by Kathryn Shay
Paul sat down, not knowing what kind of job he did, and not caring as much as he should.
The judge instructed the jury and the day was adjourned.
Barry Feinstein scowled. “I hope that was an adequate defense, Mr. Covington.”
“It’s the best I could do, given the circumstances.” Paul’s tone was curt but he didn’t care.
“Call us, when the jury returns.”
The couple walked down the aisle and left the courtroom. His self-esteem in the toilet, Paul wanted to rage at the world for deciding to take this case. Only one thing would cheer him up. At that moment, he decided he wasn’t going to defend scumbags like this ever again even if he had to leave his firm.
Hayley came up to him and touched his arm. “They were awful.”
He gave her as much a smile as he could. “Yes, they were.”
“I’m sorry you had to go through this.”
“I’m sorry, too. I was assigned it, pressured into defending them because of my recent notoriety. But I had a choice and I took the case. I’m unhappy with that decision and with the firm right now.”
“You should be.” She checked her watch.
He stilled. If she ran out of here, he didn’t know if he could take it, he was so raw. “Am I keeping you?”
“What? Oh, no, no. I was wondering, I mean I feel bad and you feel bad—worse than me. Other than the case, is something else wrong, Paul? I had a feeling about you Sunday morning that there was.”
“Yeah, it happened Saturday night.”
“Must be bad.”
“You have no idea.” He could barely get the words out.
“Would you like to go for a drink?”
“God, Hayley, I’d love to. Being with you will blunt what I’ve just done and make me forget everything else. Where to?”
Her green eyes were full of warmth. “Down the street?”
A well-known hotel was close to the courthouse and lawyers often hung out in the bar. “Let’s go.”
Outside, it was still bright at five o’clock. They said little as they walked over, but occasionally bumped shoulders. And he eased her in front of him with his hand at her back when passersby made them go single file. He held the door for her, then followed her inside.
The huge lobby was modern, with mostly chrome and glass as its decor. A winding staircase led to the first-floor rooms. The bar was to the left and already music and noise filtered out. The registration desk faced it on the right.
Hayley stopped. Looked at him with an expression in her emerald eyes he couldn’t decipher. “Hold on a second.”
He watched as she crossed to the desk. Got something out of her wallet. A credit card? When she returned, she carried a keycard. “Let’s go.” She started away.
He tugged her back. “Why, Hayley?”
“I’m exhausted, distraught over the case we argued for days, and I want to be intimate with you.” She arched a brow. “Do you want to, with me?”
He grabbed her hand. “Yes, I do.”
They made the trip to the fifth floor and hurried down the carpeted hall. She fumbled with the key to the room in the slot. He took over, and got it open, though his hands were shaky, too. The door shut behind them.
“Ready for this?” he asked, his smile genuine now.
“More than.” She grabbed him by the necktie and yanked him to her, kissed him quickly. Then she walked backwards to the bed.
“Let me,” she said when he started to remove her jacket. “It’s faster. You do your own, too.”
They tore at their clothes. He managed to rip back the spread and they fell onto the sheets, arms and legs entangled. He touched her and went hard. She got wet right away. Sensing this, he climbed on top of her, a position they rarely used. Parting her knees, he thrust inside. She lifted her hips up. They came together in a world-ending cataclysm.
* * *
They lay together in semi-darkness, her head on his shoulder, her hair spread out across his chest. Hayley luxuriated in the sensation of her cheek on his chest, the sexy scent of him.
“What are you thinking?” he asked after a while.
“That lying here like this is wonderful. I feel so close to you.”
“The same for me, love.”
Had he ever called her that? Hayley didn’t know. So, she sat up and propped her arms on his chest. “How are we going to get past this stalemate, Paul? Because I want to.”
“So do I.” He paused. Dramatically. “I’m ready to talk about my background.” His tone was grave.
Just the notion warmed her. “I’m glad.”
“Lie back on the pillow and face me.”
She did.
He took her hands in his. Kissed her knuckles. The action was meant for comfort, but her heart was beating at a clip over what was to come.
“I have to go back to boyhood.”
She gave him an encouraging nod.
“I was bullied and picked on because I’m Polish. So were my brothers and sisters. We never told anybody, and when the guys and I came home with bruised knuckles and split lips, we lied about them. We didn’t want to hurt our parents. They never knew because things like that weren’t supposed to happen at Catholic schools.”
She kissed his cheek. “I’m sorry you went through that.”
“I was good at academics and got a scholarship to Yale. From there, I borrowed money for law school at UCLA, did well and was picked up easily by a reputable firm in California.”
A new question hit her and she frowned. “Covington isn’t Polish. Your mother said it wasn’t her name.”
He drew in a breath. “My legal name is Covington, because I changed it. I started out as Covitz.”
She stiffened. Suddenly, she knew why he concealed all this from her. “You denied your roots because you were bullied in high school?”
“No. I wanted an unencumbered college experience.”
“By rejecting who you were?”
