I walked back to Pop’s room and opened the door slowly, switching on the light and looking around the room. There didn’t seem to be anything out of the ordinary in there, unless you counted the fact that her father was completely gone. There was no sign that he had returned to the house at all, and I wondered how he got away, with all those police officers at the house that night. Why hadn’t he checked on his daughter? Why hadn’t he come to her aid when he saw her name and face on the front of the newspaper? Where was the fatherly instinct to protect his child? I couldn’t even imagine watching my child be arrested for something they didn’t do, and instead of coming to help, he ran off to go gamble and get away from the situation.
I walked back out into the living room and wrapped my arms around Josie. She looked so damn sad, and I just wanted her to feel better. But I knew that wasn’t going to happen until all of this craziness was behind us. She was determined to save her father, but I was worried that he was already gone. There had been no reports of any unusual activity that involved him, but that didn’t mean that he was safe.
“Come on,” I said, leading her toward her bedroom. “Pack a bag, and let’s get out of here. We can go to my place and relax on the deck, just listening to the tides roll in. I have a good bottle of wine. I’m sure a shower was on your list of things to do as well.”
“I can’t leave,” she said, turning and staring at me. “I have to stay here and wait for my father to come home.”
I looked at her, wide-eyed, not believing how stubborn she was being. She couldn’t stay here. It wasn’t safe, and she didn’t even have a front door that she could lock. The thought was just ludicrous, and she had to know that I was going to say absolutely not. There was no way she, or I for that matter, were going to risk our lives waiting for someone who might not come back at all.
“No,” I said, shaking my head. “Absolutely not. It’s too dangerous.”
“Blaine, this is my father,” she said with sad eyes. “I can’t abandon him.”
“You aren’t abandoning him,” I said, shaking my head. “You are looking out for both of your best interests. He’s been gone for days, even after everything happened, and we don’t know where he is. He could be on his way to Vegas for all we know.”
I walked over and wrapped my arms around Josie, kissing her on the top of the head. She leaned into me for the first time since I picked her up, and I could feel her start to relax. I knew she had been through something traumatizing, and it was going to take her a bit to get back to normal.
“How about this?” I asked quietly. “I’ll have some of our investigators go look for him. As soon as they find him, they will let us know.”
“Okay,” she said, sniffling.
“It’s just not safe for you to stay here,” I explained. “There are too many unexplained things right now. We need to figure it all out first.”
“I know,” she said with a sigh. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be sorry,” I said. “Go pack your things, and I’ll be here when you’re done.”
I watched her walk away, thinking about how crazy of an idea it was that she actually thought I would leave her here. There was way too much risk involved in letting her out of my sight, something I had already done once, and she ended up arrested and charged with murder. The stakes were too high, and there was no way in hell that I was leaving her alone, much less there at that house. There had been so many events transpiring over the last forty-eight hours that I didn’t even know my ass from my elbow. Too much had happened, and I partly blamed myself for not insisting on being there when she spoke with her father. There was no way, at that point, that I was going to let her out of my sight. Hell, there was a good chance I wouldn’t let her out of my sight for a very long time. I cared way too much about her. She was sweet and kind, and I needed to figure out a way to get her out of all of this.
She packed a bag and met me at the front door, smiling as I led her to the car. I let her in and then went to the driver’s side, pulling my seat up comfortably and buckling my seatbelt. I watched as she pulled out her phone and dialed her voicemail. She sat quietly, listening to the prompts and pressing the buttons. Her face was calm, and I could see just how tired she was from the bags under her beautiful, big eyes. She needed to rest, and I was going to make sure she did. She sighed as she pressed the erase button and continued to listen to the messages. I knew that she was praying and hoping that her father’s voice would pop up on the other end of the line. She really did love him, no matter how many things he had put her through over the years. It made me think about my father and how I wished he were here to go fishing with or have holiday dinners with. I missed him a lot, and I knew the feeling of hoping for good news but never getting it.
Josie’s father, though, was a piece of shit. I was more than livid at the old man. I knew he had something to do with Josie’s dire situation, but the messages from Josie were mixed, and there were some serious holes I was trying to fill in. I would love to get ahold of him and stick my boot up his ass for being involved in anything that caused harm to Josie. I couldn’t understand what the hell he was thinking. He could really be helpful in the case, but instead, he ran off like a scared puppy, leaving Josie to pick up the pieces once again and take the brunt of the blow. Her life was going to be forever changed.
As I reached down to put the car in drive, I glanced at Josie and watched as tears filled her eyes. She was listening to a message, and I grabbed her hand, letting her I know that I was there for her. Whoever was on the other end did not have good news, and immediately, my mind went to her dad. I was mad at the man, but I didn’t want anything to happen to him. I knew all too well how it was to lose a parent. She hung up the phone and wiped her tears, her breath catching in her throat.
“What is it?” I tried to be calm and soft-spoken.
