hear her heartbeat even with hundreds of yards and the walls of a building separating them. Crap. Would he think her heart was racing because she was scared and in trouble?
“I’m okay, just startled,” Amber muttered so far under her breath that it was nearly inaudible.
She was still a bit skeptical about his claims, but it made her feel better to have done it, regardless.
When her call connected, Amber was instantly put on hold before she could even speak a word. She waited, tied up in knots and feeling more and more nauseous for what felt like an eternity but was in actuality only about five minutes. She was so wound up that she actually jumped and nearly dropped the phone when the same woman’s voice abruptly spoke into her ear.
“Yes, hi, this is Amber Davis Johnson, Senator Johnson’s daughter-in-law,” she said as steadily as she could. “I just found out that everyone thinks my son Matty and I are missing, and I just want to clear up this huge misunderstanding.”
She was suddenly interrupted by a hasty “please hold,” and Amber was suddenly afraid that the woman was about to hang up on her because she thought Amber was a fake caller just trolling them.
When the line was finally picked up again, a male voice said gruffly, “This is Special Agent Jones of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. I understand that I am speaking to Amber Johnson.”
Amber stiffened. She should have expected it, but yikes. Now she was ten times as nervous.
“Yes, I’m Amber Johnson. I can give you my social as proof if you like, as well as my son’s.”
At Agent Jones’s affirmative, she rattled off both numbers without hesitation.
“Where are you now?” the agent asked.
And there it was, the dreaded question.
“I’d rather not say except that a friend is helping me get into a women’s shelter for women who have suffered domestic abuse. What I can say is that I’m in the process of filing for divorce from my husband, Garrett Johnson who is Senator Henry Johnson’s only son, and I left him yesterday before the papers could be served because I felt my son and I were no longer safe in that house after he struck my son in the face hard enough to make him bleed from the mouth. I think Garrett must have lied to his father about what happened in the hope of locating us because I can’t for the life of me figure out how else today’s press conference could’ve come about. The Johnsons usually shy away from that kind of negative publicity as you can well imagine.”
“Did you report the assault of you son?” She could practically hear the skepticism drip from his voice.
“I’ve tried reporting my husband for assault before,” Amber said with real bitterness, “but he’s a Johnson. It all just got quietly swept under the rug. I doubt you’ll even find a record of it. I was warned against ever doing it again. You do the math.”
“Even so, I think it’s best you and your son return to Houston right away. There are a lot of worried people here,” Agent Jones said in a gentle, coaxing voice that immediately raised her hackles.
“I’ll be in touch with Garrett once I’ve consulted with my lawyer. Along with divorce papers, I’ll also be filing an Order of Protection against him. I have evidence of Matty’s assault.”
Amber hung up before the agent could speak again.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Amber had to pause and breathe deeply several times before she felt calm enough to speak to the convenience store clerk again. She was relieved to see that the creepy guy from before had already left. Only she and the clerk remained.
“Thanks for letting me borrow your phone,” Amber said sincerely as she handed it back to the man.
“Couldn’t help but overhear,” he said apologetically, “but are you going to be okay? There’s a motel just a couple of blocks or so due west along this same road with decent rates if you would rather not drive through the night.”
She smiled. “I appreciate the heads up. Thanks again.”
Just as she pushed open the glass door and stepped out, Amber saw a familiar, dirty white pickup truck still parked in the same slot up front. She froze.
“I heard there was a big reward for information about you,” a deep voice abruptly said way too close beside her. “A senator’s daughter, was it?”
Amber whirled around so fast that she almost lost her balance, her heart practically choking her throat. Creepy