Page 89 of Something True


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Right on cue, a flashy red sports car rounded the corner and squealed to a stop behind Joel's car. A moment later, the driver's side window rolled down, and his brother, Jake, leaned his head out to holler, "Nice try, dickweed!"

With a muttered curse, Joel gave Jake and his car a quick glance before turning back to me. A ghost of a smile crossed his features. "I tried to lose him."

"Why?" I asked.

"Because Ihadto see you."

And just like that, my heart turned to jelly. Did that make me pathetic? Probably. "So what are you? His prisoner now?"

"No. But they're helping me with something, and we're running late."

"So there's more than Jake?" The words had barely left my mouth when, across the street, Jake's passenger's side door opened, and his other brother, Bishop, stepped out of the car. He turned and gave us a long, cool look before shutting the car door behind him.

I muttered, "Never mind. I think I know." As I watched, Bishop sauntered over to Joel's car and leaned his hip against the passenger's side door. He watched us with a look that wasn't exactly hostile, but wasn't terribly friendly either.

I was still looking when I felt a hand close over mine. It was Joel's hand, and it felt like a warm balm to my wounded heart. I looked up to meet his gaze.

His voice was quiet. "Promise me something."

"What?"

"You'll wait."

"For what?"

"For me."

I had no idea what he meant. I tried to laugh. "You're not joining the foreign legion, are you?"

"No. But there's something I've gotta do. And I’ve gotta finish it now, because it's already started."

I felt my brow wrinkle. "That makes no sense."

"I know. But I'll explain it when I get back."

"When will that be?" I asked.

"A few days, maybe a week."

I breathed a sigh of relief. "And what do you mean by wait?"

"I just mean, don't give up on us. Everything's a cluster right now, but I'm working it out. Just trust me, okay?"

I wanted to trust him, but I wasn't sure where this led. I let out a long, frustrated breath and admitted a sad truth. "I'm not sure I should."

"Why not?"

Humiliating or not, I wanted to be honest. "Because it just seems like I'm always chasing after you, like I want you more than you want me."

He made a low scoffing sound. "You're kidding, right? You know what it took to get here?"

I didn’t want to split hairs, but I had to say it. "But you didn'thaveto come here. You could've called." I tried to make a joke of it. "I mean, you get one phone call, right?"

His mouth tightened. "You think I'm gonna call you from jail?"

"Why wouldn’t you?" I tried to smile. "I could've bailed you out."

"No fucking way."