by Sandi Lynn
I couldn’t answer him because if I did, then it made everything I felt for him true.
“Why haven’t you slept with him?” he asked.
“I don’t know.”
He lifted my chin with his finger so I was looking straight into his eyes.
“Because you aren’t really into him. You claim you don’t like me, yet you let me fuck you.”
“I never said I didn’t like you.”
“You said we couldn’t be friends,” he spoke. “But here I am lying in your bed instead of Jimmy.”
“Why are you doing this?”
“I don’t know.” He looked away.
“This can’t happen again.” I got up and slipped on my robe. “You told me that you’re not the man I think you are. So tell me who you really are.” I turned and looked at him.
“I can’t and I won’t. I don’t discuss that with anyone. Why don’t you tell me what happened with your family?”
“No.” I walked out of the bedroom and into the kitchen.
He followed behind me, wearing nothing but his pants.
“You have your secrets and I have mine. Tell me how you’re any different than I am.”
“I suppose I’m not.” I placed my hands firmly on the kitchen counter.
“I should get going,” he spoke.
“Yeah. I think you should.”
“I wish I could be the man you want me to be, Ariana. I’ve done things that I’m not proud of and I’m doing this to protect you.” He walked away and into the bedroom.
“What do you mean ‘to protect’ me?” I followed him.
“It doesn’t matter.” He slipped on his shirt. “I won’t bother you again and I’m sorry for tonight.” He grabbed his shoes and walked towards the door.
I was confused and I needed answers. He placed his hand on the door handle.
“If you walk out that door, I quit the firm and I don’t ever want to see you again.”
He looked down and softly spoke, “I’m sorry you feel that way, but it’s probably for the best. I accept your resignation and I will give you nothing but the upmost recommendations to anywhere you go.”
“Fine.”
He opened the door and walked out while I stood there shaking and my eyes filling with tears. I went into the bedroom and ripped all the sheets off my bed in a fit of rage. The anger that filled me was out of control as I threw my lamp against the wall and fell to the ground, where I cried myself to sleep.
Chapter Twenty-One
Two Weeks Later
Luca
I was sitting in my office when a call came through from Gary Dilbert, attorney, and owner of Dilbert & Associates. He was calling about Ariana. I made good on my promise and told him she was an excellent employee and he’d be a fool not to hire her.
I kept busy and buried myself in my work, went to strip clubs with Brad, and drank more than I should have. Olivia barely spoke to me the past couple of weeks, which was to be expected. I was sure Ariana told her everything. Not having her here at the firm killed me, but it was for the best. The more I saw her, the harder I fell. But it didn’t stop her from being on my mind 24/7.
Today was Sam Butler’s birthday; my partner at the firm. I was throwing him a party at Rose, a bar in the Peninsula Hotel with about fifty people. After Ariana had quit, I was questioned by the other partners. They wanted to know what happened. I didn’t say too much, but they already knew because they knew me. The party was going great and everyone was having a good time drinking and mingling. I was sitting at the bar finishing off my scotch when an attractive woman with long brown hair sat down next to me. I smiled. We started to talk and I ended up buying her a couple of drinks.
****
Ariana
I was putting everything about Luca Russo behind me. I had quit my job and started the hunt for a new one. But not until after I stayed in a state of depression for a week, eating nothing but junk food and binge-watching Netflix.
By the time I dragged my ass out of bed, showered, and got dressed, it was one p.m. Just as I was putting on my shoes to go run some errands, my phone rang. When I looked at it, I noticed it was Luca calling. I took in a deep breath and went to hit the decline button, but I didn’t. Against my better judgment, I answered it. Why the hell I would answer his call was beyond me.
“Hello.”
“Ariana, it’s me. I need your help.” His voice was low and I could tell something was wrong.
“What’s wrong, Luca?”
“I need you to come down to the police station.”
“Why?” I asked nervously.
“I’ve been arrested.”
“Arrested? For what?”
“Murder.”
My heart dropped to my belly and a wave of nausea swept over me, prohibiting me to respond.
“Ariana, I need you to come now.”
“I’m on my way.” I swallowed hard.
I grabbed my purse frantically and hailed a cab to the police station. My heart was pounding out of my chest and I found myself in a nervous state. What did he do? I arrived at the station and was taken back to the interrogation room where Luca was. When I walked in, all eyes diverted to me.
“Who are you?” a tall, brown-haired and blue-eyed man dressed in a suit asked.
“She’s my lawyer,” Luca spoke.
I looked at Luca and then back at the gentleman in the suit.
“Ariana Williams, Mr. Russo’s attorney.”
“Wow. It’s nice to meet you, Miss Williams. I expected his lawyer to be some old guy pushing seventy.” He smirked. “I’m Detective Jacks.”
“Why have you arrested my client?” I asked in a commanding tone, ignoring the fact that he had extended his hand to me.
“For the murder of a call girl named Gina Burroughs. Her body was found by the cleaning staff when they entered the room to clean it. She was lying in bed, naked, with her throat slit and a stab wound to the heart. Mr. Russo was the last person to see her.”
