Dare You to Lie

by Amber Lynn Natusch

  “Time for you to go, Agent Dawson,” I said. He looked over his shoulder at the massive truck pulling up in front of the house.

  “Your boyfriend?”

  “Best friend.”

  “The sheriff’s kid?”

  Guess he’d done a little homework after all.

  “That’d be the one.”

  “Then this should be really interesting.” His smile brightened before he wove his arm around my shoulders and bent his head down to my ear. “Time for you to play along, Ms. Danners.” I opened my mouth to argue about whatever it was he thought he was doing, but he shut me up with one quietly spoken sentence. “I don’t need the son of the sheriff knowing who I am, so be a good girl and follow my lead.” While I fumed internally, Dawson turned to face Garrett as he approached. To Garrett’s credit, he didn’t falter at the sight of us, but I knew he was confused as hell.

  “Hey, Ky. Who’s your friend?”

  “This is—”

  “Alex. Alex Cedrics. Ky’s boyfriend.”

  “Ex-boyfriend,” I said without skipping a beat. It was all that I could do, though, to keep the disgust off my face.

  “Oh. Ky never mentioned you. I’m Garrett.” He reached out his hand to shake Dawson’s, and the special agent accepted it.

  “Well, you know Ky. She’s a bit tight-lipped about some things.”

  “Yeah,” I said with a laugh. “You know me.…”

  “So you’re from Columbus?”

  “Worthington, actually. Just outside the city.”

  “Did you guys go to school together?”

  “Oh, no. Alex went to private school. Hence the old-man outfit he’s sporting.”

  Garrett laughed. Dawson, however, squeezed me in response. A little too tightly.

  “We met through friends. I took one look at her and knew she was the girl for me.”

  “Then we broke up when I left,” I added, flashing a smile.

  “Which is why I came down here. To talk some sense into her.”

  “Good luck with that,” Garrett said, his eyes bouncing back and forth between me and Dawson. “She’s a stubborn ass.”

  “So I’ve noticed.”

  “Okay, Alex. Garrett and I have some homework we need to do. It was great seeing you. We can talk more about this another time.…”

  “You can count on it,” he replied, looking down at me. For a second I was afraid he would try to kiss me goodbye to sell our routine to Garrett, but he didn’t. Instead, he pulled me into a hug and pecked me on my cheek.

  I fought the urge to rub it right after.

  “Call me later?”

  “Absolutely.” He let me go and turned to Garrett, shaking his hand again. “Nice to meet you, Garrett. Maybe I’ll see you soon.”

  “Nice to meet you, too.”

  Dawson walked to his car and got in. with a wave through his sunroof, he headed out of the neighborhood, leaving me behind to field the barrage of questions headed my way from my best friend.

  “Sooo … ex-boyfriend, huh?”

  “Please. Not now.”

  “Why didn’t you mention him before?”

  “Because he’s my ex? I didn’t think it was important. And besides, we’ve been up to our eyeballs in catching up and dealing with Donovan. Alex kinda fell to the wayside in light of those things.”

  “Fair enough.”

  “Can we just go do some math homework? That sounds way better than rehashing my love life.”

  “Yeah,” he replied with a laugh. “It really does.”

  * * *

  Just as I cleaned up my books, needing a break from the homework marathon, Gramps walked in the front door.

  “Hey there, Kylene. Did I just pass young Mr. Higgins on the road?”

  “You did. He just left. He was helping me get caught up.”

  He walked over and gave me a kiss on my cheek, then stood there for a moment, looking down at me in the longing way that adults often did. There was always something distant in their eyes, like they were reliving something that you couldn’t understand because they never told you about it later when they snapped out of it.

  “Something wrong, Gramps?”

  “Wrong? No, darlin’. Just thinkin’.”

  “About what?”

  “You growin’ up and leavin’ me here. I saw your dress layin’ out in your room the other day. Got me to thinkin’ about all kinds of stuff. Graduation. College. Your weddin’ day. I sure do hope the good Lord lets me live long enough to see it all.”

