"The bag is in the closet," I said again. "Top shelf."
Matt walked to the closet and opened the door. The duffel was where I'd left it—black, scuffed, heavy with the weight of cash I hadn't spent.
"How much is in here?"
"I don't know. A lot."
"Where did it come from?"
"Someone who wanted me to stay silent and disappear."
He didn't ask why.
He just lifted the bag from the shelf and carried it to the bed.
"We should count it."
"Why?"
"So you know what you have. So you can plan."
"Plan for what?"
"For whatever comes next."
The cash was stacked in neat bundles.
Hundreds. Thousands. More than I'd ever seen in one place, more than I'd ever known how to spend. Matt counted itin silence, his fingers moving quickly, his eyes focused on the numbers.
"One hundred fifty-three thousand, eight hundred."
He looked up at me.
"That's a lot of money, Bunny."
"I know."
"Where did you say it came from?"
"I didn't."
He was quiet for a moment.
"Fair enough."
He set the last bundle on top of the stack and leaned back against the headboard.
"What do you want to do with it?"
"I want to pay you back. For the clothes. For the bear. For... everything."
"You don't owe me anything."
"I know. But I want to."
I walked to the bed and picked up one of the bundles. Fifty-three hundred, maybe, or fifty-eight hundred—I didn't know, and I didn't care. I held it out to him.
"Take it."
