The big fix, p.22
The Big Fix, page 22
“Not bad,” Anthony said to me once the gun was safely out of my hands. His eyes softly crinkled at the corners. The day had moved into early evening. The soaring sky was a dusty shade of blue above us. Shadows ran long.
“Thank you, though I hope I never need to be even remotely adequate at that skill.”
“Too bad, Professor, because you’re already there,” Gio said as he gathered the trash bag. His eyes snagged on something at the corner of the house, and we all turned to see Portia, who had emerged from inside.
Anthony immediately stiffened at my side. Even from a distance, I could see the decisive look on her face. Something had shifted over the past few hours.
She casually approached with her hands in her pockets and scuffed her shoe at the dirt. “I’ve made a decision.”
“Portia, no—” Anthony started, but she stopped him with a raised hand.
“I want to, Tony. It’s the only way out. For all of us.”
“But what if it doesn’t work? What if they arrest you too?”
She nodded and swallowed, steeling herself. “That’s a risk, yes, but I’m willing to take it. Because what’s the alternative? We figure out how to get me to Sweden and I look over my shoulder for the rest of my life? And you do too?” Her voice strained with fear. She took a calming breath and came closer. “Look, this plan was always a moonshot. Getting away from Connor on our terms was a one-in-a-million chance. We tried, okay? But it’s time to stop. I don’t want to keep making it worse. I mean, look at you, all bruised and broken.” She turned to gesture at me. “And poor Penny was kidnapped. And Gio has been stuck in this house for days, playing Texas Hold’em for Monopoly money with me!” Gio shrugged, like it was no bother. She turned back to Anthony with a pleading look. “Please, Tony. It’s time to put an end to this.”
He looked at her with a sheen glossing his eyes. His throat bobbed with a thick swallow. I felt like I was intruding on a private moment. “But, Portia, I promised Jake I’d watch out for you.”
“I know you did, Tony. And you have. My whole life. For once, let me protect you.”
Anthony held his face in his hands with a sigh. I thought he was going to flat-out refuse, and we’d be stuck as fugitives forever, but he didn’t. Not yet at least. “How would this even work? Do you have someone at the FBI to contact?”
My heart lifted. For the first time since getting knocked out in Lou’s back office, going home felt like a real possibility and not a distant hope.
Portia nodded. “Yes. The agent who came to the hotel that night in New York. Agent Ives. He gave me a card, and I kept it before Connor showed up and . . .” Her voice trailed off.
I noticed Anthony’s fist clench. Neither of them wanted to relive it.
“Okay,” he said. “So—hypothetically, if we’re even going to do this—we call Ives and tell him you’re ready to talk. We’d need to meet him somewhere so he can take you into protective custody, and we can’t do it here. I don’t want this place on anyone’s radar.”
“Well, I can’t go back home,” Portia said. “Everyone is looking for me there.”
“Everyone is looking for you everywhere, Portia,” Anthony said. “We need someplace off the grid.”
We all silently stared at one another, as if one of us might have a list of obscure but convenient locations for clandestine meetups. I was honestly a little surprised Anthony didn’t.
“What about the opposite?” Gio suggested. “Kind of a hiding-in-plain-sight situation.”
I thought back to what Gio had said about Portia getting recognized in the small town where she’d been hiding out. Perhaps a place with too many faces to keep track of was the way to go. “You know, that’s not a bad idea. A crowd could be helpful here. Good suggestion, Gio.”
“Thank you, Professor. And also, I assume we want this to happen quick, and this Fed is going to have to fly in if he’s in New York. If we’re in the middle of nowhere, how’s he going to get to us easily? And more important, how’s he going to get Portia out easily, assuming it all goes well?”
“Another solid point,” I said.
We all looked at Anthony, since he was the most likely to dissent.
“What do you think, Tony?” Portia eventually asked.
