Just a Little Honesty Read Free

just to make a point.”
    He took a deep breath, seemingly relieved that he wasn’t going to have to tie me down, handcuff me, and throw me in the back of a patrol car.
    “Trigger?” he said, turning to Luke. “You know the drill.”
    Luke nodded. He emptied his pockets and surrendered his cell phone and wallet to my uncle. In turn, Charlie passed him a thick envelope, a prepaid cell phone, and a set of car keys.
    “I’ll leave mine under the seat,” he said to Charlie, and almost incoherently.
    Derek and I stared between the two uniformed men.
    “What’s going on here?” Derek asked, watching as Charlie collected both my and Luke’s belongings. “I thought Bruno was taking her on the road?”
    “Bruno’s on special assignment,” Charlie said, obviously in no hurry to explain himself. “She’s going with Trigger.”
    “No,” Derek said, shaking his head. “I’m telling you guys, you’re going about this all wrong. She—needs—to—stay—here.”
    “You seriously wanna fight me on this?” my uncle asked, taking a step toward Derek.
    “No sir,” he answered, and he cowered under Charlie’s authority. “All I’m saying is that the best chance you’ll have at catching him is using Julie—”
    “As bait?” Luke asked, and his nostrils flared as his chest grew taller.
    “You know,” I said. “It’s really not a bad a plan.”
    “You’ve got to be kidding me, Little,” Luke said, turning to me. “You’re not risking your life at the chance that we might catch this guy.”
    “It could work,” Charlie said, agreeing with Derek, but only for a minute. The look he got from Luke said that he best rethink his last statement—and fast. “It’s too damn risky. I mean, this is Julie we’re talking about—”
    “And you’re letting that fact cloud your judgment,” Derek said, not giving up his fight. “You’re too close to this case to see it impartially.” He stood a little taller as if he needed the extra inch to help him get through the rest of his argument. “I know you’d be on board if it was anybody else, so why not now? If she stays—and we can put a halfway decent plan together—you guys can have him back in custody within hours.”
    “ Halfway decent isn’t good enough, Derek,” Luke said, his face growing redder by the second.
    “Okay, then here’s a crazy idea,” Derek said, looking at the two men. “Why not let her decide for herself? After all, this is her life we’re talking about. She can run—and be on the run for days, weeks, or months—or she can stay, and this can be over with tonight .”
    The three men took a moment to look between each other, silently agreeing that he was right. This was my choice and no one else’s.
    But then their heads slowly turned toward me, and Derek asked, “well, what’ll it be?”
     

 
    CHAPTER TWO
    Friday, April 05 | 7:35 p.m.
    I buckled my seatbelt and turned back to face the windshield. As much as I hated leaving Derek and Charlie behind, I knew that my safest bet was leaving Oakland with Luke. Though I knew it would be an incredible feat to make it through any extended amount of time alone with him, I also knew that he had an uncompromising passion toward ensuring my safety.
    I couldn’t put a smile on my face and pretend that my decision had been an easy one; I didn’t like the idea of going with him, but I didn’t feel as if I had much of a choice if I wanted to live through the next few days.
    We only drove for a few minutes before Luke stopped off to feed the meter in the Oakland historic district. I kept my butt planted firmly in the passenger’s seat, but he dropped his face in the window and shook his head.
    “You can’t stay out here,” he said, nodding up at the building. “You have to come in with me.”
    “In there?” I asked, staring up at the building. “To your apartment?”
    “Julie,” he said, and his gentle tone wasn’t the least bit forced. “I only found out ten minutes ago that