“But…” I paused then went on, “wouldn’t it be important for Ozzie to at least have a chat with this broker so he could tell her Vanessa is still plotting to kill me?”
“Don’t need it. She purchased an extra cell to communicate with the broker. Seein’ as she’s just a bitch and not a criminal mastermind, she didn’t get a burner. But she did get it under an alias and gave her Mom’s address to send the statements. Tanner and Lee found it, tapped into it, taped conversations, transcribed them and also got copies of the statements and printouts of the texts. Oswald has all that shit and all of it is admissible mainly because Oswald is not gonna share how he procured it and is gonna say he and his boys got it. He’s gotta call in some markers to get warrants dated appropriately but luckily he’s got those markers to call. Yesterday, they arrested her again seein’ as continuing to conspire to commit murder when you’re out on bond after being arrested for conspiracy to commit murder is a violation of bond. She’ll now most likely be held without bail until her trial where it is also very likely she’ll go down and hard.”
I was stuck on an early word so I asked, “A burner?”
“A disposable phone.”
Right.
Then the rest of it penetrated.
“So this is good news,” I pointed out, my heart beating faster but the muscles in my neck getting looser.
“Yeah it is except the part where she didn’t call off the hit, we now know a man is waiting for his moment to take you out and until we get the confirmation e-mail we have to assume he still is.”
Yeah, except that part.
It was my turn to take a deep breath and I did.
Then I said softly, “This is mostly good news, Sam. I don’t understand why you waited to tell me.”
“Because the part of it that’s not good is really not good. You’re comin’ back to you. Every day, you smile more, laugh more, more of the real you comes out or you put back in place more of her. And your friends and family are visibly relieved to have you back, you, their girl. You’re not there but you’re getting there and I suspected every step you took to release the life you led with that asshole was leading you there. I wanted you to have that. Not a reminder of just how much of an asshole that asshole was.”
This made sense too. And it was also nice.
However.
“Isn’t it up to me to make that decision?” I asked.
“No,” Sam answered instantly and I blinked.
“No?”
He shook his head.
“Sam –” I started but he interrupted me.
“We had this conversation. You agreed. And we’re not havin’ this conversation again.”
Now I was confused.
“We’ve had this conversation?”
“Are you my woman?”
I was still confused. How were we back to that?
“I don’t get it,” I told him.
“Kia, sweetheart, are you my woman?”
“Mostly,” I replied without thinking, encroaching into territory we needed to explore but I didn’t think it sensible to breach at this juncture.
I watched his brows snap together again and I also watched his entire body get tight.
“Mostly?” he asked quietly and very, very scarily.
Oh man.
“Yes,” I changed my answer hurriedly. “I’m your woman.”
“That’s a better answer,” he whispered again very, very scarily.
“Sam –”
He cut me off again.
“I protect my woman as I see fit. You agreed to that.”
“Well, yes, I did,” I concurred. “But how does this fit into that?”
“I protect my woman however she needs to be protected and whatever she needs protection from.”
Oh.
Now I got it.
“So, essentially, what you’re saying is you decide how I need to be protected, what I need to be protected from and therefore there are times when you’ll decide what I need to know and when.”
“No.”
“No?”
“No in the sense that there’s nothing ‘essentially’ about your statement.”
He couldn’t be serious.
“Sam!” I cried.
“What?” he asked.
“I’m not a little girl and that’s just… it’s just… I don’t know what it is but it isn’t right.”
“How isn’t it right?” he shot back.