Run to Ground(68)

A flash of blue uniform had her turning even as the sensor on the door beeped, announcing a customer. Disappointment made her shoulders sag when she realized it was Hugh, not Theo. Guilt quickly followed, and she gave Hugh an extra-bright smile to make up for her mental lack of enthusiasm. She liked Hugh—quite a bit, actually. He just wasn’t the cop who made her heart quicken.

By the way Hugh was charging toward her, though, it looked like she was exactly the person he wanted to see. The crutches didn’t seem to slow him down, even when he was forced to maneuver through the tables. His obvious intent made her nervous, and she tried to take a step back, but her calves bumped one of the wooden chairs. She bobbled, hurrying to put her bussing tub down before she dropped it and all its contents. By the time she’d recovered her balance, he was right in front of her.

Although he was smiling, there was a determined look on his face that ramped up her nerves. Jules tried to appear like his speedy approach hadn’t bothered her, as if she wasn’t seconds from tossing the contents of the bus tub at him and vaulting over the table to freedom.

“Jules,” he said, his sharp gaze taking in everything. Somehow, she just knew that he knew that she was ready to run. “Just the person I wanted to see. Do you have a minute?”

“Actually,” she rushed out, her voice too high-pitched, “we’re really busy this morning. Could this wait until later?”

“’Fraid not.” His smile turned apologetic, but his tone was firm. Whatever this was, Jules was not getting out of it. All the horrible possibilities—he knew who they were, what she’d done—rushed into her mind, weakening her knees, and she sank into the chair behind her.

“Sorry. Mind if I sit?” she asked belatedly.

“Of course not.” Leaning on his right crutch, he used his left to push another chair away from the table so he could drop into it. “Good idea.”

There was a short silence, although it felt very long to Jules. Her gaze darted around again, wishing for a tour bus of seniors to stop by before heading farther into the mountains, or maybe a preschool crowd of teenagers, or even for Megan to come out of the kitchen and yell at Jules to get back to work. Any of those would be acceptable options, all better than waiting to hear what was making Hugh’s smile look like he’d duct-taped it on.

“So…what’s your story, Jules?”

The question made her throat seize. Even if she’d known how to answer that question, even if she’d wanted to answer that question, it would’ve been impossible to speak. Instead, she settled for giving him a quizzical look—at least she hoped it was a quizzical look. Jules was pretty sure it leaned closer toward deer-in-the-headlights.

“Come on, now.” Hugh leaned back, making the chair squeak in protest, and laced his fingers behind his head. The pose brought all the muscles in his arms and chest into stark relief, but Jules didn’t really find it sexy. She did find it intimidating. Even with a bullet hole in his leg, Hugh would have no problem restraining her. “You randomly show up in town, jump at every sudden movement, and get a job I’m guessing you’re a college degree or two overqualified for. What’d you do?” He was watching her closely, and she struggled to keep the panic off her face. “Or what was done to you?”

She fumbled for words, trying to think of the best way to prove him wrong, to turn him off the track he was on before it led him inevitably to a kidnapping in Florida. “I haven’t done anything wrong.”

A judge might disagree, but she felt it, deep in her gut. The kids had needed saving. She’d saved them. In the weeks since they’d arrived in Monroe—even when facing a school shooting and a falling-down house and a new town—none of her siblings had ever even hinted at wanting to go back to Courtney, to their old life. Jules knew she’d done the right thing.

Not that her certainty helped now, faced with Hugh’s coolly assessing gaze.

“Good,” he said. “That makes it easier. Just tell me why you ran, why you’re hiding, and I’ll be able to help you.”

“I…” For a single, insane moment, Jules was tempted. Hugh was a good guy. He could understand why she had to take the kids, right?

The door sensor beeped, and she whipped her head around to see Norman coming in. He started to head to his usual booth, but then he noticed Jules and Hugh, and his footsteps slowed. Just for a second, his bland countenance focused and sharpened, making him look like a completely different person.

Jules inhaled quickly, and Norman dropped his gaze, returning to the beige, slightly off customer she saw every day. Even though she was pretty sure he wasn’t a private investigator hired by her stepmother, he still set off her internal alarms. When she’d grabbed the kids and run, she’d been so focused on the possibility of her stepmother finding them that Jules hadn’t even considered that their new life would hold other dangers. Although she wasn’t sure what kind of threat Norman presented, all of Jules’s instincts were insisting he was dangerous. Turning her attention back to Hugh, she saw he was glancing back and forth between her and Norman, as if he’d noticed her reaction and was trying to figure out the reason for it.