Set Me Free (2 page)

His arms squeezed me a little tighter as he chuckled. "You really stink."

My body rippled with laughing tears. I turned my head on his shoulder, lightly kissing his neck, before whispering, "I've been sleeping in a lot of dumpsters." It was humiliating to admit. I had turned myself into a street rat, refusing to pick one pocket or con anyone. I wanted to get rid of my old life and start anew, but that came with a price.

I'd been homeless, hungry and petrified for the last month and a half.

Zach pulled away from me, his brown eyes swimming with agony as he studied my face. His thumb gently caressed my cheek as he lightly kissed my lips and pulled me inside.

He didn't say a word, just took the tatty bag off my shoulder and placed it by the front door. I kept a tight hold of his hand as he walked me up the stairs. I glanced into the living room, listening for signs of his parents, but the house was quiet. We were here alone. I could feel it.

We reached the bathroom door next to his room and he flicked on the lights. Letting go of my hand, he reached into the shower and turned on the water. The sound of the hot spray hitting the porcelain tub beneath was music to my ears.

Zach flicked the curtain across and came back to me. With a gentle smile he touched my face and trailed his fingers down to the top of my jacket. I could barely breathe as he slowly unzipped it then flicked it off my shoulders. He kept his eyes on my face as he reached for my shirt, lifting it over my head. The fabric dropped to the floor, leaving me standing in nothing but my ripped jeans and a tatty bra. I should have been humiliated. I should have been covering my dirty, skinny body with my bony arms, but the look in Zach's eyes held me frozen. There was desire there, but it wasn't lust. The compassion radiating from him kept me safe. Reaching behind me, he unclasped my bra and gently kissed my shoulder before sliding it off me. He didn't touch me, didn't study my naked form with hungry eyes, he just quietly undressed me...and I let him.

Once I was naked, he kissed my lips lightly before stepping back to the shower and checking the temperature.

"It's good." He slid the curtain back.

I was still frozen. Stepping towards me with a little grin, he placed his hand on my lower back and gently pushed me towards the bath. "Get in. I'll go get you a fresh towel and leave it on the vanity."

With that, he stepped from the room. The door gently clicked shut and with an astonished head shake, I stepped beneath the hot spray. Closing my eyes, I buried my head in the water, letting the droplets wash over me. As six week's worth of filth inched its way off my body, my insides began to tremble.

I knew I shouldn't feel safe right now. If my past caught up to me, which it inevitably would, I was putting the guy I loved in unbelievable danger.

Guilt wrestled with relief as I reached for the soap.

I didn't deserve Zach Schultz. He was way too good for me.

But now that I was with him again, I didn't think I could just walk away.

In spite of the looming danger, I felt safe.

I just needed to figure out a way of keeping him that way too.

Chapter 2

ZACH

Zach's hands shook as he placed the towel on the vanity and quietly closed the door behind him. Leaning his head against the wood, he drew in three deep breaths. He couldn't believe he'd just done that...stripped her naked...and she'd let him.

Even skinny and stinky, she was still gorgeous. He could drown in those blue eyes of hers and although her body needed some serious fattening up, he had still felt a strong spike of arousal shoot through him. But that's not what his undressing routine had been about. He'd just wanted to care for her. She looked like a lost little kid and his protective instincts were on overdrive.

She'd come back...to him.

The thought was as exhilarating as it was scary. Would she leave him again without a moment's notice? Would he have to live through losing her again?

No. He couldn't do it.

Besides, she wasn't going to run. He nodded, trying to reinforce the idea.

She'd told him her real name. That was huge. That said more than any apology she could ever utter.

Lucy.

Lucy Tate.

He thought of the three files Uncle Alex had handed him. Lucy Tate's was among them, but he'd flicked it to the bottom of the pile because it told him she was a parent killer and that could not be true of the girl he'd spent the first half of the year falling for.

He could hear Dani...Lucy's...voice finally admitting her real name to him, his insides sizzling. Running a hand through his hair, he squeezed his dark locks and pushed off the door. He walked to his room and started hunting for some clothes that would fit her. For the first time in his life, he wished he had a sister. At least Dani was nearly the same height as him.

Dani. He just did it again. Lucy. Her name was Lucy. Is that what he was supposed to call her now?

Pulling out a pair of jeans, he held them up and instantly realized they'd slide right off her skinny frame. He yanked open his bottom drawer and searched for his dark grey sweat pants with the drawstring waist. He then grabbed out an orange Nike t-shirt.

"Underwear," he mumbled.

She'd just have to go commando.

He rolled his eyes, knowing what that would do to him, but he wasn't about to go hunting through his Mom's underwear drawer. She may be out of the country with his father for the summer and she probably wouldn't mind one bit, but the thought of the girl who could turn him on with one look wearing his mother's underwear was just a little too much to handle. He'd just have to take Dani...Lucy...shopping tomorrow.

Bundling the clothes up, he placed them just inside the bathroom door. Dani was still soaking in the shower. He thought he heard her crying, but couldn't be sure. With a heavy sigh, he silently closed the door and shuffled down the stairs. What he wanted to do was head back to his room and yank out those files, pull Lucy Tate's free and scour it for every piece of information he could absorb. When Zach had been trying to figure out who Dani really was and what had happened to her, his Uncle Alex, a reporter for the San Francisco Chronicle had done some digging for him and brought him a few potential candidates. There was no way his girlfriend was a murderer, but now she was at his door...giving him a name he knew was true.