  “Aw, Gramps,” I said, throwing my arms around his waist. “You will. You’re too ornery to die.”

  “That might just be true, Kylene,” he replied with a laugh. “Now, I’m fixin’ burgers for dinner. How many do ya want?”

  “Two! No, one. I have to fit into that dress from two years ago. It’s a bit on the tight side. Best not to tempt fate, right?”

  “You girls … Boys like a little meat on them bones.”

  “Yes, well, my size-too-small-for-me-now dress does not.”

  “You got a date for this dance?”

  “Garrett and Tabby are coming with me.”

  “That’s a real good plan, Kylene. Boys may come and go. Your friends will always stick by you.”

  “Agreed.” I let him go and grabbed my book bag off the table. “I’m going to go put this away, then come help you cook.”

  “I sure would like that.”

  “I would too, Gramps.”

  I walked to my room, thinking that Gramps was right. None of us were guaranteed any time on earth, but the older you got, the more that rule seemed to apply. And though Gramps wasn’t ancient, he wasn’t a spring chicken, either. I needed to make the most of my time with him while I still lived in Jasperville. When Gramps was around, everything seemed a little bit better. A little bit easier. A little bit brighter. To know that one day he’d no longer be around was a thought I pushed far out of my mind.

  But it was still a fact that couldn’t be ignored.

  THIRTY-FOUR

  Mr. Callahan actually looked disappointed when I dropped a file of homework on his desk Friday morning. He’d clearly wanted to fail me, but I was confident he’d find one way or another to try to screw up my GPA. He was reliable like that.

  I felt like a homework fairy the rest of the day, handing in assignments like a good little student. With homecoming weekend coming up, the teachers went easy on us—except for Callahan, of course. The thought of a virtually homework-free weekend was a dream come true.

  At the end of the day Tabby stopped by my locker to let me know that she didn’t need a ride home, so I decided I’d take a little drive around the outskirts of town. Refamiliarize myself with the place I’d once called home. It would kill time and get me up to speed on the state of the place. All in all, it seemed like a solid plan.

  Unfortunately for me, the plan had to be executed in a less-than-solid vehicle.

  After about fifteen minutes of meandering my way down some of the lesser-traveled roads around the perimeter of town, Heidi started to act up. At first it didn’t seem like much. Just a slight burning smell. Nothing she hadn’t done before. But it quickly escalated until she rolled to a stop, sputtered, then died. Copious amounts of smoke billowed from under her hood. It wasn’t looking good for my car. She’d never pulled a stunt like that before.

  “You’re killin’ me, Heidi,” I muttered as I opened the driver’s side door. The car protested with a loud creak as always.

  I reached down and popped the hood before walking around to the front of the car. After a few attempts, I managed to get it open without choking to death. As the smoke cleared, I stared down at the traitorous engine and wondered how in the hell I was going to figure out what was wrong.

  Cars were so not my thing.

  “C’mon, girl. What’s gotten into you today?” Unfortunately, the car didn’t respond. With a sigh, I pulled my cell phone out of my pocket and dialed Garrett’s number, hoping he’d be finished with
whatever errand it was he had to run. The phone rang repeatedly, eventually going to voice mail. I tried texting him next, just in case he was somewhere he couldn’t talk, but received nothing in return. “Great…”

  I was stalled out in front of the old Goodman Tire plant. It had been shut down a few years earlier and now just stood vacant and decaying—a reminder of why Jasperville’s economy had plummeted even further. Though the road was still used, it was far from busy. It was a shortcut if you didn’t want to take the highway, but not many people bothered anymore. The empty plant was still a sore spot for most.

  With Gramps still at work and Tabby without a car until her dad got home, I was pretty much out of options. I looked up a towing company and put a call in. Then I waited.

  I’d been sitting in the grass away from the road for at least five minutes before anyone drove by. Unfortunately for me, no one even batted an eye at my car. Chivalry was officially dead.

