“What past trauma?”
“Well, Mr. Barnes, it’s a matter of record that you were abducted in your hometown in Georgia when you were just ten years old.”
I clench my fists.
“Held for five days and even taken across state lines to New York.”
“Turn the recorder off.”
“Only for divine intervention to step in and save you, when you and your abductor were involved in a car crash on the FDR drive.”
“That shit is not public record.”
“I’m sure your family paid to have your records sealed, but if you dig deep enough there are ways to unearth any case file. No paper trail is ever really destroyed.”
I stand up.
Fuming.
My breaths are rapid and harsh.
I want to lash out. I want to hurt someone. I want to hurt Jim.
“I know you may be angry right now, but I’m not trying to blindside you, I’m just trying to tell your story in your words.”
“That’s not a story I have ever wanted to tell.”
“Why? You could inspire so many victims. Look at what happened to you and look who you are today.”
“That’s not your call to make. That’s not why I agreed to this interview.”
“Well I could have just reported this without your input or your approval. I’m just trying to be respectful.”
“You think you’re being respectful? You think you’re doing me some sort of fucking favor?”
“I don’t understand why you’re being so secretive about this. Because you were abducted? Because a woman did it? You were a kid. It wasn’t your fault.”
“You little shit. This is my business. My story to tell or not tell. It’s not up for discussion now or at any time unless I say it is. If you publish it, I will sue you and your dime store paper. You won’t be able to get a job at any news outlet in this country. In fact, you’d be lucky if you can get a job teaching English to first graders in a third world country.”
We stare each other down.
“The story will run,” he says matter of factly.
I approach him in a threatening manner. Towering over him by height and width.
“You’re fucking with the wrong person,Jimmy.”
“And so are you. Ursula is smart enough to make her own decisions about who she wants to date, and I’m smart enough to know a good story when I see one.”
“This is your last warning.”
Especially when it comes to Owens.
I’m not to be fucked with.
Chapter Twenty-Three
URSULA
