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“Oh, Nat. It’s a nightmare. I didn’t get your message until now. Dad called and said there was something going on at home and he needed me here. I drove like a mad woman and I missed your text.”
“I’m here,” I said.
“Here?” she asked.
“I’m at Mom’s place. I’ll meet you outside.”
“What? You’re not in New York? I’ll meet you halfway,” she said before hanging up.
I turned to Liam. “I need a minute.”
Since I’d told him all about Jody on the way here, he agreed without an argument. I left the house but every step in her direction filled me with dread. I wasn’t sure I could handle the heartbreak if she was complicit with my father.
When she spotted me, she ran in my direction. I didn’t. She hugged me and I couldn’t hug her back, not yet anyway.
“What’s wrong? Did I do something?” she asked, realizing I wasn’t my usual self.
“What did your dad tell you?” I asked, stiffly.
“Just what I said. He didn’t tell me anything more than what I told you. I get here and the FBI has a warrant.”
“And you don’t know why?”
“What’s going on? I tell you the FBI is trashing my house and you’re acting like I did something wrong.”
I wanted to believe her. So I gave her some rope to hang herself if she was a damn good liar. “My father was arrested today. FBI said they would be arresting his associates.”
“What? Are you suggesting my father is in league with yours?” She looked incredulous.
It was so good, she’d be worthy of an Emmy nomination if she was acting. Finally, I just said it because I wanted to see her face.
“Father told me that he’d hired a man whose wife had died, leaving him to raise his young daughter alone. This daughter was of a similar age to me which made him a perfect fit for the job of watching over Mom and me.”
Her jaw fell open a second before she vehemently shook her head. “No. No, he wouldn’t.”
“He went on to tell me that said daughter gave her father information about me, which they used to intimidate the boys I dated.”
“No. No. No,” she repeated.
“He knew about the doctor and the date I was supposed to have at his house. You’re the only one I told.”
“No,” she kept saying.
“He knew about me sharing a hotel with a guy.”
“I swear, Nat. Dad always asked about you. Why wouldn’t he? We’ve been best friends forever. When he asked recently, I joked that you’d met a doctor and were going on a date with him. I might have mentioned that you’d shared a hotel room with a guy who helped you out. But I didn’t give any specifics like their names.”
When I thought back, my father hadn’t said their names either. He’d called them the doctor and hotel boy. Her truth fit the woman I knew. I closed my eyes.
“I’m sorry I ever thought otherwise.” I reached for her, but it was her time to hold off.
“I need you to know that if my father is working for yours in some way, he’s being forced. My father is a good man, Nat. You have to know that.”
I wanted to believe her, but I couldn’t go that far yet. “I want to,” I said.
She nodded. “If it’s true that my father has been arrested, I need to get him a lawyer.”
“You probably should,” I said, feeling my heart breaking because I could see the hurt I’d caused in her eyes. “I didn’t want to doubt you, but my father has a way.”
“I know. But I thought we were better friends.”
“Jody. I believe you. I just needed to see you in person.”
“I never lied when I said you were my sister. I always had your back,” she said, as I felt the first fracture in our friendship. “I have to go save my father.”
“I’m sorry, Jody.”
“Me too.” She looked over my shoulder. “Is that him?” she asked.
A glance around revealed Liam had followed me but had stayed back a respectable distance to give us privacy.
“That’s Liam.”
She smiled slightly. “He’s a keeper.”
I bobbed my head. “Mom says that too.”
As the silence between us grew uncomfortable she said, “Goodbye, Nat. Stay safe. Give your mother a hug from me.”
“I will and you stay safe. My father isn’t a good man.” But she knew that.
“Mine is whether you believe me or not.”
I nodded, watching her walk off with no promises to call.
To protect my mother, I had to walk away from Liam and Jody. All of a sudden, I’d lost two important people in my life.
When I turned back, I jogged into Liam’s open arms. He held me as I sobbed. Once my tears dried up, he helped me pack. The house belonged to my father and would likely be seized by the government. So we were forced to put anything we didn’t want in the trash. We weren’t allowed to take everything. Most of what we kept would go into storage courtesy of the government for the time being. The rest would go wherever they sent us.
