Page 49 of Clever Deceit

She managed a small smile, though I could tell she was having a hard time with all of this.

“I...I think it went well,” she replied, nodding. “Two of them are willing to testify against Tony in court, and I think the third one will come around with time too.”

“That’s great news,” I told her. “The more people we have on our side with this, the easier it’s going to be.”

“You’re right,” she agreed. “It’s just...”

She trailed off again and stared out of the window for a moment, gathering herself.

“Just what?” I prompted her.

“Just that it brought up so many memories,” she admitted. “About what he did to me. And I felt guilty, you know, because I didn’t stop him sooner.”

“You know you couldn’t have done that, even if you tried,” I reminded her.

“That’s what all of them said,” she agreed. “And I believe them, I do. But I just wonder...how many other women are there out there who’ve been through what we have? How can we help them? Is there any way for us to help them?”

“Well, we know there’s at least one other woman who dealt with all of that,” I reminded her. “The woman who got the restraining order.”

“Yeah, her,” she sighed. “She’s been on my mind a lot, too. I mean, I don’t even know who she is, but I can’t stop wondering...what did she go through? What happened to her that was so bad it was enough for her to do that?”

“I have no idea,” I admitted. “But she’s someone else who you know is willing to take this through a court system. That has to count for something.”

“It does,” she agreed. “I just hope she’s doing okay. I don’t even want to think how he would have responded, you know, when he found out she was going to the cops about his behavior...”

She trailed off again. I knew this was hard for her to talk about, but talking about it was the only way we were going to be able to put it all behind us.

But before she could say another word, there was an explosion of noise outside—a shrill scream, a yell, and then Silver’s wild barking. Without saying a word, Lily and I jumped to our feet and took off in the direction of the noise.

Just when I thought things were calming down again.

CHAPTER 23

LILY

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I RACED TO THE BOTTOM of the driveway, and my stomach dropped when I saw who was standing there.

Tony. Not just Tony, of course—Barry, my mom, and Silver were all there too, and it looked like they were in the middle of some kind of crazy argument.

“Don’t be ridiculous!” Barry exclaimed at him, gesturing toward Silver. “That dog didn’t do anything to you. You’re totally overreacting—”

“That fucking mutt needs to be dealt with,” Tony spat at him. He was holding one arm to his chest, as though he had been bitten, though I couldn’t see any marks on him. Silver was cowering behind Barry, who had put himself protectively between the dog and her attacker.

“You’re the one who hit her,” Barry protested. My mother wasn’t saying anything. It was like she couldn’t speak at all, trembling and clutching on to her crutches for dear life. I dashed over to her side, slipping an arm around her and letting her lean on me.

Getting a closer look at Silver, I could see that she was limping slightly—carrying her back leg as though she had been hurt. Shock and anger coursed through me—had Tony done this? Had he been the one to hurt her like this? I wouldn’t have put it past him...

“What’s going on?” Warren demanded as he caught up with us, standing next to Barry to face off against Tony.

“Your dog bit me,” Tony fired back, flashing him the bite-free arm once more.

“Nothing like that happened,” Barry protested. “This man attacked Silver, and then—”

I knew everyone around me was still talking, but I couldn’t take any of it in. It was as though it was happening to someone else entirely, happening in a different world. I was distantly aware of Tony making a phone call, and I could hear his vicious tones, spitting out commands, something about a deranged dog that needed to be dealt with.

I lifted my gaze to meet his. He was glaring at me, waiting for me to acknowledge him, to show him that he had some control over the situation. Had he been following us back? Had he just been waiting for the right time to make himself known again, show himself to us once more? The thought of it made my stomach curdle. All those happy times I’d shared with Warren, Silver, and my mother over the last couple of days, and he might have been there, watching. Taking it all in. Waiting for his moment to pounce.