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I glanced at my watch as I unlocked the front door; it was almost four in the morning. Thank god Kella would be asleep, the last thing I needed was her seeing me like this. Fraser was here too, or at least his car was. I went straight to my room, stripping out of my clothes and climbing into bed, the sheets freezing up against my skin.
Running the day over again in my head, I tried to work out what my plan was. Everything was better with a plan, even if it was a bad one. The prison that Earl had been detained in was Landonberry, a maximum security prison reserved for the most dangerous offenders. His cellmate, Cole Chambers, was still there, and would be for life. He’d been found guilty of rape and murder back in 1986. Landonberry was probably my best starting point. Cole wasn’t likely to talk, but I had to at least try.
Kella was still asleep the next morning when I rapped lightly on her door. It was just after nine, and I really needed her car. Waiting a few seconds, I knocked again, this time louder. Kella’s muffled voice called out something that sounded like ‘what’.
“Can I borrow your car?” I asked softly.
“Yeah,” She mumbled, “Come in, the keys are on my dressing table.” I carefully opened the door, not wanting to wake Fraser if he was still asleep, which he was. He was sprawled out, face down (thank god) on the bed. Kella had rolled over at some point in the night, taking all the blankets with her. I grabbed the keys and backed out of the room, trying not to look at his ass.
According to my GPS (thank you mom for making me buy one), the Landonberry Prison was a good 200 mile round trip. I sat in the car with the engine running, letting the heater warm up a bit.
A tap on the window scared the hell out of me. Screaming, I turned to see Dane. What the fuck? I wound down the window, trying to slow my heart rate back down to normal.
“Sorry,” Dane mumbled sheepishly, he actually did look sorry. What I couldn’t figure out was why the hell he was here? He’d made it clear this morning that he needed time to process things. I’d been expecting that to take more than five hours.
“You scared the hell out of me,” I panted, resting back on the headrest. He winced, still looking apologetic.
“I…Sorry Lil. About last night,” He looked up and down the street, “Can I jump in?” I nodded as he ducked around to the passenger side, climbing into the car next to me. “Hi,” He murmured.
“Hi,” I replied, avoiding his eyes. If I looked in his eyes, I’d be gone, lost in him. I needed to hear what he had to tell me before putting myself out there like that. If this was about to end, I didn’t want to cry in front of him.
“Lil. I’m sorry. What you told me, it was such a shock. To be honest, I’m still not sure what to think about the whole thing. After ten years, it’s hard for me to even consider that as a possibility…” His voice trailed off. I nodded. I got it, I really did.
Even I knew it sounded crazy, and if it were someone trying to spin me the same story, I’d most likely tell them to fuck off.
“Dane, I-”
“Let me finish, Lil. Please,” He added, reaching for my hand. I closed my eyes and looked away, the feel of his touch almost unbearable, yet at the same time all I wanted, “While I don’t know what to think, I do think you are completely genuine in your intentions.”
Huh?
I shot him a look, not sure if that was supposed to be an insult or a compliment. Hey, I don’t believe you, but it’s okay because I think you’re crazy, not malicious.
He made a face. “Maybe that didn’t come out right…”
I laughed, still not exactly sure where he stood, “It's okay, Dane. Sometimes I think I’m crazy too. I wouldn’t expect you to believe me without proof,” I waved my hand around the car, “Which is why I’m out here.”
“Where are you going? What do you mean, proof?” He asked, confused.
“I’m going to the Landonberry State Prison,” I said in a small voice, expecting- no wait, knowing he was about to yell at me.
“Lil, are you insane?!” Dane hollered. I lifted my hands to my ears. He reached out, yanking my hands down and holding onto them, “No, you’re going to listen to me. What the hell do you think you’re going to get out of going there, apart from a whole lot of abuse and sexual remarks? Do you really think you’re going to get anything actually remotely useful?”
“I don’t know, but I have to try something,” I retorted angrily, struggling my arms free, “So can you please get out of the car so I can be going?” I said, slipping the car into gear and starting it. Dane gave me a hard look, before locking his seatbelt in.
“What are you doing?” I yelled, leaning over, trying to fight his hands away from the protective cover they were forming over the seatbelt, “Get out!”
“No! The hell if you think I’m going to let you go into a maximum security prison by yourself,” He growled, his dark hair falling over his eyes, eyes that flashed so many emotions right now. It was hard to stay mad at someone so sexy.
“Fine,” I pushed my put down hard on the accelerator, the tires spinning into traction. Dane glanced at me in surprise, gripping on to the side door as he slid partially out of his seat.
“Do you even know how to drive?” He muttered under his breath as he locked in his seatbelt. I threw him a dirty look, and turned the radio on. This was going to be a long trip.
We didn’t speak for an hour into the drive. Finally, I had to stop at a gas station before we ran out of gas. Not even I was that stubborn. As the attendant filled the tank, I reached into the back, looking for my purse. Dane reached for my hand.
“Let me pay,” He said, placing my hand back into my lap. I thought about arguing just for the sake of it, but nodded. Dammit, he should pay.
“Okay,” I relented, resting my arm on the door, and my head against my hand.
