Deceived by Kate Serine

“there was nothing wrong with Mr. Finn’s shirt.”
    â€œFine,” Eli huffed. “But I didn’t like the way he looked at you.”
    Luke grunted. He didn’t like it either, but he sure as shit wasn’t about to admit it.
    â€œWhat are you talking about?” Sarah asked with a slight chuckle, sending a glance Luke’s way.
    Eli shrugged. “Nothing. I just didn’t like it. He had that look like in the movies when the guy puts his tongue in the girl’s mouth.”
    â€œWhat?” Sarah cried. “ What movies are you talking about? Were you watching cable at Dylan’s again?”
    Luke glanced in the rearview mirror in time to catch Eli rolling his eyes. “There’s kissing in all the movies, Mom. Sheesh. But it’s okay when Mr. Rogan looks at you like that. I don’t mind him wanting to kiss you.”
    Luke damned near steered the SUV off the road. But his surprise was apparently nothing compared to Sarah’s; she twisted around in her seat so fast it was a miracle she didn’t get whiplash.
    â€œElijah Gregory Scoffield!” she hissed. “I suggest you hush this instant, young man. You have no idea what you’re talking about.”
    â€œSure, I do,” Eli argued. He leaned forward enough to tap Luke on the shoulder. “You think my mom’s pretty, right?”
    Luke suddenly found himself wishing for a well-placed sinkhole to swallow up the SUV. He shifted a little in his seat and sent a glance Sarah’s way. “Yeah. Sure.”
    â€œAnd don’t guys always want to kiss pretty girls?” Eli pressed.
    Luke cleared his throat, the air in the vehicle feeling too thick to draw into his lungs. “Uh . . . it’s a little more complicated than that, buddy. You can’t just kiss every pretty girl you see.” He sent a guarded glance Sarah’s way. “She has to want you to kiss her.”
    Eli sent an expectant look his mom’s way. “You want him to kiss you, right, Mom?”
    Sarah looked like she wanted to dive out of the moving vehicle, her cheeks nearly as bright as her sweater. “End of discussion, Eli.”
    â€œBut—”
    The look she sent the boy’s way cut him off in an instant. Eli huffed again and settled back against his seat.
    â€œSo where are we going next?” he piped up after a few long moments of charged silence.
    â€œMy house,” Luke told him. “You’ll be safe there. But I don’t want you saying anything to anyone about what happened at the festival, okay, Eli?”
    Eli shrugged. “Sure. Okay.”
    â€œIn fact,” Luke continued, “if anyone asks, I need you to tell them you guys are Sarah and Eli Randall. Sarah’s my girlfriend—”
    â€œI knew it!” Eli cut in.
    â€œIt’s just a cover story, Eli,” Sarah stressed, her tone clipped. “We’re only staying until Mr. Rogan is allowed to take us back home.”
    â€œWhen will that be?” Eli asked. “Who was that guy at the festival? Why did he want to hurt us?”
    Luke glanced Sarah’s way, willing to let her take the lead on how much she wanted to tell her son.
    â€œWe’re still trying to figure that out, pumpkin,” she said. “But Mr. Rogan is going to make sure we’re safe until then.”
    Eli pressed his lips together and squared his shoulders in the way Luke had seen Sarah do earlier. The boy was more like his mother than he probably realized. “So are we going straight to your house?” he asked. “Are we almost there? How much farther do we need to go?”
    Luke glanced up in the mirror again and caught the kid’s dark gaze, his eyes wide with anticipation. “We’re still a few hours away. And we’re going shopping first.”
    Eli pulled a face. “Shopping? Oh, man . . . I hate shopping.”
    â€œI totally feel ya, buddy,” Luke agreed. “But