Gaining Ground Page 4

  The chief frowned as he backed out and shut the door. A few moments later I heard muffled voices coming from the two-way mirror and for that to happen... someone had to be yelling... really loud. So I walked up to the mirror and tapped. The muffling stopped. “As much as I love these almost weekly visits with Detective Yasmin, I really should be going. I don’t want to be kicked out of another foster home because I’ve been labeled as a bad kid,” I told them. It worked.

  And I never did see Detective Yasmin, until today. It made me uncomfortable in my skin to think about those things. Even though I had forgiven my parents for what had happened in the past, cause and effect came into play for the events that had followed; Yasmin, was among the bitter consequences that still lingered.

  I shook myself out of my thoughts and gave myself a pep talk. Time to move on, Faith. We had dates to finagle.

  So, my next choice in life awaited me. Should I call about the job at the antique store, or shouldn’t I? Lincoln didn’t come right out and say I shouldn’t work there, but then again, he didn’t want me working at all. Brady didn’t say yes either. Maybe I should wait...

  I heard a car pull up, followed by Sarah coming in and calling out for the two of us. I laid there a second longer before I jumped up and headed downstairs. I needed to find out which theater we were going to.

  Not long after, I was checking my phone. I had texted Lincoln to let him know where we were going to be, but he hadn’t shown up yet, and he was cutting it close. I was hungry and grumpy, but Sarah and Brady looked like they were happy as can be. Holding hands. Smiling at each other as we all talked about how our day went. Family stuff, I guess.

  "Ugh, how long do we have to wait?" I complained as we stood in the line outside of the theater where our movie would be shown. We were pretty close to the front of the line, but we had also waited in the ticket line for quite a while to be up as far as were..

  "Can you quit complaining, Daniels?" Brady sighed.

  "Hey." Sarah lightly smacked his chest with the back of her hand. "You're the one who grounded her and then decided we should take her to the movies."

  I smiled at Sarah. She was always defending me. Gotta love her. A few guys behind us were goofing off, and I felt, well, awkward. What seventeen-year-old goes out to the movies with her parents? As if on cue, my stomach began to growl.

  Brady sighed and looked to Sarah. “You agreed to her grounding, and we both wanted her to feel settled and secure, part of our small family.”

  I snorted as I folded my arm across my belly and groaned out as if in pain. "I got the grounding part down pat."

  Brady turned to me and chuckled. “Alright. Alright.” He dipped his hand into his back pocket to pull out a wallet. Taking a few bills out of the fold, he held them out to me. "Why don't you go get yourself a pretzel?"

  He didn't look annoyed; he looked slightly amused, and I could use a pretzel. Plus, it was better than waiting here, I thought, plucking the bills from his fingers with no remorse.

  I smiled. "Thanks!" Then I headed off toward the concession counter. I really needed a job, but Brady needed to say yes. If the antique shop didn’t work out, then maybe I’d try the theater.

  I went up to the counter to get myself a pretzel but then I saw him. Tucker. Once again, he seemed to have found me; like he had become my shadow.

  "Well, hey there, Rella!"

  As he came over, I ignored both him and that stupid name he insisted on calling me. He had his hands full with a bag of popcorn as well as his wallet and a bank card that he had yet to put away. He must have seen me just after he paid. "What movie are you seeing?"

  I just rolled my eyes. I was struck with the worst kind of déjà vu. "Leave me alone, Tucker," I said, trying to walk away.

  "Hey, wait a second," he called, stopping me.

  "What?" I huffed. I turned back to him and then waited. Why? I hadn't a clue. Maybe it was because I wanted to know more about Roxie, or because I was bored, but either way, I waited and was going to listen to what he had to say.

  “Did you call my grandmother yet?” he asked, juggling his stuff. He looked scary, with his black shirt and scuffed up jeans. He wasn’t even wearing the same outfit as he had earlier. Huh.

  “Rella?” he barked.

  I glanced back up to him, shaking myself out of my thoughts. Right. Grandmother. Job. It was best to be truthful. “No. I’m not sure Brady will let me.”

  “Brady? Who the hell is Brady to be dictating what you can and can’t do?”

