Page 137 of The Sister's Curse
I nodded, crumbling my bacon in my fingers. “There’s a distinct possibility that I’m going to get criminally charged with some serious shit.” I promised him long ago that I wouldn’t lie to him. I meant it.
Nick drank his orange juice. “I figured. If you go to prison, I’ll wait for you.”
“Seriously?”
“Or, I dunno. We could just run away.” He shrugged. “You have experience in creating new identities.”
“I don’t want you to fuck up your life for me.”
“My life’s already plenty fucked up, thank you very much. But I’d prefer that it were fucked up with you.”
“Even if we have to go long-distance, with me in a prison cell?” I was only half kidding.
“Even if.” He leaned forward and kissed my temple. “You’re stuck with me, babe.”
“Will you take care of the dog?”
“Of course. Don’t be ridiculous. He’s our child. And I’ll get the best lawyers money can buy. I swear.”
It was a lighthearted conversation, but we both knew what was at stake. His profession was still on the line. Mine was toast. If we could avoid criminal charges and getting sued, maybe we could still have something.
“Seriously, I don’t want to go to prison,” I told him slowly.
He reached across the table to hold my hand. “I know.”
I saw complete devotion in his face. And not just because I’d saved his life. Maybe, though, saving his life was an evening of thescales. My father had taken his mother’s life away from him, and I restored something for him. I wanted to set him free, so he could have something of a life of his own.
But I wanted him. And I would rather run. I took a deep breath. “What if—”
A knock sounded at the door, and my heart lurched into my throat.
“Do you want me to answer that?” he asked.
I paused. My eyes darted to the front door, then to the back door. I could run into the forest, run and not be found. My bare toes flexed on the linoleum.
If I ran like the fox, though…I wasn’t sure Nick would be able to follow. His hand still held mine fast on the table. But I could shrug it off and run…
I looked into his eyes. “Okay.”
Nick opened the door, and I saw Chief standing on the porch.
Nick looked to me.
“Come in,” I said. “How’s Monica?”
“Hanging in there. I just came back from the hospital.”
The three of us sat down at the kitchen table.
Chief cleared his throat. “I need to talk to you.”
“Do I need a lawyer?”
“Hear me out.” He put his hands on the scarred table. “There have been some changes in the sheriff’s office.”
“Oh?”
“Sheriff Wilson was found to be in contact with Jeff Sumner and his buddies, to aid and abet felony crimes. I charged him with conspiracy to commit murder. Judge Chamberlain signed his arrest warrant.”
