Crazy in Love (20 page)

“Someone killed Elaine Placie with a pan from my kitchen,” she said.

Jake nodded.
“I know.”

“
She totally screwed you over.”

“
Yep. She did.”

“
That gives you motive and means,” she said. “And probably opportunity.”

“
You watch too much
CSI,
Merce.”

“
So, what are you going to do?”

He pulled on the most confident expression in his arsenal.
“I’m going to find out who really killed her before the police have time to put it all together and consider me a suspect.”

He hoped the plan was as good as it sounded, because for the moment, it was the only one he had. Mercy stared at him for a long time, then nodded.

“Be careful.”

He grinned and put his hand on the lever that opened the freezer door.
“I’ll see you later, Merce. And for God’s sake, do something about this place. It’s like a meat locker in here.”

Mercy didn
’t smile. “I love you.”

He touched his fingers to his lips and tossed her a kiss.
“You, too. And don’t worry. It’s all going to turn out fine.”

He pulled the lever and headed out, ignoring the questioning looks on the kitchen staff and hoping to God that everything would turn out fine.

He really hated being wrong about this kind of thing.

Eleven

“So, where exactly are we going again?” Flynn asked, leaning forward to look into the darkening October sky through the dusty window of the pickup truck. Based on the windy road, the farmland flanking them on either side, and the widely-spaced streetlights, she sensed they were officially in the middle of freakin’ nowhere.

“
It’s a surprise,” Tucker said. “Now, tell me about your day again.”

Flynn waved a hand at him.
“No. We’ve already talked about that.”

“
But you like talking about it.”

“
Yeah, I do.” Flynn turned toward him, amazed at how big and comfortable the seats were in that clunky old pickup. “So, I got off the phone with Freya and I was totally screwed, right? But then I think really hard, what could the password be? And suddenly, I get it! So I start typing—”

“
What
is
the password, anyway?” Tucker asked.

“
Oh. You know. Just something silly.” She cleared her throat. She still hadn’t decided if she should tell Tucker about Annabelle’s crush. On the one hand, it was none of her business. On the
other
hand, maybe Tucker should know. Flynn guessed that if Annabelle had a say, she’d side with none of Flynn’s business, so Flynn decided to let that be the tiebreaker.

“
Anyway. I type it in and blammo! Everything opens up. So then I get some coffee, and I figure it’s gonna take me from here to eternity to figure out this system and pull those reports, but I get back and two hours later, everything’s all set and ready to go. I put off my father by telling him the fax machine was broken—”

“
A brilliant move, by the way.”

“
Thank you. I thought so.” She leaned back, allowing herself to get all pruny in her pride. “So, I figured it out all by myself. I made it happen. I contributed. I’m not a total loser.”

“
Please tell me you already knew that,” he said, throwing a glance her way.

“
I mean, I know I’m not a
total
loser. I pay my own bills. I vote. But… when it comes to being a productive member of society, to doing things that make a difference, things that really matter…” She shrugged. “It’s a very short resume.”

Tucker turned the wheel and they ambled onto
a
dirt road.

“
Where exactly are we going?” Flynn asked, glancing around them at the farmland, slightly pungent with the smell of cows and nature. She was getting used to it, actually.

Tucker pulled the truck to the edge of the road and put it in park, then turned to face Flynn.

“Why do you do that?”

“
Do what?” she asked, a little worried about this sudden change in demeanor. “Ask where we’re going? Is curiosity a big character flaw with you, because if that’s the case—”

“
When you got off the train that day, I thought you were beautiful, which—whatever. Pretty women are a dime a dozen, and typically overpriced at that.”

“
Is this an attempt at sweet talk? Because, not for nothin’, it could use some fine-tuning.”

“
Then you spoke.” Tucker chuckled and shook his head. “And you were snappy and insecure and tough and fragile and weird—”

She hardened her stare.
“Perhaps you could memorize a sonnet or two. Lots of girls go for that crap.”

