Page 112 of In the Air Tonight

He gets busy making scrambled eggs and toast that he serves a few minutes later. “Try to eat something.”

I take a few bites because he went to the trouble to make it, but it’s all I can do to swallow anything with the dead animal image in my head. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. I texted a friend about security.”

“I don’t want you to take on that expense.”

“It’s fine.”

“No, it isn’t. None of this is fine.”

“When they realize you won’t back down, they’ll let it go.”

“Will they?”

My cell phone rings with a call from my brother. I take the call on speaker. “Arlo.”

“Blaise… What the fuck are you doing?”

“What I should’ve done fourteen years ago.”

“You can’t be serious.”

“I’m dead serious. I saw him rape her, and keeping that secret nearly ruined me.”

“What the hell were you even doing there?”

“Does that matter now?”

“It matters to me! You’re accusing my best friend, myboss, of a heinous crime.”

“Which he committed. Why don’t you ask him what really happened? He knows he did it.”

“Iquit my jobto work on his campaign. Don’t you care about me at all?”

“Don’t you dare put that on me! I kept this secret for all this timebecauseI love you! If it hadn’t been for you, I would’ve gone to the cops back then.”

“You can still fix this by not testifying.”

“I’m not fixing anything, and Iwilltestify. So you can tell anyone who has a big idea of trying to intimidate me by throwing dead animals on my porch not to bother.”

“I thought I knew you, Blaise.”

“You don’t know me at all. Don’t ask me again to protect your friend. I won’t do it.”

I push the red button to end the call.

Jack fans his face. “That was hot as fuck.”

I can’t believe it’s possible to laugh but leave it to him.

“He had no right to say those things to you. Tell me you know that.”

“I do.” I’m absolutely certain of that, but my hands are still shaking, nonetheless. “I kept this secret for so long it became part of who I was. I don’t want to be that person anymore. I can’t go back to living that way, no matter who it might hurt.”

“You’re doing the right thing.”

I nod, appreciative of his support. “You really should let me go back to New York. This isn’t your problem.”

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