Uncovering You 6: Deliverance Read online

Simply by being myself.

  That is the staggering part. I thought that I would have to act like someone I’m not, that I would have to be just as calculating and determined as he is, to get to this point. To arrive at a position where I can hurt him.

  But he said it himself in the letter: I am already there. And now that I have the power to do so, I find myself… unwilling.

  “Time,” I mutter. “I need more time.” Too much has happened in too short of a time span. The collar’s come off, the contract’s been burned. Tomorrow, I’m actually going to fly out and meet Fey—on my own—and we’re just a few weeks removed from my nightmare in the dark. There’s also the standing issue of Paul, locked in that awful mental institution…

  The best course of action for me, right now, is to simply wait. Wait, and let everything soak in. Jeremy’s behavior has been different. But, I’ll have to see how long it lasts. Besides, it’s not like I have anywhere to go. It’s funny. Now that all restrictions have been removed, I find myself uninterested in being anywhere but…

  Here.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Twenty-four hours later, I am on a private jet, on my own, dressed in a fine fur coat, touching down in a small airfield in Oregon.

  Jeremy was true to his word. When he came home, he let me call Fey and tell her the news. She was thrilled when she heard, and immediately invited me to stay with her and Robin at his parents’ place.

  The spring semester begins next week, so the timing isn’t exactly ideal. Fey and Robin have a flight scheduled for New Haven early tomorrow morning. I thought my visit might be too close to their departure, and throw a wrench into the usual last-minute packing stuff, but Fey was emphatic that it would not. She wanted to see me again, she said, and Robin was excited, too.

  I get off the plane and into the waiting limo. I don’t know anything about Robin’s parents. It strikes me that arriving like this—dressed in something so preposterously luxurious and in a chauffeured limousine—might not give the exact first impression that I want. But there’s nothing I can do about it now. Jeremy has instilled the importance of appearances in me. Clothes and luxury come with the territory.

  The driver already has the address. He informs me it’ll be an hour’s drive. My phone is still crippled by restrictions. Otherwise, I would have checked out the location on Google maps. As it stands, I have absolutely no idea where we’re going.

  My heart begins to sink when, nearly sixty minutes later, we’re driving through a quaint, quiet mountainside community. It feels like a village more than a real district. Everything from the surrounding evergreens to the cedar-log cabins on the sides of the gravel road instantly makes me feel awkward and out of place.

  We stop in front of something that looks like a mix between a cabin and a grounded treehouse.

  “Here goes nothing,” I mutter.

  I step out. As soon as I do, three giant huskies come bounding from the back, barking and howling like they’ve caught sight of prey on a hunt. I tense.

  “Don’t worry, they’re harmless!” A male voice yells from the garage. A second later, a tall, scraggly man appears. He’s wearing old work jeans and an L.L. Bean sweater. He has that modest, hardworking, outdoorsman look about him.

  He puts two fingers to his mouth and whistles. The dogs stop in their tracks, not ten feet from me. Any closer and I think I would have had a heart attack.

  The man jogs up to them and pats them between their ears. He straightens, and turns his attention to me.

  “Well, well,” he smiles. “You must be the famous Lilly Ryder we’ve heard so much about.” He puts his hands in his pockets and emits a long, impressed whistle as he looks at the vehicle behind me. “That’s quite a procession you’ve got there. Fancier than we’re used to around these parts.”

  Cue my worst fears about arriving this way. Already, he’s judging me for it.

  Not the first impression I want to give.

  The driver deposits my bags beside me.

  “Oh,” the tall man says. “Here, let me get those. How rude of me.” He extends one hand toward me. “I’m Jace, by the way. And those three ruffians behind me are Brock, Ash, and Molly.”

  I take his hand—and am caught totally off guard when he pulls me toward him and gives me a huge hug. He laughs as he lets go. “I was kidding about the car, by the way. We don’t judge folks by their appearance here.”

  “Lilly! Oh my God! You’re actually here!” I look behind Jace and see Fey running across the yard towards me. She’s wearing the same flannel style shirt as Jace, along with a pair of loose-fitting jeans. I’ve never seen her in anything so casual.

