Inseparable (13 page)

“How can I help you darlin’,” He sneered, licking his cracked, discolored lips. His unshaven face looked in dire need of a good wash, and the stench of old cigarettes and foul body odor drifted across the table.

“I need information on a former cell mate of yours,” I said, as soon as the guard was out of ear shot. Cole laughed a wheezy breathless laugh.

“And what are you gonna give me, sweetheart, cause I can tell ya you only got one thing I want and I ain’t tellin’ ya shit without getting what I want,” He leered at me. I jumped as his leg touched mine under the table. Dane shot forward.

“Don’t you fucking touch her,” He threatened, the vein in his neck visible as the blood pulsated through it, his hands clenched into tight fists beside his body.

“What are you gonna do, kid?” Cole challenged, laughing, his rotted teeth making me cringe. I looked away, repulsed.

“You know who sent me Cole. Belle. Remember her? Because she sure remembers you,” I spoke loudly, mustering all the confidence I could into my voice. If there was one thing I knew, that was if he thought I was bluffing in any way, then he’d close up.

No matter how shit scared I was right now, I had to fake strong. Dane’s hand ran over my leg, silently willing me on.

“What the fuck are you on about? You don’t know what you’re talking about,” He grumbled. Only I could see the fear in his eyes. I’d triggered something. Exactly what, I wasn’t sure, but it was there. He was frazzled.

“You know
exactly
what the fuck I’m talking about, you useless sack of shit,” I growled, leaning across the table, my eyes locked with his.

“What do you want?” The fear had been replaced with terror. This guy was scared. Holy shit this guy was terrified. I took my chance.

“You shared a cell with Earl before his death back in 2004. Now, I
know
he didn’t kill Steffy, and I want to know is what did he told you?” I kept my voice even, not once breaking eye contact.

“That old sack of shit? He spoke shit all day. He’d be bragging about rapin’ and murderin’ the girl one minute, then tellin’ me how he sold her for a bunch of cash the next. Full of shit, he was,” Cole crossed his arms over his chest and shook his head, as his eyes clouded with memories. I felt Dane stiffen next to me. I had to admit, if it were me in his position, I didn’t think I could be as controlled.

“Sold her to who?” I asked, pressing my hand down on top of Dane’s, hoping he could feel my support. This had to be so hard for him.

Cole shrugged, “No idea. But whoever brought that little package was one lucky son of a bitch,” He laughed a belly filled laugh. Dane kicked his chair back next to me, leaning across the table menacingly.

“You want me to knock the fucking shit out of you, you useless son of a bitch,” He hissed. Panic rose inside me as I realized how close he was to punching this guy.

“Dane, no. Go. Leave,” I ordered, trying to hold him back. I pushed him away from the table. “Go!” I ordered. Dane stared at Cole angrily, his fists balled up at his sides.

“Fuck,” He cursed, reaching over to me and grabbing my hand. He marched me across the floor of the visitors’ room, as I struggled to keep up.

“Dane, hey!” I cried, trying to loosen his tight grip on my wrist, “You’re hurting me!” He let go, slamming his fist against the wall, cursing. I had never seen him so angry.

Chapter Fifteen

“So,” Dane turned to me, “If we leave now, it will be after midnight by the time we get back. Or we can stay here overnight.”

I shrugged, not really caring one way or the other.

“Personally, I’m beat. So we might stay here if that’s okay?” He asked.

I nodded. I grabbed my phone and texted Kella. Not that she would even notice, she’d been spending so much time with Fraser lately. Dane drove back through the city, eventually stopping at a small motel with a vacancy sign out the front.

“Are you okay with sharing a room? I will sleep on the floor or something,” He added quickly. I nodded. Even at a time like this, I still managed to be excited at the idea of sleeping in the same room as him.

Waiting in the car as he went into the office, I decided to call mom.

“Hello?”

“Hey mom, it’s me,” I smiled

“Hey Lil! How are you?” Mom sounded so happy to hear my voice. I could hear Anna calling out hello in the background. I giggled.

“Hi Anna,” I said, “How’s things, mom? I miss you guys so much,” I added, my voice cracking.

“No crying, Lily. We are fine. How’s school? And Kella?”

“Good and good. Kella’s seeing someone. He’s really nice.”

