all that?”
“I do.”
The doctor comes in at that moment and checks her vitals; he tells her that beyond the loss of the baby and a concussion, she should be okay. Okay? How will she ever be okay again after this? How will she be okay once she realizes that this was more than a random mugging?
“Katie,” I call after the doctor has gone. “Have the police been here yet?”
“No, not yet.” I take off my jacket and toss it on the chair covering her purse with it.
“When was the last time you talked to Brandon? Please be honest with me.”
“I saw him a few days ago, but I swear to you, Victoria, I hadn’t been in touch with him before that, and he called me.”
“It’s okay. What did he say?”
“He asked to meet me for lunch. I thought he wanted to talk about the baby. I thought he was going to tell me that he had changed his mind about not wanting it.”
“But he didn’t change his mind, did he?”
“No. He offered me ten thousand dollars to get an abortion and promise to never speak to or about him again.”
“I see.” I nod my head all the while telling myself to keep calm.
“I didn’t take it. You have to know that. I didn’t want his money, and I told him that I wasn’t going to get rid of my baby. He got mad at me, threw enough money on the table to cover lunch, and left me there.”
“Katie,” I say, my voice full of sympathy. She shakes her head at me, her eyes once again full of tears; her eyes suddenly appear full of realization.
“I wasn’t mugged, was I?”
“No, you weren’t mugged.”
“But why, why would he do this?”
“Because he’s an evil asshole,” I tell her, giving her hand a squeeze. “Listen to me. When the cops come, you tell them what you told me, that you were mugged. You tell them they took your purse.”
“But-”
“I will take care of this, Katie. I promise that I’ll make him pay, but you have to trust me. You do not want your relationship with Brandon getting out; it would be bad for all of us. I’m taking your purse with me; I’ll return it to you as soon as you get out of here.”
“Okay,” she agrees, quickly understanding the gravity of the situation.
“I’ll be back in the morning. Please, no contact with Brandon. It will only make things worse.”
“I never want to see his face again. Do you promise he’ll pay?”
“I promise.”
That out of control feeling has come back, the one that leaves me feeling vulnerable and on edge. I don’t know what to do. I know what I want to do, I know that I would love to go grab a bat and bust a few kneecaps, but that’s obviously not an option.
I walk out of the hospital, and Parker is there waiting for me.
“Thanks for coming to get me.”
“It’s my job; you should have called me to bring you, too.”
“I figured you were sleeping. I thought you deserved at least a few hours of sleep.”
“I appreciate that, but next time, you call me.”
“I will. Would you do me a favor and hold onto this purse for me. I just need to keep it out of sight for a few days.”
“Yes, ma’am,” he says taking it from me and shoving it under the passenger seat. “Where can I take you?”
“Could you please take me home?”
“Of course.”
I stare at my cell for a moment, wanting to call Nathan but knowing that I won’t be able to tell him the whole truth, knowing that I have to get my emotions under control before I get home.
“Hello?”
“Ivy?”
“What’s wrong?”
“You have to talk me down off this ledge right now because I’m about to lose my shit.”
“Tell me what happened.”
I take a breath and tell her the story. I tell her how this young girl was counting on me and I let her down. I should have thought ahead, for the eventuality that a powerful man like Brandon Miller would not want an illegitimate child out there. He would not want that child to grow up and come knocking on his door in eighteen years. I should have anticipated that and kept her safe somehow.
Of course, Ivy says all the right things. She does her best to reassure me and tell me that I did everything that I could do. She tells me that I’ve gone above and beyond in helping her and all of the girls