  She runs up to me and we collide in a massive embrace. I laugh. “Yeah. Here I am.”

  “I’ll leave you two ladies alone to catch up,” Jace winks. He picks up my bags. “I’ll bring these to your room. Come on Brock, Ash, Molly. We’ve gotta give these gals some privacy.” He turns away, and the three dogs trot behind him to the house.

  “Robin’s dad?” I ask.

  “His uncle,” Fey corrects. “He lives a few houses down but spends most of his time here. They’re all a big, happy family.”

  “Sounds nice,” I say, somewhat wistfully. I’ve never had anything like that. And being here, surrounded by nature, brings back memories of that summer at Paul’s cabin in the woods.

  “Mr. Stonehart asked me to remain on call should you need me,” the driver informs says. “I’ll be staying at the motel. If you need to go anywhere, just give me a ring.”

  “Thanks,” I say. “But, I don’t have your number.”

  “Here.” He gives me a card. “It’s on there. If I don’t hear from you, I’ll be back tomorrow at noon to take you to the airport for your return flight.”

  “You’re leaving at noon?” Fey sounds surprised. “Our flight to Yale’s around the same time. Why don’t we just go together? Robin’s parents will drive us. It’ll give us more time to chat, and—”

  “I’m afraid I must insist,” the driver interrupts. Fey stops short. I frown. “Mr. Stonehart was very explicit with his instructions for me. I am to deliver Miss Ryder to the airport precisely on time.”

  “Deliver?” Fey repeats incredulously. She turns on him. “She’s a human being, not some type of FedEx package! If she wants to go with us, she will. It doesn’t matter what ‘instructions’ Mr. Stonehart gave you.”

  I put a hand on her arm to calm her. “Fey, it’s okay,” I say softly. I look to the driver. “I’ll be ready then.” I hand him his card back. “But I won’t need you before. Go and do whatever you want. Just don’t linger around here.”

  He shrugs and gets back in the limo. “As you say.”

  When the car drives off, Fey turns to me in disbelief. “Deliver?” she asks.

  “Don’t worry about it,” I say. It seems that some of Jeremy’s controlling tendencies still remain. “Where’s Robin? I’ve been dying to see him.”

  Fey chews the inside of her lip. “He’s inside.” She hesitates. “Working on a last-minute project for The Economist. You know, they already treat him as if he’s a full-time employee. He’s still got a semester of classes left!”

  “Does he enjoy it, though?” I ask.

  “Oh yeah.” She rolls her eyes. “He loves it. You know, I haven’t had more than a single hour with him since he got back from South Africa. He’s been locked up in his room, working the whole time. We’re supposed to be on our last few days of winter break here.”

  “Sounds brutal,” I say.

  “Kind of how the driver treated you?” She perks an eyebrow at me. “What was all that about? The nerve! Deliver. Humph.”

  “Really, Fey! It’s no big deal,” I say, trying to assuage her and shift the conversation elsewhere. “Just a poor choice of words. That’s all.”

  “It sounded like more than that. It sounded like he wasn’t giving you much of an option.”

  “Fey, really!” I snap. “Lay off, will you? I said it’s no big deal, so trea
t it as such!”

  She takes a step back. “Lilly, are you… okay?”

  “Yes, I’m okay,” I say thinly. “I don’t need you to worry about me. Everything’s fine. All right? Don’t interfere.”

  “I wasn’t… interfering,” Fey says. Her face falls.

  All of a sudden, guilt tears at me. I shouldn’t be getting agitated with her. She did nothing wrong.

  I exhale. “Look, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have gotten mad. I’ve just had a long week. I’m back at work already, too. You know?” I lie. I hate how easily the words come to my lips.

  “Yeah. I get it,” Fey mumbles. “My mom told me you seemed different when we met. I didn’t see it. I do now.”

  “I’m not different!” I say, my defenses going up. “Why would you say I’m different?”