“
You’re...” He stared at her for a moment, then chuckled and shook his head. “You’re funny, and you’re sharp, and you’re strange in really… great ways. I mean, what kind of girl admits that she’s having chats with her dead aunt? Or puts herself on the line for some random guy she hardly even knows? You have no guile. You don’t pretend to be what you’re not. You’re just Flynn, and you don’t apologize for that. Do you have any idea how sexy that is?”

Flynn held her breath, her heart pumping erratically in her chest.
“Um… no.”

Tucker watched her for a moment, then turned his head to stare straight out at the horizon.
“You’re right. I’m not good at this.”

“
No,” Flynn said, her voice high and soft even to her own ears. “No, you were getting somewhere there.”

“
I don’t know any sonnets. I’m not that kind of guy. To
be honest, until now, I didn’t think I was the kind of guy who would pack a special picnic and bring a girl out to a cabin in the country with no ulterior motive other than just getting to know her better.” He chuckled and shook his head, then turned to look at her, his smile light and bemused. “I used to make fun of that guy. And now I am that guy. And I’m fine with it. For the first time in my life, the most important thing is not getting revenge on Gordon fucking Chase, and that’s because of you, so if you could stop with this crap about never doing anything that matters, I’d appreciate it.”

Flynn opened her mouth, but couldn
’t think of what to say. She’d been quoted sonnets before—which, in real life, turned out to be a lot hokier than it sounded. One guy had even stood outside her dorm window and serenaded her with a regrettable rendition of “Islands in the Stream.” Also overrated. But no one had ever made the butterflies inside her freak out the way Tucker just did.

She liked it.

“You’re quiet,” Tucker said after a while. “That can’t be good. Did I already blow it? Because the food alone will be worth giving me a second chance, I swear.”

She reached out and put her hand over his.
“You didn’t blow it. You did the opposite of blow it.”

He turned to face her, his eyes locking with hers.
“Good.”

She turned toward him in what she hoped was an encouraging pose, but found it challenging to strike an encouraging pose in a bucket seat. The silence intensified, the dying sunset bathed them in a dim pinkish glow; the moment couldn
’t have been more perfect. She licked her
lower lip—if that wasn’t encouraging, then she was out of the game.

Which, apparently, she was, because Tucker chose that moment to turn away and hop out of the truck.

“What the…?” Flynn muttered to herself as she watched him walk around to her side and open the passenger door.

“
Are you kidding with this?” she asked.

“
Get out.”

“
I’m sorry?”

He held out his hand to her.
“This is your first driving lesson.”

She didn
’t take his hand. “What are you, crazy? I can’t drive. I don’t even have a permit.”

“
It’s okay,” he said, smiling. “You’re on Tucker property now. We’ve only got about a mile to go down this road here.” He raised his hand closer. “Come on.”

Flynn took his hand and let him help her down.
“You’re serious?”

He set her on her feet and put his hands on her waist.
“When have you ever known me not to be serious?”

“
With the exception of thirty seconds ago? You really want the answer to that question?”

He reached up and touched her hair.
“Well, I’m serious now. I wanted to take you on a date you wouldn’t forget. I think this is a pretty good idea, if I do say so myself. Which I do.” He grinned. “Now get moving.”

She considered and rejected the idea of telling him she wouldn
’t likely forget it anyway, and nodded. “Okay.”

He leaned down and grazed his lips lightly over hers, making her legs tremble a bit with anticipation of wha
t might come next. But instead, he pulled back, cleared his throat, and led her to the other side of the truck. After strapping her into the seat belt and showing her where the gearshift, brake, and accelerator were, he shut her door, walked around, and c
lim
bed into the passenger seat.

“
Go ahead,” he said. “Put it in drive and lightly touch the accelerator. Put your hands at ten and two on the wheel, and keep the road between them in your eyeline. You’ll be fine.” Flynn reached for the gearshift and set it to “D” the way Tucker had shown her. She hit the accelerator with her right foot and the truck lurched out into the road with a lot more acceleration than she’d been expecting. She screamed and hit the brake, sending Tucker shooting forward.