Anthony studied the desert view before looking at Portia. A silent conversation passed between them, and then he turned his gaze over to me. We had our own tête-à-tête, which managed to encompass everything from arguing over candlesticks to hiding in a closet, from escaping a basement to kissing in a roadside motel, from fleeing an attacker to standing here, staring at each other with our future—in many senses—hanging in the balance.
He looked back to Portia. “Are you sure you want to do this? It can’t be undone, and it might not even work the way we’re hoping. You could end up in prison.”
She reached out and squeezed his hand. Her eyes had glossed with moisture, and she nodded. “Nothing could be worse than the prison of being with Connor. Let me set us all free, whatever it takes.”
Anthony held her gaze for a long moment before letting out a big breath. “Okay.”
Portia sagged with an exhale, and I felt it in my bones.
Gio clapped his hands together with a grin.
“Why are you smiling?” Anthony asked.
“Isn’t it obvious? There’s only one place nearby that fits all our criteria.” He looked at us expectantly.
I knew the answer, but didn’t want to steal his thunder.
“It all ends in Vegas, baby.”
We discussed the rest of the plan while we had dinner. Anthony knew a guy—of course he did—who could get us a suite at the Venetian for free. Apparently, Lou had cleaned up a particularly messy weekend in Vegas on this guy’s behalf, so in return, he had a standing reservation at one of the glittering towers on the Strip. We counted the win because it saved us from leaving a paper trail with our names or any form of payment. Anthony also called Mr. Mitchell, the lawyer who’d been there the day of the estate sale. If things went south with Portia’s confession and they wanted to arrest her, we needed someone on standby to help.
Portia had kept the card from Agent Ives. She called him and told him she was ready to talk and she’d meet him tomorrow in that suite at the Venetian. He confirmed he’d be there by 5:00 p.m.
It felt remarkably simple, but federal agents apparently made quick accommodations when a witness was ready to talk.
Later that night, Portia and I split her bed and Anthony took the couch. It was the only option, seeing there was no way Anthony and Gio could share a bed unless they spooned all night, and the couch wasn’t exactly big enough for two people either.
I lay on my side, facing away from her, and thought about what was going to happen tomorrow. I didn’t have much part to play, other than passenger. Anthony wanted to stick around long enough to make sure Portia was safe and, hopefully, not under arrest, and then we were headed home. Gio was tagging along to Las Vegas as an extra escort. Even so, the thought of it had my nerves jumping.
“Penny,” Portia whispered in the dark. “Are you awake?”
“Yes,” I said quietly. Apparently, I wasn’t the only one unable to sleep.
“I want to say thank you. For helping us come up with a plan. If you hadn’t said what you said, I don’t think I would have had the courage to stand up to my husband.”
I rolled over onto my back to face the ceiling. I didn’t think I’d said that much, but my words apparently resonated. “You’re welcome.”
“You’re right. I’ve spent so long afraid of him that he won’t see this coming.” She paused for a long moment. “And I don’t want you to think I’m a bad person. For not turning him in sooner. It’s just . . . I couldn’t.”
I blinked in the dark, unsure what to say. The situation was surely complicated, and seeing she feared for her life, I wasn’t about to blame her for keeping her mouth shut for her own safety. But still, a niggling curiosity, like an itch in need of scratching, squirmed inside my brain. Connor Slate was a kingpin of my industry, and here I was whispering secrets in the dark with his wife.
Temptation got the best of me. I sat up and turned on the bedside lamp.
“How long have you known?”
She rolled over to face me. “Years,” she said with an exhale, which sounded miles deep. And then a dam broke loose. “I never did anything illegal, unless you count knowingly spending money that had been embezzled. But I couldn’t even find out if that was a crime, because Connor would know I asked someone for legal advice. Everyone is in his pocket. He’s been siphoning from his own company for years. You know how I found out? After one of those foundation events I was forced to attend, like the one where you and I met. I’d hosted a group of twenty for a private luncheon in the city, and the foundation’s credit card got declined when I went to pay.”
