Home to Stay (The Long Road Home #2) - Maryann Jordan Page 0,44

toward the windshield, her mouth opened as she sputtered before finally forming words. “And this is who Paula has literally gotten in bed with?”

“I don’t know what to tell you. If she knows what they are and what they’re doing, then as far as I’m concerned, she’s an accessory to everything that was going on. If she thinks she’s just playing on the wild side, then she’s going to get burned, and I’m fuckin’ pissed that she’s willing to let you get burned also. And if she doesn’t think there’s anything wrong with her behavior—or theirs—then she really is stupid.”

“I don’t even want to think about her right now.” Lucy remained quiet for a few minutes, finally sighing heavily and leaning her head against the headrest. She pulled out her phone and looked at the screen. “She hasn’t even texted me. Hasn’t asked how I am, or if she made it to the hotel, asked where I am.” Looking over at him, she asked, “What do I do?”

It was on the tip of his tongue to say ‘fuck her’, but he pinched his lips together for a few seconds. “Send her a text and tell her that you called a friend to pick you up and that you’re heading home.”

Her fingers tapped out the message. “Anything else?”

“No. Don’t engage. Don’t accuse, don’t ask why. If she texts you back, don’t reply.”

She shoved her phone back into her bag and dropped it onto the floorboard near her feet.

“I hate to make you go into more details, but when you can, I need to know what you saw. I want to call this in so you only have to go over it once. Can you do that?” She nodded, but he pushed. “Lucy, I want to hear you say it.”

“Yes, John. I’ll tell you and… um… whoever I need to about what I saw. No one knows I was in the room, so it can’t be traced back to me. Well, I don’t think it can. I guess that depends on if Paula told anyone that I might be there.” She lifted her hand to her forehead. “God, all this gives me a headache.” Sucking in a deep breath, she nodded as she looked at him. “Okay, let’s do this.”

Using the number he’d been given, he called Bray. “She’s ready to talk.”

“Okay, good. Um… Lucy? I’m a friend of John’s, and you’re on speaker with some coworkers of mine. We just need to know what you saw.”

He glanced to the side, seeing her lips pull in, and her eyes sought his. Reaching over, he held her hand. “Just talk like you’re talking to me, Lucy. It’s fine, I promise.”

“O… okay,” she said, haltingly at first. She kept her face toward him as he continued to hold her hand. She quickly described what had happened at the concert and how she ended up at the hotel. “There was a leather bag on the bed that looked kind of like a large backpack. That was what I noticed first. It was open and there were some clothes scattered… a pair of jeans, a couple of T-shirts. There was a black leather jacket tossed on the bed as well. That’s when I saw the same insignia as what Griz had worn. I was in shock that I had possibly been given the wrong room key and just stood there for a few seconds trying to make sense of it all.”

Prodding, John asked, “What else was in the room? On the table.”

She licked her lips and said, “There was a beer bottle. A stack of money… like you see in movies where the bills were rubber-banded together. I have no idea how much or what denominations, but there were at least four or five banded stacks. I saw three guns… um, I don’t know anything about guns, but they were handguns. And then there were several plastic baggies like you put sandwiches in and they were filled with white powder. I assumed drugs, but I can’t say for sure.”

“Lucy, you’re doing great,” Bray said. “The most important thing is that you’re safe, and John’s got you and bringing you home. He’s the best and you’re in good hands.”

John’s chest swelled with pride hearing Bray’s commendation, but he gave her hand another squeeze. “Got to tell you all that the real hero is Lucy. She kept her cool, called me, stayed off their radar, and even hid when she thought she might be discovered. Honest to God,