Declined.

And the smug ease drained out of my mother-in-law’s face, and she said, in a voice gone suddenly hard, “Call the bank.

Right now, Jason.” He stepped aside and dialed customer service, and after they verified his identity, the representative gave him an answer with no softness in it at all.

“Sir, all lines of credit under this primary name were permanently frozen and canceled at the cardholder’s explicit request, due to suspected compromise.”

Suspected compromise. My words, my request, my accounts, reaching across a border and a sea to close in his hand at the exact moment he tried to spend me.

Chapter 9 — Then Pay With Your Own Money