lucky.
Gary pushed open the doors to the library while Bri wished she could melt into the wall. “Hey!” he shouted and she let out a squeak.
Her excuse fell from her lips as he continued to talk. Sing, actually. The familiar lyrics of a song flowed from his lips as she caught sight of white earbuds in his ears. He continued into the room, not noticing her there.
She waited until he disappeared down one of the rows of shelves before she booked it out of there and she didn’t stop until she reached Tucker’s truck.
CHAPTER NINE
Sloane
I scratched at the top of my ponytail for the hundredth time since we’d left the condo. A headache brewed in my temples and I resisted the urge to massage it away. I didn’t need Tucker to know how nervous I was. I could always blame it on the tight ponytail Bri had put my hair in for my “transformation” to look more like her. Apparently she rarely left home without one. And I rarely wore one because I found them so uncomfortable.
For a brief moment my mind wandered to the possibility of Tucker and Bri having a master plan to give me over to the police—maybe that’s why they’d separated us. Tucker’s thin frame didn’t fool me. His protectiveness over Bri was a strong enough motivator that I knew he’d be able to restrain me. I focused my mind on the weapon in my bag, something I wasn’t afraid to use if necessary.
The dark greens and browns of the dense forest blurred together outside the window. The police department was an excruciating, silent ride about twenty minutes away. Everything was so far apart in this town, separated by woods.
At first I was confused when we pulled into what looked like a residential driveway. The gray ranch-style home wasn’t at all what I expected when I thought of a police department. I was proved wrong by the wooden sign on the front of the house that read, “Willows Lake Police Department”.
Tucker pulled into a spot close to the front door and we both got out. The heavy silence between us dissipated in the fresh forest air.
He came to my side. “Let me do most of the talking. Smile and act nice.”
“I am nice,” I said haughtily. Then immediately I knew why he’d said that.
He held the door open for me and we walked inside.
“Well hey there, Tuck!” A young woman stood up from her desk with a big grin on her face.
I tried to mimic it since she seemed nice enough.
She raised an eyebrow at me. “You okay, Bri?”
Tucker pulled at my ponytail.
I glared up at his smirking mouth.
“She’s a little out of it right now, Amy. All that chlorine is starting to get to her.”
Amy smiled kindly at me. “Well Jake did tell me you were one of the top swimmers on your team.”
“Yeah.” Her bright eyes were the same as Jake’s: warm and friendly. I had to look away.
Tucker leaned over the counter. “So Bri and I have a school project for our Current Events class—”
Amy eyes lit up. “Do you have Mr. Parsons? Oh my God I had such a crush on him.” She winked at me conspiratorially.
I gave her my best “Bri” smile and I hoped it was enough.
“Yeah,” Tucker said. “Anyway, we’re writing a paper on the number of car accidents due to texting and we were wondering if we could take a look at some files of car accidents from Willows Lake.”
The lie rolled off his tongue so smoothly that for a second even I believed him.
Amy sat back in her chair and pulled it close to the desk. “I’m not supposed to let anyone have access to our files.”
Tucker leaned over the counter and took Amy’s hand. “We’re really in a jam. I procrastinated and now Bri is going to get a failing grade unless we can get some information for our paper.”
Amy’s lips twitched and she glanced behind her. When she turned back to us she dropped her voice low. “Good thing the guys are at the county morgue today following up on that motel death. They should be back in thirty minutes.”
We followed Amy down the hallway to the
Gary pushed open the doors to the library while Bri wished she could melt into the wall. “Hey!” he shouted and she let out a squeak.
Her excuse fell from her lips as he continued to talk. Sing, actually. The familiar lyrics of a song flowed from his lips as she caught sight of white earbuds in his ears. He continued into the room, not noticing her there.
She waited until he disappeared down one of the rows of shelves before she booked it out of there and she didn’t stop until she reached Tucker’s truck.
CHAPTER NINE
Sloane
I scratched at the top of my ponytail for the hundredth time since we’d left the condo. A headache brewed in my temples and I resisted the urge to massage it away. I didn’t need Tucker to know how nervous I was. I could always blame it on the tight ponytail Bri had put my hair in for my “transformation” to look more like her. Apparently she rarely left home without one. And I rarely wore one because I found them so uncomfortable.
For a brief moment my mind wandered to the possibility of Tucker and Bri having a master plan to give me over to the police—maybe that’s why they’d separated us. Tucker’s thin frame didn’t fool me. His protectiveness over Bri was a strong enough motivator that I knew he’d be able to restrain me. I focused my mind on the weapon in my bag, something I wasn’t afraid to use if necessary.
The dark greens and browns of the dense forest blurred together outside the window. The police department was an excruciating, silent ride about twenty minutes away. Everything was so far apart in this town, separated by woods.
At first I was confused when we pulled into what looked like a residential driveway. The gray ranch-style home wasn’t at all what I expected when I thought of a police department. I was proved wrong by the wooden sign on the front of the house that read, “Willows Lake Police Department”.
Tucker pulled into a spot close to the front door and we both got out. The heavy silence between us dissipated in the fresh forest air.
He came to my side. “Let me do most of the talking. Smile and act nice.”
“I am nice,” I said haughtily. Then immediately I knew why he’d said that.
He held the door open for me and we walked inside.
“Well hey there, Tuck!” A young woman stood up from her desk with a big grin on her face.
I tried to mimic it since she seemed nice enough.
She raised an eyebrow at me. “You okay, Bri?”
Tucker pulled at my ponytail.
I glared up at his smirking mouth.
“She’s a little out of it right now, Amy. All that chlorine is starting to get to her.”
Amy smiled kindly at me. “Well Jake did tell me you were one of the top swimmers on your team.”
“Yeah.” Her bright eyes were the same as Jake’s: warm and friendly. I had to look away.
Tucker leaned over the counter. “So Bri and I have a school project for our Current Events class—”
Amy eyes lit up. “Do you have Mr. Parsons? Oh my God I had such a crush on him.” She winked at me conspiratorially.
I gave her my best “Bri” smile and I hoped it was enough.
“Yeah,” Tucker said. “Anyway, we’re writing a paper on the number of car accidents due to texting and we were wondering if we could take a look at some files of car accidents from Willows Lake.”
The lie rolled off his tongue so smoothly that for a second even I believed him.
Amy sat back in her chair and pulled it close to the desk. “I’m not supposed to let anyone have access to our files.”
Tucker leaned over the counter and took Amy’s hand. “We’re really in a jam. I procrastinated and now Bri is going to get a failing grade unless we can get some information for our paper.”
Amy’s lips twitched and she glanced behind her. When she turned back to us she dropped her voice low. “Good thing the guys are at the county morgue today following up on that motel death. They should be back in thirty minutes.”
We followed Amy down the hallway to the
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