Page 69 of Justified Lies

When he reached her driveway, he jumped out, crushing her in his arms before asking a single question. She tried her best to hold it together, but she felt the tears sliding down her face and knew she was failing. Lianna scolded herself. She could not break down now, not yet.

The feel of genuine support almost took her under. Her life had literally gone to shit in a handbag, but the love she felt from her in-laws was pure and true. She knew that now. It wasn’t borne of guilt or obligation—they simply loved her and her children. Instead of allowing herself the breakdown she so desperately deserved, she pulled back having gained the strength she needed from the embrace.

“You’re bleeding.” Charles grabbed her tattered sweatshirt and pulled the sleeve up to reveal a nasty cut. The injury burned like hell but wasn’t bleeding anymore.

“My neighbor, she cut me. Gabe chased her. She has a knife.”

Lianna explained what happened as briefly as possible, hoping she was making sense. Harris was inside waving at her through the tinted window, confusion on the boy’s face. Lianna didn’t need to force a smile at her son. She beamed at him through teary eyes and blew him a kiss. She turned to her father-in-law once more.

“Annie’s napping inside. Can you please sit with her? I need to make sure he’s okay.”

“You have no idea if it’s safe yet. A cop can take care of himself.”

But Lianna was already backing away.

Turning, she jogged towards the scene. An ambulance passed her, lights flashing, and she picked up her pace. As she reached the end of the road, the first thing she noticed was that neither Gabe nor Diane was anywhere to be found. That’s as far as she got before a uniformed officer approached her.

“Ma’am, you can’t be here.”

“My neighbor had a knife. I ran away. What happened to them? Gabe took off after her, she had a knife…”

Frustration coursed through her. She wasn’t making a lick of sense. The officer looked down at her arm then called over his shoulder, “I need paramedics.”

The officer guided Liana to the back of an ambulance where a kind woman in uniform immediately started inspecting her arm. As the women worked, she asked Lianna questions about her injury. Then after cautioning her that it would sting, soaked her cut in antiseptic before placing butterfly bandages over it.

“I don’t think this will need stitches. But keep it dry and if you notice it becomes inflamed or infected looking you need to see a doctor.”

“Okay,” Lianna responded. The officer she had spoken to earlier was now approaching with an older man.

“This is Sergeant McVaugh,” the younger officer said. The older man had a kind face, he smiled at her and asked if she was okay.

“I guess. I don’t need stitches so I’m fine. But Gabe…”

“Why was Detective Williamson here?”

Lianna explained that Gabe was a friend, who lived around the corner. She said she had confided in him about being harassed. That he had called about twenty minutes ago and Lianna had yelled her neighbor had a knife. Both men nodded, the younger one taking notes.

“Where is he?” Lianna asked, confused that she had still not seen him or Diane.

“I can’t give out any information,” Sergeant McVaugh said, then lowered his voice, “but I think he’ll be okay. Ambulance is already on their way to the hospital.”

“The hospital?”

The alarm she felt coursing inside her must have been palpable because the man gently ushered her back towards her home. “Let’s go sit down and talk. You’ve been through a lot.”

Just before she turned away from the scene, a stretcher emerged from the treeline. It was hard to see from this distance, but it appeared to be a woman strapped down. A woman with pale, blonde hair matted with blood. She had something covering her mouth and paramedics were actively working on her as they wheeled her to the awaiting ambulance.

“Is she…” Lianna had to stop and swallow.

“I’m not sure on her status,” the man said gently.

And this time he didn’t need to lead her away. She was glad to get as far away from this place as possible.

Chapter Twenty

In the hours Gabe had been at the hospital, a full-on monsoon had descended on the city. Now it was pitch black as he drove. Shifting tenderly in the driver’s seat, he turned up the wiper speed and squinted to see the road ahead of him.

The stab wound had been relatively superficial, more like a long gash. So, while Gabe did need plenty of stitches, it wasn’t very deep, nor did it cause internal damage. It did, however, bleed an awful lot. The doctor thought Gabe was bat ass crazy for turning down anything other than the local numbing injection. But he had received IV fluids and antibiotics, so he had his bases covered. The last thing he needed was to be high on pain meds and stuck in a hospital all night.

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