Page 15 of Justified Lies

“Stop yelling at me! This is why I don’t ask you.” She tried to control her tone but could feel her cheeks ignite into flames.

Instead of continuing their debate, Gabe sighed, dragging a lazy hand over his beard. She annoyed him, she knew it, andshe supposed she should be grateful that he was still willing to help her despite that. But in this moment, he annoyed her right back. Pinching the bridge of his nose, Gabe opened his mouth to speak, but Lianna beat him to it.

“Look, I appreciate you coming over and if something else comes up I’ll ask for help … if it isn’t too inconvenient.”

Gabe gazed up to the heavens, as if he were searching for divine intervention to get him through this conversation. She interrupted his prayer.

“You should get going. Sorry again to steal your Saturday just because someone decided to pull a prank on me.”

“You know it’s more than that,” he said wearily.

“Here, go ahead out the garage.” She had already walked over to the mudroom door, reached out and raised the garage door bay. “I have to get groceries, might as well head out too.”Now who was bullying who around?

Gabe stayed glued to his spot. Intense brown eyes stared into hers for several long seconds. He didn’t like being dismissed but that was just too bad. Lianna didn’t like being bossed around.

“Please promise to be careful around him.”

She nodded, mostly because when he looked at her like that, she couldn’t get her brain to function. Gabe stood there for a few more seconds, appearing torn for a reason she didn’t understand, then turned and left without a backward glance.

Well, at least he used please, she thought, leaning against the door jamb watching him walk down the driveway. The farther he got, the more the anxiety rose in her belly. Regardless of how unbothered she appeared to Gabe, Lianna couldn’t help but wonder what a person who so brutally slaughtered an innocent animal could do to her.

Chapter Six

Lianna hurried inside of the coffee shop to escape the drizzle. It took just a second to spot her best friend sitting in a little booth by the windows. They made eye contact and Isabela lifted an arm waving to her friend.

As Lianna approached, Izzy stood up, smiling with outstretched arms. She wrapped Lianna up tightly, as if she knew how much her friend needed a hug. Squeezing back, Lianna savored the comfort.

“I ordered you a vanilla latte with oat milk and a cinnamon crunch bagel,” Isabela said, retaking her seat.

Shrugging out of her coat, Lianna tried to tuck a stray curl back into place. “You’re the best. Sorry, there was traffic getting out of Bellingham, road work in the middle of day. Who decided that was a good idea?”

Sitting down heavily, Lianna sighed. “I really needed this coffee date.”

“Talk,” Isabela encouraged, concern clear in her eyes.

A young man, who fit the Pacific Northwest hipster vibe to a tee, placed their drinks in front of them. They both thanked him in unison. The server’s gaze lingered on Isabela long enough to convey his obvious interest before he smiled and made his way to the next table.

“Obvious much?” Lianna laughed.

The first time Lianna saw Isabela she probably stared like that too. The woman was, in a word, breathtaking. Her warm beige skin always had an effortless glow with big brown eyes that you could drown in. Dark chocolate hair fell in thick waves halfway down her back. And she was sitting down. Had the poor server gotten a glance at her body, Lianna might have had to help him back to the kitchen.

The real kicker was Isabela’s best attributes were invisible. The woman was sharp as a whip. She was funny, loyal, and kind. Not to mention her place on the “Lawyers Monthly Thirty-under-Thirty” list, which she had made several times. Now that Isabela was over the thirty mark, she was a shoo-in to make partner. If Lianna didn’t love the woman across from her so much, she’d hate her.

“First, I finally caught up on our show last night and it deserves discussing. Second, someone butchered a raccoon and left it for me, and third, Gabe is under the impression it was my neighbor.”

Isabela’s mouth fell open. “Start with the raccoon.”

Lianna filled her in on the events from yesterday, starting with running into Gabe and ending with the yucky raccoon.

“Why aren’t you more freaked out? I’d move back in with my parents if this was happening to me!”

“That’s not really an option. And it does freak me out. Gabe said it was criminal harassment and uttering threats. But he also said it would be near impossible to prove. They would have to sign their name the next time they leave me a note or ring the doorbell after they drop off another dead animal.”

“God, that’s shitty. Sorry you’re going through this. It makes me so mad.”

Lianna nodded her agreement around a sip of her latte.

“What about your security cameras?” Izzy asked.

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