Page 16

“ M y packmates are going to wonder why I left my car at the jail,” Lucian said, his eyes fixed on the road.

Because my left hand was cuffed to his right, Lucian had to drive us back to my house.

“If anyone calls to check in on you, tell them the truth. You’re staying overnight with me since I work days. This is the only time I can handle personal business, and you and I definitely have business.”

“I’d rather tell them I went to a strip club.”

A laugh slipped out. “Whatever you think they’ll believe.”

He cursed under his breath. “Nobody’s watching our security cameras.”

“Really? Because you’ve looked at your phone six times already. I’m sure it’ll be fine for one night.”

“It’s my job,” he bit out.

“You don’t expect me to believe you sit up all night, staring at surveillance video.” I jerked the chain. “Stop putting your right hand on the wheel every time you turn a corner. I feel like one of those marionette dolls.”

“It’s bad enough I cuffed myself to a Councilwoman, but I’m not about to wreck your car because I was turning a corner with one hand. Lean in.”

“Lean in?” I pulled on the chain again and pinned his wrist to the center console. “We’re not on the interstate. Just slow down and you’ll be fine.”

Lucian slammed the brakes as a jackrabbit sprinted across the desolate road leading to my house. I loved the wildness of living out in the country, but he looked like a fish out of water.

We managed to get to my house in one piece, and after pulling into the garage, we went through the awkward process of exiting the vehicle while Lucian climbed over the console and out the passenger side. When he spilled out the door like water from a glass, the cuff yanked painfully on my wrist.

Lucian rolled over on the garage floor, splayed out beneath me like an offering. When he looked up and realized his head was directly beneath my skirt, he recoiled so abruptly that his head thumped against the car door.

I smiled down at him. “At least it won’t be a dull evening. Do you think you can remain standing while I check on my father? I can’t tell him anything about this or he’ll sever your hand himself.”

After rubbing the back of his head, Lucian climbed to his feet and slammed the car door. “Tell him we’re dating and I can’t stay away from you.”

“You’re a barrel of laughs. Come on. Just stick close to me and act normal.”

His sinister laugh rattled my spine and left me doubtful we could pull this off without a hitch.

Once inside, I kicked off my heels and pushed the elevator button. The chain clinked as we stepped inside the elevator like two escaped convicts. When it arrived at the bottom, I signaled for him to remain inside while I peered out to check if my father was asleep.

No such luck.

“Hey, there!” he called out with a burst of excitement.

“You just missed the news. A farming truck turned over, and they got chickens wandering all over the freeway. By the way, that chicken-fried steak you made was real tasty. Why do they call it chicken-fried when there’s no chicken in it?

” He cackled and set his lap tray beside him.

“You gonna hide in there all night or come say hello?”

“Dad, I have a visitor. You remember Mr. Cross.”

Lucian stepped out of the elevator with me.

My dad’s face tensed up. He never got visitors down here. “I remember. The Shoe Bandit.”

“Mr. Cross and I have a lot of work to do tonight. You know how busy my schedule is, so this was the only time I could fit him in. I plan to make a quick business trip to Austin, maybe as soon as tomorrow, and that’s throwing off my schedule.

Anyhow, he came up with a lot of good ideas for the security setup but can’t finalize anything until he has a look down here. ”

“Ain’t nothing to see but four walls.”

I approached the bed while stretching my left arm behind me to give Lucian some slack. “It’s his job.” After kissing my father’s forehead, I stepped back. “Did you try the pie yet? It’s rhubarb ,” I sang.

My father was fixated on the Chitah glued to my side.

“How’s your breathing today?” I asked before examining the oxygen level on his tank to see how much was left.

“I don’t need that thing tonight,” he insisted.

“Let’s turn it on low then. Okay?” When I bent over, Lucian had no choice but to do the same.

He pretended to be helping. “Don’t they have larger machines for sleeping?” Lucian examined the tank and knocked on it. “Seems archaic.”

My dad chuckled. “That’s what they say about me.”

After I collected my dad’s food tray, Lucian and I performed an awkward turn toward the kitchenette. My father couldn’t see us since the TV eclipsed his view.

“You can easily convert this into the surveillance room,” Lucian said. “I don’t see any integrity issues, and it’s already wired. Shouldn’t be difficult to set up.”

I cut my dad a slice of pie and plated it. “Fill that green thermos with ice, will you?”

“Why not the red one?”

“Because the red one is for the morning and the green is for night.”

His eyebrows knitted. “Shouldn’t the nighttime one be blue?”

