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He watches his thumb twirl gentle circles over the bruise on my hand. “I have to leave.”
Of course. He needs to go to Dallas but, “In the morning?”
“Tonight.”
“But this lead, this guy. Tripp—”
“Won’t be there.”
“Of course he will. Sure, he’s ticked at the moment, but he’ll help.”
Marco shakes his head. “Not this time.”
“But…”
“No, Annalise.”
I chew a fleck of dry skin on my lip and Marco is bleak all of a sudden. “But you are going to try and find the man, right?”
“Of course, but…look, this lead, it’s a shot in the dark.” Wincing, his eyelids squeeze. “I mean, I’ll check it out, but I’ll be doing it on my own.”
Rolling my hand over, I thread my fingers through his. “In the morning, then. You haven’t slept.”
He shrugs. “I’ll grab a couple hours at a rest stop or something, but I’ve got to get back. Do some things before Sunday night.”
“What’s Sunday night?”
Those mystical green eyes are sad when they meet mine. “My attorney called last night. I have to turn myself in by five on Sunday.”
“Oh, Marco…” My eyes burn.
“Aw, don’t take it so hard, Allie. I’ll be fine.”
“And there’ll be bail, right? You’ll be able to get out?”
“Sure.” But something flickers in his eyes.
“If you need help—”
Patting my hand, he withdraws ever so slightly. “Not to worry—but that is one of the reasons I need to get back sooner rather than later. Get my ducks in a row, you know?”
I nod, although I don’t get what he means.
He focuses on our hands. “I want to thank you, Allie, for everything.”
He’s joking, right? “Everything, like…?” I slant him a look.
“Well…”
I laugh. “Exactly. I’m the one who needs to be thanking you. You’ve done so much during the worst time of my life, and Marco, you’re the kindest, most accepting person I’ve ever known. I needed that.”
Still watching our hands, he shrugs. “I got no room to cast stones.”
“Maybe, but that doesn’t stop most people, does it?”
He finally glances up and looks almost hungry, hungry to digest my praise.
“You’re kind, Marco. People should take a lesson from your playbook.”