“And? That doesn’t prove he had anything to do with her murder.”
“True. But the bloody knife we found in his hotel room with his fingerprints on it, as well as the shirt he was wearing the night before with her blood on it, does.”
I looked around the room for anything to vomit in.
“Also, there was evidence of sexual contact,” he spoke.
I looked over at Luca. He stared me straight in the eyes and never looked away.
“DNA?” I asked.
“There was no semen, but the medical examiner said sexual intercourse had taken place.”
“I need a moment with my client,” I spoke.
“We’ve already been in contact with the district attorney and she is charging him with second-degree murder. A bail hearing has been set for Monday at nine a.m.”
As soon as he left the room, I took a seat across from Luca. I needed to collect myself and be prepared for what he was about to tell me.
“I didn’t kill that woman, Ariana,” he firmly spoke.
I took in a deep breath. “Tell me what happened.”
“I was sitting at the bar when she sat down next to me. I knew her. She was a client of mine from a year ago. She told me that she needed some legal advice and suggested we go back to her room. She seemed nervous. I finished off my drink and we went back to her room to talk. After that, I don’t remember a thing. The next thing I knew, I was woken up by a loud bang on the door of the hotel room I was in, which by the way, I have no clue how I even got there or why I was there, and when I let them in, they asked me some questions, found the knife and my blood-stained shirt, and arrested me. I’m being set up, Ariana.”
“By whom?” I shook my head.
“I don’t know. You need to get in contact with the emergency judge and get the bail hearing today. I cannot stay in here,” he pleaded. “It will either be Judge Harrison or Judge Smith. Both of them know me, so you shouldn’t have a problem. I didn’t kill her, Ariana.”
A
s I stared into his eyes, I believed him. He was telling the truth and I needed to do everything I could to get him out of this mess. As I got up from the table, he grabbed my hand.
“The D.A. hates me and she has a vendetta against me. She will push for no bail using every excuse in the book to keep me in jail. Use her hatred towards me to your advantage.”
I nodded my head and walked out of the room. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. The emergency judge on call was Wyatt Harrison. After explaining who I was and whom I represented, he agreed to an emergency bond hearing, set for six o’clock, after he had his dinner. I was sitting in the station waiting when the lovely district attorney walked up to me.
“You’re the one representing Luca Russo?” she asked with a raised brow.
“Yes. I’m Ariana Williams.”
“You have got to be kidding.” She smirked. “You can’t be more than mid-twenties, which means you’re fresh out of law school.”
“I am.” I smiled.
“He’s no fool representing himself, so he must be coaching you, and that’s how you got this emergency bail hearing.”
“Believe what you want, Miss Graham. I’m here to defend my client and get him out of this place as soon as possible. I want the charges reduced to involuntary manslaughter.”
She let out a loud laugh. “Are you kidding? Your client’s fingerprints were all over that knife that killed Gina Burroughs. He has her blood on his shirt and he was seen leaving with her from the bar last night. Your client killed her and then went back to his room and passed out. His blood alcohol level was through the roof, not to mention the empty scotch bottle found beside his bed in his room. The charges stand at second-degree murder, Miss Williams, and that’s me being generous. I could charge him with first-degree murder.”
Judge Harrison arrived and we all met in one of the conference rooms. Miss Graham was vicious and it was clear how much she hated Luca. But I fought back and hard. She pushed for no bail, claiming flight risk. I pushed harder.
“I’ve known you and your grandfather for many years, Luca. Due to the nature of the charges, I’ll grant bail in the sum of three million dollars.”
“But Your Honor,” Miss Graham angrily spoke.
“I’ve made my decision, Wendy. Mr. Russo will not leave the state or the country. He’s not stupid and you of all people know that. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going home.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
Ariana
The ride back to Luca’s apartment was silent. His whole world was crumbling before him and I didn’t know what to do. We took the elevator up to his apartment, and the minute we stepped through the door, he headed to his bar and grabbed the bottle of scotch.
“Drink?” he asked.
“Sure.” I set my purse down. “Why me, Luca?”
He stopped pouring the scotch and looked up at me for a moment.
“Because I believe in you.”
“Dilbert & Associates offered me the job.”
“Are you going to accept it?” he asked as he handed me my drink.
“I don’t know.”
“You shouldn’t. You’re my lawyer defending me in a murder case. It’s going to take up almost all your time. Plus, you won’t need that job anyway.”
“Why do you say that?” I asked.
“Because the money I’m paying you to defend me will be more than enough for quite a while. You won’t have to worry about anything else. In fact, I don’t want you worrying about anything else but this case. I didn’t do it. You believe me, right?”
“It doesn’t matter if I believe you or not. It’s my job to defend you.”
“Throwing my words back at me, eh?” He threw back his drink.
I paced around the living room while he sat on the couch and watched me.
“So you want me to turn down a permanent job because I’m defending you in a murder case? And what happens when this case is over?”
“You’ll come back to my firm. You’ll always have a job there.”
