That moment felt perfect. The two of us, sweaty and exhausted as he lay in bed was exactly what I wanted. The problem was, I wanted just that forever and ever. I didn’t want to go back to reality. I didn’t want to deal with the fact that Roberto Calvertino was Ryan’s father.
“I watched you on courtTV today. You did a good job.”
“Jennifer, the pressure is insane. Come with me tomorrow?”
“I just can’t be next to Roberto, I’m sorry. Why are you working so hard to get him free?”
“It’s my only option. If I lose the case and he thinks I did it on purpose, he’ll kill me. Or at the very least make my life a living hell.”
Ryan looked so vulnerable as he talked about Roberto, so defeated. It was hard to see him like that. The strong and defiant man that I knew had succumbed to his father’s threats. There wasn’t another man in the world that I thought would intimidate Ryan, but Roberto clearly did.
“Well, how can you lose without him knowing you did it on purpose? Maybe we could feed the prosecutor some information or something.”
Ryan stopped and thought for a minute. I sat up and watched him. There was a way out of all this and I could tell by his eyes that he knew it.
“There is a way, but it will ruin me. I’ll be disbarred.”
I didn’t like the sound of that at all. There had to be a way around that. There had to be a way to get Roberto back in prison without totally ruining Ryan’s life.
“Is there another option?” I asked hopefully. “It would be like giving in to him if you lost your license to practice law. You have to find a different way. You can’t let Roberto have any victory in this situation.”
“I don’t know of one yet. But we need to think fast. There are only two more days left in the trial.”
Together we lay and planned out what would hopefully be the end of Roberto Calvertino. We put together our detailed plan to ensure Ryan did not look guilty in Roberto’s eyes. If all went as planned, Roberto would spent the rest of his life in prison and Ryan and I could move forward with ours. Unfortunately, I did not have a lot of confidence in the idea that Ryan would be safe at all. Roberto didn’t seem like the kind of man who would let Ryan off, even if it wasn’t his fault that the case got lost.
Plus, our plan did end with Ryan losing his license to practice law. There was just no other way around it. At least none that Ryan and I could think of. It would be horrible for Ryan to have to start fresh in a new business, he was a great lawyer. But being able to live his life and not be killed by his father was more important than the career he worked in.
“What happens to me if you lose the case? Don’t you think Roberto would come after me again?”
Ryan moved his hand to my face and traced the line of my jaw. My eyes were closed as I felt his fingers on my body and I wanted to stay in that moment forever. I could hear Ryan take a deep breath as he pondered what I had said. He knew I was in danger and he knew that Roberto would hurt me if he had the chance.
“He will kill you if he thinks you had anything to do with it,” Ryan said matter-of-factly.
My body froze at the directness of his words. Probably because I knew they were true. I knew that Roberto would not think twice before he decided to kill me. He had already killed so many people and been so ruthless. He killed Mrs. Anderson and she didn’t do a thing to him. She was even planning to testify in his favor, although it was totally out of fear.
“Well, I don’t want to be killed. So let’s make sure that doesn’t happen,” I joked with Ryan.
“I’ve got a plan now. I think it’s going to work.”
He leaned over and kissed my ear and then got up out of bed. He seemed to have a new upbeat attitude. My heart thumped as I thought about how badly this whole thing could end. I could only hope that Ryan’s plan would work to keep us both safe.
“So you don’t want me to come to court today?” I asked hopefully.
“No not today, come on the last day. It will be better for you.”
“Alright. Good luck!”
Ryan leaned down and kissed me one last time before he left to go back to his house. I felt so terrible for him and that he would have to go back to where Roberto was. No one was safe around that man, and I knew that more than anyone. Roberto wasn’t an innocent man that Ryan was trying to help. Roberto was a deviant father who had spent his life bullying people into doing things that he didn’t want to do for himself. Ryan had escaped that world and Roberto made sure to pull him back in.
I closed my eyes and said a little prayer that Ryan’s plan would work and he would finally get free from Roberto. Ryan was going to need all the good vibes he could get. It was going to be a tough couple of days, but I knew that Ryan could pull it all off. Ryan had the ability to make anything happen.
Ryan had escaped his father for years and made a successful life for himself as a lawyer. I had full confidence in him that he would be able to escape this situation also.
***
Day two of the court hearing was about to start and I just couldn’t stand the idea of sitting at home and watching it. I also did not want to sit at the lawyer’s table with Ryan and Roberto though. I waited until the hearing had started and then squeezed in past the bailiff and pretended like I knew a man sitting at the edge of the courtroom.
As I approached him I just squeezed myself into a small open space in the bench between him and a reporter. They both looked at me with disgust, but the hearing had started so neither of them dared to make a noise. On the first day three reporters got kicked out after their cell phones had accidently went off.
The courtroom was full of energy and I was much happier that I had come to sit there instead of watching it on television. I doubted that Ryan or Roberto would notice me in the back of the room; they would be too enthralled with the court proceedings in front of them.
Roberto was full of confidence as he sat in his chair next to Ryan. It was annoying how cocky the man was, but it did remind me a lot of Ryan. In fact, I couldn’t believe I had not noticed the similarities between them sooner. Their builds were very similar and even the way they sat in their chairs they looked alike.
