Uncovering You: The Complete Series (Mega Box Set) (95 page)

In fact, I’ve had enough of the highway. I haven’t even simply driven around San Jose and explored the city on my own. I know I still can’t get out of the car—not unless I want to risk having my picture taken. But I sure as hell can drive and look.

And even if something catches my eye—and I do decide to step out—is chancing a few more photographs really that bad? How incriminating will they really be? There’s nothing I’m doing that I
shouldn’t
be doing. So it’s not like I’m going to cause a scandal by stepping outside.

It’s just the feeling of surveillance, the constant uncertainty whether I’m being watched or not, that makes me reluctant to leave the car.

I take the exit and follow the signs to the city center. The sun has started to peek out from behind the clouds when I arrive. Breaks in the cover make patches of light dot the street.

I turn left, aiming to find that high-end, quaint, little area that Simon took me to. There’s no point fighting traffic in the core of downtown when all I want to do is explore.

After a few misguided turns, and more than a few moments of feeling utterly lost, I see familiar buildings slowly start to surround me, like the creeping rays of a rising sun. This is the one place I don’t dare get out, after last time. But nobody has to know it’s me behind the wheel of the car.

I drive around, taking it slow, enjoying the lower speed limits. Suddenly, I do a double take. There, across for me, on the other side of the road is…

No, it couldn’t be.

Could it?

In a single rash maneuver, I do a very illegal U-turn, cutting through three lanes of traffic and earning myself a barrage of horn blasts. It doesn’t matter. None of that even registers.

I pull up on the other side and open the passenger window. “Robin?” I yell.

He starts when he hears his name, looking around to see who called him. Then he spots me, and his eyes widen. He rushes over.

“Lilly!” he says.

“Robin, what the hell are you doing here?” I ask. Another horn sounds from behind me. I curse.

“Looking for you,” he says simply.

I shake my head. “What?” another belligerent honk. “Is Fey with you?”

“No. She’s at the hotel.”

“Hey asshole!” An angry male voice screams from some other car “Get a move on, will ya?”

And then another cascade of horns rains down on me.

“Get in,” I tell Robin. “Quickly.”

He nods, opens the door, and slides inside. I drive without doing a shoulder check, nearly collide with another vehicle, curse once more, and then re-enter the flow of traffic.

My hands are trembling. I’m very much on edge. Adrenaline pulses through me with every heartbeat.

“Explain,” I say to him. “
Now
.” I look at him quickly, then back at the road. “What do you mean, you’re looking for me? Why?”

“Fey got your voicemail,” Robin says. “And she’s been trying to reach you ever since. But you haven’t responded to any of her texts, her emails. Every time she tries to call you, you don’t pick up.”

“What?” I say, flabbergasted. “She hasn’t called me once!”

“Not true,” Robin says. “She’s been trying to reach you almost every hour of every day. And as she couldn’t…as more and more time passed from when she last heard from you…she started to get worried.
Really
worried.” Robin looks at me. “You’re in some deep shit, Lilly. I was worried, too.”

I want to laugh hysterically. Thank God the steering wheel beneath my hands gives me something else to focus on.

“Where are you staying?” I ask. “Far from here?”

“Not far,” Robin says.

“Guide me.”

He gives directions. A minute or so later, I pull into the parking lot of an expensive hotel. Shit. The only way they could afford this is if Fey’s parents sprang for the trip. Which means
they
know, and
they
are worried, too.

Shit, shit, shit!

I turn the engine off and look at Robin. “Explain again,” I tell him. “From the start.”

He nods, and begins. It’s the same story as before, though with the benefit of added details. Fey got my message at the start of the week. She’s been trying to contact me ever since. But all her communications have been blocked. As the days passed, she got more and more worried, until, finally, last night, she and Robin booked a trip here for the weekend to try to find me.

