Page 19 of Tequila & Lace
When he returned, he was dressed in jeans and a black T-shirt. He looked more like my best friend than a cop interrogating me. He sat back down on the section of the couch diagonal from me. “Okay. What happened?” He reached for my hand and ran his thumb over mine.
“Cruella and I got into a fight and I left.” I shrugged.
He chuckled. “Joss, you didn’t run away because of a fight. You two fight all the time. What really happened? And how the hell did you get here?”
I looked up and met his sea green eyes. “What did your grandma tell you?”
He tilted his head a little. “She said your mom told her you didn’t return after dinner.” I gave a sarcastic chuckle. “What’s so funny?”
“Come on, Seth!” I stood out of anger, breaking our contact. “Who the hell was I supposed to have dinner with? You know Cat’s in Hawaii, she probably doesn’t even know I’m missing. I didn’t have dinner with anyone. Cruella told your grandma that, but I didn’t have any birthday dinner plans.”
“Grandma said she saw you get into a limo.”
And there was the swallow. It was, in fact, me swallowing my lie. “I went around the block while Cruella got ready for her date. She had a date on my birthday. You know she doesn’t care about me. When she got home, I left. I’d had enough. I can’t take her shit anymore, Seth. It was my birthday and she left in a limo to have a date. She didn’t even wish me a happy birthday.” More tears streamed down my face. Part of what I was saying was true and it still hurt.
He stood and wrapped me in his arms. “You can’t leave because you got in a fight. You’re seventeen. You need to go back and finish school.”
“I’ll stay here and get my GED.”
“You need to go back. If someone were to find out that you’re here—”
I pulled my head back. “What do you mean?”
“I’m a cop and there are laws. You’re seventeen. You have to be in school. And you ran away from home, Josie.”
“Like I said, I’ll get my GED.”
He took a deep breath. “Fuck, Joss. This isn’t good. Cruella’s gonna be pissed.”
“She’s not going to care.” Little did he know, she would. She was going to be livid. “You don’t even need to tell her I’m here. She’s probably happy I’m gone. One less mouth to feed.”
“I’m going to call Grandma and tell her—”
“No!” I shrieked and reached for his arm as he stepped away from me. I didn’t want him to call her. Before I could utter another word, his cell rang.
“It’s her.”
My heart stopped. I was screwed. I was one hundred and twenty-thousand percent screwed. This was the end of the road. He would tell her I was here, she’d tell Mother, and then I’d be on my way back to Miami to start my new career.
“Hey, Grandma, I have good news…What?” he exclaimed and my head snapped in his direction. My gaze met his. “Are you sure?” He ran a hand down his face. “Everything?… Boxes?… Bryce too?” I sat down on the couch. “Okay. Let me know if you find out anything else. Oh, right.” He smiled and I smiled back. This was a good sign. At least I thought it was. “Joss is here… Yeah. I’m not sure, but she is. She got into a fight with Maggie and ran away… I’ll take care of her until we find out. Okay, I’ll tell her. Love you, too. Bye.”
“What’d she say?” I asked as soon as he pressed a button on his cell.
“Your mom and brother are gone.”
“What do you mean gone?”
“They left with some guys.” I blinked at him, not saying anything. “Joss?”
“Are you sure?”
“Grandma went over to check and the door was unlocked. Everything was boxed up and gone.”
I didn’t know what to say. What did it mean? Why would Tony take them? And then it hit me like a ton of bricks:
“…you and your mother are going to pay.”
“What are you thinking about?”