“I didn’t see it that way.”
She edged away from him.
“I know what you’re thinking. Your mother changed your names from Casella to Sullivan and you hated it. She abandoned your dad’s roots and made you two do it.”
“Yes.”
“This isn’t the same thing.”
“Isn’t it?” A lump formed in her throat.
“I don’t think so but there’s more.” He had to go for broke. He couldn’t keep anything from her, now.
Taking in a heavy breath, she asked, “What?”
“My father disowned me. Literally. He kicked me out and told me not to come back.”
“I’m sorry, Paul…”
“Let me finish. I cut off all ties with my family.”
“What?”
“I had no choice.”
“You just said in the courtroom there’s always a choice.” Her tone was sharper than she meant it to be.
“Not when it meant my hurting them even more. I spoke to Jakub, the oldest brother, a couple of times. He said Matka and Pa fought all the time over what Pa did. He forbade her to see me. Then he did the same with my brothers and sisters.”
“Surely they tried to contact you when they got to be adults. Out on their own.”
“They didn’t know how. Nobody but my parents knew my new last name. And I went thousands of miles away from them.”
Oh, dear God in heaven. “This isn’t just about Bridget’s actions. You did to your family exactly what Ronan did to mine.”
“Again, I didn’t see another way and maybe he didn’t either. I was full of adolescent rage at what Pa did. And the rage kept up. I hated staying in the dorms over holidays, though sometimes one of the guys asked me home. When I got my own place, it was better.”
“How long did you stay away?”
“Until Saturday night.”
She clapped one hand over her mouth. “W-what happened?”
He explained how he went to see his father. “He disowned me all over again.”
&nb
sp; She felt bad for him, and put her hands on his chest. “What about your mother?”
“She wasn’t home. And he didn’t seem to know she came to see me, so I didn’t tell him. I just left.”
“Paul…That must have been horrid.”
He waited.
She didn’t say anything more.
“Hayley, I have to know where your head’s at. I know this is parallel to your own family.”
“I can’t help it, Paul, I’m sorry. This story, your background, changes things for me.”
After a long while, he said, “I was afraid it might.”
* * *
Immobilized when Hayley left the hotel room, Paul turned over and went to sleep. He couldn’t face the world. After a few hours, he was able to get up and take a shower to revive himself. He made his way home like a zombie, steeling himself against the emotions of being disowned again by his father and rejected by Hayley. He got off at the subway stop, and walked two blocks to his complex. As he reached the door to his condo, he heard, “Pawel.” His name in Polish.
Turning, he saw two men standing on the sidewalk, staring at him. It took him a few seconds to recognize them. Please don’t let his happen. I can’t take any more rejection.
Paul lifted his chin as his two brothers, Jakub and Aleksander, crossed the street and walked to the front of his house. “Did you come to tell me off, too?”
Instead of answering, Jakub leaned forward and hugged Paul. Always the most sensitive, his older brother eked out, “Witaj w domu.” Welcome home.
And Paul’s eyes filled.
Alek, too, hugged him. Then they moved inside.
Paul took off his suitcoat and rolled up his sleeves. The guys wore nice jeans and T-shirts. “You want anything? I have beer.”
Jakub said, “I’ll take one of those.”
“I don’t drink,” Aleksander told him. “I’ll have a soda.”
“Let’s sit at the table.”
Once they were served and seated, Paul took a long pull on his Heineken and looked over at them. “So.”
Aleksander smiled. “Yeah, so. Here we are.”
Jakub leaned over. “We came to see you because Matka called us. Pa told her what he did, and all hell broke loose.”
Alek grinned, making Paul remember how the girls used to love him. “She’s not as demure as she used to be.”
“Why did she call you?”
“She wanted us to come get her. She still doesn’t drive. She’s staying with Zofia.”
“She left Pa?”
“For now.”
“We’re pissed, Paul,” Alek said. “We were hoping you’d come home and right things with Pa. When we found out you tried, and he did the same fucking thing all over again, we were both furious.”
“So, after we dropped Matka off, we came here.”
Jakub smiled. “We’ve been waiting an hour in that café where we could see your condo.”
“I-I don’t know what to say.”
“Paul, we miss you.” Alek again. “We want to know about your life.”
“How did you know where I lived.”
“You told Matka when she tracked you down through the medal ceremony.” Jakub again.
Alek said, “Now tell us about your personal life. Are you married?”
He explained about his brief marriage and that he had no children. Then he smiled. “I saw all your kids.”
“What?”
“When?”
“I drove by the street every so often after I got back here.”
“Why didn’t you stop?” Alek sounded horrified.
“I didn’t know if anyone would want me to. Tell me about the kids. And you.”
Jakub told Paul he was a construction worker and his oldest son, J.J. was on his crew. The boy would take over the company from him like he’d taken over from Pa. He had two other sons, both teenagers.
Aleksander was a teacher, married to one of his colleagues. He had three girls.
