I Know Lucy (The Fugitive Series) (22 page)

“I’m not leaving until you tell me the truth! Who are you? Some slut who’s come here to try and blackmail some wealthy guy in town or are you after my friends? It can’t be me, because I’m not loaded. Man, you must have been disappointed that day we first pulled up at my house.”

She licked her bottom lip, looking to the ceiling as if my words weren’t killing her. “You were never the mark.”

“But I was your in though, right? I was easy prey, use me to get to Elliot or maybe Liesl. Make us feel all comfy around you and them bam, steal our money and disappear. What con were you going for this time? Which one were you playing?”

“I wasn’t,” she whispered.

“Bullshit!” I lifted the chair lightly and slammed it back onto the ground. I wanted to throw it across the room, my insides were raging so bad. How could she stand there looking so broken? She was supposed to be this horrible, selfish bitch, but all I wanted to do right now was wrap her in my arms.

Damn her.

“You’re going to use us and cut us loose. Then you’ll disappear into thin air until you turn up in the next town and go after another set of gullible victims who fall for your charms while you plan to rob them blind.”

“Shut up! You don’t know anything about me.” Even her yell sounded pathetic.

It stole my shout, whisked it from my lungs until all I could come out with was a soft denial. “I do know you. I know those beautiful eyes of yours.”

Her blue gaze hit me like an arrow through the heart. I nearly faltered over my next line, forcing it out past a lump the size of Plymouth Rock.

“I may not know your name, but I know that your favorite color is red. I know you like to compare things to chocolate, because it’s your favorite thing to eat. I know you love to do well in school, because you get this cute little smile on your face whenever you get a test or assignment back. I know your favorite style of music is country, because it’s the only one you hum to and I know that you are the strongest girl I have ever met.”

Her expression was melting, tears swarming her eyes and it was breaking me. I couldn’t let her do this to me. I stood up straight, grabbing my pad of paper and shoving it back into my bag. My eyes scanned the timeline and a thought caught up to me, one I’d been playing with over my morning coffee.

“What I can’t figure out is why you’ve stayed.” I zipped my bag. “You should have left a couple of weeks ago. You’ve broken your pattern. Is there a bigger score here?” The question fueled my anger and I spat it out, feeling more in control as I did. “You should have gotten your money and moved on by now. Why? Why— whoever the hell you are—have you stayed? Why’ve you stayed!”

“Because I can’t walk away from you!” She shouted back at me, then closed her eyes and pressed her head against the wall. A lone tear was set free. I watched it run down the right side of her face, soon followed by another on the left. I wanted to step towards her, to wipe them off her soft skin, but I couldn’t move.

Me?

I hadn’t been expecting that.

I let the silence reign, too shocked to fill it. Finally she sniffed and wiped at her own tears. Her voice was broken and small. “I did have a plan. Danville’s a rich town. It was supposed to be a quick in and out, but I couldn’t do it. Meeting you that first day just screwed everything up and I remember thinking, ‘No, you can do this. Just let today slide and start again tomorrow.’ Every night I said that to myself and every day I’d see you. And those mornings at the pool. Man, and you’re just so hot! But worse than that, you’re kind and intelligent and you’ve got these amazing eyes that can see right into the soul. You notice everything. That should be dangerous for me, but I just find it so compelling.” She lightly thumped the wall with her head, making me feel a hundred feet tall. “For the first time in my life, I have friends I actually like and I’ve met a guy I
want
to kiss. Not because I’m being forced to or because I’m playing any kind of role. Kissing you is like eating chocolate.” She swallowed, her cheeks warming with a blush. “Zach, this is the closest to normal I’ve ever come and I just can’t bring myself to walk away from it. You.” She squeaked the word, pointing at me and shaking her head. “You make it impossible to leave.”

I was in front her before I could stop myself, running my thumbs over her cheeks, brushing at her tears. Our breath mingled together as we locked gazes, both searching for the genuine truth. Tears lined her delicate lashes as she whispered, “I don’t want to run anymore.”

“Then don’t.” I gripped the side of her face, pulling her lips towards mine.

Our mouths crushed together, a hot desperate mess. She clung to my waist, gripping my shirt as if it were the only thing stopping her from falling. I kissed her senseless, pouring out every emotion I’d been wrestling with for the last few days. I never wanted to let her go again. I never wanted to yell at her or accuse her of being anything but who she was in this moment.

There were more secrets, more truths that had yet to be uttered, but right this second she was my girl and that’s all that mattered.

Chapter 25

May 2014

We ended up in bed together. Not naked and we didn’t have sex either, but as the kissing intensified I was propelled to lift her into my arms and walk her towards the lone mattress on the floor. We flopped onto it, our lips still playing tango. We couldn’t pull away from each other. It was like we were both scared that if we did, reality would sneak back in and we’d have to face what I’d learned and what she still had to tell me.

But neither of us made the move to take it any further then hot, wet making out.

Finally Dani pulled away, her blue eyes fiery as she took me in. “I need a breath.” She pushed back, but I wouldn’t let her go. Instead I laid back and pulled her against me. She tucked her head under my chin and wrapped her leg over my knee and around my calf. It felt amazing being tangled up against her.

I brushed my lips over her forehead as she ran her hand up my shirt, playing with a loose thread near the collar.

As my heart rate slowly decelerated, I let my eyes travel around the room. I noticed a pile of books in the corner, neatly organized for school. Next to that was a small stack of tatty novels and next to them were three neat piles of clothes — pants, shirts and two sweaters. Her red Converse rested on top of a bag, which I assumed contained her socks and underwear. In spite of the fact it was on the floor, it was very orderly. Across the room was a kitchen counter with a grimy sink and two gas hobs that looked as though they hadn’t been lit this century. She obviously did no cooking here, so what was with the utility knife? I glanced at the door. The blade she’d thrown at my head was still sticking out from the frame.

