The Perfect Liar (40 page)

Her attempt to motivate herself failed, however. She had fifteen new messages waiting for her, and couldn't summon enough enthusiasm to listen to even one.

Tomorrow. She'd start back to work in the morning. Between Luke and Geoffrey and her father...she couldn't cope with business as usual today.

"Hey, ah, you okay?"

The young man who'd served her and her father lunch had just come out of the restaurant. Apparently his shift was over and he was heading home. He'd probably witnessed her father's grand exit and felt sorry for her.

Smiling to cover her embarrassment, Ava planned to tell him that everything was fine. It wasn't as if she had no options. If she didn't want to interrupt her colleagues, she could call a taxi. But when he stepped closer and looked at her with real sympathy, she abandoned the charade she so often used to protect herself.

"I could use a ride," she admitted.

He pulled off the bow tie that was part of his uniform. "What direction are you going?"

She'd intended to tell him she was going to the delta. But she knew that would be out of his way. It was out of everyone's way. Or was that just 295

an excuse to tell him where she really wanted to go? Fairfield would most likely be just as far out of his way. "Covent Garden Apartments. They're in Fairfield."

"Sure, I'l give you a lift," he said, and thirty minutes later she was standing in front of Luke's door.

"I must be a glutton for punishment," she told herself. She'd already ended the relationship and needed to leave it at that before things got any worse. But her heart was thudding so painfully in her chest, she wasn't sure she could move. And now she didn't even have a way to leave. She'd let the waiter who'd brought her drive off with a "thanks for the ride" and a wave.

Maybe, if she was lucky, Luke wouldn't be home. Then she'd be forced to do what she should've done at the restaurant and call a taxi.

Or there was always the chance Luke would tell her he didn't want to talk to her again. He certainly hadn't been happy with her when she'd shown up earlier....

She thought of her father and the fear that immobilized him when it came to Carly. He was so afraid of losing her that he stayed, regardless of the way she treated him. Ava swore she'd never do the same. But she was letting fear control her, too; the difference was, she let fear keep her from trying in the first place.

Refusing to be that big a coward, she threw back her shoulders and knocked.

"Who is it?" Luke's voice rang out above the noise of his television.

He sounded bored, so disinterested he couldn't be bothered to answer.

Ava swallowed hard. "It's me."

A second later, the door swung wide, and Luke was there.

"Hi," she said. She expected him to ask why she'd come back or to make her apologize for how she'd behaved this morning, but he didn't. He seemed relieved. Tilting up her chin with one finger, he pressed his lips to hers in a kiss so gentle she thought she'd melt into a puddle on his doorstep.

"Thanks for coming back," he murmured, and drew her inside.

Luke had told himself that if he was lucky enough to get another 296

chance with Ava, he wouldn't take her to bed. Not right away. Last night, they'd jumped ahead and confused everything, which had frightened her.

He wanted to slow down and invest the time in getting to know her so he could build up her trust before becoming physical again. With Kalyna pregnant, possibly carrying his child, life was complicated, and he had to acknowledge that. But it wasn't easy to leave Ava's clothes on. Not when their kisses grew so hot that their bodies began straining together.

He'd guided her fingers away from the buttons on his jeans twice. He wasn't sure he could hold out a third time. Not with the way she'd warmed to his touch. Not with the acute pleasure he felt just having her in his arms again. He probably would've given in. He already had her skirt up when a knock made her break away.

With her face flushed and her blouse unbuttoned to reveal her lacy bra, she'd never looked prettier. He grinned at her as she attempted to adjust her clothes, and she flashed him a shy smile.

"Luke? You home?" The voice belonged to Kalyna. He grimaced when he recognized it and wished he hadn't let her take his laundry. She was so damned intrusive. Since she'd transferred to Travis, he hadn't been able to go a single day without running into her somewhere.

"You know who that is, don't you," he muttered.

Ava nodded. "Are you going to answer?"

"Do you think she'l go away if I don't?"

"She's obsessed with you. She'l never go away--unless they put her away."

"Luke?" Kalyna called again.

