Page 122 of The Complete Truth Duet
Drew stood there for a beat, his jaw tight, flicking his gaze between the keys and Catalina. Then he finally muttered, “Yeah. Sounds good.”
Catalina caught my hand as we passed her, falling into step beside me. Her daughter matched our gait as we all power-walked to keep up with Penn’s long, purposeful strides.
Somehow, we all made it to the truck.
Somehow, I ended up in the front with my seat belt on—the same with River, Catalina, and Isabel in the back seat.
And, somehow, in the miracle to end all miracles, a dead man got behind the wheel.
I couldn’t stop staring at him as he put the truck in reverse.
“How are you here?” I whispered.
He did reply, but not with an answer. “How did he find you?”
Sirens screamed in the distance. “Who?”
“Thomas.” He glanced over at me, concern hitting his eyes. “Shit, are you okay?” His big, warm palm came down on my thigh.
I blinked at him some more, waiting for the oasis to fade. “I don’t think I am.”
“You’re gonna be,” he promised. “From here on out, you’re gonna be.”
It was sweet.
And impossible.
“You think he could have traced my phone?” River asked from the back. “They kept ’em locked up during the day sometimes. Do you think he—”
Penn snapped his fingers. “Phones. Everybody’s. Now.” Three little phones came over the seat. Penn took them all and pulled into a gas station before climbing out. I watched in awe as his long legs carried him to three different trash cans and then back to my door. He yanked it open. “Baby, I need your phone.”
I just stared at him.
And then I kissed him because…he was there.
He smiled against my mouth, his hand coming up to cup my face. His callused thumb stroked back and forth across my cheek. “Phone, Cor. I promise we can continue that as soon as we get you back to my place.”
“Yeah,” I breathed without moving.
And then he smiled, gorgeous and full of life. “Back pocket?”
“Yeah,” I repeated.
He kissed my forehead as he dug it out, and then he was gone to another trash can.
And then he was back, the truck was in drive…and Penn was alive.
Shock was weird.
It numbed your mind, only allowing a single emotion to breach the surface at a time.
It’d started with denial when I’d seen him at Catalina’s.
But by the time we got to Penn’s apartment, he’d yet to vanish into thin air. And I’d yet to wake up. So using the loose formula of A plus B equals C, I’d come to the definitive conclusion that I wasn’t delusional.
And it pissed me off more than words could ever explain.
But more, it hurt more than words could ever explain.
He’d left me. He’d lied to me. He’d…he’d broken me.
And, now, he was back?
Even knowing all of that, there was still a part of me that wanted to crawl into his lap and hold him for all of eternity.
It just wasn’t a big enough part to block out the mounting anger.
“You live here?” I asked when he cut the ignition.
We were in an underground parking garage connected to a high-rise in downtown Chicago. To my left was a white Acura. To my right, a royal-blue Mercedes. Considering I drove a sedan that had run the assembly line when Magnum PI was the world’s sexiest man, I wasn’t exactly the most-educated car enthusiast. But even as a novice, I could guarantee that there was at least half a million dollars in four-wheel increments all around that concrete hideaway.
“I bought it recently.”
I laughed and there was no mistaking the betrayal laced in my tone as I said, “Good for you. This is a big step up.” I slung the door to the truck open, careful not to damage the other cars, and then opened the back door for River. “I guess this means you had more than just a million dollars lying around, huh?”
“I’m sorry,” he mumbled.
He was sorry.
He. Was. Sorry.
My head was reeling. My heart was simultaneously aching and overflowing with happiness. It was sheer force of will that kept my shaking legs under me.
And he was sorry.
I slammed the truck door and walked around to meet him at the bumper. “For what?” It was only two words, but they contained no less than a thousand accusations.
His long, dark lashes fluttered shut for a second. “Let’s just get everyone inside and I’ll explain.” He reached for my hand, but despite the fact that my body was weeping for me to accept comfort from him, deep down, I knew that the weapon never healed the wound.
I snatched my hand away and deadpanned, “I can’t wait.”
Catalina sidled up beside me as Penn led the way to a small elevator. He did some digging in his pocket for God only knew what and then the doors opened.
We all filed in, like a good little herd of sheep following a ghostly shepherd.
