Breaking Karma

by Charity Ferrell

  “I’ll call Kenneth,” Sheila said, grabbing for her phone.

  “We’ll fix this,” Gabby said, rushing to my side.

  I nodded before I was jerked backwards and led out to the squad car.

  I was being arrested at my girlfriend’s baby shower. It was fucking humiliating, and I felt like a total piece of shit. The sadness and disappointment on Gabby’s face made me want to rip Harold’s heart out of his chest the next time I saw him. Whoever had put them up to this was going down.

  ***

  I was back in the same shithole room waiting for someone to come in and explain to me why I’d been escorted from my girlfriend’s baby shower into a cop car. There was no way they actually believed they had sufficient evidence to convict me of a crime I didn’t commit.

  Harold walked in, a smug look on his face, a pep in his step.

  “I’m not speaking without my goddamn lawyer,” I said, before he even got the chance to sit down. I wanted this over with. Gabby needed me.

  He held his hands up in the air. “That’s fine,” he said, taking a seat. I was relieved to not see David. It was just us two. One on one. “I’ll sit here and wait until he arrives.”

  I waited impatiently, not saying another word, and blew out a breath of relief when my lawyer came shuffling into the room. He was dressed in a full suit, and his blonde hair was slicked back. He threw his briefcase down on the table and pulled out the chair next to me.

  “Why is my client here?” he asked, getting straight to the point.

  Billy Herrington was one of the top lawyers in the city. He didn’t fuck around. Even though I was a lawyer, and so was my dad and uncle, we still kept him on retainer. It never looked good representing yourself.

  “We received a tip that he was involved in the murder of a young woman named Ivy Hart,” Harold answered, matter-of-factly. He was ready to sentence me to life.

  “A fucking tip from who?” I blurted out. I noticed the annoyed look on Billy’s face from the corner of my eye. He wanted me to keep my mouth shut and let him do his job. Lawyers hated nothing more than clients who couldn’t shut the fuck up.

  “A tip from someone stating they overheard you bragging about killing Ivy Hart, the mistress of John Gentry. Yes, we know you were representing John and trying to hide their affair. We’re not idiots. We have the documents your company drew up trying to pay her to keep her mouth shut. I’m sure you … your dad … John, one of you, or possibly all of you were unhappy when she didn’t go through with the deal you proposed. We found the non-disclosure form, as well as the threatening letters. Those letters look like something a man trying to hide an affair might write … or people trying to help him hide it.” He shook his head at me, trying to look disgusted, but failing. “Is that why you did it? Because she didn’t bow down to you and your family?”

  “I didn’t do shit,” I spat. “You know that.” I leaned forward, resting my elbows on the table, and kept going before Billy could stop me. “Why don’t you tell me who this reliable source is?”

  I ran the possible sources through my mind, trying to come up with anyone else that would be in on their setup, but my mind was drawing a blank. Someone, and I wasn’t sure who, had made up me bragging about her death.

  Harold folded his hands on the table. “That’s confidential.”

  “Then I’m not telling you shit.”

  “The source is Kelly Douglas.” Both Harold and I looked at Billy. “I know this for a fact. You might not be able to tell him who it was, but I can.”

  “My sister-in-law?” I yelled. Or soon to be sister-in-law. “What the fuck?”

  “She came into the station, terrified for her own life, after she overheard you confessing the crime to your brother,” Harold said. Damn, he sure wasn’t doing a good job with the whole confidentially thing.

  “That conniving bitch,” I mumbled. That probably wasn’t the best thing to say at the moment, but I was on the verge of snapping. I wanted to run out of the room and confront her ass.

  “I see you’re a fan of her,” Harold said. “Care to tell me why she’d come in here and lie about something this serious? And how she even knows about your involvement with Ivy?”

  “The murder is all over the news, and she knows we worked with John about the affair. She attends our family dinners. As for your second question, she most likely did it because she thinks I’m influencing my brother to divorce her.”

  “That seems a bit extreme.”

  “That bitch is fucking extreme. She’s a basket case.” My behavior wasn’t yelling innocence, but I didn’t give a damn.

  “What do we need to do to get him out of here for now?” Billy asked.

  “We’re not letting him out on bail. He’s a flight risk,” Harold answered.

  I let out a harsh laugh. “I’m a flight risk?” I asked. “Don’t you think if I was a flight risk and actually did kill her, I would’ve ran by now?”

  Billy looked at me. “Stay here. I’ll fix this.” He got up and left the room.

  “Harold, you know I didn’t do this,” I said, trying to reason with him. “You know I’m not a killer.”

  “I honestly don’t know what you or your family is capable of anymore,” he answered, getting up from the chair and slamming the door shut as he left.