"Just a minute," he said, and turned back to Ava. "So all my hopes hang on some unlikely conviction? Wow, you really know how to reassure a guy."

"If she kil ed her mother that might not be as unlikely as it seems."

"Now you've got me thinking I should hire a private investigator to help the Mesa police."

"I can see if Jonathan could squeeze it in," she said.

"You haven't yet? I thought you were going to ask him if he'd try to track down the hitchhiker. Sarah."

"It's been one thing after another today. I haven't even made it in to 297

work, which is unlike me. But I'l get him tomorrow."

That was a step in the right direction. Stil , putting Kalyna away wouldn't solve al his problems. He thought of the document she'd brought him, proving her pregnancy. It was stil lying on his kitchen table. He needed to tell Ava that Kalyna had been tested and address any concerns she might have about his having a baby with someone else. Especially if that someone was Kalyna...His situation would be a challenge to any relationship--could easily destroy one so new. He wanted to prevent that, if he could.

"Luke, this stuff is heavy," Kalyna complained.

"I'l get rid of her," he whispered.

Ava touched his arm. "Wait. Let me go into the bedroom first. I'd rather she didn't know I'm here. It'l just antagonize her, and I don't think we'd be smart to do that. Not until we find out more about how Norma died, and Sarah."

He waited until she'd slipped past him, then opened the door. He immediately took the laundry, but Kalyna didn't leave.

"Is someone here?" Gone was the solicitous mood with which she'd approached him this morning. Her eyes were narrow and accusing, her jaw hard.

He wanted to tell her she had no right to even ask, but he could get rid of her more quickly if he avoided an argument. "You done already?"

She didn't let him distract her. "I thought I heard a woman's voice."

"The TV's on."

She kept trying to look around him. "If it was just the TV, what took you so long to answer the door?"

Hooking his hands on the jamb over his head, he positioned himself so she couldn't come in. "Maybe I wasn't dressed," he said with a scowl.

She didn't react to the irritation in his voice. The gaze that swept over him was so sexual Luke felt as if he'd been accosted. "I wouldn't have minded."

She'd already made that very clear. Ignoring the comment, he managed a smile. "Thanks for helping out. I'l see you at work."

He tried to shut the door but she stopped it with her foot. "Ava's in there with you. I know it. Don't lie to me."

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This time he couldn't keep himself from responding. "Kalyna, I could have as many women in here as I want. You don't have the right to complain."

A feral gleam entered her eyes. "I don't care if you want multiple partners. I'l even provide them. Just...not Ava. Anyone but her. Don't shut me out, Luke. Let me be number one."

"That's not how a relationship works," he said. "At least, that's not how my relationships work."

"I could be anything you want."

"Kalyna--"

"Just tell me the truth. You've got Ava over, don't you? You're in love with her. You wish she was carrying your baby instead of me!"

Luke said nothing.

"Don't you?" she challenged.

With a sigh, he nodded. "Yeah, I do."

The blood drained from Kalyna's face. He opened his mouth to tell her he'd never made her any promises. What part of "I'm not interested" did she not understand? But she didn't give him the chance.

"You
bastard!"
she screeched. Then she slapped him and ran away.

Ava found Luke standing at his front door, looking a bit stunned. "Are you okay?" she asked.

"To be honest, I'm not even sure I'm living in reality anymore."

"What do you mean?"

He shut the door. "Somehow I've become the protagonist in
Fatal
Attraction.
"

"Obsession happens in real life, too."

"To
other
people."

She gave him a sad smile. "Not this time, handsome."

"You've seen it before?"

"More often than you'd think. It's usually a man obsessed with his wife, or girlfriend, getting possessive and dominating, chasing her away while trying to make sure she won't ever leave him. But it can happen in reverse, too."

"But Kalyna and I never had a close relationship!"

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"In her mind, you established that the night you slept with her."

His smile slanted to one side as he took her hands. "Did you feel anything that earth-shattering when we slept together?"

"I saw stars..." she said.

He rolled his eyes. "We were sleeping outside."

