Page 34 of A Violet Obsession

“It’s Emma. Again.” She chews her lip, then looks up at me. “I’ll let it go to voicemail.”

The sadness in her eyes hits me harder than it should.

“It might be better if I don’t talk to her right now.” Lily swallows hard. “Be sure to tell her everything’s okay with me so she doesn’t worry.” Her voice is steady, but she’s blinking far too rapidly. “Say I had to go out of town for a while. And I’ll call when I can.” A pause. “I don’t want her coming here looking for me. In case…”

“Are you not planning on being here?”

Why does the thought of her disappearing make me feel… panicked?

I haven’t had this many emotions in years, much less compressed into a single afternoon. It’s fucking confusing.

This woman is wrecking me.

Lily licks her lips, but her mind is already somewhere else. Thinking through a plan she’s clearly not planning to include me in.

“Lily?”

She meets my gaze, and I see it. She’s going to run.

“Just keep her away for a few days.” Her voice is husky. “That’s all I need.”

“It won’t work.” I glare at her, because I don’t know what else to do, and the panic is growing. “Running will only make you look more guilty.”

She stares at me blankly for a second, then walks to the front door and holds it open. “I appreciate everything you’ve done.”

Is she seriously kicking me out?

I close the distance between us in two strides. “You were kidnapped off the street today,” I say, voice hard. “I can help.”

She narrows her eyes. “You don’t know me, remember? You were right before, what you said at the café. We’re strangers.”

Fuck.

My own words thrown back at me.

“My sister does.” The words are out before I can stop them. I choose not to think about how desperate it sounds.

“What?”

“My sister knows you. Cares about you. Cares a lot about what happens to you.”

Something that looks like grief crosses her face, and my gut clenches.

“Emma may be a lot of things.” I try for a smirk. “Loud. Annoying. Hyper.” I hold her gaze. “But she’s loyal. And she loves you.”

The words are true, and suddenly I feel like a total asshole for doubting her. Because I do know Lily. Maybe not the woman she’s become, but I know who she was. The Lily I remember was a quiet kid who carried a book everywhere she went. Who listened for hours as my sister enacted one drama after another—imaginary or otherwise—with a slight smile on her face.

“Just go, Finn.”

I see it then. The tiny tremor in her hands. She’s terrified. And doing everything she can to hide it.

But why? Why push help away?

Standing here arguing isn’t going to get me anywhere.

“Lock the deadbolt behind me.” I growl as I step past her into the hallway and stop. I wait until I hear the lock click before I move.

I’m sitting in my truck with a clear sight line to Lily’s building, counting windows. Fourth floor. Third unit from the left, based on the hallway layout. The lavender curtain confirms it.