I swallow tightly. “Well, there are other facilities?—”
“Oh, but I have my routine here. And the staff are so nice and…” She clears her throat, clearly on the verge of tears. “But if you think it’s for the best, I’ll try. For you, I’ll try.”
“Forget I said anything,” I say, wiping tears away. “Is he there?”
“Who?”
“Aaron.”
“Oh,” she murmurs, sounding confused. “Yes, he’s here.” Quieter, “She wants to speak with you.”
“What a treat,” Aaron says in his smarmy little voice. He takes the phone from her. “Hello, my sweet niece. I hope you had as much fun earlier as I did.”
“The nurses said she wasn’t up for visits tonight,” I snap.
“These nurses love me, Isabella,” he says. “They’ll sing any tune I want, just like you.” He says something to Grandma, raising his voice. “Yes, my mother. We’re sorting it out now. She just needs to give me her updated code. Nothing for you to worry about.”
I’m always stunned by how kind he can sound when he puts his mind to it.
“Did you hear that?” he asks, sounding like he’s moving to a different room.
“Yes,” I hiss.You two-faced fuck. “Stop torturing the poor woman.”
“Poor, yes,” Aaron says, laughing. “Sheispoor. I wonder where she’d end up if she didn’t have my generosity to bankroll her. Have you heard the horror stories? The abuse in inferior facilities? The overworked nurses who don’t have the time or energy to care? And, of course, you heard how badlyshewants to stay here.”
“I’ve told you, I don’thaveanything!” I snap.
“I’ve been watching the staff this evening,” Aaron says. “Watching them adjust her tubes and monitors and everything else.”
“You wouldn’t go that far,” I hiss.
He chuckles cruelly. “You’ve accused me of being a drug dealer, my sweet niece. You’ve called me a pervert for the way I talk to you and a criminal with connections. Do you seriously think putting an old bitch out of her misery is beyond me?”
“I’ll go public,” I snap. “I’m recording this call!”
Another laugh. “Even if that were true, and it’s not, it wouldn’t change the fact that I’m standing outside my mother’s room right this second. If this call doesn’t go the way I want, I’m going in there right now. I’ll make her squeal before she dies too.”
My throat tightens in panic, nearly choking me. I’m so sick of crying, and yet it feels like the only thing Icando to even somewhat manage this terror. I try to cry silently, at least, so he can’t hear me sobbing. The prick would probably like that.
“You need to give mesomething,” he spits. “I’m trying to help you here. Just a morsel, something you overheard, or you saw, or this is going to end very, very badly.”
I close my eyes, feeling tears squeeze through my tightly closed eyelids.Dom is a stranger. I scream silently at myself to convince myself.You shouldn’t even care.
But I do care. Too much.
“I don’t know anything concrete,” I murmur.
“Concrete,” Aaron repeats. “But you’ve heard something?”
“I don’t know. I think, maybe… I’m not sure.”
“Stop stalling,” Aaron snaps. “Or I swear to God, I’ll hang up and wring the old bitch’s neck. Speak.Now. Last chance.”
“There’s a politician, some district guy or something. His name is Reese McLaughlin. I think he’s helping Vale Construction to extend their low-income projects into the inner city. But I’m not even certain of that. It’s just something I saw on a whiteboard.”
“A fucking morsel,” Aaron grunts. “I should go in there and handle her anyway. I need more than that.”
“That’s all I have,” I lie, a croak in my voice that makes me feel weak, a croak I hate and resent. “I don’t have anything else!”
