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“Because I talked about it.Wetalked about it.” It wasn’t untrue. Jake and I had talked about him getting someone pregnant. I just didn’t tell Sam that the person he was talking about was me.
Sam looked at me. I thought I saw a flicker of realization in his eyes, but then they went dim. Whatever he thought, he wasn’t confident enough to say it. “I’m going to bed,” he said quietly, his voice filled with fury. “We can finish this conversation in the morning.”
It was 10 p.m. I was exhausted after feeling unwell that day, dealing with Dr. Knightly, dealing with Jake, and Sam. I was scared of what might happen next. Their friendship was clearly strained, and since Jake seemed intent on shutting everyone out, I had to get to the bottom of it.
Then, I heard my phone ringing in my hand.
“Jake?” I answered, putting the phone to my ear, and speaking quietly. “Is that you?”
“Yeah. Why are you whispering?”
“Because Sam’s going to bed and if he hears me talking with you, he’s going to kick your ass.”
“I’d like to see him try.”
“Look, Jake. Quit the macho bullshit and tell me what’s going on.”
“Alicia, you need to get out of that house. You’re not safe.”
“What? How could you say that? You’re frightening me, Jake.”
“I wouldn’t say it if it weren’t true. Someone’s trying to get at me—trying to getus.”
My eyes widened with alarm, and suddenly the shadows in the kitchen grew longer. In the hidden corners, I saw all kinds of threats and things to worry about.
“Jake, you’re really scaring me right now and I don’t understand why.”
“Tom McLaughlin, my business partner. He wants my company, Alicia. And he’s willing to do anything to get it. Including—”
“Including,” I said, “telling people. About my baby.”
“That’s right, Alicia. But there’s more to it than that. He’s got people working for him. Dangerous people. They hacked my phone—I’m pretty sure they hacked the air-to-ground communications in Grand Cayman. They’re coming for us. You have to get out of there.”
“Who’s working for him, Jake? No one’s going to cyberattack my house, are they? There’s something else, isn’t there?”
Jake was silent. Whatever it was, he didn’t want to tell me.
“Please, Alicia, just listen to me …”
“No, no ‘please.’ You listen to me, Jake. You brought me into this world. You dragged me—dragged us,” I said, defiantly, with one hand on my stomach. “And now you’re not telling the whole truth. So, tell it now. Otherwise, I don’t have a choice.”
On the other end of the phone, I heard him boil with frustration. Finally, Jake snapped, and snarled at me, his dark, deep, gravelly voice giving a final ultimatum.
“If you’re not interested in listening to me,” he said, “thenleave me alone.”
He hung up, and I was left there, alone.
Icouldn’tbelievetheway he’d spoken to me. I went to bed in shock, but after a while, I heard myself starting to cry. Slowly, I let the tears come, holding the blanket up to my mouth to stifle my sobs. I didn’t want Sam to hear me from down the hall.
I cried and cried for most of the night. I’d never felt so awful in my whole life. I couldn’t believe that Jake had abandoned me, now, when I needed him the most.
I needed him to put the whole mess he’d gotten me into out on the table. And he’d refused. He’d rather shut me out—rather abandon me—than deal with the mess he’d caused. It wasn’t fair. It wasn’t kind. And it wasn’t going to fly.
I drifted off to sleep around 4 a.m., overcome with emotion. At 6 a.m., I woke up and called in sick. There was no way I was going to work today. There was no way I was getting onboard a CAA flight ever again.
Not officially, anyway.
TheplanIhadin mind was stupid and reckless. It wasn’t the kind of thing a pregnant woman should be doing. Hell, it wasn’t the kind of thing anyone should be doing. But it was my only option left. Otherwise, I wasn’t sure I’d have anyone left in my life.
