“Idon’t.”
“Oh, right. Just a little hacking on the side. Forfun.”
“Not for fun.” My voice was loud and low. I didn’t want to sound mean, but she was starting to piss me off with her accusations. What I did wasn’t fun. It wasimportant.
“Oh, right. For the publicgood.”
“I’ll explain. But you have to comein.”
“No. I’m not going in there right now. I need tothinkand I can’t think clearly when you’re around. Didn’t you believe in me? Didn’t you believe I could do it on my own?” she whispered, and it crushed me. “Didn’t you think I could win this election withoutcheating?”
“You didn’tcheat.”
“No, butyoudid.”
“It’s not cheating if it’sreal.”
“What do youmean?”
“I mean Riley has spent the last five years embezzling from his fancy uptown firm. He’d have gotten caught sooner or later. I just made sure it came out before it was toolate.”
She sniffled. Oh, shit. She was crying. “I wish you hadn’t done that, Zach. I wish you could undo it.” I reached for her, but she shifted out of my reach again and I let her. “I’m not okay with this. I don’t even know if I can stay in the race now. I can’t win like this,I—”
“Don’t. Don’t drop out.Please.I’ll apologize. I’ll turn myselfin.”
“No.” She backed away, leaving me alone and so fucking pissed. “No. You do you, okay Zach? You do whatever it is you do…and I’ll do me. I just wish you’d given me achoice, youknow?”
She clomped down the stairs and when I started after her, she turned and whispered, “Stay.”
I did, though I hated it. But what I hated even more was my relief that I wouldn’t have to chase her out there, into theworld.
I listened to her steps crunch down my front walk, to the waiting car, listened to the door close, and to the rattling engine of the car that carried her away from me. And I didn’t do a damned thing to stopher.
Veronica
O’Neal tookme back to her place, this little cottage close to the ocean, and set me up on her sofa with white wine, which I gulped like a fiend, and Chinese food, which I ignored. She ran out to the store and came back with those lotiony tissues, more wine, and five flavors of icecream.
“So, you’re done withhim?”
“I don’t know. I want to be done witheverything.”
“What? No. No, V, no way. You drop out of this race and there’s no oneto—”
“I’m done, O’Neal. I’m so tired. I’ve worked so hard for this and to have it happen thisway’s—”
“Bullshit.” She leaned into my face, with that no-nonsense expression I’d seen her use only a handful of times. Scary. “I don’t care how it came to light, but Rylie was a crook. Wouldn’t you say we have enough crooks in government?Honestly?”
“But that’s the point, see? Don’t you get it? If I accept this… this gift or whatever it was meant to be, then I’m just as crooked as theyare.”
She leaned back, refilled our wine glasses and sniffed, conceding the point. For now. “Rylie screwed his own pooch,V.”
“I know. But I’m not going to profit fromit.”
“The entire community would profit from it if you dothis.”
“Ican’t.”
“So, what are yourchoices?”
