Read Online She Can Hide (She Can Series) by Melinda Leigh - Free Book Online

to her. Was he an honest, by-the-book cop? Or was there a dark side to him? In her experience, no one was that bright and shiny.
    “Call me if you remember more.” He stood. “I’ll let you know if my investigation turns up anything else. I’ll probably have more questions.”
    “All right.” She walked him to the front of the house. “Thank you.”
    “It’s my job.” He replaced his hat.
    How deeply would he dig into her life? If he found out what really happened yesterday, could she live with the truth? Or would she have to reboot her life all over again? Pain squeezed her heart as she looked around her house, every inch of it remade with her hands. God, it would hurt to leave it all behind.

    The cop car pulled away from Abby’s house. Derek peered around the corner of the house. Crusted snow crunched under tires as the cop drove away. Were the police asking about him? Or did something bad happen to Abby? The bruise on her face looked painful.
    Guilt tumbled in his belly when he realized he was hoping the cop’s visit wasn’t about him. He was a shit. How could he wish anything bad on Abby? She was the one person who totally got him. She tried to help Derek on his terms, not like that stupid social worker who had no idea what it was like to live his life. Sure, take him from here and put him in an even worse situation.
    No, thanks. He didn’t need any more of that kind of help. He could manage just fine on his own.
    The cop had left without even looking at Derek’s house. Good. He didn’t want to be on any official radar. The social worker’s periodic visits were hard enough to fake his way through. With several satisfactory inspections and a heavy case load, he doubted she’d be by anytime soon without cause. So the last thing he needed was a cop poking around. Especially now.
    He glanced back at his house. No blue pickup hunkered at the curb yet, but his mom’s new boyfriend would be back tonight. So Derek’s be-invisible policy was still in effect, and a home visit was on his list of things to be avoided at all cost.
    He wasn’t ever going into the system again. People who had never been in the foster system had no idea how random it was. A lucky kid could end up in a nice place with people who cared. Or so he’d heard. On the other hand, look what had happened to Derek.
    His stomach curled like a useless fist at the memory.
    No, thank you, to anyone who wanted to save him. At twelve, Derek had already experienced enough of being saved . His foster parents had had good intentions, but they’d been clueless about what the two older boys they’d taken in were up to. The brothers had both been bigger than Derek, and there’d been two of them. If he hadn’t gotten away—
    He shook off the memory and retraced his footsteps in the snow to the backyard. Cold water seeped into his sneakers. Was Abby OK? He chewed on his thumbnail. God, he was such a coward, slinking through the shadows when maybe she needed help.
    Her back door opened, and Zeus padded out onto the cement patio. The giant head swiveled. The dog wagged his tail and woofed at him. Putting a toe in the chain-link, Derek hoisted himself over the fence. The big dog greeted him with a sloppy snort. Derek didn’t mind the slobber. He threw his arms around the thick neck.
    “Derek?” Abby called through the open door. “You can come in. It’s clear.”
    A dozen steps carried him across the yard. Zeus followed him inside. Stepping over the threshold, he closed the door behind them. He grabbed the towel hanging from the doorknob and wiped Zeus’s feet. Abby’s kitchen was warm and clean. He took off his shoes, leaving them to dry on the mat.
    Abby was standing in front of the open fridge door. “Are you hungry?”
    “What happened to your face?” Anger sprung up inside him, hot and sharp and shocking in its intensity. If someone had hit her…He would do what? He was a weakling, powerless to help himself let alone Abby. The only thing