“Can’t you – I don’t know… make the women testify, if they’ve said that they will?” Katie said.
“Compel them to provide evidence?” Charlotte said. “Yes, I can.”
“No.” Reena’s voice was decisive. “You are not going to force anyone up on that stand. Those women have been through enough. If they back out and it’s just me, then that’s what you have to work with.”
Her friends looked at her.
“Reena,” Mia said gently. “If it’s just you giving testimony, then you get what that means, right?”
“I – I’m not sure what you’re talking about.”
“It means that Yates is on trial for the assault on you only. Charlotte won’t be able to mention any of the other attacks, at all. No talk of the rapes, or the pay-offs. Just him hitting you and attempting to rape you.”
“Yeah, OK.” Reena stared at her. “And?”
“And that means that it all comes down to your word against his,” Mitch said. “And you’d better believe that he won’t testify, so it’s up to you, Reena. Just you.” His eyes were anxious. “You get that, sugar?”
“I –” She stopped, confused and uncertain.
“Reena,” Charlotte said. “It also means that the most we could expect is for him to spend four years in jail, but in reality, he’d serve less than two for good behavior. Maybe a small fine. And all that’s if he’s found guilty, which he may not be. It depends on how well you do on the stand.” Her round face was serious. “Are you really willing to put yourself through a grueling cross – and don’t kid yourself, hon, it will be brutal and personal – for maybe eighteen months in jail? The press coverage will be heinous, and what you’ve seen online is just a taste of what’s yet to come once you show your face in court.”
They were all silent as the enormity of what Reena needed to do hit them like a freight train.
“Reena,” Mitch began. “Maybe you should think about…”
“Don’t say it,” Reena told him. She turned back to Charlotte. “I am testifying. Two years is better than nothing, and no way you’re bargaining anything with that asshole. I give this my best shot – we both do, Charlotte – and I stand by whatever happens after. The fall-out, my name being raked through the mud… all of it.” Her soft voice was pure steel. “OK?”
“OK.” Charlotte smiled at her. “I’ll have your back in there, Reena. If anyone can give this thing a chance of success, it’s you. As long as you’re with me, I’m with you.”
“We are too,” Nick said. “You’re not alone, Reena. You know that, right?”
She nodded at him.
“OK, so.” Charlotte ran a hand through her dark hair. “Let me talk to the judge. He already suggested that the trial begin in three weeks. That should be enough time to prep you, and for Yates’ team to mount a new defense strategy.”
“Strategy?” Mitch said.
“Yes. If it’s all about Reena – and I’m sure it will be – then they have to deal with what she says happened.”
“What did happen,” Mitch corrected, an edge to his voice. “I’ll testify to it.”
“Yes, normally you would,” Charlotte said. “Normally, I’d call you to the stand, Mitch. After all, you were the first person to see Reena and the apartment after the attack.”
“Right. So what’s the problem?”
“The problem is that you and Reena are together now.” Maggie glanced at Charlotte. “Right?”
“Exactly.” Charlotte shrugged. “Yates’ lawyers would argue pretty strongly that you’re making up supporting testimony to help your girlfriend.”
“Fuck!” Mitch ground out.
“Also?” Charlotte said mercilessly. “Your little underground brawl with Yates, where you snapped his leg damn near in two, wouldn’t help matters in the slightest. The lawyers would say that you have an ax to grind with him. They’d also portray you as a street thug, Mitch, as a dangerous, unstable, violent man. And then they’d ask just what the hell is sweet little assault victim Reena doing with a guy like that?”
They all stared at her, horrified.
“But why would the fight even come up?” Adam asked. “It was totally illegal… you think Yates’ lawyers would admit to him being there? At a fight organized by local drug dealer and pimp Kirk Jensen? Seriously?”
Charlotte shrugged. “If it made Mitch look even worse than Simon? You’re damn right they would.”
