I Know Lucy (The Fugitive Series) (9 page)

“You want to eat tomorrow night? We gotta do this.”

She’d given her standard reluctant nod and headed off in the opposite direction. It had been 17 months since Marlin fished her out of the river and kept her warm that night. The next morning he’d given her a bruised banana and half an apple, asking her if she’d like to stick with him for a while. Her plan had been to stay for a few days and then ditch him in the night. But each night she couldn’t do it. Marlin kept her safe. He fed her, talked to her, during the warmer months he’d even forced her back in the water, teaching her how to swim properly. By the end of their first summer, he’d become the older brother she’d always wanted.

They’d made it through four seasons together. They survived the heat, the cold, the wind, the rain. They’d eaten out of garbage cans, slept some nights under the stars and other nights under bridges or huddled against cold, stone walls in back alleys. They’d walked for miles, heading from one small town to another. Marlin had respected her wish never to hitch a ride. She was still too scared someone would recognize her. Sure, the news of her parents’ deaths had faded, but she still didn’t want to take any chances.

She was no longer Lucy Tate, she had become…

“Cyan,” Marlin whispered her nickname.

“Over here.” She called into the darkness and listened for the scuffling of feet. He shuffled towards her and as soon as he was close enough, grabbed her wrist and tugged her across the dark field, away from the carefree chatter of the fairground.

“How’d you do?”

“Okay.” She shrugged.

The idea of picking pockets both horrified and thrilled her. She hated that she was a thief. That someone was going to reach into their pocket and find their wallet gone, then have the drama of replacing everything. Reaching into her pocket, she fingered the gold bracelet. That lady was going to think she had forgotten to put it on after all. When she returned home, she would hunt for it and find it missing. Would she cry? Was the bracelet a gift from someone special?

Lucy felt sick, but then came that smile. She hated that smile, but she couldn’t help it. She had managed to get that bracelet without the lady knowing. The art of pickpocketing was a skill she’d had to really practice. Marlin had taught her a couple of months into their time together. At first she’d outright refused to learn, but after three days of garbage scraps, Lucy was going out of her mind. She agreed to do whatever it took to get a decent meal…and so Marlin had become her Fagan and they were an excellent team.

As her skills improved, they’d managed to get some decent cash. It never lasted long, but they’d get enough to spend a night at a cheap motel so they could shower and get cleaned up. She’d been able to buy some warmer clothes for the winter and some decent boots.

Yeah, the pickpocketing had changed her life dramatically, but it had also changed her soul. She’d become a criminal and the pride in her ability was only a flash in the pan thing.

Jumping the fence, Lucy followed Marlin to the spot in the woods where they’d stowed their stuff. Slumping down by the tree trunk, she leaned against it as Marlin pulled out his canvas bag. She waited while he lit the lantern, checking over her shoulder to make sure they were well hidden. She felt satisfied they were and turned back just as the area around her illuminated with a soft glow.

“Okay, what’d you get, Cy?”

She grinned at the shortened nickname. She’d refused to confirm she was Lucy, even though he knew she was. So it had become a game. He’d called her all manner of things for the first few weeks, making her laugh in spite of her desolation. But one night he’d cut the antics short and just stared at her long and hard.

“Cyan.” He’d clicked his finger and pointed at her. “That’s your name.”

She frowned and tipped her head. “Cyan?”

“The color of your beautiful eyes. It’s perfect for you.”

She’d grinned and nodded. It was the perfect name for her… more because it’d been given to her by Marlin. She was falling in love with him. Not in the way a girl loves a guy, but in the way a sister loves a brother. Marlin had quickly become her new family and she would be forever grateful.

With a sigh, she pulled out her loot and laid it on the ground.

Marlin fingered the bracelet with a smile. “No way. Shit, girl!” He high-fived her hand with an elated grin. “This’ll get us through the month easily.”

She grinned back at him, that fleeting pride swelling within her. “What’d you score?”