The prosecution spent most of the morning reliving old evidence. The problem is, they still haven’t been able to produce a witness. None of the original witnesses are alive or the ones that are not confirmed dead, refused to testify.
Meticulously the prosecution delivered evidence that looked like it implicated Roberto in the murders. For one case the prosecutor discussed how Roberto and the man who had been killed were seen fighting the night before. Many witnesses said that Roberto threatened to kill the man. Yet the next day when the man had been killed, Roberto was on a flight to Spain. The prosecution alleged that Roberto had paid someone to kill the man.
All of their evidence was circumstantial and I found it increasingly difficult to see how Roberto had ever been convicted at all. Case after case that the prosecutor when through had huge holes in the evidence.
It was also abundantly obvious that Roberto Calvertino had plenty of people that would take the fall for him. Not one of the murders could clearly be traced back to Roberto. There was always some poor schmuck that would come forward and say that he was the person who had committed the crime.
It was likely that Roberto would compensate the family of the men who agreed to take the blame. But I suspected that the people who took the blame really had nothing to do with the crimes. It was much more likely that Roberto’s second hand man, Gino, was the one who had committed the murders.
The prosecution looked weary and by the end of the day. As they handed the case over to the defense it was obvious they knew their case was not good.
“We would ask for permission to bring a witness for the prosecution if a witness becomes available,” the prosecutor asked the judge.
“Motion granted.”
It was not probable that a witness would suddenly appear and be willing to testify against Roberto Calvertino. If they had avoide
d the courtroom thus far, it was highly likely they would continue to avoid being involved in the case. Witnesses were obviously killed if they said something that Roberto didn’t like, so it wasn’t likely they would testify against him.
I snuck out of the courtroom before the hearing was over, but just as I was about to go out the back door; I looked at the defense table. Roberto looked right back at me. My heart sank and I hurried out the door. I didn’t know what he would think of me coming to the trial but not sitting at the defense table. I was sure that he would put some negative spin on it.
Although I really did want to see Ryan in action during the court case, I also did want to see Roberto get sent back to jail. That had started to look less and less likely to happen though.
***
At home my nerves got the best of me. I couldn’t stop thinking about Roberto and the look he gave me as I was leaving the courtroom. It wasn’t his normal death stare and I just couldn’t place the emotions that were behind his eyes at that moment.
I waited for Ryan to come over after the hearing like we had planned the day before, but he never came. As the night wore on I gave up on the idea he was coming over and decided that he must have gotten side tracked by Roberto.
I busied myself with cleaning and organized throughout my apartment as I thought about all the details of our plan. It wasn’t a perfect plan and I knew that. Our plan involved Ryan basically throwing away his oath and getting disbarred for doing something stupid in court. It was the only way we could think of that Ryan could lose without Roberto thinking it was on purpose.
Roberto had threatened to get Ryan disbarred before. There was no way he would think that Ryan would purposely do such a thing. No Ryan would be able to put on a good show and Roberto would think that it was a slip of the tongue or something like that. Roberto wouldn’t know what had happened. Unfortunately for Ryan he would need to find a new profession when all was said and done.
My phone buzzed with a text message and I saw that it was from Ryan.
“Come over to my house, we need to talk.”
My heart sank. I felt the blood heating up my skin as the fear of going over to Ryan’s house started to fill me up. I could still feel Roberto’s hands around my neck and the fear I had when I thought he was going to kill me.
I didn’t want to go to his house. I didn’t want to be around Roberto. He had tried to strangle me only a couple of days ago. Roberto clearly thought I had given some sort of information to Mrs. Anderson. Nothing had changed about that, I didn’t want to be around him. There was no assurance that I would be safe.
Roberto was a dangerous man. I had certainly learned that in the time I had known him. He had no need for the law or the general principles of life. Roberto did things his own way and he made a point to show everyone around him that he didn’t care about their way of doing things. Roberto scared me.
I just looked at the phone and tried to decide what I should do. After about fifteen minutes I decided I needed to just talk to Ryan. I needed to hear his voice and see why he wanted me to come over. I dialed his number.
“Hi Jennifer, are you on your way?”
“No. Why do you want me to come over? Roberto won’t want me there.”
“Roberto is the one who suggested you come over. He wants to clear the air between you two before tomorrow’s final day in court.”
My heart dropped all the way down to my feet. It sounded like Ryan was warning me not to come over. There was no way that Roberto really wanted to mend things between us. There was no way he would want me to come over so he could apologize. Roberto Calvertino was not the type of guy that apologized to people.
But why would Ryan have even text me? If he didn’t want me to come over he could have just told Roberto that he sent a text but that I didn’t answer. Maybe Ryan really did want me to come over? I was confused.
“Um, so you really want me to come over?” I asked, the trepidation in my voice was thick.
“Yes, you can spend the night here. Come on over.”
Ryan hung up the phone and I could feel myself start to sweat with anticipation. I really didn’t want to go over there. But I also couldn’t say no to Ryan. If he needed me to be there, it must be part of his plan.