“So Reena’s on her own,” Mitch said heavily. “Totally alone.”
“Yes.”
“Goddamn,” Katie said. “I hate these assholes.”
“Oh, yeah.” Charlotte gave them a wry smile. “Me too.”
Chapter Seven
One week later, Maggie ran her hands over the apsara’s leg, admiring the curve. She’d gotten it just right, she thought: it was shapely and sexy, but also strong and fluid. The goddess looked like she was actually supporting some weight on it as she moved, and that was what Maggie had been after. Light and airy, a creature of air and myth, but still somehow flesh and blood. All woman; all spirit; all essence.
Her cell phone buzzed now and she frowned when she saw Joe’s number.
Argh. What now, creep? You call me every day, and I have yet to figure out why.
Briefly, she considered not answering, but she knew he’d just keep on calling. The man was nothing if not persistent.
“Hello?” she said, going for polite, at least for the moment.
“Hi, Maggie.” Even over the phone, Joe sounded tired, and Maggie reminded herself she didn’t give a crap.
“Hello.”
“How’s it going?”
She sighed. “The same as it was this morning when you called and asked me the same question. Good.”
“Good progress today?”
“Yes.”
“So.” He cleared his throat. “Can I come later this week and see the first sculpture?”
Maggie rolled her eyes. “It’s your apsara. You can come and check on its progress any time you want. I’ve told you this many times.”
“Yeah, I know,” Joe said. “I just want to come and see it when I’ll get a sense of the final result. Before then makes no real sense.”
She glanced up at the sculpture looming above her. “Well, if you can hold on two weeks, I think you’ll be able to see the completed bottom half.”
“The bottom?”
“Yes. I’ll work on her face last. I always do.”
“Oh, right. I’d forgotten that’s how you work.”
She said nothing. She’d long ago assumed that Joe Carlisle had forgotten pretty much everything about her.
“OK, then,” he said, and she heard paper rustling. “So I’ll come on Thursday morning. The twenty-fourth. Is that fine?”
“Uh, no. Simon Yates’ trial finally starts that day and Reena’s scheduled to testify. I need to be in court to support her.”
“Oh.” Joe’s voice changed now. The Yates trial was huge news, and despite the fact that she was supposed to be protected by anonymity, Reena’s name was being thrown around online pretty freely. Joe had heard about Reena’s attack, and the week before, Maggie had grudgingly confirmed what was going on. They hadn’t discussed it since, though, and her bringing it up now was a bit of a surprise. “So maybe you want to move the viewing to Friday?”
“No. Let’s just get it over with.”
He paused at her choice of words, and despair crashed over him as he realized – yet again – just how much she despised working with him. And then he wondered one more time why she’d taken the commission from a man she obviously hated.
Maybe I just wore her down with the calls and e-mails, and talking to her friends? Maybe I was just such a pain in her ass, she decided to do it to shut me up?
“OK.” He fought to stay as cool as she was. “So,
Thursday evening? Six?”
“Good. See you then. Bye.”
Joe set down his phone and a wave of exhaustion just washed over him. Everything for the restaurant was working out and slowly coming together – but nothing was easy. And Maggie was the most not-easy thing of all.
But it’ll all be worth it when she does the work. No matter how tense things are between us, the fact is that I don’t want anyone on the whole damn planet to do this job. Just Maggie.
**
Mia pressed up against Nick’s large, strong body, wanting to be as close to him as she possibly could be. She was starved for his touch, for his kisses, and she arched up in to him. She rubbed herself against his erection and moaned. She was so ready for him, she thought she’d be able to come even fully clothed.
“Mia,” Nick murmured. “I love you, babe.”
“Oh, God. I love you too.”
“I wish I could stay tonight, but I can’t. I’m sorry.”
She pulled back. “Why? We haven’t spent the night together in almost two weeks… what’s going on?”