“And that’s all,” Robin says. He looks at me, gravely serious. “Lilly, you don’t know the type of man that you’re with. I did some more investigating. And Lilly, the things his company has done, in secret…” he blows out his cheeks and runs a hand through his hair, “well, if word of any of it leaked, Jeremy Stonehart would be sitting in a jail cell for the rest of his life.”

“So why hasn’t it?” I demand. “If your information is so good, why don’t other people know? Why haven’t
you
gone to your precious
Economist
and had them run the story?”

“Because Lilly, none of it can be proven. They’re just hints and tidbits I’ve picked up, here and there. But I have a sense for these things. When enough of them point one way…well, very often they tell the truth.”

“The truth?” I laugh. “How much do you know about the truth, Robin?” I think of all the things Jeremy has done to me while he was still Stonehart. Things that no other human alive will ever know. “You know nothing.”

“I know you’re in danger,” he says. “Fey does, too. This is
his
car, isn’t it? How do you know it’s not tapped? How do you know he’s not listening in on our every word?”

Trust me, that possibility has entered my head many times,
I want to say. Instead: “We can go outside if you prefer.”

“Yes,” he says. “I do.”

We exit the car and walk into the lobby. I adjust the sunglasses to make sure they cover my eyes. “Come upstairs,” Robin says. “Fey will be so relieved to see you.”

I nod, casting furtive glances around us for anybody who may be following.

In the elevator, I speak again.

“Call me,” I say.

Robin looks my way. “Huh?”

“Call me. Prove what you’re saying is true.”

He nods, and takes out his cell phone. He looks at the status bar. “As soon as we get off.”

I bite my lip, growing more and more anxious as the elevator takes us higher. I start to tap my foot—fast.

The doors open. We get off.

Robin starts to walk down the hall.

“What are you doing?” I ask. “You’re supposed to call me.”

“Our room’s only a few doors down,” he begins, pointing behind him.

“No,” I say. “I’m not taking one more step until you prove it. Call me. Now.”

He sighs. “Okay, Lilly,” he says. “What’s your number?”

I give it to him. He punches it in and hits call. I take out my cell phone and wait.

Nothing happens.

“See?” he sighs.

“I don’t believe it,” I shake my head. “Give me your cell phone. You probably dialed it wrong.”

He gives me an exasperating, disbelieving look, but hands his cell phone over.

I check the signal. Five bars. Reception is perfect. I check the signal on my phone. Same thing.

I type my number in. Carefully. Slowly. Then I hit send.

I wait. Robin’s phone plays the dial tone.

But mine doesn’t ring.

Holy shit.

“Satisfied?” Robin asks.

“No,” I say. “No. Not at all.”

I feel an anger building inside me. An anger directed entirely at Jeremy, for continuing to trick me, for continuing to deceive me. He had me believe I had full access to the world, and yet he was still screening my cell phone? And he was blocking calls from Fey, from Robin.

Why?

He’s the only one who can give me answers. I think I have a right to know.

I pull up Jeremy’s number on my screen and angrily jab the call button. I rip it to my ear.

Robin looks at me. I lift one finger and mouth, ‘Wait’.

Jeremy’s phone rings. And rings. And rings.

He does not pick up.

Argh
! I’m ready to scream from frustration.

I pull up the messaging app.

You fucking asshole! I type. You’ve been blocking my phone!

I hit send, and jab the phone back into my purse. “Okay,” I tell Robin. “Okay, let’s go see Fey.”

Halfway down the hall, my phone buzzes with a text. Robin stops in front of a door and takes his access card out. I pull out my phone.

There’s a message with one word, sent from Jeremy Stonehart:

Yes.

The wind feels like it’s been knocked out of me.

Robin swipes his card. The door slides open. I see Fey inside.

My phone starts to ring. I look at it.

It’s Jeremy.

The End.

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Uncovering You 8:

Redemption

by Scarlett Edwards

January 20
th
, 2015

Edwards Publishing

Reader Warning:

Uncovering You
contains scenes of intense emotional and physical abuse. Readers with sensitivity to such subjects are advised to proceed with caution.

