36. Chapter 36
Chapter thirty-six
T he tiny, unassuming white building of the North Texas Bank and Trust sat meekly between a cluster of similar retail spaces. Much taller office buildings with mirrored windows surround the bustling area like guardians. Once inside, Eliza and Judas waited for a young woman, with a long braid of chestnut hair to finish with another customer before they stepped forward.
"Welcome in! How can I help you today?" her Texas drawl dripped with sweetness.
Eliza read her name tag. "Hello, Ashley, I'm Eliza Arthur and my father has an account here. Unfortunately, he's been in an…accident," she paused. "I'm his Power of Attorney on record and need his bank statements for the past month so I can reconcile the account. Can you help me?"
"Oh, I'm so sorry about your daddy, Ms. Arthur," Ashley said before a soft smile smoothed her lips. "He's such a nice man…and I'm just so excited he's going to be our next state senator. I'll just have to check your identification and match it with the records real quick."
Removing her wallet, Eliza handed her driver's license to the woman as she punched in keys on her computer. Eliza assumed she was pulling the trust paperwork to confirm the claim and match names. Once satisfied, Ashley nodded to herself before turning back to Eliza and Judas.
"I'll get all of that printed for you in a jiff. You can just wait here, I'll run back to the printer," she instructed. They waited in pregnant silence for several minutes before the teller returned to her post with a small handful of neatly stacked and paperclipped papers. "Here you go! And you tell your daddy, we're all praying for him here."
Eliza painted on her most charming smile, and Judas almost laughed. Almost. Just as suddenly as the amusement fell over him, it just as quickly dissipated. He felt sad for her in a way. How many years had she been putting on that fake smile of hers? Certainly long enough to fool her father and everyone else, but not him. He could see right through the mask and into the pain she held underneath. If he could, Judas would die a thousand deaths if he never saw that mask again.
"Thank you," she replied before turning sharply toward the door, Judas on her heel. They were barely outside the tinted glass doors and Eliza's eyes were scanning every word. Judas read quickly over her shoulder and found something interesting.
"There," he pointed to the bottom of the page. "A check for four thousand five hundred dollars written to Dr. Abigail Dupree. I wonder who that is."
"I don't know," the crease between Eliza's eyes furrowed deeper. But like a light in the darkness, a switch flipped, "Dra!"
Judas exclaimed understanding, "D-R-A. Dr. Abigail. But why is he paying her these large amounts of money? You said they went back years on the computer, right?"
"They do," Eliza nodded, looking up at him as they walked to the car. "But, who is she?"
Judas held the door for her, "Paul's not sick, is he?"
She waited for him to slide behind the wheel before answering, "No way…and if he was ill for this long, I'd know it. Judas, these payments are going back at least a decade, maybe longer. And there's no pattern to them, as far as I can tell. Two checks one year, five the next. It's so weird."
She paused to think for a moment.
"That number…didn't you find a phone number at my dad's?" she asked excitedly as a plan was rumbling in her mind. She didn't know who this person was or what connection she had to her father, but Eliza was damn sure going to find out.
Judas took his wallet off the dash of the car, "Yeah, it's right here."
Eliza nearly snatched it out of his fingers and was dialing before he could get a word in. When the phone began to ring, she put it on speaker so he could hear as well.
One ring, two rings…
"Good afternoon, Arlington Medical Group, how may I direct your call?"
"Hello," Eliza's voice was smooth and professional. "I am wondering if there is any way I can get an appointment with Dr. Dupree. I know it's last minute, but I was hoping she could see me on short notice."
Judas' eyes went round like oversized marbles.
"Are you currently a patient?" the voice on the other end asked.
Eliza's plastic smile returned, "I'm not…at least not yet. But, Dr. Dupree comes highly recommended and if there's anything you can do, I'd really appreciate it."
"Let me check."
"What the hell are you doing?!" he whispered hoarsely as the receptionist clacked on her keyboard at the other end of the phone.
Eliza covered the receiver, "Getting information."
"By scheduling an appointment with a woman you don't know? We don't even know what kind of doctor she is!" Judas protested.
She shot him a look of bewilderment. While her plan wasn't fully formed when she dialed the number, Eliza was fairly confident that she wasn't dealing with anyone who handled medical issues exclusive to men.
"Are you still there?" the gentle voice asked.
"Yes, of course," Eliza shot a warning look at Judas.
"Well, I don't have anything today, but I can get you in at eleven am tomorrow, if that would work for you?"
A grin spread across her face and she winked in his direction, "Eleven is great."
The gesture caught Judas off guard. It was simple, provocative, and conspiratorial. It sent a shot of electricity through him and made his heart flutter with excitement. She was sexy as hell even in the most inane moments.
"Name for the appointment?" the receptionist asked.
Without hesitation, Eliza replied, "Beth. Beth Christian."
The words hit Judas so hard in the chest that he couldn’t breathe for a moment. He worked hard to contain his momentary shock as she finished up the call, but he knew she could see it written all over his face.
Disconnecting the call, she bit her lip, "I had to give them a name. I couldn't give my own just in case."
Judas felt the slow creep of a smile cross his face, "That… um… it just caught me off guard."
Her face flooded with pink as embarrassment filled her mind, "I'm sorry if that was too much."
Judas chuckled out his disbelief that she still didn’t understand how much she meant to him. He didn’t say a single word. Leaning across the front seat, he wrapped his fingers around the nape of her neck, winding his fingers in her hair and pulling her face to him. His lips connected with hers as his tongue gently urged her lips to part. He held her there against him as she cradled his face in her hands.
Finally, he leaned away just enough to rest his forehead against hers. She was breathless from the love she felt in his kiss.
"Eliza," he breathed, his voice barely a whisper, "I want nothing in this world more than to give you my name. Hearing it now, I just… I thought my heart might actually beat out of my chest. I have never heard sweeter words in all my life."
She smiled, kissing him again. Gently, just a little peck against the soft skin of his lips.
"Well, that's pretty impressive," she said, "because you're like… really old."
A deep laugh left his chest as he leaned back staring across the front seat watching her. He could still see the stress of the last few days etched into her skin, but he could also still see the radiant glow that emanated from her at all times.
Staring into his eyes, Eliza continued, "Right now, my world is upside down and I don't know what is going to happen. I do know, though, that I am yours and if you ever wanted to share your name with me, your real name…I would wear it with pride."
Judas was sure she could see his glow of love for her shining from the depths of his soul in that moment.