Defense

by Sandi Lynn

  His phone rang and I sat up while he reached over the bed and pulled it from his pants pocket. He looked at me when he saw who was calling, got up from the bed, and took the call in another room. I lay there, under the sheet, waiting for him to return. When we left the police station, reporters were outside, taking pictures and asking questions, trying to get the story for the front page of tomorrow’s news.

  Luca walked back into the bedroom, sat down on the edge of the bed, and lowered his head.

  “Who was that?” I asked.

  “David Hildenberg. My license has been suspended pending the outcome of this case.”

  “You knew that was going to happen.” I began to rub his shoulders.

  “I know. It’s just hearing it makes it so much worse.”

  “I’m sorry, Luca.” My lips gently pressed against his back.

  “We need to be careful, Ariana,” he spoke.

  “About what?”

  “We can’t let anyone know we’re sleeping together. If the ABA caught wind of it, they could site you for attorney misconduct.”

  “I know. I already thought about that.”

  “That means you can’t tell Olivia,” he spoke.

  “I won’t, and you can’t tell Brad.”

  “Trust me. I’m not going to.”

  “We need to talk about the events of last night, Luca. I have to start preparing your case.”

  “We will tomorrow. I’m too tired right now.” He brought his hand up to my cheek. “Will you stay with me tonight? I really don’t want to be alone.”

  “Of course I’ll stay.”

  He climbed back under the covers and held me as we both drifted off into a deep sleep.

  ****

  I awoke before Luca, who tossed and turned all night long. Quietly climbing out of bed, I slipped on his navy-blue t-shirt that he had sitting on the chair in his bedroom. Before walking out, I stared at him for a moment while he slept. He was at peace. At least for now. I grabbed my purse from the living room and took it into the kitchen with me. Pulling out my phone, I found I had ten missed calls from Olivia, five voicemail messages and fifteen text messages, all asking me what the hell was going on because she heard about Luca. Was I ready to deal with this right now? No. First, I needed coffee.

  I started the bacon and cracked some eggs into a bowl. As I put the bread in the toaster, Luca walked in.

  “What are you doing?” he asked.

  “Good morning.” I smiled. “I’m making breakfast.” I took a cup down from the cabinet and poured some coffee into it.

  “You don’t have to do that.”

  “I want to. Plus, I’m starving,” I spoke as I handed him his coffee. “Sit down and talk to me while I make the eggs.”

  “Somebody’s bossy this morning.”

  I glanced at him from over my shoulder.

  “I’m your lawyer. It’s my job to be bossy. We need to go over the events of the other night and I need you to try and remember everything.”

  “The only thing I can focus on at the moment is how sexy you look in my t-shirt.” He smirked.

  I leaned over the counter and kissed his lips.

  “Forget about the t-shirt and focus on Friday night. This is important, Luca. The murder weapon with your fingerprints on it and Gina’s blood on your shirt is more than enough for them to put you away for at least thirty years.”

  As I placed the eggs, bacon, and toast on a plate and set it down in front of him, there was a knock at the door. After he got up to answer it, I heard his grandfather’s voice coming from the living room. Shit. I looked down at myself in nothing but Luca’s t-shirt. In order for me to throw on my dress from yesterday, I needed to cross the living room to get upstairs to the bedroom. He’d see me and then what would he think? Shit. Shit. Shit.

  “Luca,” I shouted. “Can you help me with something?”

  “Get out here, young lady!” his grandfather shouted in an authoritative tone.

  I swallowed hard while I placed my hands firmly on the bottom of the t-shirt as I slowly, and utterly embarrassed, walked into the living room.

  “Good morning, Mr. Russo.”

  He sighed as he stared at me.

  “Ariana, go upstairs and get dressed,” Luca spoke.

  I gave him a small nod as I went up to the bedroom and slipped into my sundress. When I walked back downstairs, the two of them were talking. I heard my name mentioned and they both looked at me when I entered the room.

  “Can you do this?” his grandfather asked me.

  “Yes.”

  “Well, I don’t agree with his decision to hire you to defend him. Especially when the two of you are sleeping together. You do know that’s unethical, right?”

  “Yes.” I looked down.

  “And if anyone was to find out, you could be disbarred.”

  “I know.”

  He stared at me for a moment with narrowed eyes. I was waiting for him to start yelling, screaming, and telling Luca he made a huge mistake. But he didn’t.

  “You’re a rule breaker and a risk taker. Those two things right there make a damn good lawyer. I think you’ll do just fine.”

  “Thank you, sir.”

  “Call me Franco, dear.”

  Luca went upstairs to get dressed, leaving his grandfather and me alone. I could tell he had something on his mind the way he spoke my name.

  “Ariana. You are going to have to do everything possible to prove he didn’t murder that woman, including things that may be unethical, so to speak. I know the district attorney. She plays hardball and doesn’t back down. She’s ruthless and will stop at nothing to prove Luca is guilty. She will do everything in her power to make the jury believe he’s a cold-blooded killer.”

  “If we even make it to trial.” I raised my brow.