Book Description:

I've wormed my way into Jeremy's heart, just as I promised myself I would.

But whereas before, I wanted to be there to strike at him... now, I'm not so sure.

My life is still defined by secrets. Secrets that I can never tell another living soul.

Fey and Robin want to be let in. They want to know what is happening to me.

I have to say no. I have to say push them away because only Jeremy can come on this journey with me. He is always there. He is my only constant. Our lives are irrevocably intertwined.

He won't let go.

I crave peace. But I want it to be real, not just the calm before the storm.

Can I get there with Jeremy Stonehart?

It's a long shot, but right now... I'm willing to try.

Dedication

Uncovering You 8
is dedicated to my blue watermelon bestie.

This book is a work of fiction. All names, characters, locations, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination, or have been use fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, locales, or events is entirely coincidental.

UNCOVERING YOU #8: REDEMPTION

Copyright © 2015 Edwards Publishing, Ltd.

All rights reserved.

Edited by Gail Lennon.

Cover design by Scarlett Edwards.

Interior design by Scarlett Edwards.

Published by Edwards Publishing, Ltd.

Edwards Publishing

477 Peace Portal Drive

Suite 107-154

Blaine, WA 98230

The uploading, scanning, and distribution of this book in any form or by any means---including but not limited to electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise---without the permission of the copyright holder is illegal and punishable by law. Please purchase only authorized editions of this work, and do not participate in or encourage electronic piracy of copyrighted materials. Your support of the author’s work is appreciated.

Chapter One

“Lilly?”

Fey’s mouth drops open when she sees me.

My attention is drawn to the still-ringing phone in my hand. Jeremy’s number flashes on the screen.

I hit ‘ignore’. I can talk to him later. I need to talk to Fey now.

The cessation of ringing breaks Fey from her trance. She rushes over and jumps against me so hard she nearly knocks me over.

When she lets me go, she looks from me to Robin, to me, and back to Robin again. She seems tongue-tied. Maybe from shock? I don’t know.

“How did you find her?” she finally manages, looking at her fiancé.

“The thing is,” Robin shrugs, closing the door. “She found me.”

Fey blinks. “What?”

My phone starts ringing again. Obviously, it’s Jeremy.

I can’t speak to him now. I need to get the facts—all the facts—from Fey and Robin first.

“She was driving by and spotted me,” he says, as I silence my phone. “What are the odds?”

“She was driving?” Fey asks. “By herself?”

She turns to me. “By yourself?”

“You sound incredulous,” I say.

She shakes her head. “It’s not that, Lilly. I was so worried about you. I got your message. But every time I tried calling you, my call was blocked. Or it said the number was invalid. I texted you, too. And emailed! When I didn’t hear back for so long, I started to assume the worst, and…”

“Fey, it’s okay,” I say, taking her hands. “I’m okay. I’m right here, see? You didn’t need to worry.”

She looks flabbergasted. “Worried? Lilly, I was terrified! I told you what Robin found out. What type of man Jeremy Stonehart is.
Why
he chose you…”

“You’re wrong.” I cut her off. “I told you before, what he and I have is complicated. You shouldn’t have come.”

She narrows her eyes at me. “What?”

“But since you did,” I continue hastily, “It shows how much you care. So, thank you. But really…” I walk into the room and sit on the bed, “We need to sort this out. I don’t want you to drop everything at a moment’s notice and come searching for me again. Your life’s important too, Fey. Don’t let mine take priority.”

Don’t let mine make you do something stupid, like go to the cops
, I think.

Fey’s and Robin’s presence in California may yet screw everything up.
That
is my biggest concern at the moment.

“How could I not, Lilly?” She sits beside me. Robin leans against the counter, watching us. “Besides, after what you did for me freshman year…”

Ah, yes
. Now I understand Fey’s persistence. Shit, I’d forgotten, I haven’t thought of that for so long…