  “I guess being tied up with a man like Jeremy Stonehart changed you,” she says. “I mean, look at what you’re wearing. I’ve never seen you in furs.”

  I shift, uncomfortably. “They’re just clothes,” I shrug.

  “Yes, but you’re also more… I don’t know… more forceful. I don’t think I’ve ever heard you angry before.”

  “Come on. I’m not angry. Just a little tired from the flight. You know how it is.”

  “Yeah,” Fey sighs. “I guess I do.” She looks at the ground between us. “Everything’s changed now. Hasn’t it? Things will never be the way they were in college.”

  “You’re not getting nostalgic on me, are you?” I try to make the words teasing and light-hearted.

  Instead, they come out hollow.

  “Just a little,” she says. She looks at the house. “Well , let’s go. I’ll introduce you to the rest of my soon-to-be family. With some luck,” she adds, “we might even get to see Robin.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  My reunion with Fey does not go the way I had envisioned.

  I thought that the minute we saw each other, things would be the same as they were in school. That it would be like we never lost touch, and simply resumed things from where they stood before.

  Nothing could be farther from the truth. While we obviously keep things congenial, I feel a… distance… growing between us. It started the moment I snapped at her outside.

  I smile and am polite when introduced to Robin’s mom and dad. It’s easy to make conversation with them. They have no expectations of me.

  But when I find myself alone with Fey a few minutes later, in the room where Jace brought my bags, the atmosphere becomes tense.

  She looks at her phone as it buzzes with a text. “That’s Robin,” she explains. “He says he’ll be back in an hour.”

  “I thought you said he was in his room.”

  “No,” she says. “He snuck out to the library to finish the assignment. He says it’s quieter there. Fewer distractions, you know?”

  “Yeah. I guess I do.”

  She shifts on the bed across from me. I can feel that distance growing. Fey must sense it, too, because she’s careful not to meet my eyes.

  “So…” she begins, looking everywhere but at me. “How are… things?”

  “Things are good,” I reply automatically. Our gazes cross for a second, and then we both quickly look away.

  An awkward silence looms.

  “Do you… miss Yale?” Fey asks after a long moment. Then she snorts, “What am I saying? Of course you don’t. I mean, look at you.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “You’ve obviously adapted to your new life,” Fey says. “You seem… I don’t know, more mature, I guess.” She motions at my outfit. “I just can’t see you back on campus in something like that.”

  I force myself not to roll my eyes. “We’ve been over this already. They’re just clothes, Fey. Clothes don’t change a person.”

  “No,” she says. “But getting used to them might.”

  Another silence.

  “You’re still angry with me. Aren’t you?” I say finally. “Look, I already apologized once. Do you want to hear me say it again? I’m sorry for snapping at you when we met. There. That’s twice. Is that good enough?”

  Fey flinches and looks away. “It’s not that,” she says softly.

  “Then what?” I feel my temper rising, along with my agitation. My attempt to smother them is unsuccessful. “What did I do wrong, Fey? What do you want from me?”

  “Want?” Her eyes flash to meet mine. There’s a new determination behind them. “I don’t want anything you’re not willing to give, Lilly. Who am I to make demands of you? You’ve obviously moved past old college friends.”

  “What are you talking about?” My frustration with her is ever-growing. “I’m here, aren’t I? I flew here to see you, didn’t I? It’s not like I’m here for anybody else.”

  “It doesn’t add up, Lilly. Six months without a word, without a single phone call, and now you just want to start off from where we were? Without so much as a proper explanation?”

  “Oh,” I say. “I get it. That’s what this is about. That’s why you’re angry with me.”

  “Yes! That’s what this is about!” Fey explodes. “How come you never called, Lilly? Not even once? Not to check in, not to say hello? Sonja and I tried to find you. We called Corfu Consulting when the fall term began, asking for you. They told us your contract ended when the client pulled out. They said they didn’t know where you were.”

  She surges to her feet and stalks across the small room, away from me. “I think I’ve given you ample opportunity to explain, Lilly. I haven’t pressed you because I thought you would tell me in your own time. But now, as your friend, I think I deserve to know. Where were you, really, for the last six months? What were you doing? How did you truly meet Jeremy Stonehart? That is,” she adds, “if you still consider us friends.”