I couldn’t believe she lived here. It made my heart bleed imagining her wrapped up under the light-weight cover on her own. The place was as warm and friendly as a jail cell.

“Where’s your dad?” I whispered.

Her long fingers stilled and my body automatically tensed. I tried not to let it show, but I’m sure she felt my pecks tighten. She took her time answering. I couldn’t help wondering if she was trying to think of a good story, still playing her Dani role, or if she was summoning the courage to tell me the truth.

“My parents are dead,” she whispered.

I whipped my head to look at her, taking in her pale skin and the haunted look in her eyes.

The truth. It fit and explained so much about her.

I squeezed her shoulder. “I thought you said you had a dad?”

“I lied.” Her voice was tiny.

I forgave her with another kiss to the forehead. “How’d they die?”

The pause was so long and pregnant I thought she wouldn’t answer me. Eventually a detached voice drifted into the room, “They were murdered.”

My lungs went dry, devoid of air, as I tried to take in what she was saying to me.

“When?”

“I was thirteen.”

“And, um, how old are you now?”

Her head shifted on my shoulder as she looked up at me. “Eighteen. Same as you. I never lied about that.”

Not this time anyway. I kept my thoughts to myself, trying to forget the fact she’d played an eighteen-year-old senior only last year when she was trying to con Miles Filmore.

I shut my eyes, forcing myself to focus back on the questions I had for her. She was talking the truth for once and I had to take advantage of it.

“Did you—were you there when they died?”

Her head moved on my shoulder again, snuggling into me as if trying to block out the images. I held her tight, knowing I wasn’t going to like what she had to say.

Yet again a detached voice relayed the information. “It was after dinner…on a school day. I’d just got the lead in the spring musical and we were celebrating. Mom sent me down to the basement to get ice cream from the chest freezer. As I was nearing the top of the stairs, this man showed up…” She sniffed and shook her head. “I watched it through a crack in the door…and then I ran.”

“Why didn’t you run to the police?”

She pushed off me, sitting up and facing the wall. I sat forward and ran my hand down her back, resting my chin on her shoulder.

“My parents were killed by a dirty cop. I couldn’t go to the police. So I ran. That’s what I do best. I run, Zach.” She turned to face me, our noses brushing against each other. “I never wanted to be a bad person. I never meant to steal, but I had to survive.” She let out a wry laugh. “I don’t know why. My life has been pretty shitty, but something in me needs to survive.” Her body began to tremble beneath my fingertips. “I don’t want to die like they did.” Her voice tripped and I could sense the tears returning.

“Shhhh. It’s okay,” I whispered.

“You can’t tell anybody you know me.” She turned in my arms, her eyes pleading as she reached for my face. “You have to stick with the Dani story, do you understand me?”

“Yes.” I nodded. “But we can trust—”

“No.” Her fingers gripped my skull. “We can’t trust…I can’t trust…” She licked her bottom lip and dropped her hands, looking away from me.

Gently placing my fingers under her chin, I pushed her head up. “I won’t tell anyone. I promise. You just keep being Dani. My Dani.” I grinned and placed a soft kiss on her lips.

When I pulled away she was smiling. “Thank you. I never meant to tell you about my parents. I’m sorry.”

I tipped my head and tucked her golden hair behind her ear. “I’m glad you did and I’m sorry for being such an asshole before.”

Her chuckle was dry and breathy. “You had every right to be. I lied to you. And you’re the only person who’s ever cared enough to figure out why.” She licked her bottom lip. “It worries me that you did, but it’s also nice to be with someone who doesn’t just settle for the shallow. Who doesn’t just ignore all the lies, because all they really want from me is sex or popularity.” Guilt crested over her features. I wondered if she was thinking of Tori, but before I could ask, she sniffed and shook her head. “I hope you understand why I’ve had to do what I’ve done.”

“Yeah. Yeah, I get it. I just can’t believe you’ve been living like this since you were 13.” I waved my hand around the apartment.

She ignored my sympathy, a thought occurring to her. A thought which made her forehead wrinkle and her body shift away from me. “How’d you find out all that stuff about me? Who’d you ask? Who’d you talk to? How did you know?”

I placed my finger on her lips, gently silencing her. I wasn’t sure how much to say. I didn’t want to scare her. She already looked like she was about to be hit by a bus.

I licked my lips and ran my hand through my hair. “I saw a picture of you in my cousin’s yearbook. He goes to Lowell High.” I glanced at her and watched the way her eyebrows flickered with an anguished frown.

“The yearbook? How’d they get a photo of me?”

“It was on one of those montage pages. You weren’t looking at the camera. You probably had no idea the photo was even being taken.”

Her features dented with worry as she rubbed her chin.

“Luke—”

“Who’s Luke?”

“My cousin.” My insides started to thrum as I watched her panic start to fester. Her whole body was tense and alert. She reminded me of a deer who’d just heard a twig snap behind her. She was getting ready to bolt. I kept my voice gentle and smooth. “Luke told me about how you dated Miles.”

“But I didn’t want to.”

“I know.” I rubbed her back.

“How did you even recognize me? Everyone at Lowell knew me as Riley.”

“I knew it was you. Sure, your hair was different, but I recognized the look on your face. You get it sometimes when you’re trying to block out the world, a kind of distant look in your eye. I just knew it was you.”

Her blue gaze met mine, telling me she loved that I really saw her, but it fluttered back to the floor as her shaking fingers scratched the back of her neck.

Did I dare tell her the rest?

“So, how did you find out about Taylor and Peyton?” She choked out the last word.

“Well, I just had to find out more, so I went into San Francisco yesterday to see if I could talk to some other Lowell High students. I was trying to track down Miles’ younger brother.”