Page 63 of Justified Lies

“I am so sorry, I didn’t mean to frighten you,” the woman said soothingly.

“It’s okay, I’ll just feel better seeing her with my own eyes. And thank you, for calling first.”

“Of course, and we always will. We would never allow someone to sign your child out of school without confirming it with you first.”

Lianna rushed to grab her shoes and purse. Based on everything that had been going on recently she did not want to take chances, especially with her children. Then a horrifying thought stopped her. What if her harasser hadn’t moved on, only changed strategy? Were they so determined on getting to her, that they had stopped the scare tactics and resorted to trying to hurt her children?

Lianna was dialing Gabe before she had time to talk herself out of it. He said she should err on the side of caution and that was what she was doing.

“Damn it,” she said aloud when his voicemail picked up.

Lianna left a message, telling him about her near miss in the car and what happened with Annie. Then she admitted that she was scared. Next, she called Nicki to see if there was some kind of mixed message, if she mistakenly thought she was taking Annie home. Of course, there was also no answer. Then she ran for the van.

****

The first thing Gabe did as he left the conference room and started towards the men’s room was check his cell phone.The briefing was anything but, lasting entirely too long, and wasting virtually everyone’s morning. They had several suspects now for the murdered gang member found at the US Consulate. They wanted everyone on board before the press conference this afternoon.Politics,he thought, shaking his head as he pulled up the missed call log. There was one from Lianna.

Gabe couldn’t wait to see her. They were due for a major conversation, but he knew she needed some space first. He wasn’t alone in feeling more than just a physical connection. She wanted more from him, and he was finally ready to start giving her what she wanted.

In fact, it had taken every ounce of discipline not to drive directly to her after he stepped off the plane this morning. But work was particularly crazy and taking two days off this week left him playing catch up. They were days well spent, though, and well worth the extra work.

The meeting with his family lifted a weight so heavy off his chest he literally breathed better. Gabe was ready to see where things went with Lianna, to start a new chapter with her and the kids. But it wasn’t fair to rush her into finding her own feelings. Just because he was ready, didn’t mean she would forgive the lies and half-truths he had told her. But he’d be dammed if he wasn’t going to try.

Finishing his business, Gabe strolled back to his office and closed the door. He wanted privacy while he listened to Lianna’s sexy voice hopefully calling to say she missed him. Pushing play, he sat for only seconds, before he was up and hustling out the door again.

****

Lianna arrived at the school to see her daughter eagerly listening to her teacher read a story. Sagging, she leaned against the door jamb as her blood pressure returned to normal levels. This had to be a mistake. It was entirely too disconcerting toimagine someone trying to take her baby. And for what? Lianna had never done anything willfully malicious to anyone in her life. She didn’t even have an enemy, well, except for her brother-in-law. Okay, and now her neighbor.

Despite confirming that her daughter was unharmed, Lianna couldn’t make herself leave the school without Annie. Promising she could have circle time at home with her stuffed animals, she brought the girl with her. Harris was on a fieldtrip with his class and Charles was chaperoning. Her son was in good hands.

As they wound their way down the serpentine road that connected school and home, Lianna’s gaze narrowed in on the tall wrought iron gates that lie open ahead. Nicki and Darren’s massive stone house rested on a small rise at the end of a circular driveway. The ocean crashed into the cliffs directly below the residence.

Annie was happily humming along to the song on the radio, when Lianna made a split decision to turn into the driveway. She still had that nagging feeling. Pulling to the end of the drive, she parked then turned to her daughter.

“Mommy is just going to run up and check on Auntie Nicki, I’ll be right back.”

Rolling the windows down, Lianna jumped out of the car and bound up the grand stairs. She rang the bell and the door quickly opened.

Instead of her sister-in-law, Darren stood there. His eyes were red rimmed like the night of their awful confrontation. Those eyes widened when he saw it was Lianna, then looked over her shoulder.

“I thought you were … never mind.”

Darren’s eyes were glistened with moisture, as if he had been crying, not drinking. There was no scent of alcohol, nor did he seem the least bit intoxicated. The long, damp streaks lininghis cheeks indicated it was in fact tears, not booze, making his eyes swollen and irritated.

Lianna wasn’t sure what to say. “Is Nicki here? Is everything okay?”

“No, she’s downtown all day. I had a meeting at the house that just ended. I thought you were someone else, which is why I answered.”

Lianna ignored the dig, tilting her head slightly as she took in his unusually disheveled appearance.

“Do you need something?” he asked, his tone indicating he wasn’t interested in small talk.

“I had a scare at the school, just wanted to talk to Nicki about it.”

“Are the kids okay?” Darren’s features sharpened with his concern.

“Yes, but a stranger tried to sign Annie out of class. They don’t think it was Nicki, and I wanted her to know. I guess I just wanted someone to tell.”

---