Page 82 of The Sound of Silence

“I’m serious, Nat. Did you do it?”

“Yeah, I did it, but I couldn’t tell if he was there—at least not until last night. All kinds of crazy shit happened. I would have called, but it was late. I planned to call you today about it.”

“About what? What crazy shit?”

“Ethan. Apparently, he beat up some woman named Cynthia pretty good a few weeks back. She barely lived. Once she recovered, she went after him hard.”

I glanced at Derek. His concerned expression was still there. I couldn’t blame him after the way I was acting. He needed to understand. Moving the phone away from my ear, I put it on speaker.

“Nat, I’m with Derek. You’re on speakerphone. Keep going. Cynthia was the name of Ethan’s mistress. What do you mean she went after him hard?”

“Oooh, you’re with Derek this early in the morning?”

I nearly rolled my eyes, becoming more and more impatient with each passing second.

“Nat, that’s not important. Tell me what happened.”

“Geesh, okay. Apparently, Cynthia is a prosecutor and she has even more pull than Ethan did. She pressed charges—her lawyers were on the television last night saying it was attempted murder. It was all over the local news. He was suspended from his job while an investigation took place. They had a warrant to search the house for some kind of club—or whatever it was he supposedly used to beat her. When they got there, they discovered a safe full of coke and about a half a million in cash. Ethan was nowhere to be found. There’s a warrant out for his arrest.”

Memories came in quick snapshots—the safe I didn’t know the combination for, the duffle bags Ethan came home with, his ability to afford the expensive house in the upscale neighborhood, the expensive cars he always drove…

“And you didn’t call me last night because it was late?” I accused as the implications of what all this could mean seeped in. I thought about what the news stations might be saying. Memories of all the police functions I’d attended flashed in my mind. The officers, their wives…what would they think? Would they know Ethan had abused me, too? I could almost hear their accusations, wondering why I’d stayed for so long.

“I’m sorry! I had…I had company last night,” Natalia explained.

In other words, she was getting laid. I huffed out a frustrated breath.

“Have they found him?” I asked.

“Not yet. The police are still looking for him. They’re also looking for you.”

“Me? Why me?”

“The news didn’t say, but I’m guessing they want to question you about Ethan.”

My stomach sank, not knowing which cops Ethan might still have in his corner.

“Have the police tried to contact you?”

“No, not yet. Why?”

“Nat, you can’t tell them where I am.”

“I would never!” Natalie said vehemently. “I don’t trust them as far as I can throw them. I’m not sure if you can get the Cincinnati news stations in New York, but I just turned on our morning news. Ethan’s picture is plastered all over the place. Apparently, they didn’t catch him yet. Now that he’s on the run, who knows what he’ll do? You need to be careful, toots.”

If Ethan lost his badge, there was no telling what his state of mind would be. That badge was his entire identity. Without it, I was sure he’d be more volatile than ever before. I truly believed it was the only thing that kept him from killing me, Teddy, Ben, and Natalia the night I escaped. A shiver of cold goosebumps raced down my spine.

“Alright. Thanks, Nat. I’ve got to go.”

“You don’t think he’d try to find you, do you?”

“I think he might have already. I really have to go. I’ll call you later.”

“Wait! What do you mean?”

I didn’t answer, and ended the call. Running through the apartment, I opened every closet door, looking for potential hiding places. If Ethan was here… if he was watching Derek and me…the thought of him seeing me naked in Derek’s arms this morning made me want to vomit.

The apartment wasn’t that big, and it only took me a minute or so to realize Ethan wasn’t there. Derek had been close on my heels during my search. Now that I was fairly certain Ethan wasn’t here, I turned to him.

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