“How old were you when you had her?”
“I was fourteen. Must be the magical age of shit in my family. I was 29 when she disappeared. It’s been 8 years. She’ll be 22 this year, and I’ve only spoken to my daughter three times in the last 8 years. All the things I can do with a computer, and I can’t find her.”
“We’ll find her, Sammi. I promise.”
Taps echo across the floor again, getting louder with each step. Quietly, I step into the light and push the door open. Lily is leaning on the side of Sammi’s desk, one hand on our teammate’s shoulder, her eyes scanning something in a folder.
I clear my throat and have to stifle my laughter as they both jump.
“What’s up, Dres?” Lily says letting go of Sammi’s shoulder.
My eyes flicker between the two women, and Sammi avoids my gaze at all costs. “Can we talk? In private.”
Lily narrows her eyes and gives Sammi a quick glance. “Sure.” She shuts the folder and slides it toward Sammi before turning to walk toward me. I glance back over my shoulder before entering Lily’s office across the hall, just in time to catch Sammi sliding the folder into the lockbox in her bottom drawer.
They’re definitely up to something. Seeing the proof in their actions only pisses me off. I promised Shannon I’d try to talk calmly to Lily. Yeah . . . I don’t know how well that’s going to go.
“Sit down, Dres. Want a drink? I got Jameson, Jameson, and more Jameson.” She smiles at me as I sink into one of the chairs in front of her desk.
“He’d be proud you’re drinking in his honor. He didn’t care for the tequila you favored all that much,” I say with a smirk on my face. She hands me a tumbler with a few ice cubes, filled halfway with the Irish whiskey.
Shaking her head, her eyes staring in sadness at her own drink, she says, “He sure didn’t.”
“Lily?”
She takes a swig of her drink and looks me dead in the eyes. It’s like that night back in the guest house. Everything about her swims in those irises. All the love she has for each of us, the pain she’s trying so hard to overcome . . . and the secrets are there too, twisting in with everything else.
“Yeah?” She takes another swig and breaks the eye contact.
“Please talk to me. You’re my best friend. You know that don’t you?”
Her head snaps up as if I’ve just given her an invisible backhand or something. “Of course, I do. Why would you even ask that? You’re like family to me, Dres.”
I shake my head and let it hang in defeat . . . almost. “Then why do you constantly lie to me? Like I’m too goddamn stupid to figure out what’s going on.” When I look back at her, her face has gone to stone.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” She stands and walks toward the other side of her desk.
The anger hiding in me boils, coming to the surface before I can swallow it down. “Bullshit, Lily!” My voice is way louder than I intend it to be, but I can’t close the can of worms now that I let it slip open. “I’m tired of everyone fucking tiptoeing around you, thinking that if we all back off, you’ll stop whatever stupid-ass thing you’re planning.”
“I know you better than that.” I slam my fist on her desk and point directly in her face. “Your choices don’t fucking affect you alone. They affect all of us. When are you going to stop being a selfish bitch and trust us to really help you for once?”
She hasn’t moved from behind her desk the entire time I’ve yelled at her. And she hasn’t looked away from me either. My anger deflates as quickly as it rose, and I’m unsure if she’s going to ask me to leave or punch me in the face.
“Dresden, I love you.” She sets her tumbler on the corner of her desk and walks around so that we’re only a foot apart. “You’re my best friend, my family, and so much more than that. And I do trust you. Without reservation. But I’ve told you a thousand times in the last few weeks that you’re being paranoid, and nothing is going on. You need to stop.”
“Lily—”
“No, Dres. I’m your team lead. You don’t get to question me just because you have some conspiracy theory that I’m doing wrong. The next time you question me, I’ll request Bates reassign you. Is that clear?”
There’s no lying in her face. She means every word and it’s like she’s punched the air out of me. Lily and I fight a lot. That’s no secret. She’s never threatened to kick me off the team before. Hell . . . she’s threatened to murder me, but never get rid of me.
I shake my head and take a step toward her, all the fight in me gone. Leaning toward her ear, I gently lay my hand on her hip. “One day, you’ll see how great this team is when we truly work together, Lil.”
Without another word, I turn and walk back to my room, careful not to slam the door when I enter. Shannon is already asleep, so I strip and climb in next to her. Whatever is about to happen is going to be bad, and the rest of us are officially powerless to stop it.
29
~Lily~