Set Me Free (A Fugitive #2)(8)

Pulling and pushing each other a few more times, they finally sat down at the table a scraggly, laughing mess and dove into their pancakes. AJ was in the middle of some story about a patron at the restaurant where he cooked. He always spoke with so much flair. Lucy was laughing, the sweetest sound in the world. Zach couldn't stop looking at her as he popped a blueberry into his mouth. Her straight little nose crinkled as she threw her head back and tapped the table. Everyone else was chuckling too, everyone except Jaeda.

She was so demure today and Zach knew why. When it came to her "family" she was like a lioness. You hurt my family, I rip your head off. She wanted to hurt Lucy big time and it made Zach wish he hadn't moped so much when she first split.

"So going to miss that guy when we leave for college." AJ shook his head then winked at Liesl.

"Where are you guys going?" Lucy's voice was soft. I knew the others probably wouldn't notice, but there was a yearning in her tone. She knew college was a pipe dream and it hurt Zach's heart to watch her.

"I got into Texas Culinary Academy and Liesl's going to the University of Texas in Austin."

"That's so cool you guys." Lucy grinned, obviously loving the fact they would still be close.

Liesl nodded, squeezing AJ's hand and giving him a kiss on his round cheek.

"How about you?" Jaeda's eyes bore into Lucy. "You heading to Arizona?"

Lucy's brows wrinkled. "Why would I do that?"

Zach's stomach hitched as Jaeda's eyebrow arched. "Well, didn't you know? That's where Zachy's going."

Lucy's soft lips parted as she turned to look at him, her blue eyes dancing with pleasure. "You got into the Journalism School?"

He nodded, trying to contain his grin. It had been the only thing to get him really excited since she left.

"That is so awesome. Congratulations."

Her unchecked pleasure at his success was testament to everyone at the table how she really felt about him. Liesl caught Zach's gaze and gave him a sweet smile. Lucy was instantly forgiven in her eyes. AJ was grinning too, but Jaeda was only slightly softened.

"So, where are you going?"

"I'm—" Lucy ran a hand through her clean hair, the thin blonde locks falling back into place easily. "I'm still waiting to hear."

"Well, good luck." Jaeda's sarcastic tone was a real buzz kill.

Zach pressed his lips together as he watched Lucy force a smile and mumble, "Thank you"

He knew Jaeda could be stubborn, but man, she was determined to make this difficult. Before she could fire anymore venom at his girlfriend, Zach stood from the table and started clearing plates.

"Well, time for you guys to push off," Zach said with a grin. "I want to catch up with my girl." He looked at Jaeda as he said the word. She shot him a pained look before pushing her chair back and collecting up her shopping.

Fifteen minutes later they had all cleared out. Zach waved to his friends from the door and quietly clicked it shut behind him. As awesome as it was to see Lucy, it was throwing some major angst into his summer break. Running a hand through his hair, he made his way back to the kitchen with a heavy sigh.

She was standing at the sink, rinsing off plates and stacking them into the dishwasher.

"You okay?" He slid his arms around her middle and kissed her neck.

"Yeah." She sounded sad.

Zach squeezed her middle. "Come on, I can do those. You need some sleep...in a normal bed."

Her tired smile was filled with relief. Taking her hand, Zach led her up the stairs towards the spare room. The bed was always made up and all he had to do was throw back the covers and lie her down. He wanted to hop in with her, pull her head onto his shoulder and listen to her breathe, but she didn't need that. She needed uninterrupted rest. It didn't matter that it was only mid-afternoon. She looked like she could sleep for the next week and still need more.

"I'll go get you a toothbrush and some PJs."

"Thanks." She turned to look at the bed as he strode out of the room. Less than five minutes later he returned with what she needed, but found her already asleep. She wasn't even under the covers.

Picking up her legs, he slid them beneath the sheets and pulled her body around so she was laying straight. She didn't even flinch. Tucking in the covers, he kissed her forehead, flicked off the light and snuck out of the room.

Dishes forgotten, he headed straight to his own room and pulled out the file he had on Lucy Tate. Flicking open the cover, he browsed the photos and news articles Uncle Alex had found. He'd already read them all before, but he decided to start afresh...again. Meticulously reading every word, he tried to piece together the crime again. There were big holes, details had been missed all over the place and it made him suspicious. Surely it had made others suspicious too. Lucy claimed her parents had been killed by a cop. He must have been a pretty powerful man and could no doubt fudge the evidence. Zach was pretty surprised that the FBI couldn't crack it though. Mr. Tate had been working for the FBI as an analyst and his boss, William Tenner, seemed pretty ferocious in the interviews about bringing down the Tate's killer.

Zach wondered who put the theory forward that Lucy was the killer. Was it just a shot in the dark because she'd disappeared and no one else had surfaced? The evidence for the crime was minimal. Man, he wished he could get his hands on the actual reports from five years ago. There was bound to be more in there than what the newspapers could give him.