41. Tilly

Chapter forty-one

Tilly

I stare at the road as Tommy speeds through traffic, my face as white as a hospital sheet. What is Tommy thinking? I've warned him so many times not to lay a finger on my cousin, and now he has. It's the excuse Keaton needed, and things are bound to get worse. Between my conversation with Papa and this, it feels like my entire life is crashing down around me.

I pull out my phone and send a quick text to Miranda, but it isn't answered immediately, which only manages to worry me more. When the turn to our apartment arrives, Tommy speeds past it.

"Where are you going?" I ask.

"Not home. Surely Keaton will show up there."

I don't say anything, mostly because I agree. He keeps driving, but after a while, his shoulders loosen, and he has me call our DEA agent, Ricardo Lopez. After a short explanation, Lopez agrees: do not go home.

Eventually, I stop asking where we're going. It doesn't seem like Tommy even knows. How did things get so messed up? Just a few hours ago, we were consumed by thoughts of having two little boys; now it's the furthest thing from my mind.

When my stomach starts grumbling, I finally speak up. "Tommy, I'm hungry. Can we at least stop to eat?"

He shakes his head. "I gotta get you safe, Tilly. Gotta drive until you're safe."

I put a hand on his arm. "Tommy, please. Pull over."

The furrow in his brow lowers, but he casts a quick look in my direction, and his face softens completely. He pulls over at the next exit and finds the first fast food place. After he rolls through the drive-thru, he parks the car and hands me the bag of burgers.

I pull the meal out and dig into it, but the meat is dry and salty, not my favorite combination. More than that, I'm worried about Tommy. My man has lost it. His worry for me has finally put him over the edge.

Tommy's phone rings, and he drops his food onto the paper before answering.

"Yeah? Okay, we'll be there. Thanks, Ricardo." He hangs up and runs his hands through his hair. "He got us a hotel."

"Really? That's great. Where at?"

"I don't know, but he's texting the address." As if on cue, his phone gives a chirp, and Tommy looks. "It's about thirty minutes behind us."

"Okay… And he's meeting us there?" Tommy nods, tossing the remaining burger into the paper bag. He's barely taken a bite. He starts driving again, pulling back onto the freeway without another word.

I finish my meal, eating every fry as our boys seem to have an affinity for the food, and rest my head against the window. When Sam texts, I tell her where we're headed and what happened.

Sam isn't happy. In fact, it could be argued that she's enraged. Without being asked, Sam insists on coming with some clothes for us. I don't argue; it would have been pointless. So I give Sam the address.

Thirty minutes later, we park, and Tommy gets us checked in. We walk silently up the steps to the room.

Once inside, Tommy locks the chain and the deadbolt before sitting on the edge of the mattress. His hands are at the sides of his temples. I sit next to him, letting my arm drape over his shoulder.

"Tommy, talk to me."

He shakes his head, mumbling under his breath. "Please, Tommy, you're scaring me."

His head recoils, and he gives me a shocked expression. "Tilly, I fucked up. Now we're on the run. I can't believe I let Keaton goad me like that."

I shrug my shoulders. "I can't believe I was born into a family full of such sycophants. Everyone's always so desperate to impress Tia. It's disgusting."

He chuckles at the word. I know he would. Anytime I use a big word, he makes fun of me. I secretly think it's to hide the fact that he doesn't know what it means. "Yeah, they're evil too."

I rub circles on his back. "But Ricardo's coming, right? That's gotta be good news."

"I guess."

My hand continues to brush along his back for a while, both of us silent. "So, twins?" he asks, looking at me.

I beam. "Identical twin boys. We're so fucked." He laughs loudly and flings himself back on the mattress. I lean over him, smiling. "It's the one good thing that's come from my family. We get double prizes from being pregnant."

He chuckles again, staring into my eyes. "Can we think about names for a bit?" I smile and kiss his nose before cuddling up against him. Our suggestions grow more ridiculous as we talk. Everything from cartoon characters like Scooby Doo and Shaggy to famous actors' names split in half like Roy and Roger.

But my absolute favorite is Tree and Bush. We're both giggling when there's a knock on the door. Tommy jumps up and peeks through the hole. "It's Ricardo."

He unlocks the door, and the agent walks in, looking more than a little tired in a rumpled suit.

"Evenin'," he says.

"Thanks for coming. Sorry about this." Ricardo raises a hand.

"Don't mention it. Can I sit?" Tommy nods, and Ricardo pulls the desk chair closer before sitting. He crosses his legs and lets out a long sigh.

"Any progress with the deposits?" he asks.

Though Grayson promised the deposits would begin soon, even after I spoke to Papa, we haven't seen anything yet. "Not yet. I think they're waiting for the summer rush or something."

Ricardo nods and looks over to where the bathroom is. His leg starts jiggling, and I stare. He's acting much stranger than the last time we met. The man was a confident, almost arrogant asshole at our last meeting.

"You still have the checks we gave back?"

"We put them in the business account," Tommy says. He has tensed next to me. I know he's thinking the same thing I am. Something is off.

Ricardo uncrosses his legs and rubs his hands together before leaning forward to get his wallet. He pulls a small business card out and holds it out to Tommy. "All right. I'd like for you to transfer $500,000 to this account."

I look over at the card. A routing and account number is scribbled on the back. "Transfer it?" Ricardo nods. "Why?" I ask.

Ricardo's leg starts bouncing again. "I really don't want to answer that." Before I can insist that he answer, Ricardo's phone rings. "I'm here. They have it… Okay."

With a labored motion, Ricardo gets to his feet. It's then I realize he's limping. A lot. "Where are you going?" Tommy asks, his breath coming in bursts.

Ricardo doesn't answer, only opens the hotel room door.

Papa, and the three stooges are all standing in the doorway.