He emptied his pocket, pulling out a watch, two wallets and a wad of loose cash. She reached for it, counting the notes. “A hundred bucks,” she murmured. Flipping open the other three wallets, she extracted all the cash. It came to a total of $235. “Man, people just don’t carry much cash anymore.”

Marlin shook his head. “We’re not getting into stealing Visa numbers.”

“No, I don’t want that either.” She frowned. “This cash will get us a motel. We can clean up and go sell the bracelet tomorrow.”

“Nah, I don’t want to do it too close to town. Whoever this belongs to might report it stolen and we don’t want any pawn shop guy identifying us. I say we hang onto it for a couple of months. Head north a little further. Get some distance.”

“Okay.” Lucy nodded, hugging her knees to her chest.

“Hey, we did good for a fair ground. It’s summer, there’s gonna be plenty more of these popping up over the next couple of months. It’ll give us time to save for the winter.”

“Yeah, I know. You’re right.” She forced a smile, trying to be brave, but she was tired and melancholy tonight.

Seeing those girls had thrown her, made her pine for the life she should be living. She missed her parents, Maria, school even. She missed sitting in a classroom and learning. She missed normalcy.

Was the rest of her life going to be like this? Constantly on the run? Living from town to town? She was exhausted just thinking about it. Her eyes lost focus as she played her blocking out the world trick for a minute, trying to numb her mind against reality.

Her tummy grumbled, reminding her that their last meal had been breakfast. Reality could never be blocked for long.

“Do you want me to go buy us a hotdog to share?”

“No.” She shook her head. “I want a shower more. Let’s save up the money for tomorrow night. I want to sleep on a mattress with a pillow. It’s been over a week.”

“Yeah.” Marlin mussed her hair as he sat down beside her and wrapped his arm around her shoulders.

An owl hooted in the distance, making Lucy flinch.

“You seem jittery tonight.”

Lucy rested her head on his shoulder, thinking about the police. “I just sometimes wonder if this will all catch up with us. What if we’re caught one day?” She nibbled her bottom lip, that familiar fear building inside her.

The law terrified her, not only because she was a crook, but because the law was crooked. She’d seen for herself how the law didn’t guarantee any kind of safety. Those pale green eyes still haunted her dreams.

“Are we gonna die, Marlin?” Her voice shook as she asked the same question she always did when thinking about her parents’ murders.

Marlin kissed the top of her head and replied with the same answer every time. “One day, but of nothing more than natural causes.” He rested his hollow cheek on her head. “I ain’t gonna let anybody hurt you, Cyan. You can count on that.”

Chapter 11

April 2014

“Would you drop it, Elliot.” I flung my hands out. With them still inside my jacket pockets, I looked like I had wings. I walked towards the center of Danville, keeping an eye out for my parents. Since I was in San Fran all day tomorrow, they wanted to have a family lunch today to discuss the pending summer. They were nervous about leaving me for six weeks to travel around Europe. It would be another session of me assuring them that I really didn’t want to come as that would defeat the purpose of their second honeymoon.

I promised I’d meet them at our favorite little cafe on Hartz Ave.

“No, I won’t drop it.” Elliot sounded pissy. “She was lying last night and you know it.”

I rolled my eyes, trying to act as though Dani’s deception didn’t bother me. “Look, she’s obviously a private person. Is it really our right to start an inquest on the poor girl?”

“I knew you liked her.” Elliot snapped his fingers and I suddenly wished I hadn’t agreed to spend the morning playing Halo 2 at his place. Thankfully the discussion had been minimal while we were shooting the crap out of each other, but now that he was walking me into town…it was a different matter.

I cleared my throat, ignoring his last comment.

“If you didn’t like her, you’d be hounding her like a dog, wanting to know every secret. I’d have to listen to your endless hypothesis, but you’re all quiet and nonplussed. You don’t want to screw this up with her, so you’re just going with it. It’s not like Zach Schultz. What the hell, man?”