  I grinned an evil grin. “My Pa.”

  He was fumbling around with all the things in his hands; it was like a kid’s juggling act where nothing actually left his hands. “Your Pa? You mean, like your dad?”

  I frowned at his awkwardness. He could have walked over to the counter to set it all down and then put his card away, but of course he didn’t. That would have been too easy.

  “Sure,” I answered.

  He grinned at me and then shoved his popcorn into my hands. "Hold this. I just need to put this back." He waved his card between two fingers while he reached into his back pocket to pull out his wallet.

  I held onto his popcorn instead of letting it fall to the floor like I should have, because honestly, I didn’t want him to make a fuss or have him demand that I pay for another bag later. Sighing, I held on to it, feeling annoyed.

  "So,” he said as he shoved his card back inside, "what movie are you seeing?" Then his voice lowered, "Are you here with, Tyler?"

  "No," I sighed, bored, hoping he would just grab his popcorn and leave. But I told him what movie I was seeing.

  He grinned. "That's the one I'm seeing too!"

  "Great," I said with mock enthusiasm.

  He patted his front pockets looking for something else. I frowned. His hands were now free. I could just—

  "Maybe we could sit together?" he suggested while he looked for some unknown object.

  "N—"

  "Shoot, wait a second." He put up a finger, then rushed back to the counter, leaving me alone in the middle of the theater plaza holding his popcorn. I brought my mouth down to the buttery golden popcorn and grabbed a few with my teeth. He owed me, I told myself as I munched.

  As if my night couldn’t get any worse, I saw Peter and Wendy in a crowd ahead. They must have been in one of the movies that let out. I smiled when they caught my eye and came my way.

  "Hey, I thought you were grounded?" Wendy interrogated me when she got close. She sounded all nasally, like before, but her attitude was still the same. I guess info was collected and movies were watched no matter how sick you were.

  I scoffed, grinning. "And I thought you were sick?”

  This time, Peter spoke up, letting go of her hand and curling his arm around her waist. “She still is, but she insisted on seeing this movie.” He dropped a kiss on her forehead, and Wendy blushed.

  “So who are you here with?” Peter asked, looking around for one of the guys I was sure. “I didn’t think any of the—” His eyes narrowed and he pushed Wendy forward a little. “We need to move.”

  “What, why?” I turned around just in time for it to dawn on me.

  "Hey, Babe." Tucker said smugly as he reached my side. "Oh, here, let me get those." He leaned over and took his popcorn from me while I had my mouth opened, shocked.

  Did he just—Nu-uh. No way was he playing it that way. Tyler would kill me!

  The little twit acted as if we were together. At least he didn’t put his arm around me. That would have been too bold, and I would’ve had to resort to bodily harm. But he did stand close, insinuating that we were together. Wendy’s eyes were wide, burning with silent questions, while Peter’s were angrily narrowed. I was sure he was thinking the worst.

  “Are you here with him?” he demanded.

  “No!” I finally got out as I pushed Tucker away from me, but he didn’t budge. So I moved away. “Move along, Tucker!”

  He glanced toward me with a dangerous grin. He knew what he w
as doing. If anything, I would have thought he had planned it.

  “Than wha—” Wendy started finding her voice, but another one interrupted her.

  “Tucker!” a guy called out. I turned to see someone waving at him to hurry it along. It must have been someone in his group. Tucker turned back to us, Wendy and Peter were still upset, and he gave them a head nod before twisting toward me with another wicked grin. It was annoying.

  “Got to go. See ya later, Rella.” I turned to watch him go, because I wanted to see where he went and who he was with. Tucker was kind of being stalkerish, and I wanted to know if any of his other friends were following me. Maybe—

  “Rella?” I heard a voice that I wasn’t expecting right then. Uh-oh. I turned to see Lincoln now standing with the other accusing two. I grimaced, and he noticed as his brows slashed downward. He didn’t seem to be furious. No, it was more like pissed.

  “Hey, Linc.” I tried to act normal because I wasn’t sure how to handle this.

  “Don’t. Start.” He grabbed my hand to direct me toward the side of the movie plaza. Things were about to get ugly, I was sure of it. He barricaded me against the wall with his hands on either side of my head, caging me in. I never knew Lincoln to be so... so dominate. It was thrilling to see him this way.