“Nothing.” Nick kissed her again, but she didn’t respond this time. “Mia…”
“No.” She sat up, her brown hair tousled and her shirt halfway unbuttoned. “You come for dinner, you promise to spend the night. You pick me up and throw me on the bed, you start to take off my clothes and now, what? You just hit the brakes?”
“I’m sorry.” Nick sat up too, his gray eyes hazy with lust. “I just remembered I have to do something in the morning.”
“What?”
“It’s a private lesson with a new client.”
“A karate lesson?”
“Yeah.”
She stared at him.
“I’m really sorry, angel.” He got to his feet, wincing a bit. “I’d do anything to stay.”
“So stay. We can just sleep together, if you’re worried about being too tired after some marathon sex session.” She was trying not to beg, but she missed him so much, it was starting to hurt. “I just want you close to me, Nick. That’s all.”
“I want that too, I swear. But I don’t have any of my gym stuff here, and I don’t want to have to go home and pick it all up. OK?”
“No.”
“Mia, please.” Nick shook his head. “Try to understand.”
“I’ve spent weeks trying to understand, Nick.” Her voice was quiet. “I’m trying to understand why you’re hardly around at all and why when we are together, you’re distracted and distant. What’s happening with you?”
“Hey, now.” Nick’s handsome face softened. “Nothing. It’s just a bad time at work.”
“You keep saying that, but it only explains and excuses so much.” She stood up too. “Are you… do you want to break up with me?”
“What? No!” Nick looked shocked. “Never, babe.”
“So, what…”
He pulled her in to his arms now, and she closed her eyes as his familiar scent washed over her. His chest was broad and muscular, and she heard his heartbeat, strong and steady. She knew its rhythm as well as she knew her own heart's.
“Mia,” he whispered. “It’ll all be OK soon, I promise. Can you just hang on a bit longer? For me, angel, can you try?”
“I’ll – I’ll try. But Nick… I’m worried about you. I’m worried about us.”
“No.” His kiss was hot and loving. “Never, ever worry about us, Mia. ‘Us’ is good.”
But when Mia shut the door behind him, she wasn’t sure about that at all. In fact, she was sure that ‘us’ was in serious trouble. She just didn’t have a clue what the trouble really was.
Chapter Eight
Rita rolled over in bed, blinked at the clock. Everything was horribly blurry and she felt too hot. She tried to sit up and a sharp pain shot through the middle of her body.
Oh, no. No, no, no. Am I rejecting the kidney?
She reached for her cell phone, the distance to the bedside table seeming to stretch on in to infinity. She fumbled it, dropped it on the floor. Rita sighed, shut her eyes.
Get that damn phone. Now.
Slowly, painfully, she inched to the edge of the bed and peered over it. The phone was right there, thank Christ, and with a groan she reached for it, idly wondering why her hand looked so puffy and bloated. Carefully, she lifted the phone to her face, squinted through the blurriness to find Maggie’s number on speed-dial. Somehow she managed to push the right button with her massive sausage finger, then settled back on to the pillows, trying to stay calm.
“Hi, Mom. You OK?”
“Maaaaggieeee…” Rita was slurring, her tongue was huge in her dry mouth, and her voice was weak. She wondered if Maggie had even understood what she’d just said.
A long pause, then Maggie’s voice came, tight with panic. “Mom? You need me to come over?”
Rita nodded, then remembered that Maggie wouldn’t be able to hear that. “Yeeeetttthh.”
“I’m coming. Should I call an ambulance?”
“Yeeeetttth…”
“OK. I’ll be there in fifteen minutes. Hang on, Mom.”
Rita pushed the red ‘disconnect’ button with her swollen thumb, dropped the phone next to her. She closed her eyes, and tried to not give in to the rising, blinding panic washing over her body.
It’s going to be fine. Just breathe.
**
“Is she rejecting the kidney?” Maggie asked.
“No.” Carrie Langston looked very grave. “She has an infection in her stomach. Quite a bad one.”
