Page 39 of Justified Lies

“Lianna for a smart woman you do some awfully dumb things! There could be fingerprints on that. They could do a handwriting analysis to compare the first note with it.”

“I feel dumb! I don’t understand why someone is targeting me. It makes no more sense today than it did a few weeks ago when it started.”

“I still think it has to be someone you know,” Isabela said. “Start listing the people you’ve pissed off.”

“I didn’t think there was a list, but there must be.”

“While the police were talking to me, they asked if I knew Justine Starks. I’m guessing it’s because of the proximity of our homes, but just the idea of lumping us together creeps me out.”

“Oh, my God! What the hell.”

“I know. The detective wouldn’t elaborate on why they asked me about her. Said they were crossing their Ts and dotting their Is.”

“Shit. That’s scary. I hate this for you. But I’m glad they are exploring every angle of both cases. Trust them to do their jobs and take the advice they give to keep you safe.”

“I will,” Lianna promised.

Isabela slid down the length of the couch and snuggled into Lianna’s side.

“Now tell me about him.”

Lianna didn’t pretend to misunderstand who Isabela was referring to.

“Izzy, I messed up.”

“How bad?”

When Lianna described how she had clammed up then freaked out after Gabe gave her the most pleasure she could ever recall receiving, her girlfriend cringed in response.

“I told you it was bad.”

“But understandable. Li, you haven’t been with anyone in a long time. Of course, you’re going to be terrified. But based on the way you talk about Gabe, he’s special. You need to talk to him, he deserves honesty, not a cold shoulder. He’s probably hurt and confused.”

“When did you get so wise?”

“Apparently my wisdom only applies to other people’s love lives.” Isabela faked a laugh.

“I will talk to him, just not today. I’ve had enough drama for one day. It used to be so easy to talk to Gabe. I hope we can get back to that.”

“You will … or you won’t. But stressing about it right now won’t fix anything. Just don’t wait too long to talk to him. Imagine if you were in his shoes.”

“I know,” Lianna squeezed her eyes shut, trying to push the mix of pain, anger and regret away.

Isabela patted Lianna’s leg and let the conversation drop, which she was thankful for. Turning her attention to the television, Lianna tried hard to keep the intrusive thoughts of her lurker at bay. But the idea that she knew the person breathing through the phone last night was downright frightening. And if that was her perpetrator’s goal, then they won. Lianna was frightened. However, what terrified her, was the thought that they wanted more. What if they weren’t done? Did they really want her dead? There were more questions than answers, but Lianna knew the most important question was figuring out who was upending her life.

****

Gabe sat in his home office trying to catch up on the flood of emails surrounding his latest case. It was dark, his son asleep upstairs. The familiar sound of the Sunday Night Football announcers calling whatever game was on TV floated in from the living room. Gabe’s leg vibrated restlessly in his chair, as he re-read the same line from whatever document was in front of him.

Why was she so upset last night? Of all the crap he had on his plate, that was the thought that kept resurfacing. If he at least knew what he did wrong, then he could set about trying to fix it, but he had no idea. One minute she was ready to pet him,the next she was running like he had a rash on his dick. The real kicker was he didn’t even feel any angertowardsher, just at the situation. A situation that he singlehandedly created. If he hadn’t played games with her, he wouldn’t be in this current predicament.

It had been a long time since Gabe was in a relationship, but he never remembered it being this hard. Dan’s words came back to him, “It’s always complicated when they’re worth it.”He raked his hands down his face, sighing.

Maybe he should be angry with Lianna. After all she came to his house, then ran out on him. But he wasn’t, he missed her. He wanted to decompress with her, laugh with her, and do a few other things with her. Gabe made a decision. Even if the outcome of going to see her was an argument, he’d rather be arguing with her, than sitting peacefully alone at home.And what did that say?

Quickly dialing Dolores, he let her know he had to run out for a bit. He hustled upstairs, brushed his teeth, and changed. Then he set off for Lianna’s, his only mission to breathe the same air as her.

Chapter Thirteen

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