The New Husband(63)

Nina tensed. That was the last thing she wanted. She knew his history—or at least the part that had put him behind bars. Hugh could be completely unstable, desperate for money. He might think she was easy prey.

“No, I’m afraid I can’t do that,” Nina said, choosing not to elaborate.

“Suit yourself,” said Hugh. He made it clear he thought she was making a big mistake. “Let me ask you this: How long have you and Simon been together?”

“Two years,” Nina said, stretching the time a bit, but not by much.

“How did you two meet?” he asked.

Nina weaved through traffic as she maneuvered to her exit, calculating she had about five minutes to devote to Hugh before she had to give her full attention to Maggie, still reeling from her missing lab report.

“We, um … we met through a friend,” Nina said, fumbling for the words, lying to protect her location.

Hugh scoffed. “Lucky you.” He sounded a sarcastic note.

“Hugh, what did you have to tell me?”

Irritation rose up inside her. Nina’s urge to have this call over and done came on strong. Her grand vision of gaining some useful insights into Simon’s past now seemed not only foolish, but quite possibly dangerous as well.

“Yeah, about that,” Hugh answered, sounding as though he were about to drift off to sleep. “Maybe we could … ummmm … work something out.”

“Work something out? I’m sorry, I’m not following—”

Alarms began going off in Nina’s head.

Hang up. Forget this. It was a stupid idea.

“Look, I’m a little short,” Hugh said, his way of an explanation.

It took Nina a moment to realize he wasn’t talking about his stature.

“Are you asking me for money?”

“I’m asking you for a fair exchange,” said Hugh. “Money for me; information on Simon for you.”

Nina stammered, searching for footing here. She had professional training on implementing treatments for alcohol and other drug problems, the role of domestic violence in drug addiction, and a host of other competencies, but none of them covered how to handle a drug addict extorting her for cash.

“I’m not paying you, Hugh,” Nina said, her confidence buoyed from taking a stand.

“Suit yourself.” Hugh was curt, but Nina didn’t get the sense he was going to give up that easy.

“Can’t you just tell me why you thought we should talk?”

Nina hit the exit ramp going ten miles over the speed limit, forcing her to pump the brakes to keep in control. She would be home in a few minutes. Time was running out, and every part of her wanted to know what, if anything, Hugh had to say. Again, she regretted giving him her phone number. Why had she been so cavalier about it? Now he could call her anytime, day or night. He could even threaten to tell Simon she’d contacted him behind his back. She felt foolish and angry with herself, but there was nothing she could do about it now.

“I’ll tell you this much,” Hugh said. “You’re not safe.”

Nina’s body seized as though she were moments away from a car crash, bracing for a collision.

“Why on earth would you say that?” Her question leaked out in a breathy whisper.

“Are you going to help me out here or not?” Hugh’s patience was gone.

“What do you want?”

Nina didn’t have to elaborate.

“Let’s say an even grand.”

An audible gasp rose from her throat. Over a week’s salary.

“No,” she said firmly.

“Okay. Okay. How about five hundred then,” Hugh countered. “I have Venmo. You can send it to me right now.”

Nina had no idea what Venmo was.

“What are you going to do with the money?” she asked.

“What do you care?”

Nina seldom gave money to panhandlers, because once she did, the choice of how they spent it was no longer in her control. Instead, she’d buy gift cards to a coffee shop or a fast-food place for those in need, and she donated to homeless shelters every year, even when money was tight. Five hundred dollars to Hugh Dolan could end up in his arm, killing him. She didn’t want that on her conscience—couldn’t handle that guilt.

“I’m sorry, Hugh. I can’t do that.”

“Suit yourself,” Hugh said, and with that, the call went dead.





CHAPTER 35


Nina arrived home shaken and anxious, trying not to let it show. She had to focus on Maggie and the latest crisis. Daisy greeted her in the foyer, so excited that she reared up and put her front paws on Nina’s waist, just like the day she’d come home from the lake in a police cruiser with blood matted in her fur.

Connor ambled in from the kitchen, drinking a ginger ale out of a tall, ice-filled glass, even though sodas were for weekends. The look he sent his mother was one of pure desperation.

“When do I go to college?”

He thumbed in the direction of the living room, where Nina found Maggie sulking on the couch, TV turned off.

“Hi, sweetheart,” Nina said, sitting down beside her daughter. She placed her hand on Maggie’s back, hoping to comfort her. Simon came into the room still dressed in his khakis and polo shirt from the school day, glasses in place, magnifying the worried look in his eyes. Maggie propped up on her elbows to glare at him.