Page 62 of Hush Money
She tells us how she pays for her therapist out of pocket and is still paying the bill from the hospital stay because she hasn’t been able to hold down another full-time job since. I make a mental note to have money wired to her accounts as soon as possible.
When she finally finishes, Evie wraps her in a long, hard hug. She cries on Evie’s shoulder, and Sawyer and Wren surround her, rubbing her back and hair. Julian and I just sit there, helpless. When they finally come apart, we all stand.
“I think our lawyers explained to you,” Julian says, “that we can’t offer financial help yet because it could be considered a conflict of interest for the case. But I can assure you that we willbe going after financial compensation for each and every one of you. And as soon as we can figure out a way to safely do it, all of your medical expenses will be covered by our family.”
She nods.
“Thank you,” she says. Then, to all of our surprise, she hugs him. He pats her back gently. When she lets go, she turns to me and does the same. I hold her a little longer. I squeeze her back, letting her tears soak my shirt.
“None of this is your fault, Ally,” I tell her. “And you have just helped us in making sure that he never does this to anyone else again. We can’t thank you enough.”
She looks up at me.
“Thank you for listening,” she says, and my heart breaks. Listening. The bare minimum. That’s all she wanted. Before she leaves, her and Evie exchange numbers, and I hear my beautiful woman tell her to call or text her anytime. They make plans to get coffee next week. Before they leave, Wren turns to us.
“Thank you both for doing this,” she says. “It’s nice to know that there are good men in the world.”
“Thanks for giving us a chance to try to fix this,” Julian says. She nods, but before she follows Ally out, Julian stops her.
“We have a problem,” he says, then he looks back at me. “Well, another one. One of my assistants has been looking into job postings. Another assistant position was posted last week.”
All of our eyes grow wide. I look at my brother, then to Evie, then to Wren.
“Fuck,” I mutter.
“Yeah,” Julian says, rubbing the back of his neck.
“What do we do?” I ask. “We can’t let some unknowing woman walk in there and take that job knowing what we know now.”
Julian nods slowly, walking toward the huge windows. He puts his hands on the sill, his arms straight. I can see the weighton my big brother’s shoulders, and I’m desperate to help him carry it.
“I’ll do it,” Wren says, and all our heads whip to her.
“What?” I ask.
“Absolutely not,” Julian says.
“No fucking way,” Sawyer chimes in.
“I don’t know that we really have a choice,” she says. “If we do nothing, then some other unsuspecting woman gets hired and goes through this same shit. It can’t be one of you two,” she says, motioning to Evie and Sawyer, “because they know you.” My body recoils at the thought of sending Evie off anywhere near those fucking creeps. Wren looks at me then Julian. “It has to be me.”
I see Evie rolling her lips together next to me. Then her big eyes meet mine.
“I think she’s right,” she says. “We know the signs of what’s going down. We can keep her safe. She can get intel while she’s in there. It’s the only way.”
I swallow. This feels wrong, but I don’t know how to make it right.
I can tell Julian is running through the same process I am. He slams his hand down against the wall then pushes himself up.
“Okay,” he finally agrees. Wren nods.
“We just have to figure out how to make sure I get hired,” she says.
“Brooks can help with that,” I chime in. “He still works in the office. He can keep any eye on you while he’s there.”
She rolls her eyes.
“Yeah, right. The brother who hasn’t even bothered to show. No offense, but I won’t be relying on him for security measures.”
