Authors: Joyce Lamb

Tags: #Fiction, #Suspense, #Romance, #Paranormal

True Colors (29 page)

BOOK: True Colors

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She sucked in a sharp breath, and he jammed on the brakes to pull into a parking spot in front of the Iguana and swore under his breath. “Shit, I shouldn’t have said that. I’m sorry. I’m just . . . It’s okay to worry about you, isn’t it? I love you. It’s killing me that that bastard terrorized you to get to me.”

She closed her eyes and turned her head away, and he saw her swallow hard. Was she going to cry again? He didn’t know how to deal with
that
, either. The Alex he knew never cried. She laughed and smiled and poked him in the ribs. She didn’t look miserable. She didn’t look
haunted
.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered.

Logan’s heart sank into the pit of his stomach. He was
so
messing this up. “I’m not trying to make you sorry. And you don’t have to apologize to me. Ever.”

She looked at him, and her eyes swam with tears. “I just . . . don’t know how to . . .” She trailed off, swallowing again.

He stroked the back of his hand over her cheek, his stomach doing a jittery dance when she leaned into the caress. “It’s okay. You don’t have to deal with anything right now. Just promise you will, okay? If not with me, then with Charlie. Or a counselor. I’ve seen too many people get eaten up by their demons.”

She nodded, dropping her gaze, and he couldn’t help but worry that she’d agreed simply to end the conversation. That’s what he would have done.

He’d have to worry about that later. Right now, he needed to help a troubled boy. “Will you come with me while I talk to Justin? I don’t want you sitting in the truck alone.”

“Won’t my presence make him uncomfortable?”

“It might, but . . . I just don’t want to leave you alone. Not until McGee’s been caught.”

“Okay.”

Logan unbuckled his seat belt and got out. The humid morning air already carried the sweat-soaked scent of spicy Mexican food. The Green Iguana was known for its huevos rancheros, and his stomach growled even though they’d just eaten.

“There he is,” Alex murmured beside him. “Oh, God.”

Logan spotted Justin in the next instant, and a surge of shock went through him. The boy looked as though he’d gotten into one hell of a fight. Dark bruises purpled his jaw and the left side of his face, his left eye all but swollen shut.

“Jesus, Justin, what the hell happened to you?” Logan asked.

“I ran into a door.” He jerked his chin toward Alex. “Who’s that?”

“This is Alex Trudeau,” Logan said. “My girlfriend.”

Justin’s lips quirked. “You’re kinda old to have a girlfriend, aren’t you?”

Logan noticed Alex didn’t reach out to try to shake Justin’s hand, but he couldn’t blame her. The kid was filthy. “So what happened?”

“I told you. I ran into a door.”

“Come on, Justin. How am I supposed to help if I don’t know what’s going on?”

“You should probably go to the ER,” Alex said, her voice soft.

One side of Justin’s mouth lifted in a sneer. “Why? So they can call social services? No freaking way. Besides, I’m fine.”

“Justin—”

“Look, I called you because I—” Suddenly, he tossed his hands in the air and backed off a step. “Forget it. Just forget it.”

Alex touched Logan’s arm to draw his attention. “Maybe I should go wait in the truck after all.”

“No, I—”

“Then how about I go stand at the end of the alley? I’ll stay where we can see each other, and you guys can have some privacy.”

He didn’t like it, but he also needed to get Justin to spill. “Okay.” He gave her a quick kiss and murmured, “Thanks.”

As she walked away, Justin gave a low whistle. “She’s hot. Where’d you score her?”

Logan shot the teen an annoyed look. The kid’s appreciation was too exaggerated to be sincere. “Knock it off.”

“She have a sister?”

“Justin.”

The teen rolled his eyes and shoved his hands into his pockets. “I’m sorry I interrupted your date with your
girlfriend
, but you said I could call you if I needed help.”

“And you can. Any time. But you’re going to have to tell me the truth, or I’ll have no choice but to get social services involved. So tell me. Who hit you and why?”

Justin’s eyes widened. “You think I deserved to get my lights punched out?”

“No. Why would you—”

“You’re asking me why I got the crap beat out of me. Maybe I got punched because the person who punched me is an asshole. Ever think of that?”

“I didn’t mean it like that.” Logan dragged a hand through his hair. Jesus, this kid liked to parse words more than anyone he knew. “Let’s start over.”

Justin hunched his shoulders. “Fine.”

“Do you need to see a doctor?”

“No.”

“Are you sure?”

“Positive.”

“Are there other injuries besides what I can see?”

“Like what?”

Logan bit back a frustrated groan. “Did you maybe get hit in the ribs or kidneys? Does it hurt when you breathe? Is there blood when you pee?”

Justin frowned, lifting one shoulder. “No.”

“Headache? Double vision?”

“Yeah, my head hurts. Look at my face. Wouldn’t your head hurt?”

“But you don’t feel like you’re going to pass out or anything?”

“No. It’s just bruises. And I’ve been punched before.”

Logan had already figured as much, and his conscience poked him. He should have gotten this kid into the system right away instead of trying to wait for him to make the choice. “So who hit you?”

“Doesn’t matter.”

“Whoever did it can be arrested.”

“No! I don’t want that. Just drop it.” He paced away. “Can you just . . . can you just . . .” He pulled his hands out of his pockets and shook them out as though they tingled. “Shit.”

“What, Justin? What do you want?”

“I need some cash. A couple hundred dollars. I’ll hit the road, go up north. I can stay with my grandma.”

“Where does your grandma live?”

“She’s in . . . Tampa.”

So
obviously a lie. “How about this? I’ll drive you up there. I’d like to meet her.”

Justin started shaking his head. “Screw you, man. I don’t need an escort. Just forget it, okay? Go away. I’ll figure something out.”

