“I – ahh, I work at the Washington Post as an assistant to an assistant. You know how it goes. I have a big ladder to climb before I get to the position I’d love to have.”
“I suppose you want to be a reporter. Isn’t that what most writers strive for?”
Lisa grinned disparagingly and nodded. “One day. Gotta put in the baby steps first as my mom warns me when I whine too much.”
Now that he sensed she told the truth, Lance relaxed. “Your mom sounds like someone I’d like. My folks were always onto me about aiming for the moon first before reaching for the stars. They recently moved to Florida for the weather and an easier retirement.”
“I suppose that’s what spurred you on to make a change too?”
He looked at her questioning smile and nodded. “Don’t judge. I’d have gotten around to moving out eventually.”
“Ha! Gotcha!”
“Hey, before you sit on your throne, Princess, answer me one more thing. Where do you live?”
She chuckled, her blush appearing and twisting his heart strings a little tighter. “Okay… you got me there. I live with my mom and grandmother.”
Their shared humor lightened the tension around them even more and she suddenly straightened, hopping to her feet, and then clutched her stomach where it took the brunt of her dive.
Lance saw her wince and immediately reached out. His arms held her loosely until she was balanced. “Are you injured? Let me see if you’re bleeding?”
They both looked down at her t-shirt and saw small signs of blood. Lifting it away from her stomach, he saw the scrapes and knew she’d be feeling pretty sore for the next few days.
“Maybe I can come to your place and wash this mess. If you have any bandages, I could make sure the open sores are covered.”
Realizing the slimy pile he’d stepped into with his lies, he thought fast. “I’d be happy to have you but when I checked the place, I found that none of my stuff had arrived yet. And – and the roommate I’m sharing with warned me he turns in real early. He’s got a big chip on his shoulder, so I was leaving to get a room for the night.”
“Oh… okay. Then we can go to the pharmacy up the street and patch this up before I return for my phone.”
Lance heard the question in her voice and knew she was asking him to go with her, but the thing was – his assignment was to stick with Kane, not to go gallivanting around with a girl.
“I, ahh—”
As if she’d heard her own words and was shocked at her presumption, she backed off. “Forget it. I don’t know what I was thinking. My dad would probably murder me if he saw me with a stranger.”
“Your dad. You mean Kane.” He had to be sure.
“Yeah. That’s what I said. Kane Lambert, my father. I shocked him a while back with the DNA proof. Not that I’m proud of the fact. Not only is he my biological father, but he’s a rat-bastard and I wished I’d never met him.” Choking on her words, Lisa turned away and Lance made up his mind in a second. If Lisa were Kane’s daughter then he really needed to keep her away from that house. Jesus, this whole adventure had become a lot trickier… and dangerous.
“Know what? I’d like to come with you to the drugstore, and then I think a beer would be in order… you know, for the shock from your wounds.” He’d do whatever he could to keep her away from that infested house and pray Kane would have wanted him to.
Turning, Lisa smiled, a happy expression replacing the earlier gloom. “You’re on.”