20 –––––––– Jackie –––––––– “WHAT DID SHE say?” he asked. I put the phone down and turned to Tony Armati, a man I despised with every fiber of my being. Unfortunately, I was indebted to him and a despicable traitor to my best friend. Even though I hadn’t been able to talk Charlie out of going to Iowa, I’d tried. Not because I thought it would be better for her. But, her father had forced me into it. And I owed the bastard. He’d paid for my mother’s hospital bills after she’d been in a car accident. Unfortunately, she hadn’t had insurance and the bills had been staggering, especially for the physical therapy she needed afterward. This was before she’d met my stepdad, Tom. It had just been the two of us. I’d been nineteen at the time and desperate to find a solution. Meanwhile, Tony

