Aimee Laine - Little White Lies

He spit blood at the floor. “Me?” Blood oozed from his nose as he shook his head and stood again. “It’s you guys that are the freaks, living together up there on that hill.”

Charley turned away from him. Next up… Julie.

She marched back through the house, made as much noise as she could as her feet pounded on the floor. At the door, she met another officer, but he stepped aside as Charley arrived.

Maggie nodded her head, dressed again in her jeans and T-shirt. “Princess there doesn’t want to get down. She’s afraid of wee little mice.” Maggie snickered as she stood inside the office, thumbs tucked in her pockets. “Someone’s got to get her. Shall I turn into a bird?” Maggie laughed.

“Not necessary.” Charley stepped into one of the unused guest chairs. That gave her a foot to Julie’s three on the desk. “You can either come down, or I will bring you down myself. And I’ll be just as nice to you as Bland was to Lily and me.”

“I had Barney Fife out there wait for you.” Maggie nodded toward Charley.

Julie turned her chin over her shoulder. “I’ll go with an officer of my choice.”

“Okay,” Charley said. “Officer? Would you please come and arrest this woman?”

He stepped into the room. “C’mon down ma’am, I’ll see to it that you’re taken care of.” He waved her down.

Julie stepped across the desk, to its edge, and hopped down.

Charley did the same off the chair. When Julie moved, Charley moved. As Julie got closer to the officer, Charley blocked her path.

“Did you really think it would be that easy?” Charley asked.

“Yes, because my husband is a Detective, and he’ll have it all taken care of.”

“Not this time.” Charley shook her head. “I hope you like orange because that’s about all you’ll be wearing. You know? It won’t be pretty enough attire for my and Wyatt’s wedding. Shame, but I’ll be sure to send you an announcement. Might even send a piece of cake, though the guards will probably eat it themselves to make sure I didn’t slip a shiv in it. You know what the best part of this is? In a few hours, I’ll have Wyatt and I’ll remember everything you’ve done.”

“What?” Julie’s bug-eyed response meant Bland hadn’t quite explained the entire process-the ‘what if Julie failed’ part.

“Yup, and I’ll be sure to attend every one of your parole hearings.” Charley turned away from Julie. “Let’s go, Maggie. I need to be with Wyatt.”

On the ride in, Charley barraged Maggie with questions on how they’d found them and filled Maggie in on what she’d learned. Everyone owed Wyatt more than the money they’d bet against him.

It’d taken four years, but Julie snagged Detective Bland in Florida. She’d planned to kidnap Charley, but her sisters botched the job and took Sophie instead. It had taken them the entire week to come up with an answer on using Chase. When he got away, they had to come up with yet another. Charley and Wyatt’s reunion had turned into the perfect solution.

Julie’s sisters had copped to the entire plan, right down to the small details, errors, even Julie and Bland. Maggie had guessed right with her second theory that no one wanted to listen to: Bland had mimicked Wyatt.

It had been Detective Bland’s decision to drug and beat Wyatt senseless-Julie’s ultimate plan had been to force Charley to shift on her birthday and thus forget Wyatt before they had a chance to reconnect.

After more than thirty minutes, Maggie pulled up to the Emergency Room entrance. The doors slid open as Charley ran into their line of sight. She slammed her arm into one as she rushed through faster than it responded. The sting didn’t come close to the pain in her heart.

She slid on the slick surface of the ER floor as she ran from the doors to the reception desk. “I’m looking for Wyatt Moreland and Lily Crane.” Charley’s chest heaved as she breathed too fast, her mind whirling with everything that had happened.

A mature receptionist, ‘Terri’ by her name tag, had probably gotten used to the crazy family members who rushed to the side of their loved ones. “Take a breather there, honey.” She peered at the computer over her reading glasses. “Now, have they been admitted?”

“I don’t know.” With a little more force than necessary, Charley’s hands clenched the edge of the counter.

“Moreland,” Terri said. “Moreland.”

Before Terri could locate Wyatt’s status, James peeked through doors marked ‘Authorized Personnel Only’. Charley whipped out a quick “thank you” to Terri and jogged to him.

“Where is he? Where is Wyatt?” She hung on James’s shirt.

James took her wrist. “He’s back here with Lily.” He pulled Charley through the double-door entrance.

Curtains and closed doors lined the hallway as doctors in white coats and nurses in colorful uniforms walked in and out, between and around the rooms. Lab technicians pushed carts and walked with brisk purpose. James pulled her to the fourth room. As he reached it, he turned to look at her but didn’t say anything and opened the door to let her pass before him.

The occupants lay concealed behind curtains. “We got them in the same room.” James smiled at Charley as she turned toward his voice.

Charley pulled back the first curtain by a few inches. Lily lay in the bed, curled up under starched white sheets and cotton blankets. A monitor followed her vital signs as Cael sat in the chair next to her.

He twisted toward the interruption when Charley peeked in. “She’s fine,” he whispered, “just sleeping.”

Charley nodded to him in acknowledgement and stepped forward to the second curtain. With one finger, she pushed it apart just enough to peer in. Wyatt sat on the edge of the bed, pulling wires off his chest. Monitors began to bleep and blare, echo and bounce off the walls of the tiny space.

“I don’t think you’re supposed to be doing that,” Charley said over the noise.

She snuck through the rest of the way.

He stopped, his expressions so full of love it rained on Charley like spring droplets in the sunshine. A new beginning lay before them, its path free of obstructions. Before she could move, the door to the room banged open, and a nurse and a technician rushed in. They yanked the curtain around the bed and stopped.

The nurse shook her head as she rushed to the spot where Charley had stood. “Sir, we need to keep the monitors on you for a little while.” She pushed him back to the bed as the technician pressed the alarm buttons and quieted the blare.

“Told ya.” Charley’s voice hitched.

Wyatt held out his arms, and she rushed forward, ignoring the tech and the nurse, and wound her arms around his neck, leaning her body against his. Tears of pain mixed with joy fell like a deluge from her eyes; she cried a year’s worth in a minute. When her hitches faded, she pulled herself from Wyatt, but only by an inch.

“Ma’am?” the nurse said.

Charley turned to her.

“We really need to get these back on him,” she said.

“Oh, yeah, okay.” Charley stood to Wyatt’s side, his hand in hers. The nurse reapplied the pads to his battered chest and reconnected the wires to the monitor.

“I was coming to find you.” He let his head rest against the pillow again.

“I could see that.” She wiped a hand under her nose with a laugh.

“Ma’am?” the nurse asked.

Charley looked to her again.

“Are you his wife?” she asked.

Charley looked to Wyatt.

“As good as,” he said.

The nurse hesitated a moment as if in consideration. “He’s been a downright disaster since he regained consciousness. I know it’s late, or early, depending on your perspective, but can you make sure he remains on this bed until all our testing is done and his doctor clears him to move about?”