Page 11 of Ugly Truths
My hands still on the tray I’m rearranging, careful to keep my expression neutral as I glance up at her. “Oh?”
She hesitates, then exhales softly, lowering her voice just enough that no one else could overhear. “The way he spoke sounded like you came here to get away from someone, like an ex.”
The words slam into me with a force I'm not prepared for.
“It's me reading into it more than anything he said,” she continues quickly to reassure me. “I just want you to know, if that’s the case, I get it. I’ve been in a bad place like that before, too.”
What the hell did he say? Why were they talking about me in that way?
I grip the edge of the case, fighting to keep my breathing even. He might have been speaking of Peter, but all I can think of is Silas. My chest tightens painfully.
Silas isn't the problem. I’m the problem.
The urge to correct her nearly burns its way out of my throat. I want to tell her she’s wrong, that whatever she thinks she knows, she doesn’t. But it would only invite more questions I don’t have the luxury of answering.
Sarah gives me a small, tentative smile. “I just wanted to say, if you ever need to talk, I’m here. No judgment.”
I force a small, tight smile in return, tucking the tray back into place. “Thanks, Sarah. That means a lot.”
She pats my shoulder gently before stepping away, moving toward the counter as another customer walks in. I keep my hands busy, but my mind is spinning, my pulse hammering in my ears.
She thinks I ran to escape someone, but I’m the one people like Silas need to escape from. Not the other way around.
Chapter 5
Elena
“Elena!”
Luis’s voice carries through the closed guest room door, just seconds before it swings open. His curls bounce with the momentum of his movements, chest rising and falling like he’s climbed several dozen flights of stairs.
I’m still not used to him calling me Elena.
He hasn’t called me Marilyn since the warehouse debacle. I’m not entirely sure what made him decide to drop it, but I’ve never really had the courage to ask.
Silently, I’m relieved.
I’ve spent years slipping into names that weren’t mine, bending myself into whatever shape Peter demanded to get the job done. I never thought I cared much about shedding them until I had the option to do so.
With an arched eyebrow, I closed the mystery novel I’ve been reading and set it next to my legs. “Luis?” I mimic his tone with a sugary smile.
My friend gestures wildly towards his room at the other end of the hall. “Where the hell didthatcome from?”
He found the money I left tucked under his bedside lamp, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to make it easy for him.
Shrugging, I straighten my back against the wooden headboard. “Maybe the tooth fairyis a little late delivering?”
The laugh I’m hoping for never surfaces. Instead, Luis’s jaw flexes as he exhales hard through his nose. “Don’t be cute with me.”
Tilting my head, I take in his frustration. “Lu, this feels a bit dramatic.”
When I arrived in Alma, Luis had added the contacts of Corey and Ben, his friends who had helped us decrypt parts of the Wells cloud files, to my new phone. “Just in case,” he’d said. At the time, I didn’t know what I’d need them for, but I’ve reached out since.
The day I found Drew lying in a pool of her own blood in our Chandler apartment was just days after I saw my last payment from Peter. Once he knew he could control me with blackmail alone, compensation stopped. He did, however, still give me credit cards tied to my false identities. It was always under the guise of blending in while on a job, but it didn’t take a genius to also realize it allowed Peter to keep tabs on my day-to-day life and hold me financially hostage.
So, instead of fighting it, I used it to my advantage. I lived off the cards while he housed me, spending within reasonable limits to avoid retaliation, and keeping my head down more often than not.
Meanwhile, the money I saved before my life turned to shit sat untouched in a high-yield savings account, quietly growing. I’m not sure why Peter never attempted to take that money from me, but I wasn’t going to ask questions or draw attention to it. Though it’s not enough to live on for more than a few months, it gives me some options.
