Inseparable (12 page)

I poked my tongue out at her.

I stretched out my cramping leg, pain shooting through me everywhere. I opened my eyes, trying to ignore the pain of my brain pressing against my skull. Falling asleep on the couch was not one of my finest ideas.

“Dane,” I gasped, sitting up in shock. He sat opposite me, frowning, and his expression unreadable, “What is it? Are you okay?” I asked, my head thumping with pain.

Then I saw it.

My IPad, sitting on his lap, the screen open to the last page I’d left it on before falling asleep.

His sister’s killer. Or apparent killer. Oh god. How was I supposed to explain this?

“It flicked on when I lifted it off you,” He explained softly. His face creased in confusion, “What is this, Lily? Morbid curiosity? Is that why you’re with me? Fishing for information on my sister’s killer?”

“Dane, no. Of course not,” I protested, angry that he would even think that, much less say it.

“Then what is this, Lily?” He spoke harshly, anger and confusion passing through his eyes, “What can you possibly say that would explain this?” Hurt filled his eyes as he blinked away tears.

“I don’t think she’s dead, Dane,” I blurted out. I threw myself back on the couch. Well, that was probably the worst way to tell him. My plan to gradually work that into the conversation was now out the door.

Yay team Lily.

“
What
?” He yelled, “What the fuck is this? You better start talking, Lily, and fast,” He added darkly. He crossed his arms over his chest, waiting impatiently for me to speak.

I put my hands to my face, trying to block out the light, and not wanting to look at him when I spoke.

“When my sister died, I would still see her,” I began. Wow this was hard. He was going to think I was insane, just like everyone else.

“Well that’s normal, I used to think I saw Steffy-.”

“No, I
saw
her. Really saw her. We would have conversations, laugh, and cry. It was almost like she hadn’t left me. I spent three months in a psychiatric facility, because my mom was convinced I was having some kind of breakdown,” I took a deep breath. This wasn’t going well. I couldn’t bring myself to look at Dane, because I was sure the look in his eyes would be disappointment.

“The doctors said it was common in twins, to still feel them after death. With lots of therapy, I stopped seeing her everywhere. It became only in my dreams.”

“Sorry Lily, what does any of this have to do with Steffy?” He cut in, his tone still sharp. He felt sorry for me, but there was still anger and confusion as to how Steffy tied in to all this.

“I’m getting to that,” I promised. I clutched my hands together in my lap, trying to hide their shaking. “Abby told me two nights ago that Steffy needed your help. She is alive, but in trouble. Somewhere in the country, though I’m not exactly sure where,” I watched helplessly as Dane dropped his head to his knees, his arms resting on top of his head. He cursed softly into his lap.

“It’s insane, right? How was I supposed to work that into a conversation?” I said helplessly, watching as Dane stood, and began pacing the length of the living room. I willed for him to say something.

Anything. Call me a crazy bitch, or kick me out. The silence was killing me.

“Has she told you things before? You know, that turned out to be true?” He stared at me impatiently, looking overwhelmed.

“Only once,” I coughed, trying to clear the strain in my voice, “Once. My dad was having an affair. Abby told me where to find him and his…thing,” I finished, “And she was right.”

Dane laughed, shaking his head again. He grabbed the phone and began to dial.

“Can I order a cab please? Uh-huh,” He gave the address and hung up, “I can’t think…I need some time to process this,” He said, his voice cold.

Right. The cab was for me.

Nodding, I left the room before he could see my tears. I quickly dressed in his bedroom. This was so messed up. I had truly gone and fucked things up, and I had no idea how to make things right, or even if I could.

As soon as I heard the cab pull up outside, I walked into the living room to grab my bag.

“Here,” Dane murmured, waving a few notes at me. “For the cab,” He added. I shook my head. Way to make me feel like a whore, Dane.

“I’m not taking your money,” I mumbled, wiping the tears from under my eyes. As I walked to the door, I kept hoping that he would stop me. Call out for me to stop, or say something.

He didn’t.

Chapter Fourteen

I glanced at my watch as I unlocked the front door; it was almost four in the morning. Thank god Kella would be asleep, the last thing I needed was her seeing me like this. Fraser was here too, or at least his car was. I went straight to my room, stripping out of my clothes and climbing into bed, the sheets freezing up against my skin.

