I Know Lucy (A Fugitive #1)(70)
“Maybe we can find some other dirt on him.”
“I don’t want you getting hurt.”
He grinned. “I know how to be careful. I’ve brought down some pretty big fish in my time.”
“Yeah, I know.” I pushed my tongue against the side of my mouth and looked out the window.
“Look.” Uncle Alex eventually sighed, resting his elbows on the table. “I know you’re hurting right now. This is why I don’t fall in love. But, I can’t just let this rest. Some crooked cop is out there and he might be hurting more than just your girl. I can’t sit on that.”
My jaw clenched. I couldn’t look at him as I nodded. “I don’t have time to make it my main story right now. I have a couple of tight deadlines I have to meet, but once they’re over, I want to be all over this. You understand?”
“Yep.”
It did make me feel better, knowing that at least someone would be doing something, but it didn’t change that fact that the person I wanted to protect had fled in order to protect me and that just felt wrong.
Chapter 34
ZACH
May 2014
“Hey.”
I held tight to the door, my lips slightly ajar as I took in my friend. His hands were in his pockets, his checkered shirt rolled at the sleeves like always.
“What are you doing here, Elliot?”
He kicked the doorstep. “Gimme a break. I’m here, aren’t I?”
“Why?” I stood my ground, still not letting him in.
“Because you’re my friend, you moron and I miss your dumb face.”
A smile erupted over my lips before I could stop it and I pulled the door wide.
He sauntered towards the kitchen. “Where are your olds?”
“Out getting stuff for their big trip.”
“Cool.”
I pushed past Elliot and gathered up the stuff on the dining room table, shoving it into the manilla folder so he couldn’t read it. He leaned against one of the chairs with a sigh.
“You know, dude, I’m willing to concede that I was a little harsh on the Dani thing.” His lips pinched tight. “I could see how much you liked her and it was obvious she was into you too. Maybe I was jealous, I don’t know, but…” He pointed at the messy pile of papers in my hand. “You have to concede that you’re keeping stuff from me and you’ve never done that before.”
The hurt look in his eye made me drop the pages back on the table. “I know.”
“Still not ready to tell me?”
“What if I never am?” I crossed my arms and looked at him.
His big nose scrunched, his frown pulling tight for a second, but then he relaxed with a shrug. “I guess I’ll just have to get over it…as long as my friend isn’t suffering, I don’t need to know.”
My arms dropped to my sides, matching the defeated look I could feel etched onto my face. “I don’t just miss her, I’m really worried about her.”
“Why?”
Pulling in a breath, I slid the folder towards him.
*****
“Holy shit,” Elliot whispered twenty minutes later. His eyes were locked on the details of the article and then he dropped it on top of the rest. “You think she’s one of these girls?”
I nodded, flicking the pages with my thumb. “I don’t know which one, but what the articles don’t say is that the murderer was a crooked cop.”
“How do you know?”
“She told me.” I swallowed. “That weekend I went to San Fran to hang out with Uncle Al. I found out that she’d been assuming all these different identities. I called her on it and she spilled the truth.”
“Are you sure? It wasn’t just an act?”
I shook my head, adamant. “It was the truth, man. I know she told me the truth that day…and I promised her I wouldn’t say anything.” I wrapped my knuckles on the table. “But me being Mr. Fixit couldn’t keep my mouth shut and I asked my uncle if he could look into it for me.”
“Dude, this is heavy stuff.” Elliot pointed at it.
“I know.”
“So she ran because you blabbed?”
I leaned forward and rested my elbows on my knees. “You know what, I actually think she ran to keep us safe.”
Elliot looked skeptical.
“I know you didn’t trust her. I know she lied to us, but she was scared. She still thinks that cop is out to get her and she took off because she didn’t want us in the cross fire.”
Pursing his lips, Elliot picked up Lucy Tate’s notes. “Are you sure she’s not just a killer who wanted to flee before she got caught?” He swung the pages between his thumb and forefinger.
I snatched it out of his hand and dumped it on the table. “She’s not Lucy. I refuse to believe she killed her own parents.”
“Maybe they were bad people. Maybe they deserved it.”
“She’s not a killer, Elliot!” I whacked the table.
“Okay, okay.” He raised his hands in surrender and then gave me that sympathetic look. The one he saved up for when he knew I was really hurting. “Whatever or whoever she is, it doesn’t change the fact she’s gone. You have to get over it, man.”