I Know Lucy (A Fugitive #1)(19)

“So, where does she live?” Elliot flicked my shoulder, adding to my mounting doubts.

“Not sure.” I shrugged.

“You’re not sure and you’re letting her walk home?” Jaeda looked horrified. “What kind of suck date are you?”

“It’s wasn’t a date. I was just being nice and I wanted you guys to meet her. She doesn’t have any friends yet. Besides, she doesn’t want a ride home. I’ve already tried.”

“I wonder why.” Elliot’s eyes were on the door where Dani had retreated and I didn’t want to add to his growing suspicions.

I slapped his chest with the back of my hand. “Come on, man. Maybe she’s private about her house or something. It’s not a big deal.”

I said the words, but I didn’t mean them. Her lies, at least I think they were lies, only confirmed it. Danielle Harrison was a girl with secrets and I desperately wanted to know what they were.

“Well, I like her.” Liesl tucked a strand of dark hair behind her ear.

“Liesl, you like everyone,” Elliot muttered.

She shrugged with a giggle and Elliot rolled his eyes.

I could tell he was unsettled about me liking…I mean being intrigued by Dani. He liked to protect our little group, was always the first there when anything bad happened. He could tell there was something up with Dani and although I was all about the intrigue, Elliot was all about the suspicion. I didn’t want it to be that way. I wanted to prove him wrong about the blue-eyed, mystery girl.

I wanted her to be a freaking saint.

I wanted whatever secrets she had to be harmless things that were all to do with her own need for privacy. Unfortunately I couldn’t shake the feeling that they weren’t.

Dani’s secrets were so much more than the little anecdotes girls wrote in their diaries.





Chapter 10





LUCY


July 2010





Lucy bumped into the man in front of her. He was tall and lanky, wearing a pale brown shirt and baggy jeans.

“I’m so sorry.” She squeezed his shoulder and he grinned at her.

“Not a problem, young lady.”

With a nod, she squeezed his shoulder one last time before turning in the opposite direction and quietly sliding his wallet into her jacket pocket.

She’d been at the fair ground for an hour now and this was her third score for the evening. She’d managed to snatch a purse, a bracelet and this wallet. Making her way past the row of shoot ‘em games, she passed a group of girls giggling together as their friend tried to knock over a stack of bottles with a ball. She was a pretty bad shot and her friends were having fun teasing her. She was taking it all with a good-natured smile.

Lucy’s heart squeezed as she watched them. That should be her. They looked to be about fourteen. She should be the one laughing with her friends, not pilfering pockets so she could pay for her next meal. She should be out for a carefree weekend, not ducking in and out of shadows.

A uniform flashed past her periphery vision and she flinched. Two policemen eased their way through the crowd, their eyes scanning for trouble as they quietly monitored the action. Pulling her hoodie up, she turned in the opposite direction and weaved through the pressing crowd, aiming for the end of the row.

Breaking out of the human traffic, she shot a glance over her shoulder, her heart hammering like it did whenever she spotted law enforcement. Slinking into the shadows around the corner, she leaned against the back of the fortune teller’s booth trying to convince herself that she was safe, that the police officers hadn’t seen her and even if they had, they wouldn’t automatically think pickpocket or even worse, parent killer.

Marlin had told her to wait here when she was done. She hoped she’d got the right spot, because she was definitely finished for the night. The dark solitude of the nearby forest was beckoning her, promising safety. As usual, her partner in crime had been slightly vague as they entered the fair ground that night. She’d also been a little caught up soaking in all the lights at first. The ferris wheel looked amazing and she really wanted a ride, but Marlin had told her they were there to work.

“You want to eat tomorrow night? We gotta do this.”

She’d given her standard reluctant nod and headed off in the opposite direction. It had been 17 months since Marlin fished her out of the river and kept her warm that night. The next morning he’d given her a bruised banana and half an apple, asking her if she’d like to stick with him for a while. Her plan had been to stay for a few days and then ditch him in the night. But each night she couldn’t do it. Marlin kept her safe. He fed her, talked to her, during the warmer months he’d even forced her back in the water, teaching her how to swim properly. By the end of their first summer, he’d become the older brother she’d always wanted.

They’d made it through four seasons together. They survived the heat, the cold, the wind, the rain. They’d eaten out of garbage cans, slept some nights under the stars and other nights under bridges or huddled against cold, stone walls in back alleys. They’d walked for miles, heading from one small town to another. Marlin had respected her wish never to hitch a ride. She was still too scared someone would recognize her. Sure, the news of her parents’ deaths had faded, but she still didn’t want to take any chances.