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“Didn’t he try to have Matt arrested?”
“He wanted to, but I begged him not to.George assured me he had friends in high places, but I feared Matt’s power and influence was much greater than George’s.Matt often boasted about the friends he had in our government.I didn’t want George to scratch even the surface of that hornet’s nest.”
“Okay, couple of questions.How did George file the restraining order with Matt’s name on it without raising a flag, as you call it?”
“He told me he had it sealed.Reed’s the only other person, besides you, that knows whose name is on it.”
“Okay.So, Matt’s hooked up with bad guys.What happened that made him turn on you?”
“I figured he was involved in drugs and guns, but I didn’t think he was dangerous.On a phone call, I overheard Matt saying that the guy who’d screwed things up in the Caymans was dead.But I didn’t want to think he had anything to do with it.I wanted to believe he was innocent.Anyway, a few days later, a man from the Justice Department came to the house.Matt sent me upstairs to my room, but I sat on the landing, listening.He tried to bribe the guy, but he wouldn’t bite.He threatened to freeze all of Matt’s assets and bring in the FBI to confiscate his computers, bank records, the whole nine yards.I heard the man mention subpoenas, and I think he started to make a phone call.That’s when I heard a gunshot.Matt killed the guy.Killed him dead, on the entryway carpet.”
“Son of a bitch,” Tony murmured.“What the hell did you do?You must have been terrified.”
“I was.At first, I fought the urge to throw up.I wanted to run out the front door and get away from him, but I was scared he’d put a bullet in my back if he even suspected I wanted to leave.So, I went downstairs and grabbed a bucket and bleach.I walked into the foyer.I’d never seen a dead body before.Matt was on the phone ordering someone to come get the body.He took one look at me with the bucket and smiled.My blood turned to ice, but I got down on my hands and knees and started cleaning the guy’s brains off the floor.At that exact moment, I started making plans to get the hell out before Matt killed me next.”
Tony didn’t say a word.He simply clutched me to his chest even tighter, anchoring me to the present, to him.I could feel the tension coiling inside him.
“The next morning, Matt called me into his room.He was packing a suitcase and told me I was to pack one as well.He said he was taking me to Tahiti for a few days to show his appreciation for my loyalty to him.There was no way in hell I was going to leave the country with that man.So, I convinced him it would look like he was fleeing if I went with him.I’d never accompanied him on any of his trips out of the country.And if anyone came snooping around, I promised to tell them that he’d left for China instead of the islands.He agreed it was a good idea, thanked me and walked out the door.I sat in that house all day and half the night plotting.Knowing he kept a close eye on his personal checking account, I couldn’t risk withdrawing anything from the ATM and tipping my hand.So.I scrounged up what money I could find.It was only a hundred and thirty-seven dollars.”
A cynical smile tugged my lips.Talking about Matt resurrected vulnerabilities I hadn’t given thought to in years.But Tony’s fingertips fluttering up and down my arm served to contain my emotions before they had a chance to swamp me under.
“I couldn’t fail to see the irony.There I was, surrounded by opulence, yet I could only manage to get my hands on a hundred and thirty-seven dollars.At one o’clock in the morning, I threw two outfits into a plastic bag, disengaged the alarm system, and snuck out the back door.”
Tony released me and gazed into my eyes.“And came here…to Chicago.”
“Yes,” I nodded.“I didn’t have enough money for a plane ticket, so I figured I’d catch a bus.I needed to find a city big enough that he couldn’t easily find me.Small towns were out of the question.Hopping the rail train from the suburbs, I finally made my way downtown to the bus terminal.I didn’t have enough money for New York or L.A., but I did for Chicago, and the bus was leaving in a matter of minutes.It seemed the safest place for me to go.Matt knew I hated snow.Chicago would be the last place he’d look for me.So, I bought a ticket and got on the bus.”
“Have you ever talked to your parents about his illegal activities?”
“No.I haven’t talked to my dad since the day he kicked me out.My mom came to see me in the hospital after I’d lost Nathan.She told me the reason my baby died was because it was an abomination, and God was punishing for me being a whore.”
“Your own mother said that to you?”Tony gaped.
“Yeah,” I nodded sadly.“I looked her straight in the eye and told her to leave.Matt was there.He escorted her out of my hospital room, and I never saw her again.I remembered thinking he was my savior.I can’t believe I was so damn stupid.”
“Don’t do that to yourself, sweetheart.He was a family friend.You were young.There was no reason to doubt he was a good guy.It takes life experience to realize that some people are trustworthy and others aren’t.They don’t walk around wearing a sign stating they’re good or evil.You were just an unlucky victim.”
“No, I’ll be unlucky if he ever finds me.”
“Where did you go…how did you survive once you got here?”
“I was petrified.I didn’t know where to go, who to trust, or what to do.So, I hopped a city bus and got off at the first church I saw.I went inside and talked to the preacher.I told him I needed help, but I couldn’t go to the police.He said not to worry, then called a woman named Hilary, who came to the church.She was in her early eighties, but she was so spry and full of life.Anyway, she picked me up and took me to her little house.She fed me, showed me to a guest room, and let me take a shower.Hilary didn’t ask any questions, she just opened her heart and gave me a safe place to spend the night.”
Tony slid his fingers into my hand and gave a little squeeze.
“The next morning, I woke up and fixed breakfast for us.We sat at her kitchen table eating and talking about survival.She told me that when she was just a baby, her mother held her against her chest, hiding under the stairs of their house in London, during the blitz.Her older brother, father, and grandfather had been killed in separate blasts.She and her mom escaped to America, arriving with twenty-two dollars in her pocket.A family took them in until her mom found work and was able to get on her feet.”
“So, the woman spent her life paying it forward?”
“Yes.She was an amazing person.We hit it off, and she invited me to stay.I lived with her for a couple of years, helping out with the laundry, cleaning, and cooking, and she helped me in ways I’ll never forget.Even after I moved out and got an apartment, we stayed in touch.When her son sold her house and put her in a nursing home, I visited her four times a week.And when she died two years ago, I was with her, holding her hand.I miss her every day.”
“Aww, angel.I’m sorry.The world needs more people like Hilary,” Tony smiled.
“Yes, it does.”
“I get it now, sweetheart,” he said softly as he placed a tender kiss on my forehead.
“Get what?”