I pulled on a pair of shorts and a t-shirt and made my way across town to Ryan’s house. I didn’t know what to expect, but I did know that I couldn’t wait until the final court day was over and Roberto was back in prison for good.
***
At Ryan’s house, I found Roberto and Ryan sitting in the main room. They actually seemed very comfortable with each other. It threw me off. I had expected that Roberto would still be angry with Ryan, but that did not seem to be the case.
Only a couple days before the two men had seemed like either of them could kill the other. Now they sat on the same couch and appeared to be happy and bullshitting when I came into the room. I felt uneasy with the situation and searched Ryan’s eyes for some sort of answer.
“Come in young lady, sit down,” Roberto said as he motioned to the lounge chair across from the couch.
“I’m going to go grab some snacks. Do either of you want anything?” Ryan asked.
I just stared at him. Was he really going to leave me alone in the room with Roberto? I had no idea what was going on, but I did not like it at all. The Ryan that I knew never wanted to leave me alone with Roberto. Even before I knew Roberto was his father, Ryan didn’t want me to be around him without some sort of supervision.
Ryan probably knew his father well enough to know that he would hit on me. And we did have that threesome together so it was clear that Roberto would do what he wanted with me when he had the chance.
Ryan walked out of the room and I was left there with Roberto. He looked friendlier than he had the last time I was in Ryan’s house. I wasn’t sure why he was so nice to me, but it freaked me out. Something was going on and I certainly wasn’t being let in on the secret.
“Do you want me to go back to prison?” Roberto asked me.
His eyes burned into mine, but he didn’t seem agitated or angry as he asked me. My faced turned read and I didn’t know what to say. Yes! Yes, I wanted him to go back to prison. I wanted him to be out of mine and Ryan’s life forever. Obviously I couldn’t say that to Roberto though. I needed to use my acting skills. I had to convince Roberto that I was on his side and wanted what was best for him.
“No, that’s why I came to court today. I knew you were mad at me, but I still wanted Ryan to do good in the hearing. I think Ryan did a great job. Don’t you?”
Roberto smiled at me. It was a smile like he had given me before when he wanted to fuck me. I was suddenly more aware of my body and pulled at my shirt to cover up my breasts better. I had no urges at all to be with Roberto ever again. In fact, just being around him made me want to gag or vomit. I didn’t want him and I wasn’t about to tell him anything like that.
The urge that I had once had was clearly because Roberto reminded me so much of Ryan. I would not make that mistake again. I would not let Roberto touch my body like that ever again. Roberto was not the man I wanted, Ryan was.
It was Ryan that I thought about at night and Ryan who I felt my body tremble for in my dreams. I didn’t care anymore that Ryan was related to Roberto. I just wanted it all to be over with and Roberto to be back in prison. Then Ryan and I would be able to move forward with our lives.
“I’m happy to hear that,” Roberto said as he smiled boyishly at me.
He looked at me and I looked back at him. I wasn’t sure why we were having this conversation or why Ryan had insisted on leaving the room. I was nervous and I felt like my whole body had turned flush red. I didn’t want to talk to Roberto anymore. I needed Ryan.
“Ryan shared all the evidence with me throughout this case. They have no real evidence. You will certainly get off.”
I lied my ass off. I used every trick I could remember to make myself more believable. I leaned in toward him, made sure to look
him directly in the eyes and I smiled slightly as I spoke. I wasn’t about to be the person to tell Roberto that he was going back to prison. We just had to make it through one more day and then Ryan’s plan would be finished.
Roberto got up from the couch and made his way over to my lounge chair. I pulled my feet back toward me as he straddled the chair and sat down right in front of me. Panic ran through my body and I looked to the doorway to see if Ryan was coming back.
“He’s not coming back. I asked him to leave us alone.”
“Why?” I asked, although I thought the answer was becoming clearer.
I couldn’t figure out why Ryan would lure me back to his house and leave me alone with his father. Especially considering his father had tried to strangle me only a few days before. I had no idea what was going on but I wasn’t about to sleep with this man again. Roberto disgusted me and I needed to get away from him.
“Because we needed to make up before the hearing was over. I’m going to be out after this hearing and I know Ryan cares about you. I want us to get along again.”
Roberto reached up and grabbed my leg and pulled it to one side of the lounge chair, then he did the same for the other leg. I held my breath as his hands pulled on my legs. I didn’t know what he was doing and I didn’t want to stay there to find out. I needed to get away from Roberto.
I was left sitting there in my shorts with my legs spread wide apart. I felt so vulnerable. I did not feel comfortable at all. I started to get angry with Ryan for leaving me in such a position with Roberto. Why didn’t Ryan care? It baffled me. I couldn’t figure out what was going on, but I did know that I wasn’t going to sleep with Roberto.
“Yes, that’s a good idea,” I said as I tried to appease him.
Roberto put his hands onto my thighs and started to rub them up and down my legs. It took everything I had not to cringe at his touch. I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t know how I was going to be able to get out of this.
“Here are some chips and salsa and a few drinks,” Ryan said as he came back into the room.
The Billionaire's Assistant: An Alpha Billionaire Romance Box Set Page 35