Page 47 of The Escort

I step forward. “What accident?”

She takes a deep breath and releases it. “While your uncle was visiting your mom in Maryland, he and Jeremy went out on the town. They’d been drinking. They got into a car accident, and Jeremy died. Your uncle was paralyzed from the waist down.”

“Why didn’t she tell us that?” I take another step forward. “Why keep him a secret?”

“Your uncle was driving that night. The police were going to arrest him until your father stepped in. He wanted your mother so bad, and he’d do anything to have her. He told her that he’d make it all go away. He’d pay for all your uncle’s medical bills. He’d care for him and her grandmother if she agreed to marry him.”

“And she agreed,” Brett concludes, the lines on his forehead deep and dark.

“You have to understand. Your mom loved your uncle so much. And at the time, he was lying in the ICU, struggling to stay alive. She knew it would be difficult for him. She also knew he wasn’t strong enough to get through everything alone. He would need therapy. The medical bills alone, her grandmother couldn’t afford it. She couldn’t see a future for her little brother without your father’s help. So yes. She married your father, dropped out of college, and he moved her to Florida.”

“And she never saw her brother again,” I ask, caught off guard, a million things running through my head.

“Not until about a year before, she, ah—”

“Shot our father,” Brett finishes.

We learned a long time ago to say it without hesitation.

“Yes.” She nods at Brett. “She said Zach came to visit her, but your father wouldn’t let her talk to him.”

Brett sits up in the chair. “Was he in a wheelchair?”

“No. It took a few surgeries and years of physical therapy, but eventually, he walked again. He even went to college,” she says with a twinkle of pride in her eyes. “A few months after he visited your home, she received a letter from Zach, saying that he knew what she did for him and why she married your father and moved away. See, your father told Zach the day he came to visit. Zach caught a glimpse of your mom’s bruised face. He saw one of you boys—”

“He walked with a cane.” Brett rubs his chin, lounging back in the chair. “I remember him. I was the kid he saw.”

“Yes.” She looks over at Brett. “In his letter, he talked about his guilt for killing his best friend and what your mom endured because of him. Zach had been struggling with depression for years. He said he was tired and wanted to be free. And it was time for her to be set free as well.”

“What happened?” Harper chimes in, hand on her chin. Like us all, she’s enthralled by Mom’s life story.

“Maria hadn’t been in contact with her family in years. She tried calling Zach, but the number was disconnected. She wrote him back, sending the letter to the return address on his. But a couple of months went by, and she heard nothing. That’s when she called me. I was so happy to hear from her because it’d been years. We talked for a while, but when I offered my condolences about Zach, I realized she didn’t know her brother was dead.”

Cole perks up in the chair. “What happened to him?”

“I heard he killed himself. Your mom didn’t even know her grandma passed away six years earlier. She had no contact with either of them. Your father kept his promise, though. He supported your great-grandmother and uncle all those years.”

Brett nods. “And that’s when she planned to bring us to Arizona?”

“Yes.” Lucy’s sympathetic eyes sway over to Brett. “We talked a few more times, and your mom finally opened up and told me everything. She said your father was good to her in the beginning. He loved her. But he was the type of man used to getting what he wanted. And he wanted your mom. They had some good memories, but she said something had changed. He grew angry, even paranoid at times. He had these mood swings, and then the abuse started. She wanted to leave but worried about her brother and grandma. She felt trapped and didn’t know how to get out. Your father was escalating, though, and started taking his anger out on you kids. That was her breaking point, receiving the letter and news about Zach. She decided to honor her brother’s wish and get you all somewhere safe. That’s when we arranged for you all to come and stay with my husband and me.”

“Then why’d she shoot him?” Brett asks the question we all want the answer to.

“I’m sorry, I don’t have the answer to that. After she was arrested, she refused all my calls. She wouldn’t see me when I visited her at the jail. Then a few months back, I got a call from her. She pleaded with me not to tell anyone about what she’d told me or our plan. So when her lawyer called, I only confirmed she planned to come to see me, and that was it. But when that reporter appeared on my doorstep, I wasn’t prepared for her. She’s good at her job. She got me talking. She talked about the three of you and your lives. She told me how you’ve been trying to get your mom out of jail for all these years. It broke my heart. I know your mom. She’s a beautiful soul and doesn’t deserve to be in jail. I want to help any way I can.”

“We’d appreciate that, Lucy,” Brett says, lounging back as the silence resonates throughout the room.

Chapter 18

I stand in my T-shirt, staring at my apartment door.

It rattles with each pound, absorbing the brutal hit of his fist.

I knew he’d come. I’ve been anxiously waiting.

My trembling hand reaches for the knob. The vibration of the pounding spreads up my arm, warning me of the threat behind it.

I want to let him in. Still, I wait for the threat to silence. When it finally does, I take a deep breath and open the door.

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