Relentless (10 page)

Hannah directed a sharp, piercing gaze at Lily.  "You slept with Luke.  The one person I hate the most.  I could take you showing me up to my parents and to the rest of the town, but not taking Luke's side.  Not after what he did."

Here they were, back to what Luke had supposedly done to Hannah.  "He said you lied about what happened, and I think he's still paying the price for that lie."

Hannah stared at her, venom shooting from her eyes, and for a second, Lily wondered if she should have come armed in case she needed to defend herself.  "Stop making him out to be a prince.  Stop taking his side.  This is exactly what happened eight years ago.  Everyone took his side.  He's a lying, cheating—"

"Hannah."  Lily spoke in a raised voice.  "You're better than this.  The Hannah I know doesn't need to disparage another to build herself up.  She's kind and loving, and not this person I'm seeing right now.  If you lied about what happened between you and Luke, you need to come clean.  It will help both of you."

"It's this town.  It messes with me."  She inhaled a hysterical breath.  "No, Luke lied.  He lied.  He should have taken me with him.  He made me feel worthless for…"  She shook her head.  "He deserves everything he gets."

"Are you sure, Hannah?  Eight years is a long time to pay a price, especially if he didn't do anything to you."

"Oh, he did.  He
humiliated
me."  She stopped, her eyes going wide as though she'd said something she hadn't meant to.  Lily knew she'd been just a few words away from confessing.

"If he didn't hurt you, you need to clear his name."

"He
did
hurt me."  She put a shaking hand over her mouth.

Lily raised a brow in question.

Hannah exhaled, her expression growing cold, less animated, and Lily knew she wasn't going to divulge any further information.  "Doesn't matter now.  I'm finished with this place, with Luke, with the whole fucking town.  Consider our friendship over."  Her mouth quivered.  "You need to leave."

That was it then.  Maybe things between them
had
gone too far down the dark alley of despair to ever find their way back.  A spear of regret sliced through her.  The price of sleeping with Luke would be her friendship with Hannah.  Deep down, she'd known it, and there was no going back now.  "You're right.  I am sorry this has hurt us.  It shouldn't take me long to pack."

Despite her painful wrist and ankle, Lily had everything in boxes or suitcases by the time early evening rolled around.  Although her car was packed, it didn't seem like much—most of her possessions were in the storage unit in Salt Lake.  For all Lily new, that unit might be her home until she could secure a job.  At least she'd earned a little money and would have food to eat.

Hannah had left shortly after Lily had started packing, which was probably for the best.  The less contact they had at this point, the better.  Some things could not be repaired.

Lily stacked her last box in her little Honda and shut the back door, glancing at the cute house that had been her home for such a short period of time.  Maybe this town did mess with people's heads.  It seemed to tease everyone with what they wanted but couldn't have.

It had driven Hannah to insanity, had made Luke think he could move beyond his reputation, and it made Lily crave a slower pace in life, a life that might have been shared with a warm-hearted, sexy cowboy. 

Hannah's mom had been kind enough to give her Luke's father's phone number.  Lily could only hope his father would give Luke the message she'd left for him and that Luke would try to contact her.  It was the best she could do, but his dad hadn't given her much hope.  He'd said Luke had left town and didn't know when he'd be back.

Maybe he just needed time.

Lily climbed into her car and started the engine.  Although it was getting late, Betty had agreed to meet her in town in just a few minutes to give up her key to the office.  Her boss hadn't been happy she was leaving, but what choice did Lily have?  This wasn't her town.  She couldn't stay, especially not after what had happened with her and Luke, and with Hannah.  Her small-town fairytale was at an end.

Betty stood in the parking lot outside her office, frowning as Lily approached.  When she was within arm's reach, she pulled her into a big bear hug.  "You poor thing." 

Lily wanted to cry, but restrained.  She couldn't dump her tears and fears on the woman who'd been so kind to her.  "I'm sorry.  I've really enjoyed working for you, and I hope I’m not leaving you in the lurch."

"Shh…"  Betty shook her head, her expression full of concern.  "Don't even start worrying about me."

"I really wanted to get that marketing plan launched for you.  I know it's going to be fabulous."

"It will.  I'm sure it'll do amazing things for my business."  Betty nodded, tears welling in her eyes.  "Are you sure you don't want to stay at my house?"

"I can't."  Lily could no longer keep her own tears at bay.  She'd fallen madly in love with this little town, and she was going to miss it desperately.  "Promise you'll call and let me know how it goes?"

