Page 21 of Claiming Liberty
“Prudence? Runaway I started talking to a few months ago. It’s a really sad story there. She ran away from home at fourteen and was whored out by some pimp named ‘Big Daddy D.’” Sawyer chuckles at the name and shakes his head. “Anyway, she’s been a prostitute ever since, addicted to all sorts of nasty shit. Which is, you know, what caused the black eye.” He raises his chin and points to his face. “Detoxing is hard. Sometimes those girls get feral.”
“How old is she?”
Sawyer blows out a long breath and raises his brows. “Eighteen.” His hands shoot up as he retreats toward the drink cart. “I know, I know, fuckingyoung, right? Barely an adult.But, she begged to come here, and her situation sucked, so...” He shrugs.
The stomachache I started developing on the way here subsides, and I’m able to breathe again.
Why am I letting Lib get into my head? She doesn’t know Sawyer or his intentions. She doesn’t know anything.
Sawyer turns to the cart and flips over two glasses, tossing me a grin over his shoulder. “Thirsty?”
I run my hands through already tousled hair and sigh, reluctantly nodding. He pours the glasses while I walk to the miniature globe he has perched on a bookshelf that doubles as a door to a hidden safe room. It spins with a flick of my finger.
“Hey, how’s Liberty?” Sawyer asks, bringing a drink to me. I turn toward him and take the glass, clinking his when he tilts it toward me. “Everything go smoothly?”
His eyes sear into me over the rim of his glass as he takes a drink. I bring the amber liquid to my lips and take a small sip before turning back to the bookshelf.
I feel so foolish that a laugh nearly bubbles up my throat. My nerves have felt shredded for days, thinking it was possible my best friend could be capable of betraying me. In reality, I’m the one who’s betrayed him.
Liberty’s safe. Sawyer isn’t acting the slightest bit strange, so I’m positive he doesn’t know anything. That makes the lie I’m about to tell feel as easy as if it were the truth.
“No, it didn’t.”
It feels like the air is sucked from the room. I allow several seconds to go by while Sawyer watches me, studying me carefully, searching for meaning behind my words.
“What happened?” he eventually asks, sounding more concerned than angry which is a little surprising. I wouldn’t blame him for being furious.
I sigh and drink the rest of the whiskey in one gulp, cringing as I lower the glass and turn toward Sawyer. He takes it from me but doesn’t move to the drink cart.
“You were right.” I look away and shake my head like I’m the one who should be angry. “It was a mistake to take her with me. I shouldn’t have trusted her.”
“She tried to run,” Sawyer says, more a statement of fact than a question.
I nod.
“What did you do?” He leans toward me, and I finally meet his eyes.
The concern in his blue irises sends guilt shooting through me. It’s far too easy to lie to him. It should be harder. It should tear me the fuck up to lie to the person left in my life who deserves my honesty most. So why? Why is this so easy for me? Why was it so easy with Lib?
“She isn’t a problem anymore.”
His face sobers, and he takes a step back. “You killed her?”
I turn to the globe, staring at the outline of Iceland with my lips pressed in a thin line, letting my silence be my answer.
Sawyer blows out a loud breath, and when he does it’s like he’s filling the room back up with air. “Shit, man, I’m sorry… I know she meant a lot to you.”
I lift a shoulder. “She was an unhealthy obsession anyway.”
“Yeah … lil’ bit,” he agrees, backing up even farther. He pours me another drink, and I meet him halfway to take it. “What did you do with the body?”
I curl my fingers around the cool glass, then bring it to me. “I’d rather not talk about it.”
His eyes dart down as he swallows, nodding sharply. “Right. Well...” He raises his lips into a tight smile before he extends his glass toward me. “To you, my brother. I’m glad to have you back.”
His words sound like they have more than one meaning, and I try not to resent him for it. I know he didn’t like Lib. I understandwhyhe didn’t like Lib. But his relief that Lib is supposedly dead still gets to me. I clink his glass and down the liquid in another gulp.
“Jesus, slow down.” He chuckles. “I’m the one who’s supposed to be lectured for day drinking.”