Chase reached over and touched her shoulder. “Chill. It’s going to be fine. If speeding is the worst thing you do, you’re good.” Then he grinned. “You’re cute when you’re scared.”
She slapped his hand. “I’m not scared. I’m … worried.”
“I know, but it’s going to be fine. I promise. Trust me. And no one will ever find out. Not your dad or Burnett. This is our secret.”
She stared at his light green eyes. And a part of her did trust him. But only part.
All of a sudden, she felt guilty. Guilty for taking the time to have fun when they should have been looking for Natasha and Liam.
She shot another look at the police car and started tapping her feet on the floorboard. “Seriously, what’s taking him so long?”
Chase touched her shoulder again. “Calm down or he’s going to think I kidnapped you or something.”
“Okay. I’m calming down. I am.” She stared straight ahead. Then, taking a couple of deep breaths, she leaned her head back and closed her eyes.
* * *
“You know it’s going to be okay. We’ll get out of this.”
Chase had just told her that, but when she reheard his words, the voice in her head wasn’t Chase’s. She opened her eyes. The sun, the blue sky, the Camaro, the police car, it had all disappeared.
Gone.
All gone.
Darkness, all she saw was darkness. She blinked again.
“You okay?” This time she recognized the voice.
Liam.
“Can I ask you something?” she said. Oh, hell yes, Della had questions, too. Where are we?
“Yeah,” he answered.
She turned her head and could barely see him. He was handsome, even though one of his eyes looked a little swollen.
Tell me where you are, so I can get you and Natasha out. She tried to say the words, but they wouldn’t come out. She might be inside Natasha’s body, but she didn’t have control.
Instead, Natasha asked, “Is there someone else?”
“What do you mean?” Liam asked.
“Do you have a girlfriend?”
He reached up and touched her face. “I think after what we did, three times, that means we’re … an item.” He laughed.
Natasha smiled, but in reality she wasn’t in the mood for humor. “I mean before now.”
He hesitated. “I used to. A year ago, she graduated and went off to USC.”
“Did you love her?” Natasha brushed some dirt off her knee and Della felt how badly she wanted Liam to say no.
“I thought I did. I wanted to go with her, but even with the scholarship they offered me, my mom couldn’t afford it. She was already working a second job to pay for here.”
“So, you’re smart. I figured that,” she said.
“Yeah,” he said. “But I’ll bet you didn’t do too bad in school, either.”
“I’m not USC smart,” she said. She paused, then asked, “So you two just broke up when she left?”
“No, we were going to try to make it work. You know, wait on each other. Fly out to see each other when we could. But just a few weeks in, she met someone else.”
“I’m sorry.”
“I’m not,” he said. “Getting turned would have ended it anyway.”
“Yeah, it kind of puts a damper on things, doesn’t it?” Emotion rose up in Natasha’s chest and Della realized Natasha’s feelings were much like the ones she felt about being turned. Her life had been ripped away from her.
“Please don’t tell me you’ve got someone,” Liam said. “Because I’m not going to like that.”
“I don’t,” she said. “Like you, there was someone, but I had to walk away when … when I got turned.”
“Did you fake your own death?” he asked.
“They guy at the funeral home told me I had to. He said that I’d end up killing my parents or something.”
“That’s a lie, you know.” He pressed a kiss on Natasha’s brow.
“I don’t know, it was pretty crazy at first.”
“I know, but I’m not a killer, and I don’t think you are, either.” He put his arm around her. She buried her face in his shoulder.
“That’s what they want us to be. Or wanted. Why do you think they didn’t come back?”
“I don’t know.”
Della tried to figure out what they meant, but didn’t have enough information.
A sound rumbled above, like some kind of big equipment digging. Natasha looked up. “Did you fake your death?” she asked Liam.
“No, I never had a chance. That group of weres found me like the second day. I was wandering the streets, hurting like hell. They caught me and put me with the others.” He paused and then reached down and tilted up her chin and looked at her. “I didn’t care if I lived or died. I was about to end it, then I saw you. You were so scared, and all I could think about was making you feel better. You saved my life.”
“No, you saved mine. And nearly got yourself killed doing it.” She lifted her hand and touched his brow and eye.
“Nah, I just got beat up a little. It was worth it.”
A few minutes of silence passed. Natasha’s stomach rumbled from hunger and her thoughts took her back. “I miss them,” she said.
“Not that boyfriend, I hope,” he replied.
“No, he was just … we weren’t serious. I miss my parents. My friends, Amy and Jennifer. I had two of the best friends in the world. And I know they’re all hurting. Especially my mom. She loved me so much.” She started to cry.
Liam picked her up and sat her on his lap. “We’ll get out of here, then you can go see them.”
“How? They think I’m dead.” She pressed her face to his chest.
“We’ll make up a story. Say that you were kidnapped or something. We’ll say that they got the wrong body. Hey … I’ll make it happen. Somehow, Natasha, I’ll fix it.”
Della felt despair swell inside Natasha’s chest. “Who are we kidding?” She grabbed a handful of Liam’s shirt. “We’re not getting out of here, Liam. We’re going to die.”
“Damn it! Don’t say that. We’re getting out of here, then we’ll find out how others like us live. There has to be a way.”
Natasha cried a few more minutes, then finally exhausted, she just leaned against him. He knew just how to hold her to make her feel … loved.