  A small smile crossed his lips.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Luca

  Ariana and I spent the entire Sunday at my apartment talking and going over the events of Friday night. The fact that I couldn’t remember a fucking thing after I left the bar with Gina frightened me. My entire life was on the line. Reporters waited outside my apartment building, making it impossible for us to leave. I felt like a prisoner in my own home and it pissed me off. There was something I hadn’t told her yet. The one thing I never wanted her to find out. I’d keep it to myself for now, and when the time came, if it did, I’d tell her everything and then watch her look at me as if I was some kind of monster. I couldn’t have that. I liked her and the thought of her seeing me in that way would kill me.

  The next morning, I got up, dressed, and went out the back of the apartment building where Jeffery was waiting for me with the car. I walked into the building of my firm where people stopped what they were doing and stared at me. The fear in their eyes shot through me like a bullet. When I walked into my office, my partners, Joe Greggs and Sam Butler, followed me inside.

  “We’re surprised you’re here,” Joe spoke.

  “Why’s that?” I cocked my head. “This firm will run as usual.”

  “Your license has been suspended, Luca,” Sam spoke.

  “I’m well aware of that, Sam. I may not be able to practice law, but it doesn’t mean that I can’t still run this firm.”

  “We talked and we think it would be in the best interest of the firm if you took some time off,” Joe spoke.

  “I don’t care what you think is best. This is my firm and I will continue to be here every day.”

  “Luca, we already lost ten clients this morning. People don’t want a firm representing them when the main partner has been accused of murder.” Sam leaned back in his chair.

  “If you care anything at all about this firm, you’ll step down for a while,” Joe spoke.

  I slammed my fist down on my desk.

  “This firm is my life and this is my reputation on the line. If I walk away because of this, I might as well say I’m guilty. Business will go on as usual.”

  “Good morning,
gentlemen.” Ariana walked into my office. “Luca’s right. Business will go on as usual. He’s innocent until proven guilty.” She let out a light laugh. “But you already know that, right? I mean, come on, you’re lawyers.”

  “We’re worried about what this will do to the firm,” Sam spoke.

  “Of course you are. You have a lot invested in here. It’s nice to know that you care more about the firm than what might happen to your friend and partner.”

  Both of them sat there and glared at her. She had rendered them speechless and I found myself turned on.

  “Now, if you’ll excuse us, gentlemen, I need to speak with my client in private.” Ariana held the door open for them.

  I silently smiled to myself. She seemed different this morning. She shut the door and threw a black phone across my desk.

  “What’s this?” I asked as I picked it up.

  “A burner phone. I have one as well. We’ll be using those phones for personal conversations, and our regular phones for business. I like to consider it a safety measure just in case.”

  I set the phone down and stared at the beautiful woman in the blue pantsuit that stood before me.

  “I missed you last night,” I spoke.

  She raised her finger. “You can’t be talking like that at the office. Anyway, I need to go. I have a lot of work to do. I’ll be back later. In the meantime, I need you to make me a list of your potential enemies.”

  “That could take some time.”

  “Time is all you have, Luca,” she spoke as she walked out of my office.

  She was right. Time was all I had and I wasn’t going to waste it by sitting around thinking about how I might go to prison for the rest of my life. All of this was unreal and I needed to think real hard about who would do this to me.

  ****

  Ariana

  I went to the Peninsula Hotel and spoke with Randall, the bartender who was working that night.

  “How many drinks did you serve Mr. Russo?” I asked.

  “He had three scotches.”

  “Did he seem intoxicated to you when he left the bar?”

  “Not really. I mean, he walked out of here fine. He gave me his credit card and signed the bill. He even told me to have a good night.”

  “Was there anything unusual about the woman he left with?”

  “No. But to be perfectly honest, I wasn’t paying attention. It was really busy that night with the party and all.”

  “Do you remember what time they left the bar?” I asked.

  “Yeah. It was around eleven o’clock.”

  “And how do you know the exact time?”

  “Because my co-worker, Ron, had just gotten back from break and he was late. So, I remember looking at the time when he came back. That was when Mr. Russo had just signed the bill and told me to have a good night.”

  “Thank you, Randall.” I smiled.

  “No problem.”

  As I began to walk away, Randall called my name.

  “Hey, Miss Williams?”

  “Yeah?” I turned around.

  “I don’t know if this is of importance or anything, but right before they left, the woman dropped her purse and all the contents fell out of it. Mr. Russo bent down to pick it up for her.”

  “Really?” I narrowed my eye. “She didn’t help him?”

  “No. She just sat on the stool while he picked everything up.”

  “Thanks. That could be of importance. Did you by any chance tell that to the detectives?” I asked.

  “Nah. I just remembered it.”

  “Let’s keep that little bit of information to ourselves.” I winked.

  “Sure thing, Miss Williams.”

  As I was leaving the hotel, I received a call from Wendy Graham.

  “Ariana Williams.”

  “Miss Williams, it’s Wendy Graham. Mr. Russo will need to appear in court tomorrow morning at ten a.m. for the preliminary hearing.”

  “So soon?” I asked.

  “This is a high-profile case and it’s in the best interest of the people to get this moving quickly and get this case closed.”

