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The thought of King taking me to the stables instantly gave me an image of what King had been doing at the stables the last time I was there. Trying to think of anything but that since I was standing in front of his grandmother, I blurted, “Sebastian promised to do that.”
Her eyebrows rose. “Did he now? Well, he always was a smart one. He’s back in Vegas, but he’ll be returning in a few days. Reckon your riding lesson can wait until then if you prefer he teach you.”
Sebastian didn’t rattle me the way King seemed to. I was comfortable with him. I wasn’t sure I could focus enough on riding with King present, and I’d probably do something stupid and fall off a horse.
“I can wait until he returns,” I replied.
Amusement flickered in her eyes, and I hoped she wasn’t thinking I was interested in Sebastian as more than a friend. She was aware I would never do anything to put them in danger or get them mixed up in my messed-up life.
“Very well. Go on then and get the books. We can go on back to my house. I’ve got a warm lemon Bundt cake just sitting there, waiting on us. A glass of sweet tea and some cake in the sunroom will be nice. You can tell me all about your night over at the Shephards’.”
I widened my eyes, surprised by the fact that she knew I’d been over there.
She chuckled at my expression. “Don’t a thing happen in this family I don’t know about. I got to keep this machine running smooth.”
Her response was odd, and I thought about it as I went inside to grab my books. This was by far the strangest family I’d ever met. I guessed it made sense that they were all close, seeing as they were in business together and had been for generations. The way it all worked though, I felt like I was missing something. Even if I were, it wasn’t like I should be told all the ins and outs. They were the ones helping me, not the other way around.
Maeme was already in the driver’s seat of the golf cart when I returned. Holding the books to my chest, I hurried out to her, not wanting to make her wait any longer. I slid onto the seat, and she glanced up at me from her phone that she was texting on.
“That was King. Seems he has plans for you this evening. I’ll bring you on back after Doc checks you out. You’ll need time to get ready.”
She reversed the cart, then turned it around without telling me more. Not happy with myself for the fact that my immediate reaction to King coming to get me had been…a slight flutter of…something. I straightened the books in my lap.
“Um, what are his plans?” I asked her nervously.
Maeme glanced over at me. “Got us some horses racing in Santa Anita. They’ve got the big screen at the stables playing it today, and King thought you’d enjoy coming over to watch it. But don’t you worry. Everyone there is family. Your identity is safe.”
I was torn between social anxiety and the desire to experience something new. Go to a party. Live outside of my own little world.
“That’s nice of him,” I finally said.
“He’s got a good heart. I won’t count that out, but he enjoys your company. Might be more him wanting to be around you than just a nice gesture.”
Oh. I was about to smile, and I stopped myself. I didn’t need to be happy about that. Besides, him enjoying my company was not anything more than that. I shouldn’t even be considering anything else. It was ridiculous. For reasons I shouldn’t have to keep reminding myself.
We were already parking in Maeme’s backyard before I could think of anything to say about that. She was his grandmother and knew more than anyone that our relationship would only ever be friends. I didn’t know how much longer I would be here, and she nor King had brought it up lately.
Following her into the house, I waited until she led me to the library to ask her about any update. I needed to start focusing on my future instead of getting excited about a party. When she stopped at the door to the library and looked at me, I knew I had to find out what was happening. Since the storm, all I could get my television to play was Netflix. I couldn’t get the local channels anymore.
“Maeme,” I began and gripped the books tighter to my chest, “I, uh…what is happening with my…Churchill?”
I couldn’t call him my husband. I hated him. I feared him. I never wanted to see him again, yet if he found me, he would make me come back. He would make me pay for all he’d been through. For embarrassing him. It was a fate worse than prison.
She sighed. “Well, he went missing. Seems he drugged his nurse and cook. When they came to, they were tied up and blindfolded in closets. He took his car, and it hasn’t been found. His bank accounts were wiped clean. The latest belief is, he fled the country for illegal activities he’d been involved in. Some believe he got mixed up with the Mafia. It isn’t concrete yet. But…they also think he might have killed his wife and hidden her body. You see, he had surveillance videos in your home. They were hidden, and the authorities didn’t find them until he went missing. Your abuse was on them, Rumor. But the men who came into your home were not. In fact, the only thing they found according to the news was the abuse.”
I stood there, staring at her, not sure I had heard all that correctly. Video cameras? The Mafia? I shook my head. What in the world had Hill done? He hadn’t fled the country. He wouldn’t do that. He’d want revenge. He’d want to find me and make me pay. Fleeing would make him look guilty, and he never accepted blame for anything. It was always someone else’s fault.
Was he…dead? Didn’t the Mafia kill people? Had that been the Mafia who shot him, and then when they found out he wasn’t dead, they came back to finish him off?
“I maybe should have said that a little less bluntly. You’ve gone pale,” Maeme said, touching my arm. “I’m sorry. I thought it would come as a relief to you.”
I shook my head. “I don’t know. What if…what if it was the Mafia? What if they know I was in the house?” I felt the blood drain from my face, and I let out a panicked gasp. “Oh God. What if they are looking for me? I can’t stay here. I have to go. They’ll find me. They can do that, can’t they? Don’t they have connections? It’s…it’s a matter of time.”
I backed up until my back was to the wall as realization spread through me. I was going to die. I wouldn’t go to prison. I was going to be murdered.
“You’ve done not a thing wrong. The Mafia ain’t coming for you. If they killed that bastard, he deserved it. They don’t go killing people who don’t need to be killed. And you were a victim. Now,” she said, taking the books from my arms, “take a deep breath. I am going to set these books in the library, and we are going to get us some Bundt cake and sweet tea. We can talk about it. Whatever you need, but I promise you that you are safe.”
I wanted to believe her, but she didn’t know. She lived in a small town in Georgia. She owned a pecan orchard. She made Bundt cakes and cooked for a big family every Sunday morning. She knew nothing about the world that Churchill had gotten mixed up in. I couldn’t stay here and bring that kind of danger to her doorstep. At least with the police, it was me they would come after. The Mafia could kill her, trying to get to me.
