Page 19 of Justified Lies

Sorry for being a grump this morning. Hope you have a great rest of your day. Also, blue is your color.

The text was concluded with a red-cheeked emoji that looked embarrassed.

Gabe read the message again. Then a third time, before Jimmy, who the guys lovingly called, “the receptionist” hollered out, “What’s got such a big smile on your face this morning, Sarge?”

Realizing that he was standing in the middle of the hallway grinning like a jackass, Gabe cleared his throat. “What color is this suit, Jim?”

“My wife always says I’m color blind, but I think that’s blue. Dark blue, like navy.”

Hiding his grin this time, Gabe nodded then went down the hall and into his office. Once there, he barely put down his briefcase before reading the text message again.

He shouldn’t be this happy over a text. But Lianna thought he looked good in blue. That had to mean something. Realizing he was sitting there smiling again, Gabe shook his head. After reading the message one last time he typed out,

It’s no problem. I am always happy to help.

No, he couldn’t write that, or she’d feel like a charity case or whatever she had called herself. Deleting and starting again he wrote,

Hope you have a great day too.

Then he spent a whole minute debating whether to use a smiley face emoji before deciding not to. By the time his response was sent, he was sweating through his dress shirt. Gabe couldn’t remember being this twisted up over a woman before. Damn, he was in trouble. One thing was blatantly clear—he could no longer pretend Lianna didn’t affect him in a major way. Since he had already decided that he couldn’t push her away, his next dilemma was how he was going to stop himself from acting on his feelings for her.

Chapter Seven

“Thanks again, I’ll be back in thirty.” Lianna called out to Barb.

Her mother-in-law was busy finishing dinner with the kids and had suggested Lianna go enjoy some free time. Lianna jumped at the chance for fresh air and exercise. Grabbing a light jacket, Lianna exited the house through the garage. At the top of her driveway, she noticed a dinged-up old truck idling across the street. She couldn’t make out the driver and shrugged it off.

Turning the opposite direction, she headed away from Tim and Diane’s home. She walked towards the park at the top of her street. Crossing a two-lane road, Lianna entered a walking path that cut through the trees. The sun was setting, but under the shadow of the trees, it felt dark, and Lianna almost turned back, before deciding to stay on course.

She had strolled the same trail dozens of times. It was populated by locals and dog walkers, rarely was she alone. Tonight, however, there wasn’t a fellow walker in sight. Breathing deep, she started the outdoor walk tracker on her watch and settled into a nice pace.

A few minutes into her walk she slowed down at a fork in the trail. Lianna’s tingling sixth sense urged her towards the path that would lead her back towards the street. Ever since investigators had officially deemed Justine Starks a missing persons case she had been on edge. The other day they announced new evidence led them to believe Justine had not left under her free will and they suspected foul play.

Lianna didn’t realize how tense she had been until she reached the road. Breathing a sigh of relief, she rolled her shoulders and began to walk back towards home. The street was also empty and eerily quiet. Everyone must be inside enjoying their dinners she supposed.

Several paces later a loud rumbling truck turned onto the street coming towards her. Lianna watched as it slowed down as it passed her. The windows were tinted, which struck her as odd considering the truck was ancient. She quickened her pace into a power walk, a ball forming in the pit of her stomach when she heard the truck rolling over gravel. As she feared, a quick glance behind her confirmed that the truck was pulling a U-turn. It maneuvered onto the shoulder of the road and headed back towards her.

Panicked, Lianna took off in a full out sprint. Darting back into the woods, leaves crunched beneath her shoes and branches whipped past her face. She hurdled a puddle and then she stopped.What is wrong with me?She stood in the middle of the path, heart beating wildly, spider webs surely dangling from her hair. She looked around. No one was following her. The truck probably was lost and needed help. Bending over, she rested her hands on her knees and tried to calm down.

Between Gabe’s warning last week about running alone, the prank calls, and then the note left on her garbage, Lianna was rattled. Telling herself to get it together, she forced herself to breathe deep. Beginning towards home, Lianna willed herself to walk at a normal pace. By the time she had made it back to her street, her breathing was back to normal.

She was starting to feel like the bimbo in a horror movie who ignores her instincts, walking right into the pursuer’s hands. But everywhere she turned there seemed to be trouble lately. She couldn’t call the police every time she felt something was off. Her sixth sense was clearly out of whack, and she needed a reset.

Although Gabe and Izzy thought she was putting herself in danger, Lianna didn’t see it that way. She didn’t have a man to wake up in the middle of the night, she needed to be the tough one. While Gabe was helping her an awful lot lately, Liannaneeded to be the provider and protecter of her own family. Plus, she was of zero importance, why would anyone target her?

Waving to a neighbor pulling their recycling bin to the curb, a plan began to take hold. She needed a distraction, something that wouldn’t have her looking over her shoulder. She was sick of feeling like her life was out of control. It was time to take hold of the reins and stop being a victim. Next time she saw Gabe, she was going to ask him out on a date. After all, he was her favorite distraction.

****

A double beep signified Gabe was here to pick up Harris for Thursday night’s flag football practice. Lianna stopped at the hallway mirror giving herself the once over, while Harris dropped to the floor to tie his cleats.

She wore dark, form-fitting jeans that highlighted her self-pronounced best feature, her behind. A creamy white sweater with a deep V-neck was paired with a lacy camisole. The push up bra she wore gave her barely-there boobs just enough oomph to look distractingly sexy. She had even straightened her hair this morning and refreshed her makeup after work.

Still shaken from her experience in the forest, Lianna had done all the self-care she could last night to calm her nerves. A warm bath, and good night’s sleep went a long way towards helping her think clearly. She was rattled. That was the only logical explanation for it. If she continued to look for trouble everywhere she went, she was going to keep finding it.

Gaining confidence from her reflection, she flung the door open and followed Harris outside. While he walked over to the back-passenger side, Lianna steeled herself and approached the driver’s window. Gabe lowered it with an eyebrow raised in question.

Lianna hadn’t seen Gabe since her moody outburst Monday morning. Saying she felt remorseful about treating him that way was an understatement. She realized that she was acting like a perpetual child soon after dashing off to her car. It wasn’t his fault she was having trouble coping. They certainly weren’t going to repair their friendship if she continued taking her anger out on him.

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