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The remainder of my appetite shriveled up and disappeared.
I needed to hear Sante’s voice and reassure myself he was okay. I wasn’t sure why. I just needed to, but I didn’t want to call when Conner was around. He already thought poorly of my brother, and I didn’t want to somehow make things worse.
While I waited for Conner to leave for work, I debated which phone to use. I still had the disposable phone he’d originally given me. That would ensure no one tracked my end of the conversation, but knowing Sante’s phone would be monitored made any efforts at privacy pointless. I might as well use the new phone and trust that my new husband was telling the truth about not stalking my every move.
I called my brother the minute I was alone, relieved when he answered.
“Yeah,” he barked over the line, answering the unknown number with a degree of authority that made me smile.
“Hey, little brother. It’s me.”
“Em! How are you?” All pretense melted from his voice. “I’ve been so worried.”
“I’m just fine. No need to worry about me.” I wished I could tell him all about Conner, but I didn’t want my father to hear. The less he knew about my husband, the better. “What have you been up to?”
“The usual, mostly,” he said vaguely.
“Mostly?” I didn’t think I was prying, but when Sante replied, his voice was strained.
“You know I can’t talk about that stuff, Em.” His defensive response startled me.
“Yeah, I didn’t mean to be nosy. Wasn’t sure if you meant you’d gone out on a hot date or whatnot.” I tried to play it off, but worry knotted my stomach.
He was silent for several seconds. “There’s stuff …Ah!” He cut himself off with an angry burst. “It’s nothing. I’m just glad to hear you’re okay. Look, I gotta go. This your new number?”
“Yeah. Call me anytime.”
“Great. Take care, and I’ll be in touch.” He hung up before I could reply.
Shit. What the hell is going on with him?
I needed to have an open conversation without our father looming over us. I stared at the burner I’d dug out of my things while unpacking and wondered if I couldn’t do the same thing for Sante that Conner had done for me. Could I get a disposable phone to him undetected? Surely, I could manage that. And from there, who knew what might be possible.
“Things took longerthan I expected. I hope you were able to come up with something for lunch.” Conner joined me in the living room, his hands shoved in his pockets and his eyes guarded.
“Not a problem at all. Are you done for the day?”
“No. I need to get back. I just thought I should check in.” His jaw clenched, gaze cutting harshly to the side as if something had irritated him.
“Well, since you’re here, I need to run an errand.”
He nodded as if to himself. “You might as well come with me. We can run your errand on our way to the club.”
I tensed, not expecting him to take me himself. Shit. “Okay. Let me grab my purse.” I hurried to the bedroom, cursing my luck. I preferred he not know what I was up to, but now it looked like I didn’t have a choice.
“I just need to run into a drug store,” I explained once we were in his car. “I know parking’s a pain, so you don’t need to bother coming in.” I tried to sound as nonchalant as possible.
My new husband didn’t look at me or respond. Instead, he whipped into a driveway and stopped the car, pinning me in place with his stare. “We live in a world where everyone will be out for our blood. The only chance we have at staying whole is to trust one another. You’re my wife, like it or not. Now, are you going to tell me what this is about?”
I wasn’t sure why, but tears burned the back of my eyes. “I’m worried about my brother. I thought I’d get a prepaid phone to give him, like you did for me. That way, I could talk to him … without my father knowing.”
Tension seemed to suck the air from the small space.
“Someone needs to kill that bastard,” Conner spat. He had no idea how right he was, but he and his family couldn’t possibly be the ones to do it. Such an outright act of war would end in disaster.
“I just need to be able to talk to Sante, that’s all. Then I’m sure everything will be fine.”
I didn’t think he believed me any more than I believed myself, but he let the subject drop. After finding a parking spot, he took me to a drug store and showed me where the disposable phones were sold. He even had me pay for it with my new credit card to make sure the thing worked. A part of me kept waiting for the trap. It all seemed too easy. Too convenient and empowering. How would he control me if he gave me everything I needed, including my freedom to move about?