“You know I can’t do that. You’re visibly hurt. I have a duty to—”

“You brought me a couple of cheeseburgers, okay? That doesn’t make you my freaking guardian.”

“You ate them, so yeah, it does. You shoulda read the fine print.”

“You’ve got a twisted sense of logic, cop.”

“As much as I’d like to stand here and banter with you all night, there’s somewhere I have to be. So how about this? I’ll find you a place to stay tonight, and we’ll figure something out tomorrow. Can you do that? Stay where I put you tonight and not get antsy?”

“No foster care.”

“Not tonight. But I can’t promise anything for the future. I’m sorry.”

“Then I won’t go.”

“It’s like this. Either you do it my way or you do it my way. If you don’t like the very unethical idea I just offered, the one that could get my ass kicked out of a job, I’ll haul you to social services right here and now. What’s it going to be?”

Justin scowled at him. “I thought you were different.”

“I am different. Let’s go.”

CHAPTER FORTY

F
rom where she stood by his pickup, Alex watched Logan and Justin walk out of the alley. Neither looked happy. She could relate. She had the buzz of dread running through her head, and all she wanted was to talk to Charlie. Somehow, some way, she needed more information about this turbo empathy.

Logan neared the truck, Justin on his heels. “Justin’s coming with us,” Logan said. “Do you mind?”

“Of course not.” She tried her best to give the battered boy a warm smile even as her insides clenched at the sight of his bruises. The poor kid. “Hello again.”

Justin offered a tight grimace in response but said nothing. The thought nudged her, as it had when she’d met him a few minutes ago, that he looked familiar.

Logan pulled open the passenger door of the truck and signaled for Alex to get in.

As she scooted across the seat to make room for the teenager, she took note of his short-sleeved T-shirt and safari shorts. Considering her own tank top and shorts and the pickup’s bench seat, avoiding accidental contact with the bruised-up boy wasn’t going to be easy.

“Get in,” Logan said to the teenager, sounding like a drill sergeant. “And try not to get my girlfriend dirty.”

Mutiny flashed in Justin’s blue eyes. “If you’re so worried I’m going to stink up your ride, I can catch the next one.”

“Shut up and get in,” Logan snapped.

His uncharacteristic impatience surprised Alex, but then he gave her an apologetic I-don’t-know-what-the-hell-I’m-doing look.

With a miserable glance at Alex that again tweaked her memory—she was
sure
she knew him—Justin hopped into the truck, and Logan slammed the door shut. The boy seemed just as leery of touching her, or perhaps of being touched, because he all but hugged the passenger door, putting as much distance between her and himself as possible. She forgot her own fear and worried instead about what would make a child so fearful of close contact.

Logan got behind the steering wheel and started the truck. He’d already pulled into traffic when Alex realized why Justin looked familiar. “Aren’t you Toni Wells’s son? The alderwoman?”

Logan’s head swiveled toward her, his eyebrows arched. This apparently was new information to him.

“Nope,” Justin said.

“You look a lot like her,” Alex replied. “She has really pretty blue eyes, like you do.”

Logan snorted, and Alex cast him a chastising glance. “What? His eyes are beautiful.”

“Whatever,” both Logan and Justin said at the same time.

Alex ignored their male disdain, even as she admired their bond. “It was a big deal when Toni and Senator Wells got married a couple of years ago. I took the photo of the wedding that ran in the newspaper.”

“Good for you.” Justin made a big show of looking out the passenger-side window.

“I’m pretty sure you were in that photo. One of the groomsmen.”

“Nope. Wasn’t me.”

“Your hair was long. You looked very rock star. Why did you shave it all off? Not that it doesn’t look great now, but you have such gorgeous hair.”

“Maybe that’s why. I’m a
guy
. Guys don’t have gorgeous hair and pretty eyes.”

Alex glanced at Logan, silently asking him if he caught the shift. Justin had just acknowledged that he was who she thought he was. Except Logan didn’t look happy about it at all. In fact, a red flush crept up his neck.

“You’re Senator Wells’s stepson?” Logan asked, attention fixed on the road.

“Nope,” Justin said.

“Why haven’t they reported you missing?” Logan asked, as though the boy hadn’t responded in the negative.

“Maybe they don’t give a shit,” Justin said.

“I’m sure that’s not true,” Alex said. “I’ve met your mother, and she’s a very kind, caring woman.”

“Yeah? Then why don’t you know that I’m missing? You work for the snooze paper, don’t you? That’d be pretty big freaking news, wouldn’t it? Politicians’ kid runs away from home? Sounds like page-one material to me.”

“Justin,” Logan said sharply. “She’s trying to help you.”

“Maybe I don’t need help. Ever think of that?” He grabbed the door handle. “I’d like to get out now.” He yanked up on the handle.

Alex seized a handful of his T-shirt. “Don’t!”

The locked door didn’t open, but Logan swerved onto the shoulder anyway and hit the brakes. As the truck jerked to a stop, he gripped the steering wheel in white-knuckled fists. “Son of a bitch,” he said under his breath.

“Let me out.” Justin’s low voice trembled. “You can’t keep me in here against my will. It’s kidnapping.”

“It’s not kidnapping. I’m a cop, remember?” Logan said through his teeth. “Or did it never occur to you that your parents could take my badge if they found out I didn’t turn you over to social services the first night I found you in that alley
three weeks ago
?”

He shouted the last three words, and Alex winced at the thunder in his voice. But she said nothing. He had a right to be ticked.

“I didn’t
want
to go back. Why do you think I gave you a fake name?”

“This is such bullshit,” Logan growled.

Justin heaved out a shaky breath and looked out the window again. “Fine. Take me back.”

BOOK: True Colors

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