I could see the haunted look in her eyes. Surely, someone in her tax bracket would find a declined credit card distressing, but her face said the embarrassing inconvenience was only the tip of a very large iceberg. “Obviously, I was mortified and didn’t want to make a scene, so I used a personal card to pay for lunch. Knowing Connor would get an alert, since he monitors all my personal spending, I texted him a heads-up the corporate card got declined. He never responded. That night when I brought it up, he told me he must have forgotten to pay that bill and said not to worry about it.” She blinked a few times and held my gaze with a gritty stare. “Connor doesn’t forget anything, Penny. And we have accountants, who handle our money anyway. I knew something was off, and after some very careful digging, and because I honestly didn’t want to be embarrassed by having the card declined again, I discovered the foundation account used to pay that card’s bill was empty. All the money had been moved and redistributed into our personal accounts. And it wasn’t just the foundation—other corporate accounts I have access to had been skimmed.”
When she stopped talking, I noticed I’d stopped breathing. “What did you do?” I whispered.
“Nothing,” she said with a single shake of her head. “I couldn’t confront him about it because he would deny it and then punish me for even questioning him.” Her words were matter of fact, but I heard the tremor in them. The fear she worked so hard to mask and the sting of memory from times she’d crossed her husband’s lines. “So I pretended I didn’t know. The guilt ate me up inside, but I had to keep up appearances. I couldn’t stop spending money like normal because he would wonder why. But I wasn’t the only one who noticed something was off. The FBI started coming around, and when they cornered me that night in New York after that deal went bust, I was terrified, but part of me thought, ‘Finally a way out.’ I honestly think I might have confessed everything if Connor hadn’t come home. What a difference five more minutes would have made.” She paused and took a deep breath. “And now here we are instead.”
Here we are, indeed, I thought. My curiosity over the what and how was satisfied. I partly wished I’d never asked. Anthony had told me Connor was committing large-scale fraud and left it at that. Portia hadn’t gone into too much more detail, but I knew a secret about one of the most powerful—and apparently dangerous—men in the world. A secret he was willing to kill over.
“How do you think he found out you were trying to leave?” I asked.
She sighed a weary breath. “I think he figured it out through Tyler, my bodyguard. When we told him the plan, he swore to me he’d help me finally find a way out. He’d always done as much as he could to protect me from Connor, but knew it was never enough. I think Connor got to him about the plan, and he refused to talk, so they killed him. Tony isn’t convinced, but I know he’d never betray me like that. I trusted him.”
I mulled her words and thought back to the conversation Anthony and I had had in the car. Portia and I were on the same page about Tyler’s loyalty, but I wondered if we’d ever know the truth.
I pulled the sheet up tighter around me. “I’m sorry he’s gone.”
“Thanks. Me too,” she said solemnly. She paused, and I listened to the sounds of the quiet house. Gio snored from the next room over. I imagined Anthony out on the couch, sleeping with a gun.
“I’m really sorry you got dragged into this, Penny,” Portia broke the silence. “But I’m glad—” She stopped short and took a breath. It sounded like she was trying to ward off tears. “I’m really glad Tony met you.” The sheets rustled as she moved. “He’s been trying to save me my whole life. I know this isn’t what we were planning, and I’m going to miss him terribly if this all goes well, but this is the only way to save us all.”
The sudden emotion in her voice caught me. “Are you scared?”
She blinked, and I saw the whites of her eyes shining. The look of determination on her face said she’d thought through all the consequences of her decision. “Yes and no. I mean, I’d rather not end up in prison, but assuming things go well, and I don’t end up there, I’m not scared. I’ve reinvented myself out of necessity before; I can do it again.” Her mouth twitched up at one corner. “I’m sad I wouldn’t get to see Tony anymore though. But I’m glad he has you now. Well, that’s awfully presumptuous of me; you’ve only just met. But still. I’m glad.” She shyly blushed and smoothed her hair.
I found it oddly satisfying to have her blessing. It was true I’d only just met Anthony, but it was also true Portia was one of the most important people—one of the only people—in his life. And like the rest of them, she was about to disappear, one way or another. Knowing she was happy for him before she went made me smile.
