31. Raleigh
CHAPTER 31
Raleigh
My stomach is churning itself into a hurricane as the misty countryside flies past us. Once again, I’m handcuffed in the back of a police cruiser with a pissed off Derrick Lindman driving. I almost wish the dogs had come back with us, so I’d at least have their warm, furry bodies to lean on.
Instead, I’m combing over every single word I’ve said to Derrick since the last time he arrested me, trying to find the one that made him finally lose his faith in me.
I’m not surprised Iris found a way to track me. Her abilities have always far outpaced those of her peers- she’s like a goddamn superspy. But I am surprised she didn’t try to come after me on her own, just so she could solve this quickly and quietly. Getting Thomas involved, forcing him to call off his honeymoon to come reclaim me?? That’s in no one’s best interests, not even mine.
My heart aches for Clara. Once again, I’ve ruined something for my best friend, and this time, I didn’t even have to fucking try.
The next moment, that same thought makes me angry. No, this wasn’t my fault. If Derrick had let me charge my phone, I could’ve called or texted Iris to tell her I’d left of my own free will. If either she or Thomas gave me the space to live my own life, I’d make a mess of it, sure, but at least it would be my mess.
And if Derrick actually believed in me like he claimed he did, I wouldn’t be the one taking the fall for everyone else’s choices.
“I didn’t call my brother for help,” I say, putting all my strength into my words so they don’t waver.
I watch Derrick’s hands tighten on the steering wheel, but he doesn’t respond.
“In fact, if you knew me at all , you’d know that’s the last thing I’d ever do if I was in trouble,” I press, hoping he feels the twist of that dagger.
Derrick’s eyes flash to meet mine in the rearview. “Stop fucking toying with me, Raleigh.”
“Why?!” I snap back, too hurt not to strike back. “You never really minded before.”
“That was before you gave away my mother’s location-”
“You were the one who took me there!” I shriek. “I didn’t want to go at all, but you wouldn’t let me do anything else!” I shake my head. “That doesn’t even matter. I would never talk about your mom to anyone else, not to Tommy, not even to Iris. You think I’d get her involved with the mafia after everything she’s been through?”
“Don’t you fucking talk to me about what she’s been through,” Derrick snarls.
The pain in my chest digs a little bit deeper. Just last night, he was baring the ugly truth of his past to me. Today, he rejects every word I try to use to defend myself.
“How would I even tell them where I am?” I ask. “I haven’t had my phone for days. If they’re tracking me through anything else, I don’t even know about it.”
My mind flashes back to his file in Thomas’s study, and my stomach does a sickening flip. Oh… oh no…
“Derrick…” I say, my voice almost too quiet. “I don’t think they were tracking me. Not this time. I… I think they’ve been tracking you.”
Derrick’s hands are so tight on the wheel that his knuckles have turned white. “Of course they’ve been keeping an eye on me. But we left the city suddenly, and under the cover of night, and no one knew my destination except you -”
This will ruin any chance I have to prove my own innocence, because I really should’ve thought of this sooner, but I have to tell him. He deserves to know. “No, Derrick! In my brother’s office there’s a folder with your name on it. It’s got records of your daily movements, everywhere you’ve been and everything you’ve done. I- I looked inside it when I thought you might be working with Silver.”
“And you didn’t bother to mention it, naturally,” Derrick bites out.
“Once I realized you weren’t working with Silver, I didn’t think about it,” I admit, guilt twisting inside me.
“Convenient.”
“I swear-”
“You swore things last night, too,” Derrick cuts me off. “I’m not falling for it anymore.”
I bump my head back against my plastic seat, choking on fury, nausea, and a pain in my chest I can only imagine is heartbreak. “ Derrick ,” I plead. “Do you have your phone on you right now?”
“I threw it against the wall after your brother threatened my mother’s life.”
I grit my teeth and close my eyes tight. The cruiser goes down a shallow hill, and it feels like my stomach rises inside me. I’m punching Thomas in the face before this is over, more than once if I can get away with it.
“You said… you said you were taking me back to the estate,” I manage. “That’s not all he asked for, is it?”
“Of course not,” Derrick scoffs. “He’s also decided he’s sick of putting up with me. When I drop you off, he’ll take the opportunity to kill me.” His voice lowers. “If he can fucking catch me.”
My breath catches, my nausea momentarily forgotten in my shock. “I won’t let that happen,” I tell him.
“I’m not giving you the chance to step in,” Derrick says. “When we get close enough, you’re walking the rest of the way, and I’m leaving.”
Leaving. Like I planned to leave. Where does Derrick plan to go? Does he even have a plan yet, or will he buy the first available ticket and disappear.
Will I ever see him again?
“Please,” I choke. “ Don’t . Let me fix this. I’ll talk to Thomas-”
My stomach finally rebels. I clamp my mouth shut as bile forces its way up my throat, pressing myself up against the cold window of the back seat even though this door can’t be opened from the inside. Derrick must see my struggle and realize quickly what it means, because he jerks the cruiser over to the side of the road.
Once again, I’m about to heave up my guts on the side of the road while the man I want is pissed at me. Wonderful.