Running the day over again in my head, I tried to work out what my plan was. Everything was better with a plan, even if it was a bad one. The prison that Earl had been detained in was Landonberry, a maximum security prison reserved for the most dangerous offenders. His cellmate, Cole Chambers, was still there, and would be for life. He’d been found guilty of rape and murder back in 1986. Landonberry was probably my best starting point. Cole wasn’t likely to talk, but I had to at least try.

Kella was still asleep the next morning when I rapped lightly on her door. It was just after nine, and I really needed her car. Waiting a few seconds, I knocked again, this time louder. Kella’s muffled voice called out something that sounded like ‘what’.

“Can I borrow your car?” I asked softly.

“Yeah,” She mumbled, “Come in, the keys are on my dressing table.” I carefully opened the door, not wanting to wake Fraser if he was still asleep, which he was. He was sprawled out, face down (thank god) on the bed. Kella had rolled over at some point in the night, taking all the blankets with her. I grabbed the keys and backed out of the room, trying not to look at his ass.

According to my GPS (thank you mom for making me buy one), the Landonberry Prison was a good 200 mile round trip. I sat in the car with the engine running, letting the heater warm up a bit.

A tap on the window scared the hell out of me. Screaming, I turned to see Dane. What the fuck? I wound down the window, trying to slow my heart rate back down to normal.

“Sorry,” Dane mumbled sheepishly, he actually did look sorry. What I couldn’t figure out was why the hell he was here? He’d made it clear this morning that he needed time to process things. I’d been expecting that to take more than five hours.

“You scared the hell out of me,” I panted, resting back on the headrest. He winced, still looking apologetic.

“I…Sorry Lil. About last night,” He looked up and down the street, “Can I jump in?” I nodded as he ducked around to the passenger side, climbing into the car next to me. “Hi,” He murmured.

“Hi,” I replied, avoiding his eyes. If I looked in his eyes, I’d be gone, lost in him. I needed to hear what he had to tell me before putting myself out there like that. If this was about to end, I didn’t want to cry in front of him.

“Lil. I’m sorry. What you told me, it was such a shock. To be honest, I’m still not sure what to think about the whole thing. After ten years, it’s hard for me to even consider that as a possibility…” His voice trailed off. I nodded. I got it, I really did.

Even
I
knew it sounded crazy, and if it were someone trying to spin me the same story, I’d most likely tell them to fuck off.

“Dane, I-”

“Let me finish, Lil. Please,” He added, reaching for my hand. I closed my eyes and looked away, the feel of his touch almost unbearable, yet at the same time all I wanted, “While I don’t know what to think, I do think you are completely genuine in your intentions.”

Huh?

I shot him a look, not sure if that was supposed to be an insult or a compliment. Hey, I don’t believe you, but it’s okay because I think you’re crazy, not malicious.

He made a face. “Maybe that didn’t come out right…”

I laughed, still not exactly sure where he stood, “It's okay, Dane. Sometimes I think I’m crazy too. I wouldn’t expect you to believe me without proof,” I waved my hand around the car, “Which is why I’m out here.”

“Where are you going? What do you mean, proof?” He asked, confused.

“I’m going to the Landonberry State Prison,” I said in a small voice, expecting- no wait,
knowing
he was about to yell at me.

“Lil, are you insane?!” Dane hollered. I lifted my hands to my ears. He reached out, yanking my hands down and holding onto them, “No, you’re going to listen to me. What the hell do you think you’re going to get out of going there, apart from a whole lot of abuse and sexual remarks? Do you really think you’re going to get anything actually remotely useful?”

“I don’t know, but I have to try something,” I retorted angrily, struggling my arms free, “So can you please get out of the car so I can be going?” I said, slipping the car into gear and starting it. Dane gave me a hard look, before locking his seatbelt in.

“What are you doing?” I yelled, leaning over, trying to fight his hands away from the protective cover they were forming over the seatbelt, “Get out!”

“No! The hell if you think I’m going to let you go into a maximum security prison by yourself,” He growled, his dark hair falling over his eyes, eyes that flashed so many emotions right now. It was hard to stay mad at someone so sexy.

