She Can Hide (She Can #4)(30)

“Where’s the cop?” Derek got to his feet. His gaze pinged around the room.

“He’s checking the house,” Abby said. What would Derek think of the GHB poisoning or her kidnapping? Should she tell him? As much as she hated to frighten him, she had to be straight with him. Being at her house could put him in danger. “The police think my accident wasn’t an accident.”

Derek’s eyes stopped roaming and snapped to meet hers. “Someone messed with your car.”

“Something like that.”

His eyes widened. “Seriously?”

“Seriously.” She didn’t provide the details. It was enough that he was informed about the risk. Maybe he should stay away from her for a while. But what about his mom’s latest? “You need to be careful.”

He gave her a no kidding shrug.

“Maybe you shouldn’t hang around here for a couple of days. I don’t know when or where it happened. It might not be safe here.”

“Safety isn’t a guarantee anywhere.” The look in his eyes was as weary as Abby felt.

The stamp of boots signaled Ethan’s return from the garage. He stopped short. “Hey, Derek.”

“Hey.” Derek didn’t bolt, but his sneakers pointed toward the door as if he wanted to run.

“I was checking to make sure Abby’s house was all clear.” Ethan unzipped his coat. He caught Abby’s gaze. “I didn’t find any sign of an attempted break-in.”

Which meant her Gatorade had probably been tampered with at school. Goose bumps swept across Abby’s exposed skin, and she was relieved that she wouldn’t have to go back to work this week. The thought that her house hadn’t been violated was comforting, though.

“Are you going to be home tonight?” Ethan asked Derek.

Derek sniffed. “Yeah. Probably.”

“Would you mind keeping a lookout?” Ethan took off his jacket and tossed it over the back of a chair. “There’ll be a cop here, but you know what’s normal and what’s not for the neighborhood. If you see anything suspicious, please call me.” He dug a business card out of his chest pocket and held it out.

Derek hesitated. Indecision stiffened his stance. He plucked the card from Ethan’s two fingers.

“I can do that,” the boy said, his back straightening.

Ethan nodded. “Thanks, man. I really appreciate it.”

“No problem.” Derek turned to Abby. “You still want me to take Zeus for his walk?”

“I’m sure he’d love that.” Abby smiled. “But be careful.”

“Always.” Derek snapped the leash onto Zeus’s collar, and the two headed out of the kitchen. Abby heard the front door open and close.

She turned to Ethan. “He’s usually shy. How did you charm him?”

“You think I’m charming?” A wicked glint shone in Ethan’s eyes.

Yes. “I didn’t say that.” Abby blushed. “I was talking about Derek.”

“I know. I’m sorry.” He gave her a sheepish grin. “I spotted him walking to school this morning and gave him a ride. No big deal.”

“He got into your police car?” Abby asked. Derek would walk to the coast before he willingly got into a cop car.

“No.” Ethan sighed. “I was driving my brothers’ car. It’s a MINI Cooper, probably the least intimidating vehicle on the face of the earth. It’s a bright red shoebox outfitted with a lawnmower engine.”

“Thank you. Derek needs more people he can trust.”

Ethan shifted his weight. “What’s his story?”

Abby went into evasive maneuvers. She couldn’t forget that Ethan was a cop. There were things he couldn’t know. Things that could make Derek vulnerable. “Single mom. She has to work a lot.” OK, well that wasn’t a total lie. When Krista was working, she did work a lot, mostly to make up her late bills from her bi-annual man and booze binge. “They’ve had some rough times.”

“Where’s his dad?”

“Neither Krista nor Derek has ever mentioned him.”

“He seems like a good kid. He was going to walk to school today. That’s a long haul in this cold. Most kids would’ve gone home and skipped it.”

“He’s very diligent about school.” Abby’s chest warmed. Her tutoring had helped, as if that one small bright spot in Derek’s life mitigated a small part of the horror that overshadowed hers.

On the stove, the kettle whistled. Abby reached for it. “Tea?”

“No, thanks.” Ethan leaned a hip against the counter. “What does Derek’s mom do?”

“She’s a waitress.” Time for a subject change. “If you didn’t find any sign that someone broke into the garage, how did my Gatorade get poisoned?”

“We’ll have to assume for now that the GHB was put into your drink while it sat in your car in the school parking lot.”

“That’s not much better.”

“No. It isn’t. It means whoever did it knew your routine. He planned for you to drink the Gatorade on your way to the park. He must have followed you.” Ethan stopped there, but his eyes said more.

Abby shuddered. Whoever had tried to kill her had been watching her long enough to predict her activity.