“
Should have worn my seat belt,” he said, a chuckle in his voice as he held on to the dashboard for support.

“
Yeah, well, hindsight.” Flynn took her foot off the brake and hit the accelerator, lighter this time, and toodled off onto the dirt road, clutching the steering wheel with white knuckles.

“
Okay, now how long before we get to where we’re going?”

“
The cabin’s about a mile or so down the road,” Tucker said, glancing at the speedometer. “At this rate, it should be about an hour.”

“
Shut up,” Flynn said, laughing as she punched it from five to ten miles an hour. “Hey. Dig me. I’m driving.”

She felt his hand rub her shoulder affectionately.
“Yeah. Dig you.”

It was at that moment that there was a loud crashing sound, and glass sprayed over them from behind.

Flynn screamed and the truck careened as the wheel flew from side to side under her hands. “Oh, shit! What’d I
do wrong? What’d I do wrong?”

A pair of bright high-beam headlights came on behind them.

“I don’t think it’s you,” Tucker said calmly.

“
Who is that?”

There was a popping sound, and the driver
’s side-view mirror jerked violently and flew off the cab, banging into the truck before bouncing down the road behind them.

“
Um, Tucker,” Flynn said, trying to maintain as much calm as she could muster. “Is someone trying to kill us?”

“
That’s my guess,” Tucker said. “Turn left and punch
it.”

The last fragment of calm left her.

“
Are you kidding me
?”
she screamed, but before she had finished the sentence, Tucker had taken the wheel and stamped his foot down over hers.

“
Ow, ow, ow, ow!”

“
I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry!”

They lurched off the road and down a mild slope into what was thankfully a sparsely wooded area. Flynn pulled her foot out from under Tucker
’s and glanced behind them through the blown-out back window. The lights hadn’t followed them. That was good. Flynn was sure that was good. That had to be—

Another popping sound came from behind them, and the truck jerked to the left.

“Oh, holy Christ!” Flynn yelled.

“
It’s okay,” Tucker said, seeming oddly calm as he turned the wheel to the left, going with the momentum of the truck. They slid to the side, and Flynn screamed again.

“
I need you to stop doing that,” Tucker said.

“
I need you to stop getting me killed!”

They skidded sideways for a bit, then the wheels gained traction. Tucker pulled the wheel to the right and they swerved between two trees, then bounced upward.

And then they were on the dirt road again, skidding to a stop in front of a cabin, with just enough room for the passenger side door to open. Tucker slammed the truck into park and grabbed Flynn.

“
Time to go,” he said, yanking her out with him. A moment later they were in the cabin and he was setting her down on what felt like a couch, but between the dark of the cabin and the blind panic, Flynn couldn’t see anything. Her breathing came hard and shallow as Tucker’s hands floated over her, touching her ankles, her legs, her arms, her face. It took her a moment to realize he was talking, too.

“…
okay? Does that hurt?”

She knew she should answer him. She wanted to answer
him
. She just couldn’t.

“
Flynn!” He grabbed her chin in his hand and forced her to meet his eyes. “Are you okay?”

She snapped back into the moment, and found her voice.
“I’m fine. I’m fine. I mean, someone’s trying to kill us, but other than that…”

Tucker
’s hands grasped her upper arms tightly, and she thought she heard him release a heavy breath. “You’re okay? You’re sure?”

Flynn concentrated. She couldn
’t really feel anything, but on the bright side, nothing hurt. “I think so.”

Her eyes began to adjust and she could see the faint outlines of his eyes, his mouth, his hair. Everything came
to her in bits and pieces, but it was Tucker, and he was okay.

They were alive.

Yay.

“
Why would someone want to kill us?” she asked.

“
I don’t know.”