Rude Awakenings: A Novel of the Terribly Acronymed Detective Club (Book 2)

Chapter Ten: Lauren, Sunday

Lauren was glad Al agreed to drive. She never liked driving the van, it was far too big a vehicle for someone her size to drive; her own car, which she used mainly for work, was a tiny Nissan Versa that was pretty much invisible to most targets of surveillance, and was a breeze to drive. Also, her mind was buzzing with images of mangled metal and crushed bodies, and she would have seen nothing else in front of her if she was behind the wheel. She might have endangered both of them if she drove in this state.

Al's driving was steady and calm, and she appreciated the fact that he didn't feel the need to talk while he drove. Still, her thoughts were too loud, and she felt that if she didn't say something to relieve the pressure, her head would explode.

She didn't want to talk about what they might find, though. Her own imagination was giving her enough possibilities. She had to take her mind off of that, so she decided on another, equally perilous course, but one she felt she could weather if she said the right things. This conversation, she thought, was overdue, but she didn't think she could have begun it if she hadn't woken up naked in Al's arms.

She waited until they were on a nice, straight stretch of highway through Burnaby before she began.

"Al?"

"Yeah?" he asked as he kept his eyes on the road, squinting as the early morning light glared through the windshield.

"Can I tell you something, more cards on the table?"

"Sure."

"Promise you won't get angry?"

He chuckled. "I love it when people ask someone not to get angry before they hear what they have to tell them. How am I supposed to know how I'll react?"

"Fair enough. Can you at least promise not to get angry at Rachel?"

He nodded. "That's a low blow. I can never be angry at Rachel. Truth is, I could never be angry at you either, Lauren. You've been nothing but kind to me. Like that time you helped me once, a long time ago, I'll never forget it."

"Huh? What are you talking about?"

"That time when I visited and discovered Rachel had moved away. I was crying my eyes out thinking I'd never see her again, and suddenly you just kissed me on the lips. I was shocked, but it made me feel better, that's for sure."

The memory hit her like a bucket of cold water. She'd almost forgotten about it, mostly because, in her desire not to let Joe find out, she'd suppressed it. "Oh. That. I was just comforting a friend. I didn't know at the time that I wasn't going to see her or hear from her either for thirty more years, and that I would be as devastated as you were that day. Luckily I had Joe to console me." 

He nodded in commiseration. "You helped me move on. You helped me realize Rachel wasn't the only girl I would ever fall in love with, even if you weren't offering yourself as a substitute."

"Well, I'm glad I was able to help."

"So, what is it that might make me angry?"

She squirmed in her seat as she thought of how to say it. "Rachel and I..."

"You're having an affair."

She gasped. "You knew?"

"Of course I did. Now ask me if I'm angry."

She chuckled in astonishment. Who was this man? "Did she tell you?"

"No. Actually, I didn't really know. I suspected, though, ever since that very first time I saw your face on that laptop screen. Rachel and I had a discussion about it because it was unavoidable. She mentioned she and you were each other's first experience at thirteen. She admitted she was sexually attracted to you. And then, well, ever since the three of us started exchanging Skype shows, I knew for Rachel it was you she was watching, and that it would never be enough for her to just watch you. How can I blame her? I felt the exact same way when we watched you and Joe going at it. Jesus, the things you did..."