Underestimated (33 page)

moved money? He never got suspicious? I mean that

seems like an awful lot of money to move without him

knowing? What did you say he did again?”

I didn’t…

“I’m not exactly sure. I know it has something to

do with software,” I lied. If he was going to go digging he

was going to have to have a mighty big shovel. “Yeah, we

pretty much just snuck into his office, moved money and

got the hell out of there.”

“Tell me about the day that you finally left.”

“I left a month earlier than we had originally

planned. I couldn’t take the chance on staying another

month. I was in the kitchen eating lunch with Rebecca

when Drew came in being way too happy and cheery for

Drew.

“I thought you were going to the library?” he

asked, taking a bite of my sandwich.

“We are, right after lunch,” I answered.

“I have surprise that is going to keep you very

busy, right here at home,” he chanted.

I looked over to Rebecca standing on the other

side of the counter.

“Do you mind?” he asked, and she disappeared.

“What?” I asked, wondering what in the world

could keep me busy at home.

“A baby.”

I almost choked on my own tongue. “I don’t want a

baby,” I stated.

“Doesn’t matter what you want, does it, Morgan?”

he said with a smirk and a tilted head. “You’re done

getting your shots. I will have you barefoot and pregnant in

a month,” he smiled, taking another bite of my sandwich.

Now what? I couldn’t let him get me pregnant. I

would be terrified of the monster that he could produce.

There was no way he was injecting me with that poison. I

started doing some calculating in my head. I was supposed

to have a shot in like week. How much time do I have after

my last dose before I could get pregnant?”

“I think Derik needs to drive today,” Drew stated,

got up, kissed me on my shocked cheek, and disappeared.

Was he afraid that I would try and run after that bomb?

Rebecca followed me to the nonfiction section of

the library after our silent ride to the library.

“Tell me already,” she demanded in a quiet

whisper as we pretended to look through the books.

“He’s not letting me get my next shot. He wants to

get me pregnant,” I whispered, and turned to see Derik

sitting at a small table looking right down the row at us.

He had an annoyed look on his face and looked down at

his Rolodex and then back to me. I knew he didn’t want to

be there, and was telling me to hurry.

“He what?!?”

“Shhhh,” I warned.

I picked up a book and flipped open the cover. It

was called ‘Once in a house,’ and was about a woman

held against her will, forced to marry, and bare the

children of a prince in England. I really wanted to read

that book, but I didn’t dare. I knew that Drew would throw

a royal fit about it. Instead, I chose a book of short stories

from Ernest Hemingway.

Drew was out of town for almost three weeks the

next time. I asked Rebecca everyday about a new plan and

always got the same answer. Apparently whoever Ms. K

was didn’t work like that. She couldn’t get a hold of her

and had to wait for an unknown number to send a text. She

had tried to text the numbers from before, but never got a

response.

Finally, on the day before Drew’s return she got a

message. ‘Send last donation to Sulton Flux Bank,’ it read

with the account information.

Rebecca quickly text back and told her what Drew

had planned for me, not knowing how much time she had

with the new unknown number.

“Wait for instructions,” was the only reply back.

We made our very last transaction that night.

Rebecca took care of the lights, briefly causing the

cameras to reset. I quickly went to the cameras on Drew’s

computer and froze my sleeping body on the one facing my

bed. My fingers trembled something fierce and my

heartbeat a million and one miles a minute. I had never

taken that much money at one time. I was terrified that he

was going to get an alert or something. He would know

that forty thousand dollars had just come out of six

different accounts. I quickly hit submit on the very last

transaction and stomped on the floor for Rebecca to get the

lights and get me the hell out of there.

I don’t think I slept a wink that night. I was so

nervous for Drew to come home. I wished I knew when he

coming. It could be any second or days.

Drew did know about my last transaction. He

frantically spent hours on the phone that morning when he

got home, trying to get someone, anyone to tell him what

happened to his money, and who authorized forty thousand

dollars of his money to go toward a remodel of an animal

shelter.

That was the last day that Drew had ever hit me. I

didn’t know at the time that it would be the last time. I was

sitting in his office, naked of course. It seemed like that

was when he wanted me there, when he was stressed, but

this stress was over me. He just hadn’t figured that part

out, and I silently prayed that he didn’t.

I thought after his toying with me and finally

releasing his frustration in my ass that he had calmed

down some.

“Is it okay if I go to the library?” I submissively

asked.

“For what?” he asked annoyed.

What do you think asshole?…

“Probably to get a book and get out of this house,”

I didn’t mean for it to come out so smart, but it did and I

felt the back of his hand come in contact with the same

cheekbone that had taken his blow so many times.

“You can go to the library when you can learn

some respect. Get the fuck out of my office,” he demanded

with a thick voice.

I lightly shook my head, letting Rebecca know that

he wasn’t going to allow me to go that day. I wanted out of

there so bad. I needed to tell her that he was looking for

the money.

I was silently eating lunch in the kitchen later in the

afternoon when Drew came in. I could feel the black eye

and the puffiness just below it.

“That looks pretty good, make me one and bring it

to my office,” he said talking to Rebecca and looking at

my food.

