Page 56 of The Woman I’ve Become

He’s still hanging around in the living room when I breeze in.

“So, where’re we going?” I cock a hip and glare at him like he’s a fucking bug. I figure he’s taking me home.

He grabs his keys and walks out, leaving the door open behind him.

“Well excuse the hell out of me.” I pull the door shut behind me and follow him. I climb into the passenger seat as he starts the car.

After he has backed onto the street, I look around and wonder where Julia is. If she’s hitching . . . I force the thought away. God, I am so stupid. I didn’t think this through very well.

I sag in my seat and watch the route we take. When he merges onto 1-95 South, I demand, “Where are we going?”

“I have a meeting in Manhattan.” He glances at me. I can’t see his eyes because of the aviator-style sunglasses he wears. “I’m taking you with me. It’s your punishment for screwing up my plan.”

Doesn’t sound like much of a punishment to me.

“Whatever, dude.” I relax into the seat and close my eyes. I’ve had zero sleep, so I might as well take advantage of the next hour. As I drift off, I can only think of Julia and how much she hates me now.

“Wake up.”

A prod to my shoulder has me opening my eyes. The sunlight makes me close them again. Another nudge, and I sit up. I look around and then at the person next to me.

Casey.

All the shitty memories from before come raining down on me. Julia. I feel like crap, and I want to hunt her down and find a way to make this right. My gut twists with the hurt I know I’ve caused her.

Yeah, right. Like that will ever happen. She will never speak to me again.

I look around, and all I see are lush shrubs and tall trees lining a parklike city street. We must be in Manhattan. We’re parked at the curb in front of an off-the-hook mansion. The whole street is lined with ballin’ town houses.

“Damn. Where are we?” This is definitely the rich part of the city.

“Come on. There’s no time to explain.”

I get out of the car, force my legs to work right. Shit, I am so hungover. I consider leaning over into the bushes and puking, but I don’t want to embarrass myself more than I already have. “Why are we here?”

“You’ll find out soon enough.”

That sounds ominous. Maybe this is the time I should run, but I don’t think I can. I am wiped out. He would catch me super easy. I glance in both directions. There’s no one on the street. Not a single pedestrian. I have zero cash, so I can’t get back to Westport. I guess I’m stuck with this asshole. I sneer at him. Psycho.

As we reach the steps up to the wide stone stoop, Casey’s grip tightens on my arm. He forces me to look at him.

“I was bringing Julia here, and you fucked it up.” He leans closer and I draw away. “Don’t fuck this up. Whatever he tells you to do, do it, or we’ll both be sorry. You got it?”

My heart flops in my chest. I want to jerk free of him and run, but he’s already dragging me up the steps and to the door.

So Julia was supposed to come with him? Maybe it’s nothing to worry about. I mean I’ve been in some seriously shitty situations, so this doesn’t seem so bad. Still, all those warning signals honed by twelve years of fucked-up foster homes are wailing at me to run like hell.

But if I’m helping Julia . . .

I face the door. I take a deep breath and tell myself this is for Julia. I have to do this, and maybe somehow it will make up for my bitch move. I can explain what Casey was planning to make her do, and she’ll be glad I took her place. I can blame sleeping with him on still being drunk. Plus, he’s the one who sought me out. Came to my house and picked me up. I thought it was the cops the way he was beating on the door. Then I thought something had happened to Julia. I had no idea what he wanted until he got me to his place.

There was no Julia in sight.

One of the towering doors opens, and a well-dressed man gestures for us to come inside. He closes the door behind us and disappears. I stare after him as Casey practically drags me along the huge marble-floored entry hall.

“Was that like a butler?”

Casey doesn’t answer.