“Really?” Mom sounded puzzled, “I thought she was a lesbian.”

I giggled. Mom always found Kella’s love life so fascinating. The first time she’d met Mel she’d actually told them they were the first lesbian couple she’d ever met. I’d been embarrassed, naturally, but Mel and Kella had laughed their asses off. By the time they’d left, mom knew more about the ins and outs of lesbian sex than I ever wanted to imagine my mother knowing.

“Um, no, she’s kind of always gone both ways,” I laughed. I could see Dane making his way back to me, “I’ve gotta go, mom, I just wanted to tell you I love you and miss you.”

“We miss you too, honey.”

Dane raised his eyebrows at me inquisitively, “Who was that?” He asked.

“My mom. I hadn’t called her in over a week,” I smiled, “Did you get the room?” He held up a pair of keys.

“A double bed and a single,” He smiled. I nodded, not ignorant to the disappointment I was feeling about there being two beds. There was no mistaking where I’d been hoping this night would go. “He gave me the number for a pizza delivery place too.”

I nodded, the mention of food making my stomach grumble like it hadn’t been fed in weeks. I blushed as Dane eyed me, amused.

“Hungry, are we?” He grinned.

Stupid loud gurgling stomach. I ignored his smirk and strode ahead to our room. Number 22. My birthday. It was once my lucky number. Until Abby died on the 22
^nd
as well. I suppose I could take comfort in the fact that at least she didn’t die on my actual birthday.

As Dane fiddled with the key in the door, I took the moment to sneak a look at him. A shadow of stubble was beginning to show across his chin, a consequence of the stress of the last few days. I felt the same tingles I’d felt that first day; in fact, I felt them every time I was near him. He opened the door, stepping back to let me enter first. I walked in, with Dane’s hand resting on the nape of my back.

Oh god that feels good. How the hell was I supposed to sleep in the same room as this guy and not jump him?

The room was nice, in a cheap, small town motel kind of way. The faded checkered bedspreads that covered both beds didn’t match, but they looked clean and crisp. The room had a musty smell to it, like it had been vacant for a while. I found that strangely reassuring, knowing nobody had been murdered or raped in here, at least not recently.

I sat down on a rather creaky chair near the desk. I grabbed the TV remote, turning it on. The picture wasn’t clear, but it was watchable. I doubted they had cable here. I was right.

“Is this okay?” Dane asked me, glancing around the room. My eyes fell on the beds again, which were so close together they may as well have been one. Why did that make my heart race?

“Yes, fine,” I said, managing a small smile. I spied the small bathroom off to the side, “I might have a shower.”

“Sure. I’ll order dinner,” Dane turned away quickly, “Pepperoni alright?”

“Sounds nice,” I called out, grabbing a towel and heading into the bathroom. Well, actually squeezing into the bathroom would be a more appropriate term. It was tiny, with a toilet in one corner, and the shower tucked in behind the door.

I stripped out of my clothes, gingerly stepping into the shower. I angled the nozzle away from me, letting the water run through for a couple of minutes before aiming it at my body. I closed my eyes, trying to pretend I was somewhere nicer.

Dane called out dinner was here, I quickly dried myself before putting on the same clothes. I hadn’t anticipated being away overnight. I was glad I was prepared enough with my small bottle of mouthwash I carried around, along with a stick of deodorant. At least I would smell nice.

“Feel better?” Dane sat on the edge of the single bed, a pizza box at his side, and a bottle of coke by his feet. He’d taken his shoes and socks off. I nodded, joining him on the bed.

“Smells nice,” I commented. Though I was so hungry, I think anything would have smelt nice. I reached for the biggest slice then reconsidered, not wanting to look greedy. Dane shook his head, laughing.

“You are a very strange girl, Lil,” He reached for the big piece and handed it to me, “I like a girl who knows how to eat.” He smiled broadly as my cheeks colored.

I downed the first slice, reaching for my second well before Dane had finished his first. This wasn’t the time to be all sweet and girly. I was freaking starving.

“So, how are you?” I asked, covering my mouth so as not to show him the mushed up contents. He shrugged in reply. He was holding it together well, much better than I thought he would. I spied a small splotch of pizza sauce on the top corner of his lip.

“What you said to him…about the girl? Bella?” Dane hesitated, playing with the slice of pizza in his hand, “What was all that about, Lil? He looked terrified.”

