“People the world is better off without.”
“Some would say that about you.”
His words are not lost on me. Sure, I got off alcohol. I went through therapy, I’m changing my life for the better. None of that erases what I did in the past.
Which is why I’m going back to LA.
I clear my throat. “I never visited Treasure Island,” I say in a robotic tone. “I never hunted women, tortured women, raped women.”
“Some of your girlfriends might say differently.”
Anger erupts in me. That snake-like rage that I work so hard to control. “I admit my mistakes, Dad. I let my rage get to me more than once with regard to women. But I never raped them. I never hunted them.”
“So then there are degrees of evil? Is that what you’re saying?”
What exactly am I saying? Are there degrees? Emily and a few others probably think I’m the devil himself. A testament to my name.
But Katelyn… The men who harmed her… The men like my father…
All of those women would probably say yes, there are degrees.
“Degrees aren’t the point, Dad. The point is that you went to that island.”
“Who says I went to that island?”
“A reliable source.”
“More reliable than your own father?”
“You really want to go there, Dad? I’ll take responsibility for my own actions. I’m not going to blame you or anyone else for the decisions I made. But take a good look in the mirror sometime. If your namesake had been happy, would he have made the decisions he made?”
“So I’m responsible for your happiness now?”
“You’re not responsible for anything but your own actions, just as I am. But take a look in the mirror,” I say again. “And tell me if you like what you see. Tell me if there isn’t a part of you that is responsible for what happened to your children.”
“Your brother and your sister are fine.”
I stop myself from letting out a guffaw. My brother and sister are far from fine. Not that I’ve talked to them anytime recently, but I do know they hold no love for our father.
“Maybe they are, and maybe they aren’t. They’re responsible for their own lives just as I’m responsible for mine. And just as you’re responsible for yours. Tell me, Dad, how did you escape going to prison?”
Silence.
“It’s a rhetorical question, after all. I know the answer. You pay people off.”
“You didn’t have a problem with me paying people off when it got you out of town.”
“Maybe I did have a problem with it. I’m coming back. I’m coming back to LA.”
“You’re not. If you come back here, you and I both know what will happen. You will not do that to your mother.”
I close my eyes. I don’t want to harm my mother. But the fact that he’s throwing her in my face really pisses me off. After what he’s done to her over the years.
I give myself a few seconds to cool off. I must stay focused.
Finally, “I’ve got red on my ledger, Dad.”
“Your ledger is nothing but red,” he says. “You come back here, and you’ll be killed within minutes.”
“No, I won’t be,” I say. “Because you are going to help me.”
“You think I have that kind of power?”
“I think,” I say, “you don’t want the entire world to know that you were on that island abusing women.”
“You can’t prove that.”
“As a matter fact, I can.”
Pollack may not be good for much, but he’s at least good for that. Plus… Katelyn’s going to be working for the Wolfes, and they must have information on all the men who visited that island.
“And I’m supposed to believe you because…”
“Because I know some of the men who were on that island, who played canary to stay out of prison.
Silence again, and this time for longer.
Good. I have his attention now.
“What the fuck do you want, Trey?”
“Your protection.” I inhale, exhale slowly. “I’m coming home.”
He sighs. “What do you need?”
“I’ve got my IDs. I was planning on taking a bus, but I got waylaid by someone who knew my street name. Apparently the bus isn’t any more anonymous than an airplane or renting a car. I decided to fly. I’ll take my chance using my fake IDs. I will be in LA by tomorrow.”
“You didn’t answer my question.”
“I did. I need your protection. Make sure eyes are somewhere other than on me as I’m crossing the country. We’ve got FBI contacts. We’ve got money.”
“You just told me yourself that someone found your street name,” he says.
“Yes. Someone did. But that’s all he found out. However, he now knows exactly who I am, and Dad? He’s the one who told me you were on that island.”
Slam and dunk.
“Who the fuck are you talking to?” Dad says.
“I’m going to keep that information to myself for now. In the meantime, I’ll see you tomorrow.”
I end the call.
I don’t want to leave Katelyn. But she’s better off without me.
Still… I can’t go without seeing her one more time.
I press in her number.
14
KATELYN
My phone buzzes. It’s Luke.
“Hello,” I say without much emotion.
“It’s me, baby. I need to see you.”
“You know I can’t let you into my place.”
“I understand. Can you meet me at my place?”
“Luke…you almost left without me.”
“I know, and I will not make that mistake again. Please, baby. Meet me. We need to talk.”
I sigh. “All right. When?”
“As soon as possible.”
I’m heading back to my place after finishing my run. I’m dripping with perspiration and wearing sweats. “I need a shower.”
“You can shower here.”
“I showered there this morning.”
Is it really the same day? I feel like weeks have passed.
“I’ll shower at my place, Luke. Then I’ll come over. Are you working tonight?”
“I’m not, Katelyn. Please, come quickly.”
“All right.”
“I love you.”
“I love you too.” I shove my phone back in my pocket and head to the building.
I shower, blow dry my hair, and then dress in jeans and a simple camisole. I want to look good for Luke, but I also don’t want to. I can’t get my hopes up.
Something’s up. I can tell in his voice.
I throw my sweats into the hamper but then remember something. I pull out Lance Stone’s card.
I hold it, looking at his name and his phone number. It’s not a business card. It’s a simple calling card—the kind rich people carry around with them.
Is Lance Stone rich? He’s an attorney, obviously, if he’s applying to the legal department at Wolfe Enterprises.
Maybe he comes from money.