“That’s fair. I’m still angry with me, too.”
At least he seemed to understand why she couldn’t forgive him. “I’m not ungrateful,” she said finally. “It’s just that hiding me from the police has probably made me look more suspicious. Guiltier. Like I have something to hide.”
He frowned. “I’m trying to protect you the best way I know how.”
“You act like you haven’t been changed by your money, but you have,” she said. “It’s so obvious that you don’t think the rules apply to you. That’s why you can do whatever you want when the cops show up. You think you’re above the law.”
“I don’t throw my money around, Heather,” he retorted.
“No, you don’t,” she said. “Because you don’t have to. The rest of us don’t have that luxury.”
“Which is why I want to help you,” he said. “Why are you being like this?”
She’d tried to explain, but it was clear Simon didn’t understand what it was like to have to struggle. His entire adult life had been success after success. Meanwhile, she had been an utter failure. Accepting his help now was just going to show him that his behavior had been okay, when it wasn’t. If she accepted more help from him, it would be like accepting that she couldn’t amount to anything other than a screw-up. With her son looking up to her, she refused to give in and become a permanent failure. She would claw her way out of this mess on her own.
“What did the police say?” she asked finally.
“They weren’t here to arrest you,” he replied. “But I think they came down here to send a message. They seemed suspicious, and from the way they were acting they seemed to think they have... something. It’s like they came down here to catch me in a lie.”
Her heart squeezed in panic. If the cops had something incriminating, they had probably asked questions they already knew the answer to. They might not have shown up to arrest her, but their line of questioning had obviously been a test. If Simon failed that test, she was done for. “And did you lie?”
“No. But I wasn’t forthcoming, either,” he said. “The problem is, I talked to them without a lawyer.”
“Simon, that exposes you to whatever the police decide,” she said. “It’s dangerous to talk to the police without a lawyer present.”
“I know,” he ground out. “It wasn’t my best decision, believe me. But, under the circumstances, I had to keep them away from you. They might not have been here to arrest you, but they definitely weren’t here to give you the benefit of the doubt. Answering their questions would have exposed you to a lot of legal risk.”
“But you answered their questions,” she pointed out. “You put yourself at risk.” She groaned loudly. “This is why I didn’t want you to help me like this. Now that you’ve stuck your neck out for me you’re in trouble, too. What if the police come after you because they think you’re protecting a criminal?”
“I’ll worry about that when it happens,” he muttered. “For now, I’m just glad that they didn’t get their hands on you.”
“Even if that means you could get into trouble, too?” she asked.
He nodded, saying nothing.
His determination to protect her was only going to get him into trouble. Facing jail time for something she didn’t do was horrible enough, but the thought of Simon going down with her was making her sick. Her stomach soured.
“I can’t let you do this,” she said. “Do you have a contact for the police? I can get in touch with them, set up a meeting, and get them to focus their attention on me—”
“Are you insane?” His jaw tightened and he stared daggers at her. “That’s the last thing you should be doing. That will just put a target on your back, when you have enough on your plate.”
“Simon, I’m grateful for your help, but I’d never forgive myself if you ended up getting in trouble with the police because you were trying to protect me.” She let out a shuddering breath, suddenly spent from their argument. “It was a mistake for me to ask for your help earlier. I won’t do that again. Please. I’m begging you. Stop helping me.”