  “Why do you know Tucker, and what in the hell was with that pet name?” His voice was low, dangerous as his eyes kept mine. My heart pattered fast as I tried to form an answer and get my head out of the gutter. The idiot, Tucker, who kept following me, didn’t have anything on Lincoln. I put a hand up to Lincoln's chest, trying to calm him down, and I felt his heart racing too.

  “It’s not my fault,” I defended. “He keeps finding me. Like Captain Kirk finding tribbles all along his starship! He just keeps popping up!” I huffed out. Tribbles were trouble, and so was Tucker. And he was not cute and cuddly like the furballs were. I could feel Lincoln’s heartbeat calm down beneath my fingertips and I took that as a good sign. I was finally getting through to him.

  “What?”

  Ok, maybe not. He was confused, with his face all scrunched up. Kinda cute, but obviously he didn’t get it, so I blurted it out. “He’s stalking me, Lincoln!”

  “You’ve watched that show? Wait, what?” he asked, catching me off guard.

  “You’re entirely missing the point,” I huffed, but a smile was forming.

  Lincoln’s whole body relaxed when he realized I didn’t have an interest in Tucker, but froze when he finally registered the word stalking. He leaned in closer, sliding his hands up on the wall so his forearms now rested there. He was so close that our lips were almost touching, his eyes burned with blue fire. Not the toe-curling good kind either. “He’s stalking you?”

  Holy Hell, his voice was sin when he spoke that low. I really wanted to forget all about ‘what’s his name’ and press my lips to Lincoln's, but I didn’t think he’d appreciate that just then. It was suddenly time to back-track.

  “Did I say, stalking?” I questioned nervously, “I meant, following. Definitely following.”

  He leaned in toward my ear and whispered, “Same thing, Sweetheart. Now, how do you know him?” When he spoke his lips brushed the tips of my ear and made me shiver. Man, he was so good at making me lose my thoughts. I figured the make-out session afterward would be epic, and if I wanted to get to it anytime soon, I had best come clean right away.

  “Kane pointed him out to me first, and I avoided him, but then he pulled me into a lecture hall—” Lincoln pulled back. “He. Did. What?”

  “Oh, man.” I was panicking, “It’s ok. He just wanted to talk, but I got out before the snake got me.”

  “A SNAKE!” he yelled. I slapped a hand over his mouth and peered around behind him to see that people had stopped to look.

  “No snake here!” I quipped, and people went back to doing whatever they were doing. I looked back to Lincoln and gave him a mock glare. “Seriously?”

  He rolled his eyes. “Ok, ok. Why is he stalking you then, and what's with the “Rella” name?”

  My cheeks pinked as I thought about my lame lie. “I told him my name was...” I mumbled the name hoping he wouldn’t ask again. Didn’t look like that was happening, though.

  His once angry face looked more confused than amused. “I’m sorry. I couldn’t hear you over that obvious mumble.”

  I glared at him. He had heard it just fine, but when he raised an eyebrow, I sighed, “I told him my name was Cinderella when he asked, and he shortened it to Rella,” I said, thoroughly annoyed.

  “Uh-huh. And were you ever going to tell us that he cornered you in a lecture room, Faith?” Dang Brady and the name slip. Now I have to hear it when I was in deep crap with the guys. Like I was a child.

  I nodded honestly. “Raina knew, and I was going to tell you guys. I’ve just had a lot of stuff going on lately.”

  “When?” he asked quietly. “When were you going to tell us? Because it must have happened a while ago for him to be so cozy with you.”

  I had been looking at Lincoln's shirt but I lifted my eyes to his. He looked hurt, and I felt guilty. He was right. I should have let them know as soon as it happened. “I’m sorry. I’ve should have told you. He also cornered me in the hall today,” I confessed. “He wanted to know if I wanted to work in his grandmother's antique shop. The one you guys have been distracting me from. Is that why? Because you knew that it was his grandmother that owned it?”

  This time, Lincoln had enough gall to look embarrassed. “Yeah, but that's only part of it.”