“I don’t want to work for you, Luca.”
He narrowed his eye at me as he set his glass down on the table.
“But you already are.”
I sighed and took a seat next to him. “I am, aren’t I?”
“Yes, you are.” A small smile crossed his lips.
“So you think you’re being set up?” I asked.
“I don’t think. I know I am. I have a lot of enemies.”
I picked up his glass from the table, walked over to the bar, and poured us each another scotch.
“You do know this will be in the papers by morning.” I handed him his drink.
“It’s already out. Brad’s been blowing up my phone with calls and text messages.”
Just as he spoke those words, there was a knock on the door.
“Where is he?” Brad asked as I opened the door.
“In the living room.”
****
Luca
I threw back my scotch before Brad made it over to where I was sitting.
“What the fuck happened last night, Luca?”
“All I know is that Gina was murdered and I was the last one to see her.”
“Excuse me, Ariana. I need to speak with Luca in private,” Brad spoke.
Ariana quietly stepped out of the living room to give us the privacy Brad asked for.
“You hired her as your lawyer? Are you fucking kidding me, bro?”
“I did hire her and no, I’m not kidding.”
“But why? My God, Luca, she’s inexperienced. How does that look to the firm? Are you trying to get life in prison?”
“It’s my decision, Brad. I trust her and her abilities.”
“Fuck her abilities!” he shouted. “She just graduated law school! Let me handle this for you. Or better yet, Joe and I can work together. We can prove you didn’t murder that woman,” he begged.
“You’ll be working with Ariana, and that’s an order. If you refuse, then you can find another job.” I lowered my head as I clasped my hands.
He placed his hands in his pockets and paced around the room. He was angry and had every right to be.
“Fine. But she better know what the fuck she’s doing.”
“She does.”
I got up from the couch and led him to the door.
“I’m tired. It’s been a long day,” I spoke.
As I shut the door, Ariana came back into the living room with her arms folded against her chest.
“He doesn’t like me,” she spoke.
“He likes you. He’s just worried about me. That’s all.”
I walked over to where she stood and took hold of her hand.
“Thank you for doing this.”
“Did I really have a choice?” She smirked.
“You could have told me to fuck off, but you came.” My thumb lightly swept across her hand as my eyes stared into hers.
“Because you called,” she spoke in a soft whisper.
I let go of her hand and brought mine up to her face, stroking her cheek before dipping my head and brushing my lips against hers.
“Thank you,” I spoke.
“You’re welcome,” she replied.
Our lips collided and locked together as my cock grew harder by the second. Warmth radiated from her. A warmth I desperately missed but was too afraid to admit it. My fingers hooked around the thin straps of her sundress as I slid them off her shoulders, letting the fabric that covered her beautiful body fall to the ground. I was just released on a three-million-dollar bond for a crime I didn’t commit and the only thing I could think about was fucking her again.
My hand slid down her torso and inside her panties, feeling the wetness that emerged from her. I dipped a finger inside and she gasped, breaking our lips apart. I placed my forehead on hers as I worked my magic inside her. Her breathing increased and the subtle sounds of pleasure escaped her as she orgasmed.
I lifted her up in one swoop and carried her upstairs to my bedroom. As soon as
we reached the bed, I set her down on the floor, unhooked her bra, and slowly removed her panties. She climbed under the sheet while I stripped out of my clothes. Climbing on top of her, I pushed several strands of hair away from her face and lowered my head for another taste of her sweet lips.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Ariana
My body trembled underneath his like it always did when he touched me. The softness of his lips against mine took away all the sadness I’d felt the past couple of weeks. I was a glutton for punishment for letting this happen again, but right now, I didn’t care. He hovered over me and slowly thrust inside, my body taking in every inch of him. Soft moans escaped both of us as our bodies moved together in sync. My legs were wrapped tight around his waist as he moved in and out slowly and with ease. His animal-like nature was tamed, almost as if he wanted to make this last as long as he could. My body wasn’t patient as I rode the wave of an orgasm. Throwing my head back, I moaned as my nails dug into his back. A small smile crossed his face as he rolled onto his back, pulling me on top of him. His hands firmly gripped my ass and held me down as he thrust his hips into me. Neither one of us spoke a word as our eyes stayed fixated on each other. My feelings for him intensified again to a level I never knew existed. He halted and the rumbles in his chest rose up into groans as he strained inside me.
I buried my head into the side of his neck as he placed his hand on the back of my head and held me tight. Even though he would never admit it, he was afraid. Afraid of everything going on and what the possible outcome could be. I went to roll off him, but he stopped me, holding me so tight that I could barely breathe. My body softened in his arms and we stayed like that for several minutes.
“Everything’s going to be okay, Luca,” I whispered.
“I hope so.” He kissed the side of my head.
His grip on me loosened and I rolled off him, snuggling against his side and placing my head on his chest.
“I need you to believe that I didn’t kill that girl,” he softly spoke. “That’s the only thing that matters to me.”
“I do believe you. If I didn’t, I wouldn’t be here.”