Page 59 of Hush Money
Evie has been through so fucking much. But she was right about one thing. No one has ever known me or loved me the way she has. And I’m going to let her do what she does best.
I watch as she gets on the elevator and wave as the doors close, taking my heart, my soul, everything I have with her.
EVIE
The ride down to the garage level feels like it takes forever, but I use that to my advantage. I slow my breathing down, trying to calm my own nervous system down before I talk to her.
Ally.
I don’t know a single thing about her other than, at some point, Cato Everett hired her, wreaked havoc on her life, and then either did away with her like she was disposable or made her life so miserable that she had to leave herself.
Oh, and I know that she’s twenty-four.
I take in one more breath as the doors open into the garage. Todd is waiting for me outside the black SUV. He opens the door, and I slide inside. He closes the door to give us some privacy but stays right at the perimeter. I hear the doors lock. I turn. In the way back is a woman with long, black hair pulled back into a perfect pony. She’s wearing jeans, a blazer, and has some super-cute heels on. Her look says “all business,” but the way she is clutching onto the hand of the other woman in the car says that she’s a girl’s girl. She’s not letting go.
In the seat next to me in the middle row sits a woman who looks scared shitless. She has a short blonde bob that’s pulledback into a clip, but the front pieces have fallen out and are daintily framing her face. Judging by her tear-stained cheeks, I’m going to guess this is Ally, which would make the other woman Wren, the journalist.
“Ally?” I ask. She looks up at me and nods her head slowly, sniffing. I stick my hand out.
“I’m Evie,” I tell her. “Thank you for letting me come down.”
She doesn’t say anything, just nods. I turn to the back.
“And you must be Wren?” I ask. Wren nods slowly but looks a little unsure of me, which is definitely fair because based on the knowledge she now has of Cato and the inner workings of the company, I wouldn’t trust an Everett or anyone close to them if I were her. I smile at both of them.
“It’s really nice to meet you both,” I say.
“Thanks for coming down,” Wren says. “We’re just having some trouble getting out of the car. I let her know that I’m happy to take her back home. She doesn’t have to do this. We’re just thinking things through, I think,” she says, reaching up to pat Ally’s knee. I smile and nod.
“I get that,” I tell her. “Ally, I just want to start off by saying that I don’t know your whole story. But I don’t need to. I just want to let you know that I am so sorry about whatever has happened to you. And that even if you never step foot in this building, you should be so proud of yourself for getting in this car and even coming down here. That’s a huge step.”
She looks up at me briefly, nodding slowly, then her eyes drop to her lap again.
“The man who did this…the man who hurt you, I have known since I was fifteen years old.” At that, her eyes flick up to me. I choose my words carefully. Technically, these conversations are supposed to be off the record, but I still can’t say anything disparaging. I won’t hurt Keaton any more than he’s already been hurt. “I know that when a man has power over you, itcan be incredibly hard to convince yourself that you have any at all. But I want you to know that those men up there…” I say, pointing up into the building, “those men up there are good, decent men. I’ve known them since I was fifteen too.” She just stares at me. I clear my throat and go on. “Not too long ago—actually, very,veryrecently—I was in a situation where a man had a lot of power over me. So much so that it felt…dangerous. And Keaton Everett? He’s the man that showed me I was strong enough to get out of it. He gave me a safe place to land. But most importantly, he told me—and has reminded me, over and over again—that none of it, not a single part of it, was my fault.”
I see her eyes start to fill with tears. She bites her bottom lip as her eyes narrow on mine. I reach out and take her free hand. She flinches slightly, but then she turns her hand and locks it in mine. “So I am here to tell you that no matter what happened to you, no matter what decision you make tonight, no matter how you decide you handle this…none of this was your fault. None of it. And whatever decision you make has to be the right one for you. No one else.”
She sniffs again, nodding slowly. She blinks, and tears fall from her eyes.
“I’m sorry about what happened to you too,” she says, looking up at me. Then she looks at Wren. “I think I want to try to talk to them.”
Wren smiles softly and nods. We get out of the car, and Russ escorts us to the elevator. When we get inside and the doors close on us again, I feel her stand closer to me and take my hand. Before we get to the penthouse, she turns to me.
“Will you sit with me?” she asks. I turn to her. “While I talk to them. I think I…I’d just like it if you were there.”
I squeeze her hand.
“Of course,” I tell her. “Wherever you want me to be, that’s where I’ll be. And if you need a minute, you let me know. I’ll kick all those rich pricks out.”
At that, she actually cracks a smile, and Wren snickers next to her.
Finally, the doors ding and open. When we walk in, the only person waiting for us is Sawyer in the living room. I smile at her.
Women really are the fucking best.
“Hi,” she says calmly. “I’m Sawyer. I’m Julian’s fiancée.”
Ally waves shyly, and then Sawyer and Wren shake hands.