  With a sigh, I stood up and brushed off my pants before heading back to my car. My phone was starting to die and I needed to plug it in. As I leaned in through the open passenger side door, I heard a vehicle roll up behind me. I quickly plugged my phone in and turned the key in the ignition halfway to see if the battery worked. When it did, I did a little happy dance, then backed out of the Honda.

  “Well, isn’t this convenient.” I turned to find Donovan’s massive form blocking out the setting sun.

  Panic shot through me before I shut it down.

  “It sure would be if you’d happened to be the tow truck I called for. The one that will be here momentarily.”

  “You’re not that lucky.”

  “Apparently not.”

  He took a step closer to me.

  “You know, a girl like you should be careful where she drives in a car that unreliable. You’re not too popular in this town. People talk.…”

  The way he let the comment hang in the air gave me the chills. But instead of retreating like my body begged me to, I held my ground. We may have been relatively isolated where we were, but cars were bound to come by soon enough. I just needed to buy myself time.

  “The pharmacy I go to got raided by the DEA today,” he said, continuing his slow, methodical approach. “But somehow I bet you already knew that, didn’t you?”

  “Nope. Didn’t have a clue—” He smiled down at me right before he grabbed my wrist in his hand and began to squeeze it. The pain was immediate. His grip was like a vise, and it only worsened when I tried to pull away.

  “You think you can shut me down that easily, Danners, but you can’t. And you won’t. Ever. All you’re doing is making me more and more angry.” He wrenched my wrist backward, making me roll up to my tiptoes. Then he leaned closer to me, whispering like all clichéd bad guys do. “And reckless.”

  In the distance, I could hear the thrum of an approaching engine. Donovan, too busy terrorizing me, didn’t notice. I took that moment to capitalize on his oversight.

  I drew my left knee back and drove it into his balls as hard as I could. He let me go, collapsing to the ground at my feet. With him no longer blocking my view, I could see the car pulling up behind Donovan’s truck. I’d hoped it would be the tow truck I’d called for. Instead, it was Agent Dawson.

  Hardly the cavalry I had dreamed of.

  I watched as he got out of his car and walked toward us, his aura of arrogance reaching me long before he did. I couldn’t see his expression well as he approached, but his aviator sunglasses undoubtedly hid the contempt in his eyes. The second he reached where we were, he took one look at me and Donovan (writhing on the ground at my feet), then started in.

  “So, Danners, would you care to tell me what’s going on here?”

  I wanted to tell him what had happened, but I didn’t for two good reasons: One, there were no witnesses, which left me in another he said/she said situation. Two, I still didn’t trust the prick.

  “My car broke down.” Short, simple, and to the point. That was how you answered questions in an interrogation. And I had no doubt that I was in for one hell of one.

  “I can see that,” he replied, his sharp gaze penetrating through his reflective lenses as it drifted down to Donovan, then back to me. “Did it break down on his balls?”

  “No.”

  “Would you care to tell me why he looks like he might never be able to reproduce one day?”

  “Not really.”

  “I pulled over to help her, and the crazy bitch kicked me in the nuts.”

  “Kneed you,” I corrected. “I kneed you in the nuts. Let’s try to keep the facts straight, okay?”

  Donovan tried, but he couldn’t stifle the hatred in his eyes when he looked up at me. I wondered if Agent Dawson saw it—saw the beast behind the boy. Once he was finally able to stand, he turned to address the Fed.

  “She’s completely insane. She needs to be put away—just like her dad.”

  “Her father is in prison, not a mental-health facility, and though your point might be valid, she’s not getting put away. Not today, anyway.” Dawson shot me a sideward glance. “So, if you and your balls are good to go, I suggest you head out.”

  “Who the hell are you?” Donovan asked, stepping up to Dawson like he was about to throw down.

  Dawson didn’t even flinch.

  “Who I am is irrelevant.”

  “I asked you a fucking question,” Donovan said, leaning in closer. After my kick to the groin, it was clear that Donovan was in no mood for Dawson’s shit—which made me wonder why Dawson wasn’t flashing his badge and cowing him with his FBI trump card.