“What about Lena and Zofia?”
Jakub smiled. “They did good. Lena owns a successful shop in town. She isn’t married, and still lives with Ma and Pa, mostly to take care of them. Zofia’s married with three kids and is a paralegal.”
“I missed so much.” He looked at them. “I thought you’d all hate me.”
“As I said,” Alek put in, “we were pissed as hell when Pa kicked you out. But not at you, at him. I took it lying down. I don’t like confrontation. But I should have protested too, like Jakub did. He threw a fit.” Alek’s gesture encompassed the condo. “But you, big brother. Seems like you make a lot of money.”
“I did. Do you need some?”
“No, no. We just want to be with you.”
Paul looked around at his condo. He did have money and material things and even fame, now. But none of that made him happy like a visit from his two brothers.
Chapter 9
* * *
Hayley punched in her cousin’s cell number. “Seth Casella.”
“Hey, Seth, it’s me, Hayley. How are you?”
“Working on a really shitty case. I’m here in the office.”
“Tell me about it.”
“You had one too, the Feinsteins.”
“I did. The trial ended yesterday. We’re still waiting for a verdict. Now, tell me about yours.”
“My guess is you didn’t call to hear about my case. Something’s wrong, I can tell.”
“I had an awful day today. I need to take my mind off it. So, you’re on, buddy.”
“A man beat up his wife and knocked her unconscious. When she came to, the husband went after her again. She hit him over the head with a heavy frying pan. The guy suffered a coma, and when he recovered from it, he charged her with assault. Needless to say, I’m representing her.”
“Why didn’t she charge him first?”
“I recommended that. But she’s refused because she didn’t want him in jail, she just wanted him to stop beating her up.”
Hayley sighed. “That’s so often the case with an abused woman. We’ve seen a lot of them at the DA’s office.”
“Worse, he’s out of the hospital now and threatening her.”
“Can’t you prove that?”
“I’m trying to figure it all out now.”
“You will. If you need a sounding board, or want to do some brainstorming, I’m available.”
“That might help. Now tell me about…Wait a sec.” Hayley heard a door slam. “Mr. Malone, how’d you get in here?”
A clattering on his end as if he dropped the phone… Then she heard, “Oh, my God.” Seth’s voice was further away.
“Messin’ with my life…Not gonna take it anymore.”
“Mr. Malone, put the knife away, and…no, no please don’t use that…” Loud crashing. A scream. Then nothing.
“Seth? Seth? Please answer.” He didn’t.
Had her cousin been stabbed?
Keep your head, Hayley. She put the call on hold in case Seth recovered enough to talk and punched in 911. “911. How can I help you?”
“There’s been a stabbing in Hidden Cove, about an hour from New York. I was on the phone with the victim. Can you call the 911 people in town and tell them a stabbing occurred at Legal Aid in downtown Hidden Cove? I don’t know that address, either.”
“Yes, ma’am. Give me your number and I’ll call you back.”
Hayley gave her information and clicked off. Her line to Seth was still silent when she took him off hold. She called Gideon because he was a police officer, but his phone went to voice mail. Who else should know, could help? Something niggled at her. She scrolled through her contacts, and found Megan Malvaso’s information. She’d been a cop and Kate Cassidy’s mentor. Kate had talked about her at the picnic that Sunday when she and Mitch stopped by. She’d told Hayley to call her, Megan, if she ever needed to check on something police related. She found the number and clicked into it.
“Hello?”
“Megan, I don’t k
now if you remember me, but I’m Hayley Casella.”
“Hi—”
“Sorry to interrupt, but I was on the phone with my cousin Seth. Rafe’s brother. He works at Legal Aid.” She finished her account as quickly as possible.
“I’ll make sure someone’s there. We’ll go, too.”
“Thanks.”
She called Rafe and couldn’t get him. Then she tried Ali. No answer. Carmella? No, she didn’t think she should do that. She decided to call an Uber when there was a knock on the door. She ignored it and phoned for a car. Then she went to the foyer, opened the door.
And was shocked to see Paul standing there. He blurted out, “I’m not letting you get away without—”
She dragged him inside.
“What’s wrong?”
Instead of answering, she asked, “Would you come to Hidden Cove with me?”
“If that’s what you want.”
“I’ll explain why on the way there.”
* * *
Though he didn’t know why she was crying, he held her in the backseat of the Uber, her head buried in his chest. Paul remained calm because she needed him to be.
“Let it out, honey.”
She didn’t give into the emotion long, but every sob touched his heart. When she finally stopped, she sat back and wiped her face with the handkerchief he gave her. And sighed.
He didn’t rush her. Finally, she began to talk.
“I’d called Seth tonight because I’ve been overwrought over what happened between you and me. He was working late. Alone, at Legal Aid. I told him a hundred times not to do that. He was describing a particularly nasty case. All of a sudden, the guy involved …h-he came into the office. Seth said something about a knife. Then the phone fell. I heard him scream and he never came back on the line.”