"Of course, I will."  Betty grabbed her hands.  "This is such a terrible tragedy.  All these years I truly believed Luke was a good guy and that Hannah had lied, but look at you."  She shook her head.  "You should reconsider pressing charges.  I hate to see anything bad happen to him, but a person needs to pay for his crimes."

Lily's brain spun, trying to make sense of Betty's words.  "What?"  She took a step back, dropping Betty's hands.  "Why would I want to press charges against Luke?"

Pity reflected in the older woman's eyes.  She gently touched Lily's cheek.  "Oh, honey.  I know women like to protect the men they love, but this just ain't right."

"No," Lily gritted out through clenched teeth.  "No.  Luke did
not
do this to me.  Who told you that?"  She didn't need an answer though.  Hannah had done it.  Hannah with her vicious lies.

"Everyone in town is talking about it.  His parents are mortified.  He's apparently left Aspen to avoid prosecution."

Lily blew out a heated breath.  "This is
so
messed up."  The temperature of her blood increased with each beat.  "Look at me, Betty."  She waited until Betty's gaze was solidly fixed on her.  "Luke did not hit me."

Betty shook her head as though to disagree.

"This is another of Hannah's lies.  Luke didn't hit me.  I slipped and tumbled down some stairs.  I had a blanket and it got caught beneath my feet and tripped me."  She circled in the air near her cheek.  "This is one-hundred percent me, okay?"

Betty nodded, and Lily started to believe she might be getting through to the woman.  "Hannah did not like me seeing Luke, and she made up this lie after she saw my bruise this morning at our house.  Luke left because he lost faith in me, in his town."  Her voice grew more emotional with each word.  "He left because of what
I
did, not the other way around."

"Okay, honey."  She wiped a tear from Lily's cheek.  "I believe you."

Lily hadn't even realized she was still crying.  She swiped the rest of the tears away.  Hannah was not going to get away with this again.  "I have to stop her, Betty.  This will kill Luke.  He's such a good person, and no matter how things are between us, he doesn't deserve this."

Betty shifted her stance, glancing down the street.  "Hannah's truck is still at Sparrows."

"She's here?"  Lily followed Betty's gaze, and sure enough, Hannah's blue truck was parked on the corner near the bar. 

"Lord help her," Betty said, as Lily marched down the street, scarlet anger coloring her world.

Lily pushed through the front door of the bar like an old west cowboy might in search of a showdown. 

It looked like the bar had sprung for a live band that weekend, but they played the same eighties music.  Lily recognized a few people from the first night she'd gone there.  From her perspective, it contained a fair amount of Aspen citizens, which was exactly what she wanted.

Hannah sat at the bar, a shot glass and a full beer mug in front of her, flanked by Scott and Milo. 

Lily walked up to her and shoved her shoulder.  "You bitch."  She yelled loud enough to be heard over the music.  Her reputation would never recover from this, she was sure, but what did she care?  She wouldn't be there for long.  "Just who the hell do you think you are messing with people's lives like this?"

Hannah turned, shock darkening her features.  She wobbled on her stool and then placed a hand on the bar to steady herself.  It was obvious she was well on her way to drunk, if she hadn't passed it already.  "Don't you call me a bitch, you whore."

The band stopped playing, apparently more interested in what was happening near the bar than they were in their music.

"Whoa, ladies."  Milo held up a hand.  "Calm the language."

Lily pointed a finger at Hannah.  "She's a liar.  The worst kind of liar."

Scott and Milo both raised brows.  Hannah glared at her.

"She's ruining people's lives, spreading lies and deceit.  Enough is enough."

Hannah lunged for her, knocking the wind out of her as they crashed to the sawdust-covered floor.

*        *        *

Luke hit the city limits of Aspen and slowed his truck.  It almost killed him to reduce his speed.  He needed to talk to Lily.  

He'd spent a good part of the day in the south end of the county talking to Wayne before the reality of his situation had smacked him upside the head.  For years, he'd tried to rebuild his life after everyone had listened to the lies and judged him guilty.  The problem was, he
was
slightly guilty.  He had liked Hannah, just not as much as she'd liked him.  But he hadn't told her right away.  He'd enjoyed having the cute little sophomore chase after him.  He'd known she'd wanted to take things to the next level, but he was ready to head off to college and wasn't interested in anything serious.  What he hadn't known was that she'd be so vindictive when he refused to sleep with her or take her with him. 

He left for college, and by the time he returned on break, her lies had spread like a wildfire.  But he hadn't wanted to call her a liar, hadn't wanted to hurt her any worse, so he'd let it go, thinking the drama would fade. 

It hadn't, and people had judged him when they didn't know all the facts.