“That was the school,” she said, sniffling. “They have suspended me without pay because of the charges. They said it was policy, and they had no choice. I can’t believe all of this is happening. Those kids were my life, my escape from the hell of my household. They will never look at me the same way again.”
“Sure, they will,” I said, shaking my head. “As soon as we solve this and prove your innocence, that school will welcome you back with open arms. Everything is going to be okay.”
I wish I believed the words that I told her.
Chapter 22
Josie
My mind was blown. I couldn’t even start to think about everything that had gone on for the past few days. It was like I was living in someone else’s world, where I had no control over what was going on and limited ability to even put it into words. It had been a whirlwind of events, but I knew there was more to come. My father almost never left my thoughts, even before all of this started. I thought about him all day, every day, wondering what he was doing, hoping he was keeping himself busy and not with gambling. My job had been my sanctuary, a way to remove myself from the madness and focus on the kids. They really gave me strength on a regular basis, something I felt I was so lucky to have. Now, though, I hadn’t heard from my dad at all since the incident with Paulie, and my job had put me on suspension.
I’d seen what happens to people when they are thrown under the bus and are charged with crimes they never committed. The public has a way of judging before they even hear the details, and the details of my case did not make me look any less guilty. I didn’t want to be the girl who was found not guilty but still had to live my life in the public, being treated like I had killed that woman. I would probably never be hired to teach again after being dubbed a murderer. The damage had already begun, and now, I just had to figure out how to not go to prison. Just being in that jail cell for three days made me realize that I was not prepared for a life of incarceration. I couldn’t stand one bit of it, from the jumpsuits and cots to the terrible, unedible food, and the constant fear I was going to get hurt. Those women did not play around, and I was in no way the girl that could harden mysel
f to stay alive. If I was out of prison, the mob might get me, but if I was in prison, the other inmates might get me.
Out here though, away from all of that, I had Blaine. He believed me from the start and never asked otherwise, which was pretty amazing for a week’s worth of dating. He has been so gentle with me, talking me through everything, loving me at every turn, and fighting so hard to get the charges dropped. He didn’t even flinch or waver when he found out what the charges were. He just found a way to me and put his arms around me. I couldn’t have asked for a better boyfriend in this case, and I knew that he was going to find a way to help me. I honestly didn’t know what I would have done if it weren’t for Blaine. There was a really good chance I probably would still be in the cell.
When we got home, he didn’t stop pampering me or trying to ease my mind and my body. He unlocked the front door and took me by the hand, setting the alarm as we walked. He didn’t stop for food or drinks, and he didn’t put me to bed. Instead, he led me through the hall and directly to the bathroom where he started to fill up the enormous bathtub. The water was hot, and steam rose from the tub, making me think about the cold showers I had been forced to take in prison. He walked over to me and slowly pulled my shirt over my head and helped me out of my pants. He walked behind me, unclasped my bra, and finished undressing me with the gentlest touch. There were no words, just silent caring and the sound of the water flowing from the tap. He took my hand and helped me step into the hot water, smiling as I sunk down with a sigh. The water washed over me, and I could feel my stress begin to dissipate by the second. He sprinkled some bath salts in the tub, and I took a deep breath of the lavender. It was exactly what I needed.
I was so grateful to have the ability to take a bath. The nights in my cell were cold and dark, and I could still smell the steel bars in my nose. I had laid there in the cot at night, thinking about the dinners I would cook my father, the warm bed I missed so much, and Blaine’s strong, hot arms around me. When the other girls had arrived, I got myself through the night without sleep by thinking about the warm air over my body as Blaine and I walked across the sand, the ocean waves just barely touching my feet. I could still hear the waves from my windows, crashing against the shore, even in that cold dark cell. I figured I would have to start remembering a lot more of that if I didn’t get out of these charges.
I sat there while Blaine pulled the sponge from the edge of the tub and lathered it with body wash. He gently moved it over my skin, cleaning the last few days from my body. He smiled kindly at me as I sat there, feeling comfortable but still not completely at ease. When he was done washing me, he helped me out of the tub and wrapped a towel around me as he pulled out some clean clothes from my bag. I got dressed and combed my hair and then met him in the living room where he had set up a nest of blankets and pillows on the couch. He asked if I needed anything, but I shook my head no, not even wanting to eat since the exhaustion had just struck me. I watched him walk over to the table and open his laptop, files piled up everywhere.
“When are you going back to the office?” I asked.
“I’m not,” he answered. “I’m going to work here, from home. I don’t want to leave you for even a second. It’s too risky.”
“Thank you,” I said with a yawn. “And if I don’t get a chance to say it later, thank you for everything you’ve done, and everything you will do for me. I couldn’t imagine what I would do if I were in this situation alone.”
“I love you,” he said. “I would go to the ends of the earth for you. Don’t worry. We are going to figure this all out and get your life back on track.”