“Fine,” I pushed my put down hard on the accelerator, the tires spinning into traction. Dane glanced at me in surprise, gripping on to the side door as he slid partially out of his seat.

“Do you even know how to drive?” He muttered under his breath as he locked in his seatbelt. I threw him a dirty look, and turned the radio on. This was going to be a long trip.

We didn’t speak for an hour into the drive. Finally, I had to stop at a gas station before we ran out of gas. Not even I was that stubborn. As the attendant filled the tank, I reached into the back, looking for my purse. Dane reached for my hand.

“Let me pay,” He said, placing my hand back into my lap. I thought about arguing just for the sake of it, but nodded. Dammit, he should pay.

“Okay,” I relented, resting my arm on the door, and my head against my hand.

“Will you let me drive for a while?” He added.

I nodded, waiting until he’d gotten out and climbing over to the passenger seat. I was so tired I could barely keep my eyes open. Deep down, I was glad he’d offered to drive, because asking him to would have been painful. Dane got back into the car, handing me an array of food and drink items.

“I didn’t know what you liked,” He mumbled in explanation.

“So you brought everything?” I said dryly. He grinned. It was the first time I’d seen him smile since yesterday.

He started the car, and got us back on the road. I handed him a drink, and a Snickers bar.

“Thanks sexy,” My heart swelled at the sound of his pet name for me. He took the drink, gulping it down in one hit. I noticed he looked tired too. If I hadn’t slept well, I could only imagine how bad he had slept.

I positioned myself up against the door frame in an attempt to get comfortable enough to have a power nap. As I closed my eyes, I felt Dane’s hand run up my leg, and rest on my thigh. There was something comforting about when he touched me. Eyes still closed, I placed my hand over his.

“Lil,” Dane’s voice filtered through my head. I moaned something incomprehensible, not ready to wake up. “Lil,” He nudged me softly, then harder when I didn’t respond.

“What,” I grumbled, rubbing the point of my arm where he’d poked me, “That hurt.”

“We’re here.”

That got my attention. I opened my eyes and looked around. If you took away the huge fort like structure right ahead of us, the area we were in was actually pretty nice. The prison sat on a huge hill surrounded by trees, overlooking the rest of the city. I stared at the extremely high gates that were manned by several heavily armed guards. I swallowed, not sure how this was going to go down, exactly.

I’d never been in a prison to know what to expect. Was there like a reception I should walk up to and ask for Cole Chambers? The thought of facing a criminal scared the hell out of me, and I was sure that showed. I took a deep breath.

“Well, here goes, I guess,” I muttered. Out of the car, I followed Dane to the entrance. After going through several security screens, including an eyeball scan (what the hell?), we were led into the main visiting area of the prison. It was completely different to what I was expecting. It looked almost normal, with wives chatting to their husbands, and kids scribbling in coloring books. It reminded me of a library.

“Who are you here to see?” I turned my attention back to the guard who had brought us in. She waited impatiently for my answer; her dark eyes looked worn, as if she was nearing the end of a long shift.

“Cole Chambers,” I said nervously. Her raised eyebrow at the sound of his name didn’t do much to ease my nerves. Maybe he just never got visitors. Sure, that was it.

“Sit over there,” She pointed to a table in the corner. I glanced at Dane, who shrugged. We walked over to the table and sat down.

“So what exactly is your plan here?” Dane mumbled, leaning close to my ear. I looked at him, not sure if he was being funny or not. His looked serious. Who said I had a plan? I had no idea what my plan was. My plan had been to drive down here and see Cole. From there, I was winging it.

“Right,” He laughed, finally getting it as I kicked him under the table. The last thing I needed was his attitude right now.

Dane nudged me; I looked up and saw the guard walking Cole in. I recognized him from his pictures in the newspaper archives. In the 30 years since his sentence, things hadn’t changed much. According to the papers, he had gotten a fifteen year sentence for a series of aggravated burglaries, which resulted in the rape and murders of four people. How burglary turned into rape and murder, I had no idea.

He eyed Dane and me suspiciously as he approached our table. Sitting down opposite us, his eyes ran over me, slowly and deliberately. I forced myself not to shudder, this guy made me feel sick.