Free The Truant Officer by Derek Ciccone

dramatically when he witnessed his father’s murder, and was forced into the Witness Protection Program.
    She understood how it felt to have a parent murdered—the intense pain of loss. And Nick’s confession removed the imaginary hurdle that Lilly had put between them. He wasn’t an underage high school student—Nick Zellen was a twenty-four-year-old NYU law student. It might still be immoral, but it was no longer illegal.
    She told herself that their kiss was a one-time thing, but she couldn’t stop, and kept pushing the stakes higher. It all came to a head last week when she showed up at a post prom party on a jealous rampage and they put on a public display in front of many of her students.
    She had pushed the danger too far, and rumors started flying like wildfire through the halls of South Chandler High. When her boss grilled her, Lilly admitted she used bad judgment in attending the party, but denied any inappropriate behavior with a student.
    The police weren’t so understanding. When pictures taken from camera phones started showing up on Facebookpages, they had their evidence—a lot of it—and Lilly’s arrest was imminent on charges of statutory rape and the endangerment of a minor. The FBI saved the day, not allowing an arrest to happen and risk exposing Nick’s secret identity. They forced the local police to initially back off, without explanation. The plan was to move Nick into protective custody at an undisclosed location until the trial.
    But Nick didn’t trust them, believing someone in the US Attorney’s Office was leaking information to those who were after him. If so, he was a dead man. These people had already killed his parents and girlfriend, and with the trial only a week away, they were probably more desperate than ever. Lilly knew that both their lives in Chandler were over, whether it be by an arrest or a bullet. So they ran. Lilly came up with the plan to make it look like the gang violence that had been prevalent in the area.
    Lilly also had another reason for leaving—a more selfish one. It was that she couldn’t stand the thought of being separated from Nick.
    Nick seemed ready for another go at it, but there was no time to lose. After taking a quick shower, Lilly towel-dried her wet hair and slipped back into her dress. She then sat on the bed, strapped on a pair of heels, and clicked on the television.
    Darren was on the television begging someone to find his “abducted” wife. He looked so tired and she wanted to make it all right for him. She wished she could love him like he loved her.
    Nick stepped out of the bathroom, wearing one of Darren’s suits that Lilly took from his closet in preparation for their escape. Darren was taller, but they had similar builds, and the suit fit nicely. Nick’s thick, dark hair was post-shower slicked back. His features were dark, much like pictures she’d seen of his Ukrainian born father. But he had intense blue eyes from his blonde-haired, blue-eyed mother. The eyes got Lilly every time.
    He clicked off the television in the middle of the interview, and wrapped her in an embrace.
    “Darren is a good man—the last thing I wanted was for him to get hurt,” she said.
    He pulled her tighter. “It’s not your fault that we fell in love.”
    “I made a big mistake. I should have never let it get this far.”
    “We try to control things, but in the end you can’t protect those you love. All you can do is follow your heart.”
    She nodded that she understood, the pain once again bonding them. Then like a junkie who continued to hurt whoever was in the way of the next fix, the craving for danger overtook her. She needed to up the ante. And nothing would be more dangerous right now than for the two of them to be seen in public.
    She helped Nick to his feet and meticulously tied the silk tie she’d bought for Darren last Christmas. “Let’s go to the casino,” she said.
    Nick looked shocked. “The casino is loaded with