The house was framed by rosebushes and nothing else. None of the houses in El Dorado had any additional gates. The neighborhood was walled and hermetically locked by an electronic gate and artificial lake. I walked freely into Mrs. Belfort’s backyard. There was a hedge maze at the center of the garden, and a set of rocking chairs overlooking it on the massive porch, with an elderly woman occupying one of them, sipping lemonade. The other seat was empty and rocking back and forth, telling me the person I was after was probably nearby.

“It’s been a while,” she mumbled to herself, her eyes glued to the maze like it was the most interesting thing in the world. I decided the best course of action was to make myself known. I did the whole awkward hi thing with my hand, even though I was a giant subhuman enveloped in ink and carved by brutality. “Oh, Fred, how I’ve missed you.” She smiled at me with tears in her eyes.

And the plot thickens. Mrs. Belfort wasn’t lucid. That, or I had a strong resemblance to a dude named Fred.

“I’m a friend of Jesse’s. Do you know where she is?”

“Jesse doesn’t have any friends. It’s just Shadow and I.”

“She does now. Where can I find her?”

Mrs. Belfort tilted her chin to the maze.

“She can be there for hours. Sometimes even days.” She paused, sipping her lemonade with shaking hands. “The maze is enormous.”

Mrs. Belfort wasn’t kidding, either. It was the size of the average Target. I knew exactly why Carter liked getting lost there. It was because she didn’t want to be found.

“Remember the maze, Fred? You and I used to go there all the time. It was our secret spot away from the children.”

“Sure, sweetheart. Sure.” I patted her knee distractedly, slowly walking toward the labyrinth. I stood at the edge.

“Jesse?” I took a step in, glancing left and right. All I saw were lush, green shrubberies. They were all a few inches taller than me, which meant that I couldn’t cheat my way to the exit.

No answer, but footfalls thumped on the ground. I tried to remember what shoes Jesse wore, and surprised myself by recalling her dirty white Keds. Then an image of her slender white ankles popped into my head. They were almost as fair as her shoes. The mental image shot a missile of blood straight to my cock, making it swell and twitch.

Now would be a good time to focus, horn dog.

“How well do you know this place?” I made conversation, even though I had no idea if she was anywhere near me. Didn’t matter, as I couldn’t turn back now. I was in too deep, and wasn’t that a perfect fucking analogy for the clusterfuck that was our relationship? I was playing her. Using her. Toying with the frayed leftovers of her trust. If Jesse could hear me, I couldn’t tell. She remained silent. She obviously wasn’t sure about my angle yet, and I loved that I needed to earn her trust, even if I didn’t deserve it.

“So, you like getting lost.” I listened to the silence, drinking it in. I stopped for a minute, thinking I’d already been in that same spot. Was I walking in circles?

I looked around me. “You like the thrill of it. I get it. I have the same thing with ink. It’s the endorphins. Everybody chases their high.”

“Some more than others,” I heard her mutter somewhere in the distance, to my right. My cock swelled in an instant. I needed to keep myself in check when it came to her. It shouldn’t have been difficult. Six million dollars and my beloved SurfCity were on the line. Bonus points: she’d sworn off men, and last I checked, I had a dick between my legs.

“See?” I grinned. “I knew you wouldn’t pass up a chance to talk shit about me.”

“Really, Bane? Mrs. Belfort, too?” Jesse sighed, her voice becoming more distant. She was running. I was chasing. It’d been a fucking while since I’d chased. Sex was readily available, like buying meat at a butcher’s shop. I liked hunting more.

I liked it a lot.

I picked up my pace, realizing her implication, and let out a chuckle.

“I’m not porking your senior friend, Little Miss Sass.”

I turned left, my fingers brushing the carefully cut bush. Her footfalls descended to my right.

“Why are you here?”

“Because of you.” The truth felt like a cotton ball in my mouth.

She turned sharply again, her steps becoming less prominent. Fuck, Jesse, fuck.

“When are you going to get tired of chasing me around?” Her breaths were fast, hard, desperate. I felt them in my own lungs.

“Never sounds like a good time to me.”

“Bullshit. Even my mom gave up on me. So, the town’s bad boy? Yeah. Not holding my breath here.”