Read Girl Jacked for Free Online

and he didn’t want that today.
    The truth was that he was more than prepared without it. When Jack was twelve, he had confided in a friend about his birth mother. The story that his mother was a prostitute burned through the school like wildfire. Jack got into three fights in one day and lost each one. The principal called his parents in for a conference. The school counselor simply chalked it up to ‘kids can be cruel’ and Jack would have to learn to deal with it.
    Jack’s adoptive father was far more supportive. He signed Jack up for karate. Jack took to it like breathing. Martial arts were a natural fit for him. After a few months, no one dared mentioned his mother.
    Now what else is there?
    His checklists were becoming as scattered as the pieces of his life. The soldier he was six years ago would have beaten the crap out of him for being so sloppy.
    “Ready?” he called as he opened the door. He had not needed to ask; Replacement was there waiting at the open front door.
    As she saw him, a flood of questions burst out, “Where are we going? Where do we start? Are we…”
    “Kid, listen. This is what you do today, SHUT UP.”
    Her face fell. He felt bad in a weird way.
    “I have a job to do, and I can’t have you screw it up, okay?”
    “I won’t screw it up!” Her face scrunched up, her hands went out, and she raised herself up on her toes and leaned in on him.
    “If you get in someone’s face like you just got in mine, you will.” Jack took a deep breath and decided to try a different tack. “Can you do me a favor?” His voice, posture and mannerisms all softened. “It looks like we have a truce going, right?”
    She nodded her head and set her jaw. “Just because you said you would help.”
    “Can you try to follow my lead?”
    “Like we’re in it together?” Before he could stop that train of thought, it had already left the station. “Hell, yeah! Let’s go!”
    He rolled his eyes. That was his first mistake of the morning.
    Jack’s second mistake was in taking the front stairs. His landlady, Mrs. Stevens sprang out of her door like a lion. Her mane of red hair stood on end, and her flabby face was blotchy. She looked like she had waited all night at that door to spring her trap and he fell right into it.
    She was so crazy looking that Replacement dashed behind him and stopped talking.
    “Mrs. Stevens…. I wanted to stop by and offer my sincere apologies…” He held his hands open and out as if he were handling a hostage situation.
    “You weren’t stopping!” Her eyes grew even larger.
    “I was going out to get you a little something so I could apologize properly .” He stressed something and properly , hoping that her mental image of the bribe would calm her down.
    Jack didn’t have much furniture, but he hated moving. There was a high probability that his landlady would throw him out.
    “How could you possibly apologize for all you have done?” All that was missing was the back of her hand held theatrically to her head.
    She is laying it on pretty thick but that could be a good sign.
    Jack tried to look apologetic.
    “Your lease is exceedingly specific about the level of noise. Last night…”
    She is quoting the lease, that’s bad.
    Jack decided that he would have to play on her emotions a bit. He started speaking before he fully thought it through, another one of his weaknesses. “I’m just so sorry, Mrs. Stevens. You see… this girl… she’s… she’s the sister of my friend who has passed… his younger sister…”
    Mrs. Stevens’ eyes narrowed and her fat lips pursed into a puffy line.
    “… and she is mental and … retarded emotionally … and I just wanted to get her to a place that would take care of her …”
    “What about the other one?” Mrs. Stevens started tapping her foot.
    “The other...?”
    “Girl.” He didn’t know how Mrs. Stevens even said the word as her lips pressed together so tightly they didn’t move.
    “The other girl is my, my