“But – how?” said Reena, her arm around Maggie. “From what?”
Carrie shrugged, almost helplessly. “Nobody can say, I’m afraid. As you know, she’s on some very strong drugs to prevent her from rejecting the kidney, but those drugs make her very, very vulnerable to infection.”
“Yes,” Maggie said.
“So, this reaction happens in transplant patients. A lot.” Carrie looked at the chart in her hand. “Rita was fine when she was here for her check-up two days ago, so whatever this is, it moved fast.”
“OK, so.” Maggie tried to sound calm, even though she was losing her mind. “What happens now?”
“We give her drugs to fight the infection.”
“More drugs?” Maggie asked quietly.
“Yes.”
“And if the infection spreads? What then?”
“We try different drugs.”
“Why is she so swollen?” Katie asked suddenly. “That was the infection?”
“That’s the next thing I need to talk to you about,” Carrie said. “That swelling, and the redness of her skin? Those are early signs of sepsis.”
The women stared at her, horrified.
“Sepsis?” Reena said. “Like – her body is poisoned?”
“Well, that’s what an infection is, broadly speaking,” Carrie said. “A bacteria, a foreign body, a virus, a poison. It’s something that shouldn’t be there, and usually, our bodies are strong enough to just fight it off. In Rita’s case, her body is weaker, more vulnerable.” She smiled a bit. “She’ll need some help to fight it.”
“OK,” Maggie said. “So… we try some new drugs. And?”
“And we wait and see.”
Maggie took a deep breath. “OK. I’ll wait.”
Carrie nodded and left the visitor's room. Her legs felt like jelly, so Maggie sat down, trying to breathe evenly. Her friends sat next to her, around her.
“You’re going to stay?” Mia said.
“Yeah.” Maggie rubbed her eyes. “For sure.”
“I wish I could stay with you,” Reena said. “But I have to go and meet Charlotte for prep. I’ll come back after, OK? With some food?”
Maggie nodded. “Thanks.”
“And I’m not going anywhere,” Katie declare
d. “You’re stuck with me.”
“Me too,” Mia piped up. “I’ll go get us some coffee… and a croissant, right?”
Maggie managed a smile. “Please.”
Reena gave her a huge hug, then she and Mia left the room together. Katie took Maggie’s hand, and they sat, quiet. There was nothing to say, so they just didn’t say anything.
**
Carrie dropped by the waiting room six hours later, looking worried. Reena had arrived an hour earlier with some food, and all four women dropped their forks and got to their feet.
“What?” Maggie blurted. “What is it?”
“The infection has spread,” Carrie said. “It’s also in her lungs.”
“Oh, God.”
“We’ll switch drugs now, and see in the morning, OK?”
“I can come back at eight o’clock in the morning, right?”
“Yes.” Carrie sighed. “And the night team will be in touch if anything really critical happens during the night.”
“I understand. Thank you,” Maggie said. “For everything.”
“You’re welcome. And listen, don’t panic, OK? I know it’s frightening, but these infections are very common, and the drugs are pretty effective. And I know Rita’s a fighter… she wants to go to Paris with you, remember?”
“Yeah.” Maggie pulled herself together. “I remember.”
**
After having been at the hospital all day, Maggie had lost a full day of work on the first apsara. Joe had called that afternoon, and she’d kept the conversation brief and snide: yes, they were still meeting on the twenty-fourth; yes, everything was under control; yes, he was still an asshole. Though that last part had merely been strongly implied.
Now she was at the studio, working through the night. She knew she wouldn’t be able to sleep anyway, from worrying about her Mom and waiting for her phone to ring with an urgent call from the night staff, so she might as well use the time to make some progress on the sculpture. Her body was chilled, as the fear she’d been sitting with all day settled in her stomach as a massive block of ice, and started to pump freezing water through her veins.
Fighting History (Fighting For Love Book 4) Page 5