Poor Osgood Pt. 02

She smiled, spit running down her chin. "Yeah, baby," she said back, moaning, "I'll always be your slut."

The Next Morning

She didn't sleep that night at all. In the morning she began making plans to get the money. She called the bank and spoke to the branch manager to arrange to withdraw the money. He informed her it would take 24 hours to secure the appropriate approvals and get her that amount of cash.

"Dear god," she thought, "that barely leaves me any time."

She didn't even know how much space that much money took up or how to carry it to Dante without being robbed. She

She didn't trust Dante and knew he wouldn't stop. If she gave him the money, what was to prevent him from just demanding more and more money, or worse. She shuddered and ran to the bathroom to throw up. As she lay on the floor, face over the commode, Osgood spoke to her softly from the doorway.

"Are you feeling ill, my love?" his voice showed his deep concern for his wife. He knew something terrible was

She raised her head and quickly made up a story. "I'm sorry, I think I ate something that has disagreed with me. Can you give me a few minutes?"

He smiled and retreated from her room again. She felt bad for lying to him, but she couldn't tell him what had happened. She knew it would be far worse if he knew the truth.

There was no hope now. She thought about running away, taking the money herself and leaving. But, if she didn't pay him, Dantie would send the videos and who knows what else to her husband, the National Enquirer and probably more. She could leave everything behind and run, so long as it meant nobody would be hurt. But, she knew Dante wanted revenge.

As she sat there, lost and afraid, Tyrone came into the room. He could see she was distraught. "Hello, Mrs. Whitmore, is there something wrong?" he asked, concern clear in his voice.

She met his eyes and started to cry again. She shook her head no, but couldn't hold his gaze. "This is not about a sick aunt, is it?"

She didn't answer him.

"Is this about your ex-husband?" he asked softly, sitting down next to her on the couch.

"What?" she asked, trying to act like she didn't understand, "What do you mean?"

"Does this have anything to do with your ex-husband Dante Jones getting out prison?"

She was in disbelief. "How do you know that?" she blurted out before she caught herself. She could feel her heart pounding in her chest. Her reality seemed to be spinning out of control.

"I'm head of security for your husband, Mrs. Whitmore; there's very little I don't know. I know about your life when you were young. I know you ratted your husband out and your testimony sent him to prison for a very long time. I know he recently got out. I know he was bad news back then and that he's not here to discuss the weather."

She was shaking uncontrollably and was on the verge of being sick again. "Does, Osgood know?" she asked, afraid to hear the answer.

Tyrone didn't answer her. Instead, he put a hand on her shoulder. "I also know you are a good woman who changed her life. I know you love your husband and your kids. I know you deserve to be happy, and not to be victimized by Dante Jones. I will help you, but you have to be honest with me if you want my help."

"Help me how?" she asked staring at the head of security, feeling a glimmer of hope. She didn't know what he could do but knowing he was offering to help gave her great relief.

"What did Dante want yesterday when he approached you after your yoga class? Did he threaten you?"

She was again shocked, "How do you know about that?"

He just stared at her.

"He said I owe him for twenty-two years of being stuck in prison. He wants me to give him $100,000 by tomorrow at 2 PM." She felt an odd sense of release having told this dark secret to someone.

"Or what?" Tyrone sat forward.

"Or, he will send Osgood a collection of videos of me." Marla felt shame and could not maintain eye contact. She knew he would judge her and she didn't want to see it on his face. She looked at the floor.

"Pornographic videos?" Tyrone asked, his hand settling on her thigh in a comforting manner.

She nodded, unable to look up.

"Of you and Dante?"

Marla let out a long sigh. "Of Dante and other men, friends of his. He said he would send them Osgood and the media."

Tyrone thought about the demands. "You know he's not going to stop with that, don't you?"

"I know."

"He'll continue to blackmail you until he can't get anything else from you."

She nodded. "Then he will kill me."

"I won't let that happen. I can help you out of this situation. But, I need more time." Tyrone stood and started scrolling through something on his phone.

Marla clutched at Tyrone's hand. "We don't have more time. He is expecting that I bring him the money by 2 PM tomorrow."

"We'll have to buy more time. You and I both know he'll want more, but we can use the $100,000 as a way to get more time. So, you'll have to go tomorrow and take the money. That will give me the time I need to get my plan in place and take action."

"What are you going to do?" she asked looking up at him, her face red and wet with tears.

"It's best you not know. This isn't going to be easy, and it may get very uncomfortable for you before it's over. Are you going to be able to do what needs to be done to see this through?" he watched her face. "How strong is she really?" he thought as he waited for her reaction.

She inhaled deeply and steadied herself. She met Tyrone's gaze and held it. "I'll do whatever needs to be done to protect my family."

Tyrone nodded and gave her a grim, but comforting smile. "Good. Now, we'd better go get the money. I'll go with you. I'm not leaving you alone until we've finished this."

She kissed his hand in gratitude. "Why are you helping me?"

He slowly withdrew his hand. "It's my job," he said firmly.

Tyrone hesitated, debating on whether he should say more. He gently placed his hand her shoulder and continued speaking, "But, it's more than that. I believe in you. You are a good woman, and you saved Osgood's life in many ways. He is more of a father to me than any man I've ever known. There is nothing I wouldn't do for him. I'd take a bullet for him." He paused to add emphasis to his words, "I would kill for him. I'll do everything I can to protect him. And you."

She started crying again, shoulder shaking with her sobs, "Thank you, Tyrone. Thank you so much."

He started to walk away, but she stopped him, pulling on his hand. "How much about all of this does Osgood know?" she implored.

Again, Tyrone pulled his hand free, "Get ready to go to the bank. I already spoke with the bank manager and made arrangements to get the cash immediately."