Chapter 43 - Smart And Manipulative

Halia swallowed back the words she was about to say as the man's lips pressed against hers.

His kiss was soft and gentle, but his grip on her hands were tight. She wanted to retaliate, but he had her pinned firmly against the wall.

Finally, he moved away and smirked as he freed her from his grip.

"Why did you kiss me?" Halia asked as she wiped her lips.

Jackson laughed and replied, "You dared me. I like a good challenge."

Halia scoffed and glared at the man. Even though she looked angry, her heart was thumping so loud, she could hear it jumping out of her chest. But, she stayed calm. Whatever his reason was for kissing her, she had to remain focused.

Meanwhile, Jackson looked down at the woman as he tried to contain his rapidly beating heart. Ever since the first time she kissed him, he had wanted to taste her lips again. He knew it wasn't right, so he had been suppressing his feelings, but he acted out of impulse today. The kiss had nothing to do with it being a dare or challenge, he simply wanted to do it. It was almost Friday. He was expecting something to happen, and if it did, he wasn't sure if he'd walk out alive. He'd been wanting Halia to stay away from him, but he realized why she kept coming back after he saw the surveillance footage in his home. He didn't know who she worked for, but keeping his distance and trying to scare her away wasn't going to work; all he could do was try his best to keep her out of danger, especially on Friday.

"Didn't you say you want to work for me?" Jackson suddenly changed the topic.

Halia's face immediately lit up, "Yes, I'm excited to see what weapons you have."

Jackson smiled at the woman and handed her a piece of paper, "Come to this address on Friday."

"Friday? OK," Halia took the paper and placed it in her pocket. Was he taking her along to whatever he had planned on Friday? Was he meeting with Remy Durand? "I told you I could help you," she cheered as she punched Jackson in the arm, forgetting that it was injured.

Jackson quickly grabbed his arm in pain and Halia immediately apologized, "I forgot for a second! I'm so sorry."

"It's OK," Jackson said. "I'll see you on Friday."

As he held onto his arm, Jackson disappeared into the men's bathroom.

But, Halia watched him with suspicion. If it hurt so much, why did he act like it didn't hurt when the man ran into him earlier? He had no reason to, right?

Unless...he had something to hide from that man.

Halia quickly looked around and found the strange lanky man standing in the corner talking on his phone. She quickly walked over and tried to listen to his conversation from a spot he couldn't see.

"I tested him. His arm's not injured. His alibi also checked out, it seems like she might be a stripper at this club," the man said.

Halia scowled when she heard this. "Do I look like stripper?" she thought.

"I saw her today and he mentioned how they had some fun on the weekend. I don't think he was anywhere near Marcus when he got killed. Like you said, someone ran out with a mask and baseball cap and one of your men slashed the guy in the arm and shoulder. Jackson looked perfectly fine, it wasn't him. If it was him he couldn't have spent all weekend having fun with a stripper, you know what I mean?" the man laughed in a perverted manner.

Halia's eyes grew wide in shock. Was that why Jackson said what he did earlier? Was it all an act to get rid of this guy?

"Plus, he hasn't met with anyone suspicious or done anything apart from shopping, drinking and partying. I'm sure it's not him," the lanky man added. "Yes, Brother Sam, I'll stop following him from now on," the man said before he hung up. He then picked up his bag and walked out of the club, grabbing his camera from the security guards as he left.

Halia sat down and tried to process what she heard: judging by what the lanky man said, had Jackson lied to her? Was he actually there when Marcus was killed? And did that mean her initial suspicions were correct?

Did Jackson kill Marcus?

But, why?

At that moment, she received a message on her phone. It was a leaf emoji with the number 9. In other words, 9am tomorrow at the Little Leaf Guesthouse. Halia put away her phone and noticed Jackson come out of the bathroom. She watched as he took a quick scan of the club. He then picked up his phone and walked out. He obviously knew the lanky guy had been following him, and because of her sudden appearance today, he used her to get rid of him. Jackson was smart and manipulative, he made the man think what he wanted him to think. She knew at that moment that he had been lying to her too. There was no drunken fight in the men's bathroom at the club and he wasn't late because he was hesitating to see her. He had used her as an alibi. What else had he lied to her about?

Halia subconsciously touched her lips and sighed; she had a lot of things to discuss with Sean the next day...