Marx Girl

“Bridget, we won’t fucking be alive tonight if you don’t get your shit together. Transfer the damn money now.”

“Oh.” I fumble with the phone and nearly drop it. “What am I doing?”

“Transfer one-hundred-thousand dollars from my savings into the other account.”

He throws a pair of jeans on while I concentrate on my job. I click into the account.

Savings $5,960,000.62

Everyday $82,000.00

I scowl. “What the hell? Why do you have so much money in your account?”

He throws his T-shirt over his head. “For a rainy day. Hurry up.”

I transfer the money, check it, and then double-check it again before I hit transfer. “Okay, done.” I look up at him and he zips the last suitcase up. “Now get your phone and write down the phone numbers you want.”

“Huh? Why?”

“We are leaving the sim card here. Hurry,” he growls.

I grab my phone and scramble through it, writing down Mum’s , Tash’s, Abbie’s, and Adrian’s phone numbers.

“Done?” he asks.

I nod, and he takes my phone apart, removing the sim card, and puts it under the mattress. I grab my clothes and throw them on as I watch him do the same to his. I slip into my low heels.

He glances down at my feet. “Get some comfortable shoes on.”

I frown. “Why?”

“Bridget… just fucking do it,” he growls.

I screw up my face, in tears. “You’re scaring me,” I cry.

His face softens with guilt and he grabs my hand in his. “Didge, let’s go, baby. It’s okay.” He tries to calm me. “You just need to hurry up.”

I bend and quickly tie up the shoes of my runners. Ben opens the door and looks both ways. He holds his hand up for me to stay where I am.

I hold my stomach as I try to control my racing heartbeat. Oh my God, oh my God.

He grabs my hand and we walk out into the corridor, down to the lifts where he hits the button hard three times.

“If we get separated go straight to a police station and call Brock and Joshua to come and get you. Don’t leave there without them,” he tells me quietly.

My eyes widen in horror. “What’s going to happen?” I whisper.

The elevator dings and he clenches his jaw, as if expecting something. My heart actually stops beating. I can feel the pause. The doors open to reveal an empty elevator and I close my eyes in relief. We get in and he pushes the button to the basement. I glance at him in question, but I hold my tongue.

The elevator opens into the underground parking lot. He grabs my hand and we walk out, dragging our cases behind us.

“Where are we going?” I ask.

“We’ll get a cab and go to the bank to withdraw some money. Then we’ll lay low for a couple of days,” he replies as he marches across the parking lot. I nearly have to run to keep up. “It’s fine. Don’t worry,” he adds.

“Is it really fine?” I ask.

His eyes flicker to me, and I instantly know it’s not.

For fuck’s sake. I clench my jaw so hard it feels like I’m going to crack my back teeth.

We walk over to the drive-through gates that open up onto a side street, and Ben hits the button. The security gate begins to slowly roll up.

Please don’t let them find us, please don’t let them find us, I keep chanting in my head. We walk out onto the street and Ben hails a cab. Miraculously, one stops straight away, and we scramble into the back of it.

“The closest Bank of America, please,” Ben instructs.

The cab driver nods and pulls out into traffic. Ben puts his arm around me and then pushes my head down onto his lap.

I frown, but he glares at me. Oh, he’s hiding me. Jeez. I thought he was trying to be sexy. Oh, God. I’m an idiot.

He then drops his head and puts his hand up to shield his face.

Oh no, he must think they’re out there looking for us.

“When we get to the bank, my wife will stay in the car with the bags, if you could just circle the block a few times, please?” he asks the driver.

“Sure,” the driver replies.

I grab Ben’s hand across the seat. “I want to come with you,” I whisper.

“No. Stay here.” He glances out the window and then back to me. “You know what to do if we get separated.”

I grab his hand and the cab pulls over.

“Just circle the block; I’ll only be a moment.” He jumps out and runs across the road and I watch him disappear into the bank. The cab pulls back out into traffic and I drop my head. Oh, my God. How did this happen? Why did he go to the damn security box and get those papers?

What was he thinking?

Now he’s put us in danger and I have no fucking idea what’s going on. We circle the block a few times, and then finally I see him on the side of the road.