Change of Heart - By S.E. Edwards Page 0,16

you got me involved, and I think I have a right to know.” I pause. “What would I tell the police, afterwards, otherwise?”

Rich’s head snaps in my direction. “No, Penelope,” he says very slowly, very carefully. “No. You have to promise me you won’t go to the cops over this.”

I sniff. “As if. Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t?”

“I’m serious.” His voice remains grave. “You don’t understand what’s going on. You’re playing with fire here.”

“Maybe if you told me what’s going on, instead of asking me to rely on blind faith, I’d have a better idea.” I’m tired of the way he keeps dodging my questions. “No bullshit, Richard. Tell me straight up. Who were those people, and what did they want?”

Rich exhales and puts his hands back on the steering wheel. “You just won’t let this go, will you?” he sighs.

I look right at him without saying a word. Waiting.

“And it’s not good enough for you when I say I’ll get you out of it as soon as possible?”

I frown, and shake my head. “The truth, Rich! If I’m going back there with you, even if it’s to get my own stuff, I deserve to know who might be waiting there for me.” A worse thought occurs to me. “Or, who might already know I’m with you.”

“Fine,” he says, the gravelly displeasure clear in his voice. “They want me, Penny. All right? They want me. It’s something that started a long time ago. The short of it is, I have something they want. I thought I’d be safe from them here for a while yet, but they found me.”

“You’re not being very clear.” I shake my head. “What do you have that they want?”

“God! You just keep digging deeper and deeper, don’t you?” His voice becomes more heated, more irate. “It’s a debt, okay? Something I thought I’d settled a long time ago. Clearly, they don’t see it that way.” He curses softly. “Goddammit! I don’t know why I’m telling you any of this. None of it is supposed to affect you.”

I feel the sincerity in his voice. I believe his last statement.

Gently, I put a hand on his arm, trying to comfort him. Rich shrugs me off. Then, he looks back at me and sighs. “They came last night to collect payment,” he admits. “That’s all you need to understand. This is between me and them. None of it needs to touch you.” He flexes his hands against the wheel. “It’s just… fuck, I just wish it didn’t have to happen last night. It’d be so much easier to deal with if I were alone. Now, I have you to think about, and it… complicates things.”

“Hey, I’m not some helpless baby. I can take care of myself.”

Rich looks over—and surprises me by barking a laugh. “No,” he says, “no, I can see you’re not. You got me to tell you all this.” He gives a wry smile. “You know, Penny, I think I may be starting to like you.”

***

Rich pulls to a stop about a block away from his apartment. I can see it dwarfing the smaller buildings in the distance. I can also see the rickety fire ladder we’d used to make our escape. It looks even more frail and fragile in the sun. If it hadn’t been dark last night, I don’t think I would have ever trusted it with my weight.

The drive from the diner had been quiet. It probably took my brain too long to understand the danger associated with the men who came after Rich, but as his car neared his apartment, the realization started to sink in.

Thugs. Money men. Loan sharks.

I shiver. I’d never had personal experience with that side of the world, but I’d met kids drifting through the orphanage who had. Only the most desperate got involved with those types of lenders.

I sneak a peek at Rich out of the corner of my eye. What had pushed him to seek them out? What did he have in his past that forced him to go to them? My instincts tell me it’s better not to delve too deep. However, my recent experience with Abby taught me how important knowing a person’s past can be.

The most unnerving thing about the drive back had been how calm Rich appeared the entire time. After that short burst of anger, he’d reined in and become stoic. Unaffected. Even… calculating.

Money laundering. Mobs. Organized Crime.

I can’t stop the associations from forming in my head when