I put the lid back on the pie plate. “Now you know what to get him for Christmas.”

When Lucian reached into the freezer, the chain yanked my arm, causing me to smack into him.

“They say it might rain,” my dad informed me from across the room. “I miss the smell of rain.”

“You’ll smell it soon enough,” I promised him.

After Lucian finished putting ice in the thermos, I turned on the faucet and filled it with water. This felt like a comedy act, and I tried desperately not to laugh at our antics.

“Dad, are you gonna be okay without me? It’s only for tonight. If you need anything, you can call my phone. Mr. Cross and I will be going over the security plans, but I’ll come down to check on you before I go to bed.”

“Don’t bother,” he said, but I could tell he wasn’t mad about it.

I grabbed the dish and turned in the wrong direction. Lucian and I twirled around each other for a minute before he followed me. “Is everything okay? Did you take your vitamins?”

“You take ’em.”

He was certainly in a mood tonight.

I approached the table where we kept his medication, and today’s container was empty. “I’m sorry I can’t keep you company.” After handing him the pie, I adjusted his covers where they had twisted around his knees.

My dad slid his gaze up to Lucian. “You want to climb in here with me?”

Lucian looked highly uncomfortable at the bedside table but had nowhere to run. His eyes fixed on the television while his right arm swung around with my movements.

“What’s wrong with your arm, boy?” My dad’s focus wasn’t on the pie anymore.

“I’ve got a kink in it.”

I smiled down at my father. “Get some sleep. Tomorrow night after dinner, we’ll play games upstairs and listen to music. How does that sound?”

“You fuss too much. I’ve been busy down here all day, peddling that bike to nowhere.”

“Don’t be telling me stories again. You know I can check the mileage and compare it to yesterday’s.”

“That’s because you’re a spy.” He cut into the flaky pastry and took a bite. “Mm-mm. Now that’s a delicious pie. Don’t you worry about me none. I’ve got plenty to watch tonight. My shows are on.”

“Good night, Dad. I’ll keep my phone on in case you have an emergency.”

Lucian set the thermos on the bedside table. “I can hook you up with a VR headset that gives a realistic bike-riding experience.”

My father frowned. “A VR what?”

“Virtual reality.”

I tugged Lucian’s hand. “Come with me, Mr. Cross.”

My dad waved with his fork as the Wheel of Fortune theme song came on.

Once the doors closed, Lucian sniffed the air. “What troubles you, female?”

“I feel guilty.”

“Why?”

“I like spending the evening with my dad. Sometimes I bring home work, but we always watch TV in bed while I tell him about my day. He needs that social interaction, especially now that he’s alone all the time.

If I get home early enough, we have dinner upstairs at the table.

But usually that depends on how he’s feeling.

He doesn’t have his old life where he can go places and talk to people, so he looks forward to seeing me every day. I let him down.”

“Because of me.”

As soon as the elevator doors opened, the urge to pee hit me so fast that I yanked the chain. “Hurry!”

Lucian didn’t walk fast enough, and I gave him an icy stare over my shoulder before he jogged with me to the bathroom.

Once there, I did a little dance number in the doorway while figuring out the logistics.

The sink was on the left wall and the toilet next to it, so I had no choice but to bring him in with me.

When I entered the room, the slack tightened.

“I’m not going in there with you,” he informed me from outside the door.

I jerked the chain. “Yes, you are.”

He gripped the top of the door with his free hand. “If there’s one thing that’ll get me kicked out of my pack, it’s this.”

Clutching the chain, I felt my bladder quivering the moment I glanced at the toilet. “Unless you want me to wet my pants all over my floor, you better get your ass in that bathtub and plug your ears.”

Lucian shot past me, ripped the shower curtain open, and stepped inside the tub. “I can only plug one ear.”

I yanked the curtain closed. “Then sing!”

“I can’t sing!” he fired back.

After lifting my skirt, I desperately yanked down my panties. “You’re not auditioning for America’s next boy band. Now sing a song! Pick anything!”

Years of building a reputation in Storybook couldn’t have prepared me for the embarrassment of peeing one foot away from a Chitah who was singing a Beatles song in my bathtub.

And of all songs that popped in his head, it was “Help.” Lucian wasn’t the best singer, but he also wasn’t terrible. Perhaps it was the unbridled enthusiasm he poured into the lyrics.

After flushing, I stood up, feeling much relieved, and slid the shower curtain open a little. “You didn’t tell me you had a nice voice.”

Lucian’s cheeks bloomed fire-engine red.