I swallowed what was left of my third slice. “Honestly, I don’t know,” I admitted, “Abby told me to say that. I’ve no idea who Bella is. I assumed it was his daughter, but I don’t know what happened to her.” Dane nodded, still fiddling with his food. The spot of sauce, still on his lip, was getting on my nerves. I reached over and gently wiped it off. He looked up, surprised, his eyes searching mine.

“You, uh…” My voice trailed off as my vocabulary deserted me.

He pushed the box aside and moved closer to me, so close I could feel the warmth radiating off his chest. He lifted his hand until it rested around the curve of my neck. His face moved closer to mine. Our lips were almost touching, as he placed his other hand on the other side of my face. As he drew me to his lips, my body jumped, rigid in anticipation, as though it knew exactly what was about to happen.

This was what I wanted. This was what I thought about when we were not together.

His touch, his kiss.

His taste.

I was vaguely aware of the pizza box falling to the floor, its contents spilling out onto the rug that could only be described as baby poo green. Dane looked me and smiled. I shrugged, and positioned myself under him on the bed. Pulling him down on top of me, we kissed, his mouth exploring mine with a sense of urgency. I lifted my singlet over my head; he did the same, until our bare bodies pressed against each other.

“God sexy, I’ve missed you,” He mumbled, fumbling his way out of his jeans.

“Missed me, we were together yesterday,” I laughed softly, as his hands trailed over my bare back. Yesterday felt like years ago.

“I thought maybe I’d ruined it, Lil. Kicking you out like I did,” He rolled off me, sighing as he rain his hands through his tangled hair, “I couldn’t go through that again, Lil.” He reached for my hand, his thumb rubbing over my knuckles.

“Dane, it’s okay. I get it. Really. And your reaction was completely understandable,” I assured him. The doubt in his eyes faded slightly, as my words made some kind of impact. I rolled over, snuggling in against him, his arms wrapping around me. This was my new favorite position.

“What do we do now, Lil?” Dane sounded stressed. He was scared; I could hear that in his voice.

“I don’t know. We can go to the police and tell them my dead sister told me in a dream the man convicted of your sister’s murder didn’t in fact murder her, but sold her to a sex ring,” I felt Dane’s arms tighten, “It sounds a little far-fetched,” I added.

“Okay, well we will head home tomorrow, and who knows, maybe we will have some new information by then,” He sounded hopeful. I turned to face him, shocked. Did this mean he was starting to believe me? “Don’t look at me like that Lil. I don’t know what I’m thinking; I just know that you’re the best lead we have right now.”

I kissed him, suddenly needing his mouth on mine. Having him believe in me – that I wasn’t crazy – meant the world to me. I could handle everyone else thinking I was a nut, but there was something different about Dane. I cared about how he saw me. That was something I hadn’t felt in a long time. We continued to kiss, not going any further than that, enjoying each other’s touch.

As we lay together in the single bed, I stroked his back gently until he finally fell asleep. He rolled over slightly, snuggling in close to me. I took in his body, the freckle that sat just above his left nipple, the small scar that ran across his collarbone. I ran my fingers over his chest, as if seeing him for the first time. I almost felt as if I was invading his privacy, looking at him like this. I ran my fingers over a long, jagged scar that ran down his right side. At about five inches, it was a decent size. What was that from? I remembered Kella saying something about the boxing team. He must have taken a decent hit to cause that.

I lay back, watching his chest rise and fall. Reaching down for the bedspread and blanket, I pulled them up over us. It was after midnight, and the chill was setting in the air. I could make out the frost beginning to set on the sill of the window. Yawning, I closed my eyes.

Chapter Sixteen

“Well you definitely have good taste,” Abby said, surveying the sleeping Dane that lay next to me. I rolled my eyes, and smiled.

“I’ve always had good taste,” I retorted. She was right about one thing, Dane was a great choice. “So, we saw Cole, the cellmate.”

Abby nodded. Of course, she already knew. I wasn’t sure how the whole being dead and knowing everything thing worked, and the one time I’d asked, she’d skirted around the subject.

“What now?” I asked, completely at a loss, “The police won’t help. Thank god Dane believes me. Or at least doesn’t
not
believe me.” That seemed a better way to describe it.