Set Me Free (A Fugitive #2)(50)

I nodded at Elliot, whispering my thanks before finally taking a sip of coffee. The warm liquid simmered through my insides, settling the jitters mounting within me.

Zach gave me a wink and leaned back in his chair, his gaze still a little hungry. I matched his expression, my eyes felt like they were on fire.

"Okay, would you guys stop. You're grossing me out. You're as bad as AJ and Liesl." Elliot glared at Zach. "If I'd known we were going to be interrupting a love-fest, I wouldn't have come." He threw his glare to Jaeda who just laughed at him.

My cheeks were on fire as I watched the exchange. I dipped my head and focussed on the black liquid in my cup.

"We tried to call you guys, but I can see you were pretty busy." Jaeda wiggled her eyebrows. "The reason we came over was to one...check you were okay and two...ask if you went to a party last night."

I caught Zach's gaze and gave him a stiff nod.

It was time.

"Yeah, we went," Zach said.

"How'd it go?" Elliot shifted in his seat, leaning into the table with an eagerness that surprised me. "Did you find a safe? What'd you manage to get?"

"We didn't find a safe, but we found a locked box." Zach glanced at me. "Things didn't go exactly how we planned and we had to kind of scramble in the end so we don't know exactly what we have yet." Reaching forward, Zach touched the bag in the center of the table. "But I think it's time to find out."





Chapter 27





ZACH





Zach kept a careful eye on Lucy as he reached for the bag. Her eyes were glassy as he pulled the bag towards him. Stretching out his leg, he ran his foot up her calf. She flinched and then gave him an apprehensive smile.

Opening the bag, he took things out, one by one, laying them on the table.

"Do you think your uncle should be here for this?" Elliot tapped the table.

"Good point." Zach finished lining everything up and reached for his phone, sending a quick text. Before he'd even sat back down at the table, Alex had responded.

With a chuckle, Zach shook his head. " Let's get started. He's only ten minutes away. "

Lucy's eyes rounded and Zach wondered if she was imagining him arriving earlier and finding them in bed together. He squashed his smile and focused back on the pile of things in front of him.

None of them wanted to move or touch any of it. They were all subtly watching Lucy, waiting for her to make the first move. Finally she reached for her father's laptop, running her finger over the yellow smiley face sticker with a sad smile.

"Elliot do you think you can have a look at this? It was my dad's," she said softly.

"Sure." His reply was gentle, as was his smile. Zach could see she was holding her breath as Elliot lifted the lid and turned the machine on.

Nothing happened, making Zach's chest deflate, but Elliot was soon scrambling for a power cord and a few minutes later the computer clicked and whirred, taking its time to start up. Zach reached for the file he'd started going through the night before. Now that he had decent light, he could easily read the documents and basically had no idea what they really meant. They were bank statements, but they all looked legitimate, so why were they hidden away? Tenner had investments in various local businesses in the San Francisco Bay Area. He donated heavily to a charity Zach had never heard of and he also had a trust fund set up for Billy. Zach frowned as he scanned the documents, trying to find patterns or inconsistencies. Maybe Uncle Alex would have a better idea.

Elliot had started clicking away at the laptop.

"Any idea what his password might be?"

"Um...." Lucy shook her head. "Try, Edith or Edith71 or Edith92, maybe."

"Birth year and wedding year?" Jaeda asked as she reached for a small bag on the table.

"Yeah." Lucy cleared her throat, watching Jaeda carefully as she unsnapped the bag and let the emerald necklace fall into her hand.

"This is so beautiful." Jaeda held up the gold chain, admiring the large emerald with a smile.

Lucy opened her mouth to reply, but was interrupted by Elliot. "Nope, none of those."

"Um..."

"How about a pet name? Did you guys have a cat or anything?"

"No." She shook her head.

"Did he have a nickname for your mom or you?"

Scratching her eyebrow, Lucy closed her eyes, looking pale. "He used to call me Lulu."

Zach rubbed her ankle with his foot again, knowing how hard this must be for her.

"When were you born?"

"February '96."

Elliot's lips bunched as he tried out a few combinations. Zach kept his gaze on Lucy, wondering if she could handle this.

"Bingo."

Her head popped up, her eyes wide as she looked at Elliot. "Lulu was his password?"

"Lulu, exclamation point, 9602."

Her lips quivered with a smile as tears built in her eyes. They didn't have time to fall though, because the doorbell rang, making them all jerk.

It was a testament to how on edge they were all feeling. Zach let out a nervous chuckle as he rose from his seat and opened the door for Uncle Alex.

"So did you get anything good?" He whipped off his shades as he walked into the room, giving a cursory wave to each person at the table.