Page 26 of The Fractured

“For your safety…”

“My dad told you not to say anything, didn’t he?” Her sleepiness was long gone as hints of anger flitted across her expression.

“Yes.”

“And you went along with it? Just like that?” She saw right through my casualness of following a detective’s orders with ease. She knew there had to be a catch. Something that would force my hand.

“He blackmailed me.”

Her eyes sharpened. “What?”

“He threatened to go to immigration about my mother’s lack of citizenshipifI don’t work with him. Turns out my dead-beat father failed to hand in her application all those years ago… So long as I do whatever your dad asks, immigration won’t find out about Mom’s situation— Where are you going?”

She got off the bed, grabbed her phone from the nightstand, and marched to her bag on the dresser opposite the bottom of the bed. A look of determination was on her face as she shoved the phone into her bag and stuffed her feet into a pair of boots.

“I’m going to speak with my dad. He can’t get away with this.” She grew frustrated when her left boot refused to slide on over her thick bed socks.

“Yeah, he can.” I met her in front of the dresser, gently taking her arms so she had no choice but to abandon her plight with the boot.

Her eyes quickly shifted from frustration to sadness as they searched my face. And then she shook her head, coming to terms with it all. “Does your mother know?”

“I haven’t told her… I know I should, but I don’t think I can.”

Lily raised her eyebrows slightly, but she didn’t push to ask why. I think because she understood why. Instead, she nodded as she stared at my chest, again processing and coming to a conclusion. “Okay… Okay, well, we’ll just deal with this one dayat a time, but she needs to know…” Her determination to make sense of it all waned again as she looked up. “Do you know how long it’ll be before you are…sent away?”

My heart squeezed.

I shook my head, smoothing my hands down her arms until they interlocked with hers. “Not for a while.”

She nodded and removed her hands from mine, only to wrap her arms around my middle. Her head came to rest on my chest while I hugged her back, inhaling her fresh linen and jasmine scent.

“I’ll take care of her when the time comes. And we can always visit you.”

“Let’s not think about it tonight.” I pulled away enough to see her face.

With watery eyes, she nodded again.

“Wanna talk about your first day back at work?” This earned me a weak smile and a tired blink.

“I’m mentally exhausted after one day.” She wiped her eyes. “I have no idea how I did it daily before. On top of working night shifts at The Den.”

I brushed a strand of her hair behind her ear and then pressed my lips to her forehead, smiling gently against her skin. “Bed. Now.”

Lily smiled a fraction wider, but out of defeat, and pulled off the one boot she had managed to slip on before she shuffled back to the bed.

Chapter 9

Dean

Mark stood behind his chair, arms crossed, as I entered his office. He wasn’t impressed as I laid the small microphone and wires on his desk.

“This equipment is expensive,” he said tightly. “Not to mention if Lily had seen this—”

“She did.” I slid my hands into the pockets of my jeans.

His jaw ticked. “I thought we agreed she wouldn’t find out.”

“Whoops.” I smiled my sarcasm and then jabbed a thumb over my shoulder in the direction of the office door. “If that’s all, I’ve gotta get to work, I ran myself late driving over here—”