Page 123 of Perfect Assumption

My lips curve despite the storm causing the waves to crash up against the bluff. “I can’t thank you enough, Sula. I just need time…”

“Angie, time just ran out. You havenoidea of what you’ve missed.”

Tucking my chin and haunching my shoulders, I hold out a hand. Steady as a rock. “It’s okay, Sula. I’m okay. I’m safe, he can’t get to me…”

“Angie, he’s going down!” she screams. “If you didn’t answer, I was going to call the damn Instacart guy to leave a note in your damn groceries! They nailed him. There’s proof Michael paid off witnesses—a class E felony. Some as recently as two years ago.”

My breath backs up into my lungs. “What?” is all I can manage.

“He’s been voted off the board of XMedia.”

“That’s not possible.” I shake my head like she can see me.

“Not only possible, it’s hit news all over the world. Stock prices for XMedia are tanking.” I suck in a sharp breath as Sula barrels on. “There’s a massive civil suit that this bigwig attorney, Chase O’Hara, took on—pro bono—for all of his victims.”

“Holy crap.” All his victims? “How many are there?”

“So far, dozens have spoken up publicly. But some aren’t coming forward.” Her jab is pointed, and the aim is true.

Like me.The thought moves insidiously into my mind. Shoving it aside, I whisper, “What started all of this?”

“I don’t know.”

“What do you mean you don’t know. How far back does this go?” I demand.

“Someone, somehow, managed to link him all the way back to bribing students and faculty members on the Student Conduct Board!”

No.My mind immediately rejects the possibility.It can’t be possible.

Could it?

“Angie, you know what this means? Don’t you?” Sula’s voice is filled with tears of happiness and relief. “You can do anything. Be anything. Go anywhere. There’s no need to live in the shadows anymore.” The unspoken words she’s not saying are,There never should have been.

My mind’s whirling. “Are you sure, Sula? How certain are you of this? What about Stephen?”

Then a voice says from behind me. “Why don’t you ask me about all of it since I know everything?”

I gasp, frightened, whipping my head around with the phone still to my ear. And there he is, his dark hair a mess from the storm. Or, from long hours of running his fingers through it. He holds up the spare key I replaced. “Tell Sula thanks for letting me know where to find this.” It falls harmlessly from his hands.

And along with it, my heart. I wait until the pounding is under control before I state the obvious. “You knew where I was.”

“I’ve known where you were since the Monday after you left my condo.”

“How?” My brow furrows.

“I called Sula. After I explained the many ways I planned to fix every goddamned thing that happened, she told me you were safe.”

“I was.” He flinches. I hastily add. “I mean, I have been. God, I didn’t mean to leave you standing there. Come in. Sit down. I know it’s a long drive from the city.”

He steps forward slowly, uncertain of his welcome.I did that,I think achingly.By running instead of standing by his side—fighting.I lift the phone to my ear. “I’ll call you back.” I hang up on a squawking Sula. Tossing the phone to the couch, I start to stand.

He lifts a hand. It freezes me in place.Oh, God. What if he came just to tell me goodbye?

“In the beginning, I know I judged you differently than the rest of the world, perhaps. But, I cast judgments nonetheless.” he begins.

I remain silent as he crosses in front of me, taking a seat on the antique coffee table, not giving a damn he’s dripping water on it. I can feel the heat of his body as his legs surround mine, physical arrogance mingled with emotional need.By listening with his heart,he taught me we’re so alike.My heart flutters slightly at the memory of his hands showing me the beauty of my own body, the pleasure two lovers can bring each other.

Shared memories flash back and forth between us. He reaches for my hand, and I give it without hesitation. Shock, pleasure, then wretched pain flow across his face. “I thought I knew what it was to hurt, how the heart could die. That was, until the night you trusted me with everything that happened to you.”