  “Are you sure that’s the only reason?” I asked with suspicion.

  “Of course, Miss Williams. Have a good day.”

  I sighed as I rolled my eyes and hailed a cab back to the firm. As the driver approached the building, reporters were swarming outside the doors. I paid the cabbie, took in a deep breath, and got out of the cab.

  “Excuse me. Aren’t you the defense attorney for Luca Russo?” a tall young male reporter asked.

  “Yes. Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to meet with my client,” I spoke as I pushed my way through the crowd of people.

  “Do you think you’re really qualified to handle this case?” he shouted.

  I stopped dead in my tracks and slowly turned around.

  “Excuse me?”

  “From what I understand, you just graduated law school. Mr. Russo can afford the best attorney in the world. So why would he hire someone with no experience?”

  “What is your name?” I asked.

  “Aiden York.”

  “To answer your question, Mr. York, I am the best.” I raised my brow with a smirk. “And when we win this case, I expect an apology from you for judging me without even knowing me or my skills. Have a good day.” I walked into the building.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Ariana

  I guess the positive side to everyone thinking that Luca made a mistake in hiring me was that they were so bewildered it took the focus off him being a possible murderer. I stopped in the lobby before taking the elevator up to his office and placed my hands on my forehead. I had fled from one mess right into another. The preliminary hearing was tomorrow and I wasn’t ready yet, but that was her plan. I took the file out of my bag and opened it. Everything about that night had happened quickly and I needed more answers. Turning around, I headed out the door and hailed a cab to the police station to talk to Detective Jacks.

  “Hello, Miss Williams.” He smiled. “How may I help you?”

  “I was hoping you’d have a few minutes to talk.”

  “For you? Of course, please, have a seat.” He pointed to the chair across from his desk.

  “How did you know that Mr. Russo was staying at the hotel the night of the murder?” I asked.

  “We actually didn’t. The key to his room was found on the floor of Miss Burroughs’ room. We took it down to the front desk and asked which guest it was registered under and that’s when we found out it belonged to Mr. Russo. So, we went up to his room to question him and, well, you know the rest of the story.”

  “So he had two room keys, correct?”

  “Yes, we found one lying on the nightstand next to his bed. Our theory is that the other one must have fallen out of his pocket when he took off his pants to have sex with Miss Burroughs.”

  “It was never established the two of them had intercourse. There was no semen.”

  “True, but the medical examiner stated that there was definitely penetration.”

  “Still doesn’t prove that it was from my client. I would love to know how you got the forensic testing done so quickly.”

  He sat behind his desk and narrowed his eye while he smirked at me.

  “The murder weapon and a blood-stained shirt that belonged to Mr. Russo, found in his hotel room while we were questioning him took priority. There was no time to waste. He was the last person seen with Miss Burroughs and we had our prime suspect right there. Why sit on evidence when we could have an open and shut case?”

  “This case is far from getting shut, Mr. Jacks. My client did not murder that woman and the real murderer is still out there.”

  He got up from his chair, walked over to the door, and opened it.

  “Good luck proving that.”

  His condescending attitude pissed me off. I got up from my chair and walked out of his office without speaking a word. I headed back to the firm only to learn that Luca had left
.

  “Sheila?” I spoke as I stood in the doorway of her office.

  “Hey, Ariana.”

  “I need your help.”

  She gave me a small smile as she got up from her desk.

  “I’m already on it so don’t worry. I know Luca didn’t do it and I’ll stop at nothing to get the evidence we need to prove his innocence.”

  “Thanks. Let me know what you find as soon as possible.”

  “I will.” She smiled.

  I needed to make one more stop before heading home. Pulling out my burner phone, I called Luca.

  “Hello.”

  “Hey. I was surprised you left the office.”

  “I was done for the day, so I decided to go home. Where are you?”

  “I’m stopping by the medical examiner’s office to see if there’s an updated autopsy report.”

  “I need you to come by when you’re done, and don’t worry about dinner. We’ll order in.”

  “Is there a specific reason you need me to stop by?” I asked with a smile.

  “I could give you a million reasons, but I don’t want to get hard at the moment. So, I’ll just show you when you get here.”

  “I look forward to it.”

  “Me too. I’ll see you soon. Oh, and by the way, stop by your apartment first and pack a small bag for the night.”

  “Will do.”

  The thought of him being inside me again was riveting. My body craved him in ways I never knew existed. The attraction I had to him was so strong that sometimes it scared me. I often wondered if he hired me to defend him because he wanted to prove to me that he didn’t kill Gina Burroughs. I wasn’t the best choice. Maybe in five or ten years I would have been, but not at this moment. I was scared; so scared that I would screw this up for him and send him to prison for the rest of his life. It was apparent that the district attorney as well as the cops were out to get him.

  “Excuse me. Dr. High? I’m Ariana Williams, Luca Russo’s attorney in the Gina Burroughs case.”

  “Ah yes, please come in, Miss Williams.” He smiled. “What can I do for you?”

  “I need an updated autopsy report on Miss Burroughs if one is available.”

  “Yes. I just finished it today. Have a seat.” He gestured with his hand.