Page 15 of Lies Beneath Secrets

“How old are you, Gabby?” She holds up five fingers. “That’s the same age as my nephew Tyler. You two would get along really well, I’m sure. He loves to color too.” She smiles at me and swings her little legs back and forth, kicking her booster seat. I glance over at Conner for a moment and see him watching her from the rearview mirror. “Are you new to this area?” I decide to ask.

“Something like that, yeah.”

“Oh.” Then the truck goes quiet again. Not for the first time, I wonder if I made the right decision taking him up on this offer to bring me to see my sister. I wring my fingers together, pondering if I should make up something I forgot to do. Pushing my thumbnail into the palm of my hand, I open my mouth to speak, when Conner speaks.

“This is it. Place looks like a dump on the outside; don’t let that fool you though.” He pulls up outside of a tall brown building that seems like it would have been a small warehouse or factory of some kind. Now, it just looks like an abandoned building out in the woods. The closer we get, the more I realize that the brown is actually rust because in some places, gray steel panels peek out. “You can wait out here or come inside. I’ll leave that up to you.” Conner doesn’t wait to hear my decision before getting out of the truck and opening the back door to get Gabby. She happily runs toward the metal door on the side of the building and tries to open it. Conner is right there behind her to help with the knob. When he opens it, she runs inside, and he turns back to see if I’m following. I’m torn between wanting to stay put and wait or go inside just to see what it looks like in there. My curiosity wins, and I step out of the truck. The corner of Conner’s mouth tugs slightly upward, and he turns his head back toward the inside of the building. Was he going to smile? I push the thought aside and walk over to the door he’s still standing at. I look around at all the trees. They’re still a vibrant green as they sway with the wind that doesn’t seem to be as harsh as it was in town. Suppose he might have been right about that. “Straight ahead to the stairs,” he tells me when I step past him. I hear the door close behind us, the noise echoing around the open garage-like area.

There are two spaces being taken up by cars and a motorcycle. “Are these all your friends?” I ask as I reach the stairs.

“No. His brother runs a small mechanic business here.” Conner points to the opposite side of the building where a red door sits. “Through there is the office. Kaleb is probably in there right now.” When I reach the top of the stairs, I notice not just a door but a long walkway, almost like a catwalk.

“What’s down there?” I point at the door at the very end.

“Knox’s… office.” I wonder why he paused a little as he gestures toward the door to go inside. It’s not a knob like the one on the front door, which is probably how Gabby could get it open. “After you,” Conner says as I walk into a small area with coats hanging on the wall and a hallway to the right. A few steps further, and I’m in a wide-open space housing a kitchen, dining room, and living room. The walls are all white, and the floor is a deep, rich brown.Hardwood floors.Conner was right; I’m surprised to see what’s inside. Like something right out of that idea app Piper is always ‘pinning’ stuff on. She has her dream home all planned out there.

“This is beautiful,” I say not, knowing what better word to describe it.

“The place puts meaning to that saying, ‘don’t judge a book by its cover,’ doesn’t it?” Conner says and walks to the big windows that are letting in the sunlight. There are two doors that open side by side, but he only opens one. I follow, almost under a trance. We step outside onto a covered deck that has a small sitting area and two grills with covers on them. There’s a set of stairs that leads down into the yard, complete with a big, beautiful fire pit. Gabby is out playing on that so-called swing set thing that he had mentioned before, but that’s hardly what it is. While yes, it has swings, it also has what looks like a little playhouse with a slide attached to it. Definitely not one of those wooden ones someone would buy at the store. All custom made.

“What the hell does your friend do exactly?” I look up at Conner, who’s watching Gabby go down the slide.

“He’s in sales.” His answer makes me chuckle.

“You mean he’s a drug dealer?” I laugh even harder when I say it aloud. Really, what else could the guy do to afford all of this?

“Guns mostly.” Conner levels me with a serious expression. My throat goes dry, and I can’t seem to find the brainpower to even form words until he cracks the first full smile I’ve seen on his face and laughs.

“Oh my gosh, that’s so not funny.” I laugh with him.

“You should have seen your face. Priceless.” I listen to the sound of his laughter, finding I like the way it rumbles from his chest and sends tingles into my own.

“I didn’t think you were a funny guy to be honest.”

“This motherfucker? He’s the king of funny.” A man about the same height as Conner walks up to us. He has a gray tee shirt on that’s damp along his chest and covered in sawdust. His jeans are worn and hang loose on him. They are dirty too. He doesn’t have the same build as Conner, but the way his shirt clings to him, there’s definitely a toned body underneath it. “You must be the neighbor.” He extends his hand out toward me. “I’m Knox.”

“How did you—” Slowly, I extend my hand and take his. I fully expect his hand to be sweaty as well, but it’s only rough calloused skin I feel against my soft palm.

“I’m going to drive her to her sister’s place. You good to watch Gabby for a bit?” Knox nods, not taking his eyes off me. The way his gaze lingers on me gives me a shiver, and I pull away, pushing my glasses up my nose. Something dark in his blue eyes has me stepping a little closer to Conner.

“Yeah, no problem at all. Nice to meet you, Lauren.”

“You, too.” With that, Conner directs me back through the house again and to the truck. All the while, I’m wondering how the hell Knox knew my name.

CHAPTERELEVEN

Con

I grip the steering wheel, wishing it were Knox’s fucking neck. If Lauren wasn’t freaked out about being with me before, she sure the hell is now. I thought bringing her inside to see the house would help take her mind off everything. It did until Knox had to open his mouth. And the way he was looking at her? My knuckles turn white thinking about it. He can be a real fucker sometimes.

“How did he know my name?” She’s going to get straight to it, I guess.

“I might have mentioned you.” She doesn’t say anything in response to this and really, it’s not too far from the truth. “Too weird?”

“I suppose not. I mean, it isn’t out of the ordinary to mention meting your new neighbors.” I nod in agreement and watch from the corner of my eye as she goes back to looking out the window and wringing her hands together. When she digs her nail into her palm again, like she did earlier, I reach into the backseat and hand her a bottle of water.

“Thirsty?” She looks at it skeptically for a moment, then takes it.

“Thanks.” She cracks open the seal and takes a small sip from the bottle. I grab another one and hand it to her.

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