The Lies I Believed

Rylie Devine

I ended up putting on the wig and Aaron told me what he wanted me to do. I'm so tired of people dragging me around to do their dirty work. Maybe I shouldn't have gone to Jackson after I moved. My own fault. If I show myself to other people as a threat, they're going to treat me as one.

In the lobby, there were some people waiting for Aaron. They saw me with him and their demeanors changed. What? Did any of them recognize me? I really hope not. I recognized two of them and they alone caused me to panic. I wronged them in so many ways. They probably think of killing me when they hear my name.

"Hello, gentlemen," he greeted them. They nodded at him. "I promised you guys some information in exchange for my money."

"We have your money," one man said. "Do you have what we want?"

"She knows where the files are. She'll lead us to them tomorrow night."

"How do we know you're not lying?"

"I'll be with her that night. If she doesn't lead us directly to it, her family dies."

"...Collateral?"

"Yes. She knows I don't play games. The last time she tried something, her mother died. You can trust me on this."

"Good. Here's half of your payment. As soon as we get the files, we'll give you the other half."

"Once we have what you need, I'll send the address of our meeting place."

"We'll be looking for that. Any later than noon and we're coming for you both."

Aaron nodded and took the briefcase they had. How come no one here was saying anything? There's no way this happens everyday for it to be a normal thing. They ought to be getting arrested right now. How much has Palm Springs changed since the last time I was here?

Aaron spoke to the men for a while longer, before they walked out of the hotel. I stood there in silence, wondering what the heck had just happened. Aaron didn't say anything for a few minutes. After texting someone, he finally turned to me.

"I'm picking you up tomorrow night," he said. "If you're not ready, I'm going to kill your son."

"...I'm not even going to be here tomorrow night," I snapped.

"You're going to be here tomorrow night."

"I'm going to be at a party tomorrow night. If I leave before it's even over, everyone is going to know something is wrong. You can't keep me from living my own life."

"...Trust me," he started. "If you value your child's life, you'll do as I say. By eight, I want you back here ready to leave. If you're even a second late, a bullet goes in between his eyes. You tell anyone about me and I'll know."

I didn't have any choice but to agree. If anything happens to Vincent, I don't think I could ever forgive myself. If Asher finds out that it's all my fault, he'll probably turn into Luca and take my kids away. That's the best case scenario. Him finding out and resulting to violence is a world I don't want to live in. I'd rather him resent me forever than stay with me and take his anger out on me.

"Fine." I sighed. "I'll find a way to get here. If anything happens to my son, I'm coming for you."

"Sure you are. Just take care of yourself. Come with the wig. I see you without it and it's you who's dying."

"Whatever."

I really hate my life.

🔲 🔲 🔲 🔲 🔲

Rylie seemed to sense that I wasn't in the mood to joke around when she finally pulled up. The gates squealed closed as she got out of her car. She smiled at me, but didn't crack a joke about my past as she unlocked the door.