  I sure as hell would have.

  “And I told you it’s time to go,” Dawson said, his voice unwavering. Donovan’s jaw flexed while he decided his next move.

  Then a sly smile spread across his face, and he started to laugh.

  “I see what’s going on here,” he said, his eyes darting back and forth between Dawson and me. “I’ll let this go because it’s clear you’re thinking with your dick and not your brain, but let me give you a little piece of advice, bro: this town bike has had a lot of miles put on it already. Might wanna try riding something else instead.”

  Dawson smiled back at him, but it was full of malice.

  “Keep it up and I’ll let her make it so you never ride again.”

  Somehow, those simple words came out in such a dark and cold and threatening manner that I took a step back from the guys, chills running up my arms. Donovan was scary in a brutish, thug sort of way. But Dawson? He had that eerie calm about him that was totally unnerving.

  “Have it your way,” Donovan said before walking away. I let loose a sigh of relief as he did, thinking it was all over. But Dawson rained on my parade as soon as Donovan’s truck pulled away.

  He removed his glasses to pin angry eyes on me.

  “You want to tell me what that was about?”

  “Is not telling you an option?”

  “You know I’m not actually down here to babysit you, right?”

  “If you are, you’re really bad at it.”

  “Don’t get cute with me.”

  “You sound like an old man sometimes, you know that?”

  “Only because you act like a child. Listen, I keep seeing you mess with this kid. You need to back off. I don’t think he’s a fight you want.”

  “And yet he’s one of the many I have, so…”

  “So maybe you should stop sticking your nose where it doesn’t belong and let me do my job.”

  “Do you think I somehow manufactured this scenario? That I broke down on purpose to lure him out here so I could kick him in the nuts? He’s the one harassing me, Dawson, not the other way around.”

  He shrugged. “Maybe. Maybe not. All I know is that, based on what I’ve witnessed up to now, you’re just as likely to have started it as he is.”

  I stared at him blankly.

  “How are you some hotshot rookie at the FBI when your head is planted so far up your ass?”

  Tha
t question earned me a nasty look.

  “Get in the car,” he said, pointing at his generic black sedan. When I didn’t move, he took me by the arm and started walking me in that direction. I pulled away from him, yanking my arm out of his grip, but as I did, my damaged wrist slid through his hand, causing me to cry out. I pulled it into my chest and rubbed it for a second before releasing it.

  “Don’t you dare try to make me look like I abused you, Danners, because there’s no evidence—”

  When he grabbed my hand, his words cut off. Now silent, he stared at the striped red marks on my wrist that were already starting to bruise. He gently turned it over in his hand, assessing the damage. Then his scrutinizing eyes fell on mine.

  “You’re an asshole, you know that?” I said, taking my hand away. This time, he let me.

  “What happened to your wrist?”

  “I hurt it.”

  “Hurt it how?”

  I could feel my teeth grinding together as my anger grew. I didn’t want to tell Agent Dawson what happened. He didn’t get to know. He thought I was young and stupid. The daughter of a felon. A meddlesome piece of trash. I didn’t want his help or his sympathy. He could shove both up his ass, for all I cared.

  “You’re a detective,” I said coldly. “Figure it out.”

  With that, I walked toward his car just as the tow truck pulled up. After talking to the truck operator, I climbed into the cab and slammed the door shut on Dawson, who’d been impatiently waiting. He looked like he wanted to follow, but instead he walked to his car and drove off. I breathed a sigh of relief, knowing I didn’t have to ride into town with him. The last thing I wanted was to be stuck listening to whatever lecture he deemed necessary that I hear. I didn’t really want to go to jail for assaulting an officer of the law. But I knew I would just to shut him up.

  THIRTY-FIVE

  The tow truck driver took me and Heidi back to Gramps’ house. There was no point in dropping my car off somewhere to be fixed. I didn’t have the money for that. Thankfully Gramps was a whiz with engines, so I hoped he’d have some time to give it a look. Being without Heidi was like losing a limb. She was my freedom.