Free Our Little Secret by Starr Ambrose Page B

the phone from him, adding, “Lauren, are you there?”

    For one frozen second they both stared across the kitchen, then they both scrambled for the receiver. Drew reached it first, but tilted it toward Lauren so she could listen too.

    “Dad? What’s going on? Where are you?”

    Lauren’s excited voice cut across his. “Meg! Are you okay?”

    “Lauren!” the woman’s voice answered joyously, before Senator Creighton chimed in. “I’m fine. We’re both fine. Sorry if you were worried.”

    “Dad, I called the police! No one knew where you’d gone, and Gerald hasn’t seen Meg since Tuesday.”

    Lauren’s hand closed over his as she forced the phone closer to her mouth. “Meg, someone thinks I’m you, and they tried to kidnap me! What’s going on?”

    An odd moment of silence hung in the air, and as Lauren’s concerned gaze locked with Drew’s, the moment nearly took his breath away.

    “I’m sorry, Lauren, really. I didn’t think it would get dangerous for you. I just needed to get away from them. When they realize you’re not me, they’ll leave you alone.”

    Maybe Lauren had heard numerous apologies for idiotic adventures in the past, because she didn’t seem to be moved by Meg’s words. “Who are ‘they’?” she demanded.

    Drew wanted to know the answer to that one, too,but instead his father’s voice interrupted. “We can’t tell you, but we think we’re out of danger for now.”

    “Danger? What sort of danger?” Lauren’s voice was edged with panic.

    “Never mind,” Senator Creighton answered. “If we tell you, then you’ll be in danger, too. Just stay out of it.”

    “Please, Lauren,” Meg implored. “Let us handle it. We know what we’re doing.”

    Lauren didn’t seem reassured. Drew was pretty sure his dad could take care of himself, but he didn’t want to see Lauren worry over her sister’s safety for however long it took them to “handle” things. Besides, she was running out of fingernails.

    He tilted the phone back toward his mouth. “You’ll have to do better than that. We don’t even know what or who to avoid.”

    “Everyone,” his dad’s voice replied firmly. “Just stay where you are, and we’ll explain when we get back.”

    “When will that be?”

    It didn’t seem like a difficult question, but it received a lot of thought at the other end of the line. Finally, his dad’s voice said, “I don’t know. It could be a while. Just wait. We’ll call again when we can, okay? Take care.”

    He sounded hurried. “Dad, hold on a second—”

    “Sorry, son, gotta run. We’re on a tight schedule.”

    “Watch
Capitol Talk
!” Meg added quickly.

    A second later the phone clicked off. Drew laid the phone back in the cradle and turned to Lauren.

    “What the hell was that?” he growled. “We still don’t know what’s going on.”

    She shook her head and twisted a lock of hair. “What’s
Capitol Talk
?”

    “It’s a local show that’s half news, half rumor and gossip.” He headed back to the island for his sandwich. He’d think better with food in his stomach.

    “When is it on?”

    “I don’t know. I don’t live here, remember? I just visit occasionally.”

    “Morning, afternoon, or evening, do you know that much?” Her voice was edgy with anxiety.

    “Beats me. Check the TV listing.”

    “I’m not going to waste time tracking it down.” She grabbed the phone, marched over to him and slapped it into his hand. “Ask Gerald.” When he raised his eyebrows, she told him impatiently, “He seems to know everything else. I’m sure he’ll know that.” She pointed at the phone. “Hurry up. I don’t want to miss whatever the hell she’s talking about.”

    He smiled and began pressing numbers. “Results oriented, aren’t you? What do you do for a living?”

    “Financial management.” Her finger tapped rapidly on the countertop while he held the phone to his ear. He laid his free hand on top of her fingers,