Tamar provided the code and answered the other two security questions. Once they were done, she slid her cell into the special slot that was cut into the dashboard for it and started the car. The doors locked around her. The automated voice welcomed her to the vehicle and asked her if she needed GPS.
Tamar clutched the steering wheel. You need to run. She closed her eyes and blinked hard against burning tears. She had to talk to Stephen. She had to tell him before the reporter did.
“You know better than anyone that you need to get in front of this story.” The cocky jerk opened his notebook. “A few questions can sway the direction I’ll take it.”
In the quiet of the car, she cried, “What does he know?”
“Good Afternoon, Mrs. Pierce.” The automated voice from the dashboard speakers stated.
Mrs. Pierce. She was not Mrs. Pierce. She would never be Mrs. Pierce. She thought back to the day he gave it to her.
“This car is too much, Stephen. I told you I didn’t want you spending money on me.”
“I’ve spoiled myself and my mother. I don’t have any kids. Who am I going to spend it on?” he’d asked. “You have no idea how much I’m looking forward to spoiling you.”
Tamar pushed the ignition button. Within seconds, a voice greeted her with the words, “Please put on your seatbelt, Mrs. Pierce. Will you be needing GPS assistance?”
Tamar turned toward Stephen and cocked an eyebrow.
“You might as well get used to hearing yourself be called Mrs. Pierce.” He leaned in and kissed her. “You’ll be my wife soon enough.”
Feigning indignation, Tamar snatched back her head. “Who said I was going to change my name?”
Stephen chuckled. “You make a compelling argument for not changing it, and I won’t utter a word about you keeping Johnson.”
Tamar pursed her lips. She had only been teasing him. “Really.”
“I don’t care what other people call you. I just need you to know who you are.”
“I wouldn’t dream of keeping my name.”
“Good,” Stephen said. “I was kidding.”
Tamar slapped him playfully.
She felt the blood in her veins surge. How had she gotten here? “How did I let it get this far?”
She removed her gloves, reached for her phone, swiped the screen, and scrolled through her contacts for Escape Travel Agency. She pressed the phone against her chest and dropped her head back. She couldn’t run. She had responsibilities. Besides running was hard. You were never really going anywhere. You were only trying to get away from your past and the past ran harder and faster than she’d ever been able to, because her past was in her mind, memories, and heart. There was no escaping that. But as hard as it had been to disappear the first time, disappearing…again, was preferable to explaining herself.
Stephen’s face came into view. It wasn’t his good looks that haunted her right now; it was his heart that she saw. A heart she was going to be responsible for breaking. She opened her eyes and sighed.
You want to get in front of this.
Tamar reached into her pocket for his business card. She read the contact information again. Roy Cray, Feature Reporter, The City Standard. She was a writer. Some folks would say she herself was a reporter. In any event, she knew how this worked. The clock was ticking. If Roy didn’t get a quote from her soon, it would be too late to give him one.
Tamar sighed and dialed his number.
“This is Cray.”
Uneasiness clutched her stomach as she spoke. “This is Tamar Johnson.”
Silence for a moment and then, “Ms. Johnson. I haven’t gotten far. Can we meet?”
“I’m not sure I want to meet.”
“I have a story.”
Solid.
Definitive.
Sure.
When a reporter’s tone carried confidence, they weren’t bluffing.
Irritated, she replied, “Stephen has told his side of the story a hundred times already. We don’t have anything else to say.”
“This isn’t about Stephen.”
Tamar closed her eyes. She’d known it, felt it when he stopped her. She fought to keep a tremble out of her voice. “What is it?”
“I’m sure you know.” A beat of silence and then, “It’s about what happened after the video.”
Fear crept up her spine. She masked it by keeping the irritated tone in her voice. “A lot of things happened after the video.”
“Okay, then let me be more specific. You dropped out of school. I know what you were doing. I’d like a quote or two before we go to press.”
Tamar swallowed bile. “I had to change colleges because of people like you.”
“Ms. Johnson. I’m almost done with my research. I need to hear from you in 24 hours or…”
Tamar pressed the button to end the call. “Or you’ll write it anyway.”
Run!
