The Perfect Liar (Last Stand #5)(16)
Author: Brenda Novak

Why let this get her down? Who cared what Tati thought? "It’s true."

Planning to leave it at that, she leaned back and relaxed, but when her sister didn’t respond, she couldn’t help adding, "He beat me up and everything."

Tati peered at her more closely. "You look okay to me."

"Because it’s been a few weeks, stupid! I didn’t come home right away."

"That’s why they let you out of the air force? Because you were raped?"

"They didn’t ‘let me out.’ My master sergeant wouldn’t grant leave and he should have, so I left."

Tati’s voice finally showed concern, but not the kind Kalyna had been hoping to elicit. "That means you’re AWOL!"

"So? They can’t expect me to stick around after such a horrific ordeal." She hadn’t given even Ogitani the chance to object to her departure. The prosecutor wanted Kalyna available at all times. But Kalyna had already spent hours and hours with her and, separately, with Ava, chronicling every detail of the supposed rape, and the constant pretending was growing tedious. She needed a break. She was afraid she might slip up under such intense questioning. Why not relax in Arizona?

"Who says they can’t expect it?" Tatiana asked.

"I do! Besides, disappearing for a few days wil only prove I was suffering too much to stay."

"Once you sign on the dotted line, you belong to the air force, Kalyna.

They were very clear about that."

"The air force doesn’t own you. I have more freedom there than I did here. At least I get to go out at night." She flipped her hair. "Anyway, I’m not worried. It’s not a desertion unless I’m gone longer than thirty days."

"You’l stil get in trouble!"

"I’l get an Article 15 for being absent without leave." And, if possible, she’d figure a way out of that.

"What’s an Article 15?" Tati said.

"In this case, most likely a forfeiture of pay, but it can be other things."

"Like what?"

"Like a reduction in my rank. But that’s not going to happen. It’s a few days. No big deal. And it’s my first infraction." For being absent without leave. She also had an Article 15 for failing to obey an order to report in before departing work, but that was because her superior officer hated her and went after anything he could.

"Why risk it? Why not stay if you’re supposed to stay?"

"Don’t worry about it. I’l take care of it." She scowled. "What’s your problem, anyway?"

Tati blinked. "I don’t know what you mean."

"You’re acting like Mom and Dad. And you look like hell. Why’d you let yourself gain so much weight?"

Her sister winced. "I haven’t gained that much."

"Yes, you have. You’re frumpy. It’s disgusting. And your hair!" Her twin’s appearance was like gazing into a mirror and seeing the worst possible version of herself. She couldn’t imagine Captain Trussell ever being attracted to a woman who looked like Tatiana.

But we’re not the same. Kalyna tanned, weight trained and ran. She had her nails done every week. She was assertive and friendly, not shy and unassuming. And she no longer smelled like formaldehyde. Maybe she wasn’t as attractive as she’d always dreamed of being; she had to deal with her own limitations. But very few men turned her down. She knew how to make the most of what she had. After weeks of fantasizing about him, she’d gotten Captain Trussell, hadn’t she?

"Did they catch the guy who raped you?" Tatiana asked, changing the subject.

"They did. They’re bringing him up on charges. We’l be going to court soon."

Suddenly acting self-conscious about her appearance, Tati tugged her skirt down so it covered more of her. "You’re not afraid to testify?"

"Not in the least. I’m looking forward to it."

"What if he gets out and comes after you?"

Kalyna examined her recent manicure. "He won’t."

"How can you be so sure?"

Because Luke wasn’t violent, the way she’d claimed. He was one of the most honorable men she’d ever met, and by far the best pilot. "I know how to protect myself."

Tati didn’t state the obvious–that she hadn’t done a very good job of it so far if she’d been beaten and raped. "How’d it happen?"

Kalyna was tired of telling the story, tired of worrying about how she was coming across. Her sister already doubted her, so she preferred not to discuss it anymore. "I don’t want to talk about it." Kalyna shrugged. "It happened, and I’m dealing with it. That’s al ."

Tati made no comment.

"So what have you been doing around here?" Kalyna asked.

Her sister jerked her head toward the back, where they did the embalming. "Guess."

"God, I’m so glad to be out of here. You should’ve come with me.

California’s amazing!"

Tatiana shifted her gaze to the flowered rug covering the hardwood floor. "You know the military won’t take me."

"You could’ve gotten a job, lived with me."

"A job doing what?" her sister countered.

"Anything! Maybe you wouldn’t have been surrounded by men who are all in great physical shape the way I am, but it’d be better than working like a slave for Mom and Dad. They’re using you. That’s all they’ve ever done. You’re wasting your life."

"I’m not wasting my life! Dad needs my help." She stood as if the mention of Dewayne made it impossible to continue disobeying his orders by sitting on the antique chair. "He can’t run this business by himself. And I’l be compensated. When he retires, I’l take over. He told me that."

"That could be twenty years, Tati. Do you plan to scrub stiffs for the next two decades? And what if he dies before Mom? How wil you put up with the old bitch?"

"She’s not a…a bitch. Anyway, I’l cross that bridge when I come to it."

Thinking she heard a car pull up, Kalyna checked the driveway, but they were stil alone. "Don’t you want to get out of this place, meet a man, have sex?" she asked.

Her sister’s cheeks flamed bright red. "I’d like to fall in love and start a family, but–"

"Ugh! You’re such a loser. You can’t sit back and wait for Prince Charming to sweep you off your feet. Since when has anything we’ve ever wanted come to us? You have to go out and get it."

"And be raped, like you?"

Tati was finally showing some spirit, but Kalyna couldn’t allow her sister to think the decision to leave had been a bad one, couldn’t have her gloating that she’d been wiser to stay. "If you could see the guy who raped me, you’d stand in line to be with him," she said with a taunting smile. "He’s the most gorgeous man I’ve ever seen. And it wasn’t as if I didn’t have fun."