Lies I Told(17)

“They’re the only parents I’ve ever had.” I hesitated, trying to find the words to make him understand. “I love them. They make me feel safe.”

His laugh was brief and bitter. “You could go to jail, Grace. I wouldn’t call that safe.”

I stared out over the Pacific, glinting like an endless sapphire, the past flashing through my mind. There had been a few nice families. And then there’d been the ones who weren’t bad but whose apathy showed in their eyes, in the way they looked past me, as if I’d already moved on when I was still right in front of them. I’d been able to live with that. What I hadn’t been able to live with were the other ones. The ones with cold beds and messy sheets, strong fingers wrapped too tightly around my arms, the slap of a palm against my face.

I turned away from the rest of the memories. Turned toward Parker, like a flower seeking the sun.

“No one’s hurting me anymore,” I finally whispered. “And I don’t want to be alone again.”


“You wouldn’t be alone. We’d stick together,” Parker promised. “And you wouldn’t have to pimp yourself out for the f*cking con.”

I smiled sadly. “You love the con.”

He shook his head. “Not like this. Not anymore.”

I watched the sun in the distance, almost kissing the water. It would be dark soon.

“We have to take the good with the bad, Parker. It’s part of the deal.”

“Well, I’m ready to deal myself out,” he said angrily. “But I won’t do it without you.”

I had to swallow around a sudden dread. Around the feeling that Playa Hermosa was the place where all our markers would come due.

The one place we might not escape intact.

We both jumped as someone banged against the driver’s side window.

“Dude! What are you doing?” It was the blond kid who hung out with Logan. “Let’s go.”

“Yeah, man, I’m coming.” Parker looked back at me. “Think about it.”

I forced my mind back to the job as we got out of the car.

Parker introduced me to the guys as we headed for the path leading to the beach. Liam was the platinum blond, the one who’d banged on the car. There was David, the tall one with exotic eyes and straight black hair, and Raj, small and dark.

Logan wasn’t with them.

“Did your brother tell you he got spin-cycled today?” Liam asked as we descended to the beach.

I laughed. “Not exactly.”

“Oh, man . . . it was crazy!” Raj said. “I was surprised he still had all his skin when he came up off the bottom.”

Parker grinned. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I was totally cool.”

David patted him on the back. “Happens to all of us in the beginning, dude.”

Parker smiled good-naturedly, but I saw the tension in the taut set of his shoulders, the flinty look in his eye that said he was still thinking about our conversation in the car. Still thinking about our escape.

I made small talk with the guys as we continued down the hill, switching back a couple of times and winding our way around the cliff face until we finally emerged onto a protected beach. Behind us, black cliffs seemed to touch the sky. The wall of rock descended to a stretch of silky sand leading to the water, the sun just a sliver above the horizon. I froze, momentarily stunned by the view.

“Pretty awesome, right?” Parker asked, looking down at me.

I nodded. “Pretty awesome.”

“Let’s go,” he said.

I cataloged the scene as we headed across the sand. A bonfire was already raging midway up the beach, coolers and blankets and folding chairs spread out around it. Four guys played Frisbee while a few hard-core surfers stood near the waterline, peeling off their wet suits after eking every last wave out of the daylight. Music blared from a portable sound dock, and people stood around holding bottles of beer or plastic cups while they talked and laughed. I stood there, taking it all in, as the guys headed for one of the coolers. A second later something smacked against my calf, and I looked down to find a volleyball at my feet. I bent to pick it up. When I straightened with it in my hands, I was surprised to find Olivia standing in front of me. Her dark hair was pulled back into a ponytail and she was dressed in Bermuda shorts and a red bathing-suit top, an ensemble that somehow made her look taller than she already was.

“Sorry about that,” she said.

I handed her the ball with a smile. “No problem.”

“Thanks.” She regarded me with open curiosity before heading toward a group of girls standing around a volleyball net. When she was a few feet away, she looked back. “Want to play?”

“What, volleyball?”

She laughed. “Yeah. We’re one short right now.”

I looked down at my clothes. “I’m wearing jeans . . .”

“It’s fine,” Olivia said. “We’re just passing the time.”

I had to fight the irrational impulse to confess that, other than in an occasional gym class, I’d never played volleyball a day in my life. I scolded myself inwardly. I was acting like a novice. I didn’t know these people. They were nothing to me. Nothing but a bunch of spoiled rich kids whose lives wouldn’t change a single bit because of our con. Besides, I hadn’t spotted Rachel in the group of girls at the net, which made it a perfect opportunity to get to know Olivia. Harper was there, too, staring at us from across the sand.