“I’m glad too.”
She wiped her eyes with an inelegant sniffle, which made her seem impossibly human. “If this works, just don’t let him come looking for me, okay? That will ruin everything.”
I quietly laughed. “I’ll do my best, but no promises. And I’m really sorry, Portia. That it has come to this.” I couldn’t imagine being in a situation so dire that going to prison or completely disappearing was plan A.
She softly shook her head, rustling her hair against her pillow. “I can’t change the decisions that got me here. All I can do is move forward. I want my freedom back, if I can have it. You know what freedom feels like to me?”
“What?”
“A sunny day at the beach. The wind in my hair, sand under my toes. Nothing but the water in front of me, endless. And no one watching me. When I can have a sunny day at the beach again, free and all to myself, I’ll know I’m okay.”
I softly smiled to myself and wondered if we’d ever cross paths on a beach someday. “That sounds nice.”
“It will be.” She adjusted her pillow with a sigh. “And I want you to know that no matter what happens tomorrow, everything will be all right. Good night, Penny.”
“Good night, Portia.” I clicked off the light and plunged us back into darkness. The soft sound of her voice carried both a resolve and an optimism that helped me close my eyes and fall asleep.
CHAPTER 14
We woke early the next morning. Gio cooked breakfast while the rest of us packed up. I wondered if Gio would return to the house or if there was a between-clients safe house cleaning crew who came through and turned it over for the next guests. Since I was already comfortable with him, especially after our shooting lesson, and because I assumed Anthony and Portia would want to spend any time together that they had left, I offered to ride with Gio for the trip.
Anthony held me back in the driveway before we climbed into the cars. “Penny, I just want to say thank you for yesterday. For asking me about Uncle Lou.” He looked at me, and his eyes dazzled a deep honey brown in the morning light. “That was very kind of you.”
I gave him a gentle return smile. “Sure.”
He swiped a hand through his hair. We’d ventured into feelings territory, and it had us both nervous. “So I can’t promise a tropical vacation quite yet, but when this all works out, can I maybe take you on a date?”
I couldn’t fight the flush that ignited in my cheeks. I took a step closer to him. “I admire your optimism that this is all going to work out.”
He quietly laughed at my callback to our night on the road. “Uh, it better work out, because I know a professor who has to make tenure by the end of summer.”
“Too bad taking down a megalomaniac billionaire and setting his wife free won’t count toward my case.”
“You should talk to your committee about that.”
“They’d be pretty hard to sway.”
His playful smile faltered at the corners. He wrapped an arm around my back and his voice grew serious. “Penny, I’m really sorry about dragging you into all of this.”
I exhaled a long, tired breath. “I mean, it’s collectively the most terrifying thing that’s ever happened to me, but if I hadn’t tried to buy those candlesticks, I never would have met you, so it’s not all bad news.”
He impishly grimaced and brought his face closer to mine. “Just mostly bad news.”
“Meh. The good might outweigh the bad.” I hungrily outlined his lips with my eyes.
“You are giving me entirely too much credit.”
“Have you seen yourself in a hideous grandpa shirt from a trunk suitcase?”
“Stop. You’ll inflate my ego.”
“I don’t think it can get any bigger,” I countered.
“There’s always room.”
“Are you going to kiss me anytime soon?”
“Is that what you’re waiting for?” he asked, his interest obvious.
“That, or for you to run out of quips.”
“I’ve got endless quips. Countless quips. Limitless quips—”
I pushed up on my toes and kissed him. He tightened his arm around my back, and I felt his smile against my lips. It was the first time we’d kissed standing up, and having to reach for it somehow made it all the sexier. He leaned into it hungrily, and I welcomed him. His tongue swept over mine, and I reached up to fist my hand in his hair. It was silky and thick, and tugging on it coaxed a little moan out of him. The sound made me want to climb him like a tree.