I smiled at him, thinking about those words and wondering if I should tell him the entire story. I wondered if he should know that Harry the Hammer had come to visit me inside the jail. But then I remembered that they were not playing around, and if I brought Blaine into this, there was a good chance he would get hurt, too. I couldn’t, for one second, even start to think about putting his life in danger, not after all he had done for me. If there was a way out of this without revealing my secret, I was sure Blaine was going to find it.
I watched him as he pulled out his pad of paper, his notes, and his files and began to work. There was something so amazing about the way he handled himself. He was so organized, and everything that he had gone through so far was tabbed and highlighted. Now, I understood what made him such a good lawyer. He really put himself into his work. I knew that he was way more invested in this case than probably any of the others, but still, if he did this on a normal basis, he would be unstoppable. His parents must have known that when they left him the firm. I wondered if everyone on his staff was this diligent, and I felt an ease come over me, knowing I had people like Blaine slaving away at my case, trying to find me a way out, any way they could.
Even the way that Blaine talked on the phone was incredibly impressive, and I smiled at the way he twirled his pen while he waited for someone to pick up. His tone of voice was completely different than the one he talked to me with. It was assertive and dominating, while his voice was always so gentle and loving with me. I thought about how he might sound in the courtroom, and I wondered if it would make me giggle. Probably not, especially since in the courtroom, I would be fighting for my freedom and possibly life. There would probably be no moments on that stand that I felt good about what was going on, regardless of whether I felt I was winning or not. I listened to Blaine talk to some man name Anderson on the phone.
“I have a private investigator out looking for her father, but I think that it would be a good idea for her to file a missing person’s report soon,” he said in an authoritative tone. “Yes, I have all that documented. Now, if you could go over the state’s case with me again, that would be great.”
I smiled to myself, not wanting to distract him. Anderson must be someone important in the firm since he seemed to have my case right in front of him. As they talked, Blaine started taking notes, stopping to ask questions that I already knew the answers to. Part of me wanted to jump right in with the team and help in my own defense. Who knew the details of my case better than me? I knew where everything was, who everyone was, and exactly what happened. From the sound of it, though, I might not have any real options when we got to court. The prosecutors had tied this one up pretty tightly and were very secure in their reasoning. They had arrested me because of an eyewitness that said they saw someone that looked like me walking into the victim’s home at the time of the murder. Then, when they searched my house, they found the murder weapon, wrapped in the victim’s clothes, in a trashcan outside of my house. It was set up by Paulie perfectly, and in my mind, a little too perfectly. I was shocked that no one was questioning why I would have that weapon in a trashcan out front, a trashcan that had been emptied at least twice since the murder by the garbage men.
It didn’t help that I couldn’t show any proof that I was at my house that night. My only alibi was my father, and he was still missing. I figured that Harry and Paulie probably had him locked up at this point, unable to leave to give us that information. In reality, I didn’t even think they would spare my father’s life once I was convicted. That was too many loose ends for the mob. They would kill him and throw the body in the river like so many others that had crossed their paths. My mind tried to block that image out, knowing that there was still a chance to correct all of this.
I had no idea what to do or even where to start. There was so much stacked against me, and I wasn’t sure how to prove them wrong. I felt a lot better knowing Blaine and his firm were already ten steps ahead of me. They had picked up the case as soon as I was arrested, and they’d been working the details ever since. If there was a way out of this nightmare, Blaine would find it, and that, in itself, gave me the ability to relax just a bit. I couldn’t spend the rest of my life behind bars.
Chapter 23
Blaine
“All right man,” I said to Anderson. “Thanks. I’ll give you a call back in a little while. We should go over
the timeline this afternoon.”
“Sounds good, buddy,” he said.
I hung up the phone and looked down at my notes. It looked absolutely impossible, but I knew that it wasn’t. Besides, Anderson had gotten me some good information on this Paulie character, and I wanted to hear Josie’s story again while Anderson dove deeper into the two mobster thugs. She was lying in a huge nest of blankets and pillows on the couch, but she was anything but asleep. I could tell she was restlessly listening to everything going on, and I knew that her mind must be running a million miles an hour. I walked over and sat down next to her, grabbing onto her hand.
“I need you to do something just one more time for me,” I said. “I need you to recite exactly what happened on Wednesday. I know you’ve told me over and over again, but I want to make sure I have everything perfect.”
She took a deep breath and pulled herself up on the couch, reaching over and grabbing her bottle of water. I could tell she was already running the events through her mind, and I could see the stress start to build. I didn’t want her to be stressed, but I knew right now it was inevitable. She recounted her story, beginning at the conversation with her father at dinner about his gambling addiction.
She went through all of the events, but what really caught my attention was what happened in the jail cell after she was taken by the police. My eyes widened as she talked about Harry the Hammer, and how that woman, the same woman from the night Josie was arrested, ended up in the cell right next to hers with a violent message. She threatened Josie again, but this time, there were witnesses, and I knew no matter how loyal someone was to another inmate, the thought of freedom would make them sing like a bird. I was pretty pissed that none of the guards were there to help Josie.
Yours Forever: A Holiday Romance Page 56