  “Then I’d say, we’re even,” I told him softly.

  A smile tugged at his lips as his eyes grew lighter. “We might be even, but you are the one that's going to have to tell my brothers.”

  My heart skipped at the thought of how they would take it, and I scrunched up my nose. “Yeah, I guess I should, huh?”

  He nodded, getting closer, “And you need to tell me or my brothers if Tucker shows up again. Got it?”

  I agreed. “So we’re good then?” I was nervous. What if he was really mad at me? I did kind of keep it from them. And what about...

  His head tilted as mine was pressed against the wall. “Not quite,” he whispered as his lips touched mine. They were warm and demanding. Each stroke, each pass sent my teenage hormones off into a frenzy. His body hovered over mine as I tilted my head up to gain better access. He growled approvingly when I brought my hand up to run it through his soft hair. I was so far gone I could hear bells, fireworks even and something else.

  Faith? Something teased my senses that was...off? But it didn’t register completely. I moaned when his hot tongue danced with mine, and I tugged his hair. Faith. I was too busy. It was a second later that Lincoln lifted his mouth from mine to look to the side of us.

  “Faith!” This time, I realized it was my name being called, and I knew that voice.

  “H-hello...Officer Brady.” Lincoln managed to choke out, and I huffed as I turned to look at my parent figure.

  Brady’s eyes left Lincoln’s and met mine. He wasn’t amused. “So a pretzel, huh?”

  My defenses reared up as I pushed Lincoln away. “I was going to get one but then that idiot, Tucker, made me hold his popcorn while he put his card away, and then he forgot something and left me in the middle holding it. And I didn’t want to just drop it on the ground because... because, if I dropped it, he would make me pay for it!”

  I was huffing by now and irritated. “Then Wendy and Peter showed up, and he came back and acted like we were together! And called me that”—I growled—“crazy nickname because I told him my name was Cinderella, and...and... and this day has really gone to the dogs!” I ranted as I moved away from the two of them and started to leave. I was going to go back to Sarah, who would take my side. I called out to the two of them behind me as I walked away, “And, I don't know about you, but I’m here to watch a movie. You guys coming? Pa?”

  “Don’t call—”

  I didn’t wait for an answer
as I left and found Sarah in the same spot in line. She looked worried. My shoulders dropped as the fight went out of me. Of course, they’d be worried. That was probably why Brady had come to look for me and was so upset at what he saw. He most likely thought that I was purposely ditching them, but that wasn’t the case at all. Dang it. I owed him an apology.

  “There you are,” Sarah called out with relief. “Where were you, and where is Tom? They're about to let us in the theater.”

  I slid up beside her as she put an arm around me to give me a squeeze. “Brady’s probably giving a lecture,” I sighed, knowing what was coming next.

  She pulled back. “To whom?”

  “Lincoln.”

  I quickly explained what was going on, getting the story out before the line started to move, and we entered the theater.

  “We might as well save seats for the both of them,” Sarah quipped. “I swear. Those boys are pursuing you like lovesick puppies.”

  I chuckled. “Not quite like that.”

  “What are you going to do when they ask you to pick?”

  As we worked our way into the dark theater, I stayed silent and didn’t answer her. We found our seats. I paused briefly before setting down, wondering how I was going to tell her there would be no picking, ever. But I was saved when the guys showed up. Lincoln sat next to me. He found my hand and brought my palm to his lips for a simple kiss that made my hand tingle. Brady leaned over and whispered, “We’re going to talk.” But after that, no one spoke about anything else except about the movie we were going to watch. It might have been a sneaky way to gain a date, but it worked out just fine. Lincoln's hand played with mine, and I leaned my head on his shoulder trying to get as close to him as I could. It was halfway through the movie that I felt vibrating, and Lincoln pulled out his phone to glance at it before excusing himself to answer it. I wondered who it was, but chalked it up to a work call. He came back shortly after.

  “Work,” he whispered to me and sat back down. I guess he wasn’t called in.

  After the movie, Brady even let Lincoln take me home as he followed not far behind us. We did live on the same street, after all. I was surprised to find that Lincoln had borrowed Tyler’s Jeep and I was curious as to what he was driving, since he had to work.