Sweet Liar (Candy #2)(54)

When I stop moving, Jonah walks toward me, slowly at first but then faster, his long legs eating up the distance.

“Candy,” he says in a low, gravelly voice that resonates through me, touching each part of me, wrapping itself around my skin.

Entranced, I’m rooted to the spot, my pulse thrumming faster the closer he gets. Once he’s in front of me, so close I can smell his clean scent, he stops. Hesitantly, he reaches out a hand and pushes a lock of hair behind my ear.

“I’m sorry,” he says softly. “I’m so sorry for everything.” His warm hands cradle my cheeks as his eyes seek a connection with mine. “Can you ever trust me again?”

My heart thunders, and my rising anger tightens like a band around my chest. “I want to, but I can’t,” I whisper.

I expect him to lash out, but instead a gentle smile curves his lips. “What if I could make it right?”

“How?”

“If I could bring your father back? Then would you forgive me?”

I stare at him, wondering if he means it. His gaze is steady and clear. “Yes,” I reply.

The next moment his lips are on mine. They’re hesitant but insistent, and when I kiss him back, his arms come around me, pulling me close. I press against him, wanting to get closer, realizing how much I need him. Just as I wrap my arms around his neck, his hands find my waist and nudge me back so he can look into my eyes again.

“Then tell me where it is.”

Confused, I ask, “Where what is?”

“The safe,” he says softly. “Tell me where it is. Then I can bring your father home.”

“W-what?”

“Tell me where it is, and everything will be okay.”

I pull my hands from his neck and shove against his shoulders. “How do you know about the safe?”

“You told me.”

“No, I didn’t.”

Jonah’s grip on my waist tightens, and his fingers dig into my skin. Hot tears spill down my cheeks as I try to free myself from his punishing grip. His eyes darken until they’re almost black.

“Tell me,” he demands, but he’s no longer Jonah.

He’s Victor.





Jerking awake, I sucked in a sharp breath as I pulled at the sheets that were tangled around my legs. A sheen of sweat coated my skin. My bedroom was dark, shadows stretching across the wall from the streetlights shining in through my curtains. Pumpkin blinked at me from the foot of my bed.

Rubbing the heels of my hands against my eyes, I tried to erase the dream. The safe. I hadn’t told Jonah about it or the files inside. I wanted to, but I hadn’t because I was afraid he’d tell Victor, and apparently so was my subconscious.

Jonah might have felt relief when he left earlier tonight, but I didn’t. It wasn’t going to be this easy. No matter what Jonah told his father, Victor wouldn’t leave me alone. It might have been pessimistic of me to believe that, but I’d learned long ago that looking on the bright side was nothing more than fooling myself.

Uneasy, I got out of bed and checked the alarm panel by the front door. It was still armed. I had chairs wedged against the front and back doors, and double-checked that all the windows were locked. None of this would stop Victor if he wanted to come in. But maybe these obstacles would hinder him and buy me time to run again.

Knowing I’d never get back to sleep, I made myself some coffee and sat in the kitchen. The house was quiet and dark, but I heard the past echoing inside our little yellow kitchen. If a place could retain an essence of life, this room did. It carried the happiness my mother brought to it. She was the light that brightened us all, and after all this time, I still felt like I was in the dark searching for the light I’d lost. I’d caught glimpses of it since, but it never stayed for long.

I missed my mother still. So much. I never figured my father would find someone else, but somehow he had. He trusted Lorraine, and he intended for me to meet her and know her. My father was getting a second chance, and then it was all taken away. He’d lost my mother, and now he was losing everything else. He was in the dark too.

Even though it was far too early in the morning to call anyone, I picked up my phone and dialed Lorraine.

“What would my father do?” I asked after assuring her that everything was fine and apologizing for calling so early. It was a question that both haunted and guided me. I thought if I kept asking it, I’d hit upon the right solution, and if Lorraine knew my father well, maybe she’d have some insight.

“He’d want you to finish school and be happy, Candy.” Her soft voice sounded sad.

“I know. But what would he do if I were in the situation he’s in? He wouldn’t get on with things and be happy. Would he?”

She didn’t reply, but I could hear her shallow breathing.

The answer was obvious, but impossible, at least for me. “He’d do something about Victor.”

“Probably,” Lorraine replied hesitantly.

“Do you think he’d kill him?”

I could hear her breath hitch, but again she said nothing, and I took her silence as a yes, or maybe another probably.

“Not really a practical option for me,” I said offhandedly, wondering how she’d react as I traced my finger along the table. It was the same finger that had recently pulled the trigger of a gun.