He was now guilty of doing the same to Lily.  She'd tried to talk to him, to explain, but he hadn't listened.

Time and a little distance from town had improved his perception.  He'd never be able to forgive her or forget her if he didn't give her a chance to explain.  What she said to him may or may not change things, but he had to give her what the townspeople had never given him.

He cruised past Sparrows, and then the little shopping area, noticing Betty standing near the sidewalk with three other women.  He nodded as he passed them.  All four of them widened their eyes at him, but none returned the nod.  Strange.

A sharp whistle pierced the evening air, and Luke glanced in his rearview mirror to see Betty standing in the middle of the road motioning for him to come back.

What the hell?

He turned his truck around and pulled to the side of the road. 

A flushed-looking Betty popped her head in his lowered window.  "You need to get to Sparrows, now."

"What's going on?"

"It's Lily and Hannah, and Lily's out for blood."

"Shit."  He left his truck parked where it was and sprinted down the street.

*        *        *

Lily tried to catch her breath and keep Hannah from tearing out her hair at the same time.  Whistles and shouts came from the crowd, and she really wanted to punch out all of them.  This wasn't a display for their entertainment.

She and Hannah rolled a few times, but luckily for Lily, Hannah was pretty drunk, and it only took Lily a few quick moves to pin her to the floor.  Lily sat on her stomach, holding Hannah's hands tight to her chest, ignoring the throb in her wrist.  Hannah squirmed, but she couldn't throw her. 

Lily glanced at the crowd around them.  Scott's brows had climbed closer to his hairline in surprise, while Milo watched with an amused expression.  Sierra's mouth stood slack.

"Hey, keeper of the peace, shouldn't you do something?"  Scott nudged his buddy.

"Let's see how this plays out.  I won't let anyone get hurt."  Milo nodded at Lily as though he approved.

Good, 'cause she had something to say.

"See this bruise on my cheek?"  She waited until she'd received several acknowledgements before she continued.  "I'm sure most of you are calling Luke Winchester a son of a bitch for doing this to me.  Well, I'm here to tell you he didn't.  He's not like that, and I think most, if not all of you in town would agree that he's a good man if you stop to think about it."  A few nodded.

"Hannah made up that lie to hurt him and me." 

Hannah made a big push that almost unseated Lily, but she quickly regained her dominance.  "Tell them Hannah.  Tell them how you lied."

"Bitch," she yelled at her.

"While you're at it, tell them how you also lied about Luke all those years ago."

Hannah narrowed her eyes, shooting a steady stream of visual daggers.

"I know you did."  Lily shook Hannah.  "Tell them.  He deserves to be free from your lies.  Everyone knows you lied about the bruise on my face.  They're not going to believe anything you say any longer, so you might as well tell them."

"Never," Hannah shrieked and tried to buck her off.

"Lily."  A deep voice called to her from behind, and she shifted her gaze to find the crowd parting. 

Luke emerged.

Her heart flopped with a sickening thud.  How much had he seen?  How much had he heard?  She froze, not sure how to react.

"Let her go," he said in a calm voice. 

"No."  She shook her head, frustration forcing her emotions to the surface.  "She needs to fix this."

Luke held out a hand to her.  "It doesn't matter anymore.  She doesn't matter.  As long as you believe in me, that's all I need."

Hannah shoved again, and this time Lily grasped Luke's hand, setting Hannah free.  Hannah made a swipe at Lily's legs, but Milo caught her, hauling her to her feet.

"Come on, Hannah.  Show's over.  Let me give you a ride home."

Hannah struggled for a minute, and then crumbled in Milo's arms, crying.  He led her out the back door as the volume of the crowd's whispers increased. 

Luke wrapped an arm around Lily.  "Let's get out of here."

Lily nodded, grateful to have him to lean on.  The rush of adrenaline that had spiked during her brawl with Hannah evaporated, leaving her drained.  Betty, who had found her way into the bar, grabbed Lily's hand as they passed, giving it a squeeze.  Lily smiled.  At least she had one friend in this town.

Darkness dominated the sky by the time they emerged.  Quiet replaced the noisy atmosphere, and it was a relief to be away from everyone.

"I didn't mean for that to happen."

"It's okay."  Luke took her hand and led her up the sidewalk toward her car.  His truck was parked in a haphazard fashion alongside the road next to the parking lot.

"I wanted to confront her, but I didn't expect her to go after me like that."

Luke laughed then.  "Hannah's been known for her temper, but it looked to me like you were holding your own."

Lily half laughed-half sighed.  "I guess I was."  She looked up at him, her heart full of emotion.  "I didn't know I had it in me."