Set Me Free (4 page)

I took the stairs two at a time and stood in the upstairs hallway, not sure which way to turn.

People couldn't know. People couldn't—

Spinning around, I came back down the stairs and gazed at the front door. Everyone was in the kitchen, sure they'd hear me leave, but if I ran fast enough...

I squeezed my eyes shut. No! No more running!

I spun back and ascended the stairs again, then took a left down the hall. I flung Zach's door open and stormed into the room. I wanted to throw something, but I wouldn't dare. Pulling in a few deep breaths, I tried to calm my shaking innards.

Had Elliot told the others? No, surely they didn't know. He was the only one acting weird.

"Are you okay?" His soft question made me jerk.

I turned to face Zach's best friend. He approached me with his hands in his pockets, looking wary that I might bolt at any second.

"He told you." It was hard to speak out of my clenched jaw.

Elliot grimaced, his long nose wrinkling. "He needed someone to talk to. The guy never thought he'd see you again, so what did it matter?"

"It matters. He can't just— You don't understand."

A flicker of annoyance brushed over his angular features. "Why'd you leave him? Because you care about him?"

"Yes, of course I do! I wanted to keep him safe."

"Then why'd you come back?"

Tears popped into my eyes, blurring my vision and making it hard to speak. "I don't know."

Elliot's expression slowly softened.

I swiped at my tears, determined not to fall to pieces in front of him. "Have you told anyone else?"

"No, I haven't. And I won't."

I believed him. His eyes held me steady and I nodded.

"Look, from what Zach told me, I get why you ran. And I understand why you're back." He shrugged. "The Zackster's pretty irresistible."

I chuckled, but the sound didn't carry. It was cut short by the hardening of Elliot's gaze.

"But whatever-your-name-is, if you're endangering him in anyway..." He raised his finger at me.

My head was shaking before he could finish. "I don't want him to get hurt any more than you do."

"You broke his heart when you split like that. I've never seen him so effected. Why do you think Jaeda wants to kick your butt out the front door. He was hurting...big time."

I wrapped my arms around myself and looked to the floor.

Elliot shuffled closer to me, his lanky frame reminding me of a giraffe. He cocked his head and studied me with those pale, brown eyes of his. "You're back now and I think it's a good thing. But..." He clicked his tongue. "You need to figure out a way to set things right and make it safe for you to stay. I don't know exactly what that looks like for you, but if you hurt my friend again, that cop's not the only guy you're gonna be running from."

My skin must have gone from white to grey, because Elliot blanched and whipped a hand through his hair. "I'm not—I didn't mean I was going to kill you. Sorry. I just wanted the threat to, you know, have some impact."

"It did," I whispered.

"Yeah, I mean I could never physically hurt you or anybody. I just...I wouldn't like you very much and I definitely wouldn't forgive you." He pointed at me, his raised eyebrows adding extra force to his statement.

A smile whistled through me, but I couldn't make it form on my lips. I totally got why he and Zach were best buddies.

"I understand." I nodded.

"So we're good then?" His sticklike fingers spread wide as he lifted his hand towards me.

"Yeah, we're good." I forced the smile to appear. "Except you need to stop being so nice to me. They're already trying to figure out what's up."

His lopsided grin appeared. "Not a problem."

I snickered and crossed my arms, shooting him a droll look.

Flicking his thumb over his shoulder, he gave me a pointed look. "Now get your butt back down to that kitchen before I eat your pancakes."

Chapter 4

ZACH

Worried by Lucy's pale complexion and the sudden realization that Elliot had slipped from the room, Zach made his way upstairs. He found his girl sliding past his best friend and out the door.

"Everything okay?" He touched her shoulder as she passed him.

"Mm-hmmm. Just going to eat." With a swift kiss on the cheek, she descended the stairs.

Zach's eyes narrowed as Elliot sauntered towards him. "Is everything really okay?"

"Yeah." Elliot sighed. "She knows I know."

Zach closed his eyes, dropping his chin to his chest. "Is she mad?"

"No, I think she gets it. I promised her I haven't told anyone else."

"I hate that I broke my promise to her, man."

Elliot slapped Zach's arm. "Get over it. She's here and I don't think she's going to run again."

"I just wish I knew why she ran the first time."

"To keep you safe, you know that."

"Yeah, but from what. I mean this guy must have done more than kill her parents to keep making her so scared, she must have encountered him somewhere else. There's got to be more to it."

"Have you asked her?"

Zach gave his friend a droll glare. "You've seen her, right? She's a sack of bones with black bags under her eyes. She's exhausted."

"Where's she been?"

Zach's jaw clenched. "Homeless, just walking around, eating scraps and sleeping in dumpsters." His gut ached as he pictured her frail and alone. "I just want to take care of her. She needs to recover and then we can deal with this."

Elliot pursed his lips, lightly kicking the bannister with the toe of Converse. "Just don't leave it too long. If the threat is real then we need to act sooner rather than later. You guys have no hope if this doesn't end. What she gonna do? Follow you to Arizona? We both know she hasn't graduated. Is she gonna fake her way through college too? You can't live your life looking over your shoulder and that's exactly what you'll be doing if you stay with her."

"I'm staying with her." Zach's voice was hard and sure, although Elliot still looked skeptical.

"I want you to have a life, man. A good one. You deserve it."

"I'm not ditching her."

"I'm not asking you to. Just don't sit on your ass all summer. Find a way to help her get out of this mess."

"I will."

Elliot nodded. "I'm here for you; whatever you need. I want in on this."

Zach's eyes narrowed as he looked up at him. "You're not falling for her too are you?"

"Get real." Elliot rolled his eyes. "I just admire her, you know. Most people would have buckled, but she just quietly survived. I think that's kinda cool."

"So you get why I fell for her then?"

Elliot rolled his eyes again. "I knew the second I saw her you'd be a goner. You're so lame."

"I love you too, man." Zach slapped his best friend's arm with a grin before jumping up and pulling him into a headlock. They tussled their way down the stairs and exploded into the kitchen, making everyone jump.

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.