  “Of course I do!”

  “Then you owe me an explanation.” She turns back toward me. “Robin did some investigating. He found the guest list of everybody in attendance at the product launch where you and Jeremy supposedly met. Jeremy’s name was on the list. Yours wasn’t.”

  She looks at me, full of expectation.

  Shit. The gears in my head are spinning a million miles a minute, trying to come up with a feasible answer. I should have prepared for something like this. I should have expected it.

  I did not.

  “Fey, I… I don’t know what to tell you,” I mutter.

  “How about,” she suggests, “you start with the truth?”

  “The truth?” I almost laugh. How would Fey react if she discovered the truth? How would anybody react? Would they call me deranged, insane for wanting to stay with Jeremy Stonehart after all that he’s done to me?

  I have to stay—No! I need to stay—because being near him is the only chance I have to exact my revenge.

  “You know the truth,” I tell her. “I was working the entire time. Yes. The Corfu guys terminated my contract. I never told you that because I didn’t want you to worry. It happened right after the late-registration deadline for the fall semester.”

  I grip the edge of the mattress. “So I couldn’t come back to school. For about a week, I didn’t know what I would do. But then the client I was working for—Dextran—offered me a full-time position. Corfu didn’t know about it. It probably wasn’t entirely legal, anyway. Employee poaching and all that. That’s why they couldn’t tell you anything about me when you called.”

  “And the guest list?” she prompts.

  “I don’t know,” I shrug. “Maybe somebody made a mistake. That’s really where I met Jeremy. Robin could be wrong, you know.”

  Fey’s eyes widen in offense. “Robin,” she huffs, “is never wrong. Not in his research. That’s why The Economist loves him so much. He’s the consummate reporter.”

  “Then, whoever made up the guest list must have missed me,” I say.

  Fey looks at me. Her eyes narrow ever-so-slightly as she takes me in. I can see her trying to decide whether to believe me or not.

  It
’s all about appearance, I know. And thanks to Jeremy, I’ve had plenty of practice putting on my own masks. Fey’s gaze might be searching, yes. But, it doesn’t hold a candle to the ones he’s subjected me to.

  So, I meet her eyes, steadfast and unflinching, almost daring her to doubt me. I’m fully committed to the lie now. There is no turning back.

  “So, Corfu terminated your contract, huh?” She begins to tap her foot. “Right after the deadline for registration? And I’m only learning about it now?”

  “Yes,” I say. “That’s what happened.”

  “Lilly…” she drags out my name, making it sound like she’s about to reveal some profound thought. “Just one question for you.”

  “Sure,” I say. “Shoot.”

  “Do you remember,” she starts, “the promise you made me the last time we saw each other at Yale? Before you ran off on your Californian adventure? Right after Robin proposed?”

  The reminder of that makes me uncomfortable. I break eye contact and look at my feet. “Sure,” I mumble.

  “Can you repeat it to me?”

  I swallow. “You said…” I clear my throat. “You said that you wanted to be the first person I called if anything went wrong.”

  “Uh-huh,” she confirms. “And when Corfu threw you under the bus… when you were left without a place to turn… why on earth did I not hear about it right away?”

  “I was… ashamed,” I admit. “I didn’t want to look like a failure in your eyes.”

  And with those words, all the walls come crashing down. Fey’s façade of indifference breaks. She rushes to me and takes my hand.

  “Oh, honey!” she says to me. “Have I ever told you that you are a miserable liar?”

  My gut clenches up in fear. Caught, I think.

  “But, I believe you,” she says. She strokes one hand through my hair. “You don’t need to stay invincible. Not for me. We’re friends, Lilly. We’ve lived together for almost three years. I think of you as my sister. You should have called.”

  I feel tears coming to my eyes. I blink rapidly to push them away.

  Fey’s words mean so, so much to me. The shift back to true compassion means so much to me. It just saddens me, so, so much more, that I have to continue to deceive her.