We ate in silence for the next few minutes.

"How are you handling all this stuff with Ben?" Nate picked up the pitcher of lemonade, pouring some into his glass.

"I'm fine." I handed my glass out to him. My hand--visibly trembled.

"No, you are definitely shaken." He filled my glass, then replaced the pitcher. He stared at me a moment before he added, "I don't remember the last time I saw your hand shake like that." His eyes narrowed in concern.

"You can be in trouble anywhere in the universe, and I would know it," I began, loading a forkful of spaghetti into my mouth. After I chewed it thoroughly, I continued, "Why didn't I have that same sense about my husband? Why didn't I know he was in trouble?" I picked up another forkful of spaghetti.

He scrutinized me for a moment before saying anything, sipping his lemonade. "He didn't give you any clues when you saw him before the accident?"

"He was very upset when I arrived home. He had an altercation with his partner earlier in the day, which led him to believe that she was working for the Crimson Fleet." I raised my hand to glance at the wedding ring Ben bought me. I couldn't seem to bring myself to remove it. For me, slipping off my wedding ring symbolized the death of my marriage to Ben. I quickly hid my hand under the table.Then I lowered my voice and confided, "I called Morgan Kramer, our agent in the Crimson Fleet Underground. I showed her the picture of Ben's partner. Kramer told me that three years ago, the Crimson Fleet started paying Austin for Freedom Alliance information."

A comfortable silence ensued for a few minutes as we worked on our spaghetti. Nate was the first to break the silence by asking, "How did Ben react to that?"

"How do you think he reacted? He was furious." I put my glass of lemonade to my lips, then set the glass down. "I only saw him that angry once before...when my father..." I reached behind my hair to finger the long scar on the side of my neck for the second time today. I kept the scar hidden. Every time I caught a glimpse of it, my stomach threatened to turn over. Not because of the abuse but because I didn't stop it. I let that man intimidate me, cut me down with his words and hurt me with his fists and knives.