riddick – "

            "I figured you would have learned by now, Cass," he said, his voice low. She shook her head, her eyebrow raised. "Kill the witness before she spills the beans." The room went dark for Cassidy as the butt of the gun struck the back of her head, her limp body falling to the floor. Riddick scooped Jack up into his arms, grabbed her backpack from beside the door, and hit the house alarm before walking down the sidewalk and then disappearing down the street.