It couldn't be possible. There was just no way she murdered her own parents. Yes, she was an expert liar...but not with him.

Not
with him.

He had to keep believing that.

In spite of his need to pull it out, that tempting file on Lucy Tate would have to remain in his closet for now.

That girl in his shower needed food. She was scared and hungry. Right now, he didn't give a rat's ass who she really was or if she had killed someone. He just needed to take care of her. He could deal with the rest later.

Striding into the kitchen, he opened the refrigerator and stood for a few minutes trying to decide what he was capable of making. He grabbed bacon and eggs, placing them on the counter before tugging out a cardboard slice of bread from the freezer. His mom had left everything well stocked, plus given him a stash of food money so he could look after himself. He'd planned to spend most of it on take out. He knew basically nothing about cooking, but he could scramble a couple of eggs, fry up some bacon, and no doubt burn a piece of toast.

He fluffed around the kitchen, pulling out everything he needed and feeling completely inept at the same time. He was just reaching for a mixing bowl when Dani entered the room and cleared her throat. He jerked, bumping his arm and nearly dropping the bowl as he pulled it out.

Placing it on the counter with a blush, he leaned against the island in the middle of the kitchen and smiled at her. She looked cute in his baggy clothes. Her straight, wet hair hung long over her shoulders, creating wet patches in the fabric. He was glad the shirt was a really dark orange.

"Thanks for these." She swallowed, tugging at the bottom of his shirt before crossing her skinny arms over her chest.

"You're welcome. Sorry about the underwear thing. I'll take you shopping later if you want."

"That's okay." She flicked her thumb over her shoulder. "I just need to do some laundry."

"Oh yeah, yeah sure." He'd forgotten about her bag at the door. Moving past her, he snaffled it up then walked back into the kitchen and led her to the adjoining laundry room.

Dumping the bag on top of the dryer, he unzipped it.

"I can do it if you like." Dani gently nudged him out of the way.

"Okay." He stepped back and quickly pointed out the different detergents. Laundry was one thing he did know how to do. It had been his household chore since he turned twelve.

She nodded at his instructions and he left her to it, slowly making his way back to the eggs. He'd cracked three into the bowl and was just measuring out the milk when she returned. She slid onto one of the kitchen stools and watched him whisk up the eggs and then dump in some salt and dried herbs. He hoped that was right. That's the way his dad always made them.

The silence became unnerving, he sensed more for her than him. That lip biting could not be good for her wasted mouth. Clearing his throat, he leaned the whisk against the edge of the bowl and looked at her.

"So, where've you been?"

Yeah, it was an awkward question, but no more awkward than their silence. He figured they may as well get it out now and then they could work out what was going to happen next.

Dani's hands began to shake again as she ran her finger along the edge of the counter.

"I headed south." Her lips puckered for a second. "When you broke your promise, I had to go. I had to..."

She trailed off and Zach closed his eyes, hating himself briefly. When he'd discovered how she'd been living the life of a con artist, collecting identities as if they were baseball cards, he'd been furious. She betrayed him pretending to be someone she wasn’t. But then she'd told him the truth about why she did it, about how she'd had to lie and steal to survive. The story of her parents' murders had near killed him and he'd wanted to fix it. He'd ignored her pleas for confidentiality and spilled the beans to his uncle.

"It's okay, Zach." She touched his arm and his eyes popped open. "Yes, I was mad. You'd broken my trust, but that was forgivable. I mean, I'd broken yours, right?"

His nod was miniscule.

Tears welled in her eyes, but she sniffed them away before they could spill. "I made it all the way to San Diego, you know." She shook her head with a wry chuckle. "Mexico. That was my plan, but I just couldn't do it. I couldn't stop thinking about you. I hated the idea that you were mad with me or that I'd hurt you." She drew in a shaky breath. "I know it's selfish to be back. I could be putting you in danger, but I just had to see you again."

"Hey." Zach's insides crumpled in time with her expression. Racing around the counter, he wrapped his arms around her shoulders and kissed the top of her head. She swiveled on the stool and buried her face into his chest.

"I'm so over hiding out in the woods and eating scraps from restaurant trash cans. I just want to be normal, Zach. I don't want to steal or con or do any of that stuff anymore. I just want to live." She pulled away, tears turning her eyes to a vibrant blue. "And I want to be with you."

Her soft words filled Zach with an overwhelming warmth. Any hurt he'd felt before fled. She belonged in his arms and he wanted to keep her there forever, if possible.

"I'll keep you safe, Dan--Lu--" He chuckled. "What do I call you now? Dani...Lucy?"

Her smile was tentative. "I haven't been called Lucy since the day my parents died...but I kind of like the way it sounds on your lips."

"What, you mean these lips?" Zach leaned forward with a grin, pressing his mouth against hers. She leaned into him with a muted giggle that soon morphed into a soft moan. Her eyelids fluttered closed as she gripped his t-shirt and pressed her body against his. He ran his hand over her shoulders and held the back of her neck, gliding his tongue along her bottom lip. She opened up to him, their tongues dancing together, the familiarity of the move sparking a passion within both of them.