She nodded, grateful for his concern. “I’ll just be a minute. Want to come in?”
“Looks like I have company.”
Auri’s grandma was already headed out to talk to Mr. Jacobs. “What’d she do now, Steve?”
He laughed. “Nothing we didn’t do when we were kids.”
“She’s in a lot of trouble then.”
“Hey, Grandma,” Auri said, giving her a hug before hurrying inside. She found Cruz on her bed reading, his long legs crossed at the ankles. “No more painkillers for you, mister.”
He put the book down and smiled at her. “Are you skipping again?”
“Yep, only this time I got Principal Jacobs to drive me.”
“Holy shit, you’re good.”
“Right?” She plopped down on the bed next to him.
He’d taken a shower, his hair still damp and glistening in the sunlight streaming in through the window.
“Are you okay?”
He dropped his gaze. “I’m humiliated. Other than that, I’m fine.”
“Why are you embarrassed?”
“I’m so stupid. I must’ve doubled up on the painkillers. They’re strong but not that strong. I was just trying to make sure you were okay, and I pass out instead?” He gave her a sideways glance. “You must feel really safe with me around.”
She scooted next to him and put her head on his shoulder. “I do. Very safe.”
“Your mom is never going to let me see you again.”
“No way. She understands, Cruz. But…”
“But?” he asked when she didn’t continue.
“She’s very worried about you.”
He lifted a knee and propped an elbow on it. “You told her about the poem.”
“Of course I did.” She sat on her heels and faced him. “Cruz, you may think you’re all alone in the world right now, but you’re wrong.”
“Auri, it was just … a … poem.”
She pushed his arm off his knee and propped her chin on it to force him to look at her. “I believe that you believe that. I really do. But I think you’re wrong.”
“Why?”
“Because I’ve been there.”
His eyes shimmered as he studied her. “What do you mean?”
“I’ve been in that place, Cruz. I’ve thought something very similar and I was one hundred percent ready to go through with it.”
“When you found out how you were conceived,” he said, remembering her tale. She’d half hoped he wouldn’t.
“Yes.”
When he looked away, unconvinced their stories were similar, she asked, “Do you remember what you said to me last night?”
“I hardly remember what I said five minutes ago.” He pressed a palm to his forehead. “I am never doing drugs again. Not even legal ones.”
She laughed softly. “You told me you don’t have a single family member left.”
“Oh, that. Was I wrong?”
“Maybe not a blood relative, but you have me and my mom, Cruz. And my grandparents. And Quincy. And pretty much the entire town.”
He nodded for her benefit before changing the subject. “You were right, though. I saw that man last night, even in my drug-induced stupor.”
“Mr. Redding?”
“Tim’s dad?” He shook his head. “No. This guy had blond hair. Why was Tim’s dad at your house?”
“I don’t know, but I’m more interested in who the blond guy was. Are you sure you weren’t seeing things?”
“No,” he said with a soft laugh. “But I could’ve sworn he had on a prison uniform.”
* * *
Sun could not get to the station fast enough. She and Quince went in the back door and hurried to the front where Nancy sat waiting for her, pretty as you please.
It had only been a few days since she found out Nancy, a tech at the forensics lab in Santa Fe, had altered the DNA test to implicate Wynn Ravinder for Kubrick Ravinder’s death. A fact Sun knew to be false, as her memory was slowly returning and she’d recently remembered bits and pieces of that night. Mainly the fact that it was Levi who’d rescued her when Kubrick had kidnapped her. That it was him who’d fought his own uncle to the death. Who’d been stabbed in the process and almost died trying to get Sun to the hospital.
Once she’d been in good hands, he ducked out and his uncle Wynn found him half dead and took him to a hospital in Albuquerque. But no one ever made the connection between Sun and Levi. Until now.
Why Wynn wanted to take the fall for his nephew was a bit of a mystery other than the fact that he loved Levi. And, possibly even more important, he loved his sister-in-law. Aka, Levi’s mother.
Nancy admitted to altering the test results on Wynn’s orders, but Sun had yet to really understand their connection and why she would risk her career like that. Turns out, she was in love with Wynn. Had been for years.
“Nancy,” she said, holding the security door open to let her in.
Nancy hesitated as though worried she wouldn’t be allowed to exit once inside. “Hey, Sun,” she said, stepping inside at last.
“We can go to my office.”
“Okay.”
Feeling a bit like a spider luring a fly into her trap, Sun exchanged astonished glances with Quincy. What were the odds that their main suspect in a prison break would knock on their front door? Metaphorically speaking.
Salazar stood, holding a printout up to Sun, but Quincy quickly ran interference. He whispered in her ear and it was Salazar’s turn to be astonished.
“Have a seat,” Sun said, sinking into the chair behind her desk.
Nancy sat on the edge of the chair across from her, the tension radiating out of her palpable.
“What can I do—”
“I can’t … I can’t lose my job, Sunshine.”
Sun sat back and eyed her friend. They’d known each other for so long and, admittedly, the thought of arresting Nancy broke her heart. “You probably should have thought of that before you impeded an investigation.”
“Who did I hurt?” she asked, desperation pouring out of her. “Wynn,” she started, then looked around to make sure no one was listening since Sun didn’t close the door. “Wynn wanted me to switch out the results to implicate him. The person really responsible for that man’s death killed him in self-defense, so it’s not like he’s going around murdering people.”
“And you know that because?”
“Wynn told me.”
“Ah. And inmates never lie.”
“Sunshine,” she said, as though growing frustrated. She tucked a strand of strawberry-blond hair behind an ear and tried again. “I’m asking you who I hurt. And who would be hurt if the real test got out?”
Sun tapped her fingers on her desk. Nancy wasn’t wrong, but there was still this little thing Sun liked to call the law.
“If you really want the test…” She reached into her bag and brought out a manila envelope. She lifted her chin and said softly, “Just know, you’ll be signing my death warrant.”
Rather than take the envelope from her, Sun let Nancy drop it onto her desk as though it were toxic. It really was in her hands now. She’d insisted the other night that Nancy retire from her position while Sun considered what to do, but Nancy had insisted she couldn’t. “Have you filed your resignation letter yet?”