I blink a few times, letting everything he’s said work its way around my brain. “A misunderstanding?”
“Yep. That’s what he told him. Odd, right?”
“Very,” I tell him, staring straight ahead.
Lulu still hasn’t moved. She’s like a statue, holding a box in one hand as she stands in front of the giantcabinet that’s too tall even for me to reach the top without a ladder.
“So, you’re in the clear. Charges have been dropped. It’s the best scenario because that DA does not like to give deals to anyone, especially when there’s physical violence involved.”
“Thanks for your hard work, Hal.”
“I didn’t do much, Oliver. I didn’t have a chance to. I don’t know what happened with Mark, but I’m glad he had a change of heart.”
“Yeah,” I tell him, watching Lulu as she starts to move again, working a little faster than before. “I don’t know what happened either.”
“Have a good one,” Hal says.
“You too, Hal,” I say before disconnecting the call.
I watch Lulu, not saying a word as I set my phone back on my desk. She doesn’t look at me as she continues working, searching through a container like a treasure is hidden inside.
“That’s good news,” she says with her back to me. “Are you relieved?”
“Yeah, but also confused.” I stand, making my way across the garage until I’m right behind her.
“Why are you confused?” She doesn’t bother turning around even when I know she can feel the heat radiating off my body because I’m so close behind her.
I touch her shoulders, pressing my front to herback. “Because I don’t understand why he’d drop the charges. You have any ideas?”
Her muscles are tense under my palms. “No. Not a clue.” Her voice is higher pitched than normal.
Everything about the way she’s acting is suspicious.
“What’s productive mean, Lulu?” I graze the tender skin on the backs of her arms near her shoulders with my thumbs.
“Zoey and I…” She moans as I knead my fingers into her muscles, trying to relax the tension out of her.
“You and Zoey what?”
“We…” She leans back against me, almost melting. “You’re going to be so pissed at me.”
My hands still. “What did you do?”
She turns in my arms, peering up at me with her big brown eyes. “Don’t be mad, okay?”
My teeth grind together as I gaze down at the woman I’m quickly falling for. She has a big heart. Her brain sometimes short-circuits, but everything else about her is more than I could ever dream. “I can’t promise anything, but I need to know. What did you and Zoey do, Lulu?”
She gives me a smile that quickly fades. “Wemayhave gone to Mark’s place.”
My entire body stiffens, and my stomach twists like someone stuck a dagger in me and scrambled everything up. “You what?” I take a step back, feeling a fire flicker to life inside me. “You went to his place?”
Lulu clasps her hands together in front of herself and twists her upper body back and forth like a little kid does when they’ve been busted doing something they know they shouldn’t have done. “Zoey wanted to talk to him.”
I rub my forehead, digging my fingertips into my skin. “Of all the shit…”
Lulu steps closer, barely leaving any space between us. “We were safe.”
I close my eyes, trying to remember she is safe. She’s here with me, and Mark didn’t do something to Zoey or her. “Is that what productive meant?”