She closed her eyes. Running was cowardly. She wasn’t eighteen years old this time. She was a grown woman who had to face up to this situation. This truth was coming out. This story had to be told. This wrong had to be righted.
Stephen will hate me.
“Mrs. Pierce, do you need GPS assistance?”
Tamar banged on the steering wheel and yelled with the same intensity. “Home!”
“We are searching for the location, Mrs. Pierce.”
She checked her mirrors. The tires screamed as she backed out of the parking space. She was not Mrs. Pierce and after she had this conversation with Stephen, she for sure never would be.
“Cancel Home.”
“Do you want to go to another location, Mrs. Pierce?”
She hesitated before saying, “The airport.”
About the Author
Rhonda McKnight is a kingdom building, book loving, homeschooling, gardening mom who has written eleven Christian fiction novels. She is the winner of the 2015 Emma Award for Inspirational Romance of the Year. She was also a 2011 nominee for the African-American Literary Award. Rhonda writes edgy stories that touch the heart of women. The themes of faith, forgiveness and hope mark her stories.
Originally from a small, coastal town in New Jersey, she’s called Atlanta, Georgia home for twenty years. She can be reached at her website at www.RhondaMcKnight.net
More from Rhonda McKnight
The Jordan Family Series
Brooke Jordan thought her Christmas was going to be boring, particularly since she’s stuck working in Montego Bay, Jamaica instead of home in Charlotte, North Carolina with her family. Paradise isn’t paradise when you’re not where you want to be, but this Christmas is anything but uneventful. Three airplanes land on the island and Brooke quickly finds herself in exchanges that cause love, temptation, and HATE to surface. Will she allow an enemy from the past to keep her from giving a little love to the man who wants to be her Christmas present?
Raine Still has never had much of an identity outside of being the daughter of the old hippie couple that own Hope House, a transitional housing facility in the worst part of Charlotte, North Carolina, and that had been okay with her until her parents died and left her alone in world.
Gage Jordan is a decorated solider discharged from the army after fourteen years due to a physical injury, but the emotional scars are far worse than anything he’s rehabbed from. He has a great job lined up and a mass of support from his family, but something is missing and he’s starting to feel like it’s Raine.
Gage thought his wounded heart had issues, but Raine’s pain is much deeper. If something doesn’t give soon they will never have a chance at love. Can he convince her to see that “hope” and faith are the balm she needs to heal her hurting soul?
The Second Chances Series
Breaking All The Rules
Deniece Malcolm is shocked and heartbroken when she finds out her baby sister, Janette, is marrying Terrance Wright, because she was the one who was supposed to marry him! Everybod
y knows there’s a rule about dating exes. Janette is pregnant and not only is this wedding happening, but Deniece has to arrange the festivities.
Deniece’s feelings and pride are hurt, but surprisingly, Terrance’s younger, sexier, cousin, Ethan Wright, is there to provide a listening ear and a strong bicep to cry on. Ethan’s interested in Deniece, but she has a rule about dating younger men. Despite her resistance, things heat up between them and Deniece begins to wonder if it’s time to break a few rules of her own.
Unbreak My Heart
Cameron Scott’s reality T.V. show career is spiraling into an abyss. She’s desperate enough to do almost anything to keep a roof over her head and provide the financial support that’s needed for her daughter and ailing grandmother. When her estranged husband, Jacob Gray, reenters her life offering a lifeline she realizes she still loves him.
Cameron has kept a painful secret that continues to be at the root of the unspoken words between them. She’s a woman of great faith, but regaining trust requires telling all and healing old wounds that she believes would destroy any chance for happiness they could have.
Jacob Gray believed he’d spend the rest of his life loving his wife, that is until he discovered she was pregnant and there was no way it could be his child. He tried to put Cameron out of his mind and heart, but five years have passed and he still loves her. Jacob risks everything, including his fortune, in hopes of getting a second chance at love. Though he quickly discovers Cameron’s not interested in rekindling what they had years ago.
Will Jacob convince her to forgive the mistakes in their past and allow each other to heal their broken hearts?
Visit Rhonda’s website to learn about her other titles!
www.RhondaMcknight.net
www.BlackChristianReads.com
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