Tollin had been brilliant in business and that same arrogance had ruined his life. He’d undeniably loved Eliza and he would have cut his heart out if it meant losing her. He’d assumed that their political views weren’t the same, because whenever they talked politics, they’d never been on the same page. So...to save face; and to avoid arguments; Tollin had decided that politics would have to be one of their off-limits topics. He had loved her, but he’d kept his politics to himself. From the start, he’d had it in his mind to approach the governor himself, with the promise of donations in excess of half a billion dollars. With that kind of money behind him; he’d imagined that the payoff for him would come in many ways. Maybe a seat on the presidents cabinet, or better yet; a bill that would favor one of his industries. The sky would have been the limit and that’s what Tollin had always wanted; the sky, the moon and the stars--and Eliza. For months, Tollin had bought information from the governors staff, finding out what he would need to know, before he made his pitch. According to their collective voices, Andrew had planned to host a lavish party at his Wyoming ranch. Before arriving, one of the cooks who’d traveled there in the past had revealed the most promising piece of intelligence. The ranch had three entrances, and only one of the entrances would be manned to receive the guest. Tollin had seen this as his golden opportunity. When he’d arrived near the ranch, it had not been until then that he’d realized the enormity of the property. For as far as the eye could see, the property stretched out, taking up the vast majority of the county. Finally, when he’d reached a dirt road with a sign pointing to the ranch; Tollin had turned left, crossing through an open gate. When he’d learned about the party, he’d assumed that Andrew would be barbecuing, for a select group of his closest family and friends. He’d even assumed that he would run across one or two people of his acquaintance. He’d traversed the gravel paved road, rehearsing lines, assured that his offer wouldn’t be refused. His attentions had been elsewhere and not on the road. Not on the fact that his assertions had been just that; assertions. His hopes. His dreams. When in fact--something had been awry. The scale had tilted, and so had his assumptions. The casual party that he’d assumed to be in progress--in fact, had not been a casual party at all. The party had been a gift from Andrew Wilcox; a gift from him to his favorite niece, Amy. It had been Amy’s birthday, and his sister Gloria had consented to allow him to host the party at his ranch. Thirty screaming children of ages five, six and seven had overtaken a strip of the property closest to the main house. The kids had been given free rein, to run, play, seek and hide. The area where the cars had been parked had been roped off, and a team of security people and staff had ensured that the children didn’t play there. With his information in hand, Tollin had sped down the back road, topping speeds of seventy, sending a cloud of rocks and dirt flying in all directions. At times, the cloud would consume the car, making visibility impossible--and that’s when it had happened. When his car had collided into Amy, Tollin had only known that he’d hit something. He’d slammed on his brakes, and then all around him; in slow motion, he’d watched as his life crumbled. People came from all directions to save her, but Amy had been broken beyond any surgeons ability to fix her. And there had been a red balloon; the balloon that Amy had been running to catch. Tollin had been detained for questioning but there had been no jail time. Andrew’s ranch had been in one of the smaller counties and the population had been ninety-seven citizens. With a population as small as that, it didn’t take long to spin the wills of justice. After the funeral, there had been a small trial and Tollin had not been blamed. According to the findings, the sheriff had testified, that the south gate leading onto the property had not been closed and in the past, that particular road had been liberally used as a way to approach the property. Eliza had lost her heart to Tollin months earlier, and it had only seemed right not to abandon him when he’d needed her most. So, she’d stuck by his side during the trial but when Morpheus had told her to silence Tollin for good, or else; she’d not fully understood him. After the death of Amy, Tollin had loss all interest in everything. He didn’t talk about Andrew...and he rarely talked about anything else, except that day. The day that Amy had died. And according to Morpheus, that had been the problem. Tollin’s focus had shifted from Andrew, to his sister-- Gloria Wilcox-Randolph; Amy’s mother. Tollin couldn’t live knowing that a person hated him for killing their only child. More than anything, he needed to hear her say that she would forgive him. Almost daily, Tollin tried to contact her in one way or another. He’d used every source available to him; the internet, social networking sites, email, text messages. He wouldn’t stop--even when Eliza begged him to. One day, she’d been at the governor’s house discussing an issue regarding one of his mistresses while his wife had been off on an errand. Andrew’s sister had been there, and Eliza had stood stunned, watching a shit storm firsthand. Gloria had changed her number several times since the death of her only child, and somehow Tollin had managed to get her number--every time. On that day, Gloria had received a text, begging her to accept money and Tollin’s apology. After that, Eliza had to leave the room because Andrew’s anger had hit the ceiling, threatening to implode. Tollin had been out of control and at that point, no amount of begging worked. He simply wouldn’t listen to her. By then, Morpheus had issued a directive; demanding that Eliza cut all ties. He told her that he would deal with Tollin later. At that point, Tollin had no interest in politics or Andrew Wilcox. Morpheus had expressed to Eliza; Tollin was a broken, grieving man. Eliza bit back the tears because the pain of that day still lingered. She wouldn’t relive that mistake. Not ever. What a mess she’d made and she blamed herself for Tollin’s death. She’d replayed their last fight in her head a thousand times, and she’d remembered their conversation word for word; but in the end, her near perfect memory didn’t change the outcome. He had not listened to her. Even after she’d done what Morpheus had told her to do. Tollin was dead and she would always blame herself.
She shifted her weight, coming to a sitting position. After Tollin, she didn’t think that she would ever fall in love again--but she had. Gotdammit--she had. And with of all people; the son of Morpheus Gustafson. Eliza walked into the sitting room and she’d caught him standing nude, staring out of the window. Today’s little adventure had landed them in Austin Texas and the city had gone to sleep hours ago. She walked up behind him, wrapping her arms around his waist. She felt a rise and fall when he heaved in a hefty dose of air.
She said...
“Was it easier when you didn’t know?”
He closed his eyes because in his current situation, her question was inconsequential. Finding out the truth had been bound to happen, primarily because he’d conceded to the terms of his job. Eliza was a fixer, and she’d hired him to be her assistant. He’d understood when she’d explained this to him and when he did things that tested his moral conscience; in those moments he drew strength from his love for Eliza. How had this happened to him. Before the New Year had begun, he’d accepted a job in Denver. The position and the pay had not been the best, but he’d secured the position and he’d been proud of that. Then he’d made the darn fool decision to see his father. Bolden wanted to rant curses, because months ago, he’d been honest with himself; his life wasn't his own, and he blamed his father for that. His father had secured his future and he wondered at what cost. In spite of his father’s wrangling, he couldn’t wholly blame him because he'd taken the bait. When he’d caught his first sight of Eliza, he’d been floored by her beauty. Then after the first time they’d made love, he couldn't get enough of her.