He gave my arm a back hand slap, which actually kinda hurt. I rubbed my bicep and shot him a droll look.

“Okay, fine. It’s not that I’m not interested in why she’s being hedgy, but I don’t know. I don’t want to push my luck. She’s gonna take time to figure out. What if she wasn’t lying? What if she’s just a really private person and your suspicious nature and my need to constantly question everything is just projecting this stuff on her. Maybe she doesn’t want us to meet her dad. Maybe he’s really strict and won’t let her have a cellphone, but she’s too embarrassed to admit that. We don’t know…and that’s the truth.”

Elliot stopped and yanked on my shirt, pulling me to a halt. His cynical brown eyes were on fire, in spite of his deadpan expression. “Is it? Or is it just the truth you want to believe?”

I pushed my tongue over my bottom teeth and looked away from my friend.

“Zach, you want her, and you want to find out all about her so that if she’s in some kind of trouble you can play hero.”

“So?” I shrugged, annoyed that he could read me so well.

“So, don’t get caught in something that we all have to rescue you from. I’m not saying this to be an asshole. You’re my friend. But this girl is different. The way you look at her, it’s more intense. I don’t care if it’s just intrigue, or something more. I want you to be careful, man.”

My irritation whistled away as I gazed at my genuine friend. My mouth tipped to the side in a grin as I slapped his shoulder.

“I won’t go too far. Yeah, I like her more than I want to. She fascinates me. I mean what kind of girl swims because she’s afraid of the water. She’s focused, she’s determined. It’s like she’s not afraid of anything, but she seems so vulnerable at the same time.” My forehead wrinkled as I shook my head. “I want to find out everything I can about her, but I also just like hanging out with her. What if my need to investigate screws up something really cool with her.”

“Or what if your instincts to investigate are warning bells to stay away?”

I sighed and kicked at the grass on the edge of the curb. “I don’t want to do that.”

“I know, you stubborn ass.” Elliot lightly punched my shoulder. “Which is why I’m here to be that annoying friend who gets in your face. I’m not gonna shut up about it. Find out what you need to know, but don’t get in too deep.”

And that’s why I loved my friends.

I pursed my lips and finally gave Elliot a nod. “I promise, if she gets too weird, I’ll back away.”

Satisfied enough with my response, Elliot let us keep walking in silence. I knew he was still irritated with me. He didn’t want to have to deal with anymore of my girlfriend crap. Not that Dani was my girlfriend. That part didn’t seem to matter though. The need to spend more time with her burned within me. I wasn’t ready to walk away. My curiosity was piqued. I had heard Elliot though and I did mean what I said. If she got all creepy on me, I’d back away. I just hoped I hadn’t fallen for her by the time it came to that.

*****

The burger in front of me was stacked so high I didn’t think I could get it in my mouth. I smiled at the waitress before she turned and rushed back into the cafe. This place was always busy, because it was the best. We’d managed to snatch an outside table and I was enjoying sitting against the railing, just a little higher than the sidewalk traffic.

Mom and Dad were discussing the merits of risotto over pasta as they compared meals, which quickly morphed into a conversation about how divine the food in Italy would be. Man, they were so excited about Europe. It was cute.

I started to dissect my burger. Flipping off the lid, I grabbed for the ketchup and thought of AJ with a grin. Lucky he didn’t work here. I’m sure whatever restaurant he owns won’t even have ketchup available.

I banged some on and used my finger to smear it over my meat patty while Mom wasn’t looking, then stuck my finger in my mouth and licked off the remaining sauce. That’s when a dark haired girl caught my eye.

She was crossing the street, her short cropped hair looking shiny and perfect. She was wearing big shades that made her look like Jackie Onassis. Her little mini skirt and tight tank top hugged her figure beautifully and I wouldn’t have been a guy if I didn’t stop to admire it.

The boots she was wearing looked a little worse for wear, but well loved. The brown leather needed a good polish, but the scrappy look suited her ensemble.