“Sure,” Rebecca replied, nicely.

“You can take her to the library after that if you

want” he stated.

Yes…

“Is Derik available to take her today? I was going

to go take a nap. I’m not feeling the best today.”

I couldn’t help it. My head just snapped right

toward her with a look of vengeance. I couldn’t believe

she was going to send me away with Derik, knowing what

he would do.

Derik never spoke in the car. I made sure to show

him my little chip that would be placed in Drew’s

computer when I got back. I hoped that would scare him

off, and he wouldn’t try anything. It didn’t. He smiled a

devious grin and turned on the radio.

“You’ve got fifteen minutes,” he warned, opening

the library door for me.

I was scared shitless. I knew that Derik was going

to do what Drew had already done that morning to me. I

went right to the nonfiction row and had to look around a

dumpy lady that just stood there in front of the section that

I wanted.

“Go to the bathroom, first stall,” she said and

disappeared.

I of course had to ask permission from Derik.

“I need to go to the bathroom,” I whispered. He

followed.

I opened the first stall door to a dark blue duffle

bag waiting for me on the floor. I quickly opened it and

read the short note.

“Change into these clothes, immediately, walk out

the front door and get into the waiting cab.”

This was well thought out. I stuck a piece of the

bubble gum in my mouth and started chewing to soften it

up. I sprayed the cheap perfume that I was sure Derik

would catch a whiff of, and pulled on the long black wig. I

was glad that my hair was up and didn’t have to waste

time on the hair with the provided hair tie.

“What the hell is this?” I wondered, pulling out a

thin sleeve of some sort. I pulled it on, and it literally

looked like I had a tattooed sleeve from my fingers to my

shoulder. I quickly undressed placing my expensive pant

suit in the bag. The jeans were old, ratty, and way too big.

I put on the flannel shirt with the cut off sleeves and

topped if off with nerd glasses and work boots. My heart

was going crazy. If this didn’t work, I knew I would be

spending the rest of my life eating carrot sticks and apples,

locked in the gym.

I threw the duffle bag over my shoulder and left

with a bubble in my mouth. I didn’t know whether I was

supposed to take the duffle bag or not, so I did. Derik was

waiting right outside, arms crossed leaning against the

wall to the left. I didn’t look at him but could see him out

of the corner of my eye. I knew I had seconds when I heard

his knuckles knock on the bathroom door, telling me to

hurry.

There were two yellow cabs parked right out front.

I panicked. I didn’t know which one to take. I just knew

that Derik was going to grab me from behind at any

second. I couldn’t even open one of the cab doors and ask

if they were going to I didn’t know where.

I stood in a frozen state, not knowing what to do. I

almost jumped out of my skin when someone grabbed my

elbow and shoved me toward the first car. They opened

the back door for me, and I got in. I didn’t even look to see

who it was. I did turn around once we were in traffic.

There were a lot of people on the sidewalk. I didn’t see

Derik anywhere.

It took forty five minutes for my heart to regulate,

and the nerves to settle throughout my body, and then it

started all over. The driver handed me a manila envelope,

chucked full of information and ID’s.

“What’s this?”

No answer. He wasn’t going to discuss anything

with me. I opened the flap and pulled out the prepaid

phone as the driver pulled off the side of the road, and I

was quickly rushed into another vehicle parked right

behind us.

“Thank you,” I said to the driver who only nodded.

I didn’t know what I was thanking him for. I didn’t even

know how much he knew.

“I need your cellphone,” my new driver said

before I exited the cab. I handed him my new prepaid

cellphone.

“Not that one,” he stated, and I fished Drew’s

phone from the pocket on the side of the duffle bag. He

handed it to the cab driver and ushered me on my way. I

had never thought about being tracked, and the panic

started all over again. I was sure he was tracking me.

I jumped again when the new phone rang in my

hand.

“Hello,” I cautiously answered.

“Are you doing okay?” the unidentified voice

asked.

I hadn’t even noticed I wasn’t breathing until that

moment. I inhaled deeply.

“Yeah, I think so. This was just so unexpected. Are

you Ms. K?” I asked.

“Yes, I am. It’s always best that you don’t know

what is happening. You have full instructions in the

envelope. I will call you later. Don’t answer any calls

from that phone unless it is this number, understand?”

“Yes, thank you Mrs. K.”

“You’re welcome. Relax, it’s over. You’re going

to be fine.”

It's over?

That was the first time that I had realized that I was

on the run. I was away from Drew, but still had no idea

where I was going. I pulled out the contents of the package

and begin to find out who I was and where I was going.

I was Lisa Fitzgerald first, and when my new

driver, who also didn’t talk to me, pulled to the front curb

of the first of six banks that I would stop and withdraw my

money, it started to become real. I was nervous as hell

there too. I just knew that Drew was onto me, and I would

be escorted to an office by bank security where I would be

held until he arrived for me. He didn’t come, and I walked

out with a seven thousand dollar prepaid Visa card, one of

many that I would accumulate during journey.

Everything started to sync in when I was driven to

the last bank by my fourth driver. This was really planned