“No, I didn’t plan to leave until today.”
I could see he wasn’t buying my acting as the cab came to a stop and I tried to open the backdoor.
He held the door shut, “I’ll take you where you need to go.” It didn’t sound like an offer, but more like a statement.
“NO-I-I’d rather take a cab. Micah is still pretty jealous when it comes to me being around you and I wouldn’t want to-”
“He’ll live,” he said, blocking my way.
“Lady,” the cabbie interrupted, “do you need a ride or what?”
“Yes, I need to go to the First National Bank downtown.”
“No, she doesn’t. I’ll take her,” Ryan asserted.
“Make up your minds. I’m on the clock here!”
Ryan grabbed his wallet and flipped the cabbie a hundred dollar bill, “You can leave, now.”
“No,” I was trying to rebut, but the cabbie hit the gas and was gone. “That jerk! I can’t believe he left me.” I turned my anger toward Ryan. “You have no right to-”
“I’m giving you a ride so get over it. Where’s First National?”
I couldn’t afford to argue any longer as I hoped and prayed a hotel camera wasn’t recording in this area. I was trying my best to force back the tears as I told him where we were heading.
The bank wasn’t far and even though he was pummeling me with questions, I simply told him I couldn’t discuss it right now because I was too upset. I wanted him to wait in the bank lobby when I went back to speak with the president, but he refused and stayed at my side as I unemotionally requested a quarter million dollars in hundred dollar bills.
“I don’t think we can handle that transaction this morning.”
The banker was stalling and I knew it. I could see suspicion written clearly across his face as he looked from me to Ryan. There was no way he would suspect Ryan because the look on his face was clearly just as shocked as the banker’s.
“Don’t lie to me, Mr…” I glanced to his desk plate, “Mr. Archer. I have multi-millions with your bank, and if you can’t handle a simple request when I need it, I’ll move my money to another-”
“No, no, that’s okay, Miss Winslett. We don’t usually do this size of a transaction with such immediacy-we have the funds available, it’s just a matter of putting it together.”
I hated the sound of my former name-I wanted to tell him it was Gavarreen, but that dream was over. He was still lying to me, “Mr. Archer, I don’t think it will be difficult to have a teller count out twenty five packs of hundred-dollar bills. I’ll expect you to put them in a bank bag for me as well. You have fifteen minutes or I’ll close my account.”
He handed me the withdrawal form and quickly left the room.
“What the hell are you taking a quarter-million-dollars cash out of the bank for?” Ryan demanded as soon as we were alone. “What does he have you doing?”
He was accusing Micah of being behind this and it felt like the invisible knife was starting to work its way through my heart as he blamed the man I loved.
“This has nothing to do with Micah,” I croaked, fighting to keep my fragile composure. “Please, Ryan-not now. Wait until we’re out of here. I can’t handle anything else.”
He swallowed as he looked at me. He knew this was big trouble and I was ready to crack, “When we get in the car, you’re telling me everything.”
We left the bank and he drove to a waterfront park and pulled under a shady tree, turned off the engine, and looked at me.
“Ryan, I don’t want you involved in this.” I was actually afraid at this point he may have already been deeply entangled. Cameras would be checked at the hotel and the bank. Micah would know who had been with me and he would find Ryan to get the answers he had to have.
“I’m involved already,” he admitted, evidently suspecting what I already knew about cameras. “You’ve got to tell me what’s happening.”
“If I drag you into this, I’m gonna get you killed-I can’t handle being responsible for that. Please, Ryan, just leave it at this. Take me to a rental lot and drop me off. You can’t get hurt if this is all you know.” It was too late to stop the tears.
“You’re running away from him, aren’t you?” His head cocked sideways slightly as he realized this had nothing to do with Micah, but everything to do without Micah.
“Please, I’ve got to get out of here and he’s got to believe I wanted to go.”
He pulled me against his chest as I began to sob. He had become my best friend and he was willing to do anything to help me, even if it cost him everything. An hour of arguments, tears and reasons, and he finally understood, but I had sworn him to absolute secrecy.
“You say he’s jealous about my being with you-it’s the only thing that will convince him you wanted to leave.”
I was blank for a moment, then it hit me; he was suggesting we run together. It would look like I had been torn between the two of them and chose Ryan. I didn’t think Micah could believe it because I was sure he knew my love was true, but jealousy has a way of blinding a person.
“Ryan, he’ll kill you if he gets the chance. He’s the top hit man in the south and he will track us down and kill you-I don’t know if I can stop him.”
“You can’t go alone, I won’t let you.”
“You’ve got school, you’ve got the Air Force, you’ve got a whole life of dreams in front of you; don’t throw it all away on me,” I pleaded.
“I don’t think I could count being with you as throwing my life away.”
I realized he assumed he and I would become more than friends at this point; I couldn’t lead him to ever believe that. I wouldn’t let him risk his life thinking he and I would become lovers.
“It can’t be that way between us. You’re my best friend, but I’m never going to stop loving Micah. If I never see his face again, it won’t matter because I can’t betray what I committed to him when I said I’d be his wife. We’ll never sleep together.”
“Then just let me help you get away. I can deal with him when the time comes.”
“That’s a fool talking,” I whispered. “You don’t know him like I do.” I remembered when he killed Jack and Ricky; there was no pause in his fury. He simply drew and fired with deadly accuracy and without questions and without regret.
“He has to believe you wanted to leave him, Leese. If your plan is going to work, I’ve got to be in it.”
I didn’t want to agree, but he was right. I could only pray I didn’t just assign him a death sentence-he didn’t deserve that for helping.
“Take me back to the hotel. I’ve got to write a couple notes and leave them at the front desk. Wait for me out front by the security camera. Wait outside your car, and forgive me when I have to make this look convincing. Don’t read more into what I do when I come out than to know this has to look believable.”
He didn’t ask questions; he just followed my directions and headed back to the hotel as I grabbed paper and pen from my purse and wrote the most difficult words of my life. As long as Micah wasn’t downstairs, as long as he nor Mom caught me, I’d get away and the rest would be left up to jealousy to decide about my sincerity.
Ryan parked where I instructed and got out of the car and came around and sat on the front bumper on my side as I ran indoors and gave my notes to the clerk. He was waiting patiently, but nervously as I came back to the car. I walked up to him and his arms automatically opened to hold me.
“Forgive me,” I whispered, but what I was about to do was unforgivable. I brought my lips to his and began to kiss him. I know he didn’t expect the kiss. He was assuming he would just embrace me for the camera, but Micah had to believe. Jealousy would be the only thing that would keep him from killing himself over what I was doing to the two of us. If he was angry enough, he would vault himself back into his old life with a vengeance.