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My heart skips a beat.
The next words I say are going to change my life forever, but I didn’t come this far only to stop now.
“Thank you.” My lips are quivering, tears about to break the dam wall.
“It all began a few months ago…”
ChapterTwo
CASSIE
It feels like I have been in this room forever. I’ve lost track of the time, and although I’m exhausted, I feel like I should be scared. Instead, it’s a feeling of intense relief to finally tell someone everything I suspected about Jason for months, and finally, found out the truth this week.
I thought I loved him once, but now all that’s left is disgust, and I won’t lie, but there's also a lot of fear.
They explained everything that going into witness protection would mean. Change of name, identity, and appearance. I knew I would have to agree to all of it, but I don’t think they knew what hit them when I stood my ground about cutting off my hair and changing its color. Not a fucking chance that was happening. I just couldn’t do it. It was my one stipulation I stood my ground on. I look like my mom. Our hair is the same, and I don’t have much left but my memories of her, so I wasn’t letting them take that. Looking in the mirror on the tough days when I miss her, I can feel her looking back at me. No one gets to take that from me. I’d rather die than give it up, and I think with my screaming, they worked that out pretty quickly and accepted defeat.
After that, things settled down, and we got on with it. I gave them everything I had, including copies of all the information I found. Nobody knows that I also kept a copy for myself, that is my insurance policy.
Thankfully, we are finally at the point where it's time for me to go into the unknown.
“Once we put you in this car, Leah, your life here ceases to exist. You will be given a new identity when you reach your safe house in the morning, and they will keep you safe. If you need to be in contact with us, just inform your agent who is with you. We will keep in contact with you as things progress, but don’t panic if there is time in between where you don’t hear anything from us. These things take time, and everything needs to be in perfect place before we can progress the way we need to.” We're standing in the underground parking area of the building, and a black SUV with tinted windows pulls up beside us.
I can never understand why the secret agent cars are always big, black, and with tinted windows. To me it gives us away, but I have to trust them. Because right now, I have no other choice.
Placing his hand on my arm, Tom looks at me with the first sign of compassion I have seen today. “Do you understand?”
“Yes, I do. Let’s get on with it.”
He nods his head and opens the door for me, lifting my bag into the back seat and waiting for me to get in and get settled.
“Good luck, Leah. I will see you when the time comes.” With that, the door is closing before my eyes, on both the car and my current life.
As we drive down the road, I realize how late it must be. The darkness of night I expected, but there's not much traffic as we head west out of Washington D.C.
Silent tears are slowly streaming down my face. I have no idea where I’m headed or who I will be when I get there.
To say I don’t care would be a lie, but I can’t live that life anymore. That I know for sure.
“We have a long trip ahead of us, ma’am, feel free to close your eyes and get some sleep.” My driver, whose name I don’t even know, smiles at me through the rear-view mirror, and his partner in the passenger seat just keeps looking straight ahead and in his side mirror.
I’m not sure I could sleep even if I tried. My body is on high alert. I feel so anxious. My palms are sweating, and my right foot is bouncing up and down. I find myself also looking at every car that passes us or comes alongside.
What if Jason already knows?
Did he have someone follow me?
Has he got people on the inside at the FBI?
Stop it! You need to stop overthinking this. He’s away on a business trip and would have no idea yet that you have left.The only thing he’ll be furious about is that I’m not answering my phone so he can know what I’m doing. As far as his team know, I’m still tucked up at home where my phone is in the garbage can. I left before sunrise out the back door and set the television to turn on at my usual breakfast time, where I watch the morning news. Not that I ever enjoyed it, but that is what Jason expected. I needed to keep up with current affairs for when we were at functions together. I’d be happy to just turn off the world some days. The news sadly can be so depressing, and it just seems to be full of everything bad that is happening, which certainly is not a great way to start the day.
Thinking back on it, that’s all I really was to him. Someone to have on his arm at every important campaign dinner, fundraisers, and events he was expected to attend. I owned more ballgowns than I did pairs of jeans and runners, which is not really me. I got swept up in the dream of living a better life. The promises that Jason made, when he told me how much he loved me and that I was all he needed in his life to come home to after a long day.
Complete bullshit!
I was just a front for him. The sweet innocent girl from a poor background, someone people felt a little sorry for. Someone who had worked hard to get where I was in my life. No baggage to hide behind, my history was so clean I had nothing to tarnish his image. Now I understand he was doing enough himself to not only tarnish his image but to paint it black, as black as can be.
I’ll be damned if he is going to take me down with him.