She laughed. "Um, okay, there were moments I thought I'd drown in desire."

"Or in the river, right?"

She nudged him. "What about you?"

Instead of continuing with more lighthearted banter, he sobered. "I knew it was too early, but I wanted you so badly I couldn't stop."

"We have absolutely nothing in common," she said.

"You're the kind of person I'd like to be with. That has to count for something."

She realized he'd made himself vulnerable with that statement and stood on tiptoe to kiss him.

"Can you tolerate the fact that I might be having a baby with someone else?" he asked.

She preferred not to consider it.
"Might
is the key word there."

He retrieved a sheet of paper from the kitchen and handed it to her.

"Looks pretty legit."

Ava felt her muscles tense as she studied the results. She didn't want to see what she saw. "Just because she's pregnant doesn't mean the baby's yours."

"What if it is?"

She had no answer. She hoped it wouldn't bother her, but she was afraid it would. Did she really want Kalyna in her life? "We'l cross that bridge when we come to it, okay?"

His cell phone rang. He glanced at it, then frowned. "It's The Last Stand."

"What?
Who'd be calling you from there--besides me?"

"We'l find out." He hit the Talk button. "Hello?...This is Luke...Yes, I've seen her. She's right here...Just a minute." He passed her the phone.

"It's someone named Skye Wil is, for you."

Blinking in surprise, Ava brought the phone to her ear. "Skye?"

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"Why aren't you answering your cell?" she demanded.

Ava felt a twinge of guilt. She'd turned it off because she was afraid she'd hear from Geoffrey, or hear from them about Geoffrey. So far, she'd been successful in dodging everyone. "I was having lunch with my father and didn't want to be interrupted."

"Oh." That brought her up short. Skye knew Ava's relationship with Chuck was a difficult one. "How'd it go?"

"We got into an argument about Carly, so he stormed off and stranded me at the restaurant."

"You're kidding."

"Your father walked out on you?" Luke asked. "He left you without a ride?"

Clearly, he wasn't pleased. Ava covered the phone to respond. "He walked out a long time ago. What happened at the restaurant just made it official." She went back to her conversation with Skye but was really speaking to both of them. "In his defense, he was already upset. He and Carly had a major argument."

Skye made a noise of disbelief. "And in
your
defense, that woman's a grade-A bitch. I don't know how you've put up with her this long."

Leave it to Skye to tell it like it was. "True."

"I hope you told him that."

"Pretty much. Same sentiment, if not the same words. That's when he left."

Luke had gone to look out the window at the parking lot. "How'd you get here?"

Ava glanced at him sheepishly. "The waiter felt sorry for me."

"You should've called," he said. "I would've come."

The protectiveness in his voice made her smile, but there was no time to respond, since Skye was talking. "Good," her friend was saying.

"Maybe it'l give him something to think about."

"I doubt it," Ava said. "He's so focused on saving his marriage, he doesn't really even notice me."

"I'm sorry about that, Ava. And I don't want to come down too hard on you, but we've been really worried. Geoffrey's stopped by the office twice, looking for you. He told us you're not at home, that he has no idea where 301

you are, and that you broke up with him for someone named Luke. No last name, nothing. If Jonathan hadn't heard you mention a Luke recently, we wouldn't have been able to track you down."

Jonathan was probably laughing his head off. "Tell him he was right about Luke."

"You can tell him yourself in a minute," Skye said. "He's standing here, hovering over my desk, mad as hell that you haven't let any of us know what's going on. You didn't come in to work this morning."

"I don't have set hours. And I always put in more than my forty. So..."

"But you didn't call. You can't just disappear like that, Ava, not even for a few hours, or we assume the worst."

Of course. They weren't used to anything disrupting her usual pattern. Neither was she, or she would've called out of habit. "I get it. I'm sorry," Ava said. "Is that what you wanted, to make sure I'm okay?"

"No, that's not all. There are some people who've been trying to get hold of you, and it sounds serious."

"What people?"

"A Detective Morgan from the Mesa Police Department in Arizona.

And a man named Dewayne Harter."