Set Me Free (A Fugitive #2)(47)

He raised his hand in farewell as I snuck out the door, checking both ways to make sure no one was watching. Knowing people would have seen us go upstairs, I made sure I swanned my way back down, shooting bashful, flirty looks at Billy's friends as I left.

They were all awestruck, their gaze flicking up the stairs as they waited for their friend to appear. He would no doubt regale them with some bullshit story about what he got up to, but how could he? Surely he'd figure out the lie. All I'd done was unzip his fly. It's not like his pants had ended up around his ankles. Surely he'd figure out he hadn't actually done it. I never had and I was pretty sure my body would feel it afterwards.

My step faltered as I glimpsed some movement up the stairs. What if he'd already worked it out? My heart scampered through my body, making a beeline for my feet.

Clutching the wall, I squeezed past a group of revelers and lurched for the door. Stumbling down the driveway, the full force of what I'd just done caught up to me in a torrent. My body acted before my mind could stop me. Whipping off my shoes, my feet hit the pavement and I made a run for it, sprinting into the night at break neck speed.





Chapter 25





ZACH





Zach spotted Lucy sprinting towards him. She looked petrified, which put him on high alert. Was she being chased? He looked over her shoulder, but couldn't spot any shadows or hear any yelling.

Stepping into her path, he stopped her frantic run. She crashed into him, gasping for air.

"It's me. It's just me." Zach's smooth tone extinguished her scream. She swallowed it down as he grabbed her arms to stop her from falling and pulled her against him. "It's over."

Her head bobbed against his chest as a near hysterical laugh burst from her lips.

"It's over," he whispered again, running a soothing hand down her back.

He wasn't exactly right. It wasn't really over, but at least tonight was. They had something from the case. Something that would hopefully be a lead. It was a step in the right direction and if it wasn't for the fact that his girlfriend had been making out with a murderer's son, he'd probably be feeling really triumphant.

"Come on, let's go." Zach opened the passenger door, wanting to tuck her safely away for the night.

He'd hidden the bag of potential gold behind the driver's seat. He'd felt pretty conspicuous sneaking out of the office with it bunched in his hand and he hadn't been able to find a back exit that wouldn't have him jumping a story to the ground. In the end, he'd rushed down the stairs, looking pissed off, hoping it would draw attention away from the bag in his hand. People had seemed to assume that his girlfriend had gone off with Billy and that's why he was leaving in a huff. No one chased him and he made it to the car without any hassle.

Pulling away from the curb, Zach drove east towards Danville, gripping the steering wheel and trying not to think about how wrong tonight could have gone. Billy was not supposed to wake until after they'd left. He wanted to ask Lucy how she made it out of there, but her pale complexion kept his lips tightly sealed.

How far had she gone to sell her lies? How pretend had her play really been?

His knuckles turned white as he steered his way over the bridge and up the hill.

She suddenly let out a breathy laugh and shook her head. "I can't believe he bought into my lie about doing it."

"What'd you say to him?"

"I just pretended like I'd just had the best sex of my life, and he agreed with me. What kind moron doesn't question that? He just bought into my breathy giggles and...and..." She bent over in her seat, her breaths punching out in rapid succession. "That could have gone so wrong." She ran her fingers into her hair.

"But it didn't." He rubbed her back, a little surprised by her sudden reaction. Wasn't she used to conning people?

"I was in his house, Zach. I let his son kiss me and touch my body." She shivered. "Tenner's son. A part of him." Her shoulders quivered beneath his hand.

"It's over now. You never have to do that again." He kept his voice as steady and smooth as he could manage, trying to shunt aside the images of his girlfriend pawing another guy. He'd wanted to break Billy's neck when he put that gauze over his face. Feeling his body go slack and fall to the ground had been oh so satisfying. "Never again," he repeated.

"I know." She breathed in. "I know." She closed her eyes, sitting back and resting her head against the seat. "I just want to be home and go to bed and fall asleep in your arms. I just need to erase this night from my mind."

Zach grinned, pressing the accelerator and getting her there as fast as he could manage.





*****





The garage door whirred shut and Zach held the interior door open for Lucy. She eased past him, her shoes dangling from her fingers and clunking together. The bag was clutched in his hands, curiosity tugging at him as he placed it on the dining room table. He dumped his keys beside it and looked at her.

"You want to go through it now?"

Her gaze was frozen on the bag, her blue eyes looking a little wild. Finally she shook her head. "You know what, I don't. I don't want to know if we haven't pulled it off. I mean what if everything inside is worthless?