Outrush by Errin Stevens

Author:Errin Stevens
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Indie Author Project
Published: 2019-03-23T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Thirteen

Thad no longer wished to address his problems alone. But with Nate already intolerably cozy – and Thad feared they were both being watched, in which case it wouldn’t do to appear any closer – he only had one other option. He certainly couldn’t confide in anyone outside the family, since no one else would understand why he’d made the choices he had. Even longtime friends who knew of his personal travails wouldn’t get it, and never mind the reaction he’d receive from the rest of America.

“I had to take control of my life after my wife’s illness, and I wanted a more expansive persona than the one assigned to me,” he imagined saying. He could picture the blank stares he’d receive in response. And the pitchfork-toting mob that might hunt him afterwards. So, no.

Stu had yearned for his collegiality since adolescence, which was another reason Thad called him in, although chances for solidarity would likely evaporate if Thad led with his plan to have Maya murdered. That still hadn’t been accomplished, even though she’d been located soon after Thad had called in the hit, and the last he’d heard, an assassin was on his way to her. This time, however, she’d made a more cunning disappearance than the one after their tête-à-tête in his office, because no one could find her, not how she escaped, not where she’d holed up. Perhaps the feds had entered her into witness protection, but in that case, why was he still here? If she had ratted him out, where was the swarm of officers appropriating his computers and cell phone? Where was his arrest? And the most convincing absence of all: where were the media vultures?

He bolstered his spirits with the knowledge his fund was easing its way into legitimacy at this very moment, and he and Nate had carefully avoided leaving a paper trail… so perhaps they’d dodged government attention. An audit would still land him in trouble, since electronic trades were publicly recorded, and a capable investigator would know to cross check their dates against the coincidental withdraws and transfers Thad had made from his personal accounts.

If she’d known what she saw that night in his office, Maya could still undermine his efforts.

He set these musings aside when his son entered his office. On the phone, Stu had exhibited less enthusiasm for a meeting than Thad had anticipated, a condition which seemed to extend to his arrival now. His son’s manner was too careful, his perusal too sharp as he paused inside the threshold.

Thad made an immediate effort to seem congenial. He smiled warmly, although the action felt like it might crack his face. Stu’s frown deepened. “Dad, are you okay?”

Thad inspected his shoes. No. No, he wasn’t, not that he’d wanted the answer to be so obvious. Apparently he wasn’t projecting the image he’d intended. He stood abruptly, gunning for a distraction – both from his unease and Stu’s scrutiny. Maybe if he moved around, focused on something other than his nerves, he’d regain them.

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