  ***

  “I’m going to kill her,” I shouted, as soon as I walked out of the station and found Leo waiting for me. “I’m going to kill that bitch with my bare hands.”

  I’d been released, but Harold made sure I knew that this wasn’t over. He’d made it clear that he was still looking into my father and me.

  After Billy left me in the interrogation room, he went straight to Leo’s and convinced him to talk to Kelly. It took Leo a few hours, but he finally managed to break her down. She admitting to making it all up to get back at me.

  “I advise you to shut your mouth, Dalton,” Billy said, walking alongside me.

  “Sorry,” I grumbled.

  He turned my way and shook my hand. “Let me know if anything else comes up. Have a good night.”

  “Brother, calm down,” Leo said, coming my way. He was my ride home … well my ride back to my Uncle Kenneth’s, so I could get Gabby. “She’s still my wife and the mother of my children. Watch what you say, especially in public, dumbass.”

  I walked to Leo’s car and threw open the door. “She tried to destroy our family,” I said, getting in. “Her ass is the one that needs arrested. False informing is a crime.”

  Leo looked down at his lap, shaking his head. “She was mad at me, at you. She felt like you were the one who pushed me to file for divorce. She overheard you talking about finding me a girl at Gabby’s baby shower. That apparently pissed her off enough to get back at you.”

  “I’ve got to find the killer before this shit gets worse. I can’t have this hanging over my head when Gabby has our baby.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  GABBY

  “He’s on his way,” Kenneth informed everyone in the room, but his attention zeroed in one me, waiting for my reaction.

  My hand flew to my mouth and more tears fell down my cheeks – these ones of relief. “Oh, thank God,” I cried out.

  I’d been pacing back and forth in his living room for the past five hours. So many emotions had hammered through me with each step. Shock. Sadness. Anger. Fear. I couldn’t go back to the condo. I couldn’t be there alone. The thought of Dalton not coming back and staying there without him was terrifying.

  Dalton’s arrest was the bitter sign of my baby shower coming to an end. There was no fun to be had after the daddy-to-be was carted off in a cop car. It pretty much put a damper on the occasion. The guests had given me strained congratulations and patted my shoulders, looks of pity crossing their faces.

  “Gabby, I think it’s time you tell us what the hell is going on,” Cora said, her tone stern. Her, along with Daisy, Keegan, and Lane were all there with me, waiting on any updates.

  “I ag
ree with Cora,” Daisy said, while the guys nodded in agreement.

  I looked at each one of them and shook my head. “I can’t,” I said. “I don’t want you to be involved. There’s too much at risk.” I didn’t want the police or anyone else getting to them.

  “What’s at risk?” Cora asked. “Girl, you’re seriously scaring me.”

  “We have wealthy parents,” Lane said, and grunted when Cora’s elbow rammed into his side. “What? All I’m saying is that if you think we’re going to get in trouble for knowing too much, I doubt it. Our parents can most likely get us out of it. None of us actually think Dalton offed some chick. Tell us the truth, so we can understand and try to help you.”

  I blew out a breath, growing lightheaded, and sat down. They all listened closely, absorbing every detail, while I told them everything – about John hiring us to cover up his affair, about us trying to bribe Ivy, her death, and then I told them about John being my father. They all joined my side, forming a circle of support.

  “Holy shit,” Daisy whispered. “It’s like a movie.”

  “I can’t believe all of that happened and you didn’t tell me,” Cora said. “How the hell could you keep that to yourself? That’s serious.” She’d been the only one who knew about John being my father, but I’d kept the rest a secret.

  I only shrugged, not wanting to tell her I didn’t keep it to myself. Dalton had become my new confidante. He knew everything.

  “I can’t believe that douchebag is your father,” Lane said. “I swear, the old dude is always coming to my dad for campaign money.”

  “So Dalton is on his way here?” Daisy asked.

  I nodded.

  “Then we better go,” Cora said. “Let me know if you need anything. We’re here for you.”

  ***

  “Baby, I’m so fucking sorry,” Dalton said, rushing over to me as soon as he made it into the living room. He picked me up and lifted me into his arms. I shivered when his cold lips hit my ear. “I’m going to fix this. I swear to God on everything, I’ll fix this.” His voice cracked at the end.

  “Is it true?” I stuttered out, when I finally pulled away. “Was it really Leo’s wife that lied and set this entire thing up?”

  I’d only met Kelly a few times. She wasn’t the most cordial woman, but she’d never been nasty towards me. She mainly just ignored my existence. But you could sense her distaste for Dalton from anywhere. Even after not knowing her well, the thought of bitch slapping her in the face definitely seemed appealing.

  He nodded, his shoulders slumping. “Can we please go home? I don’t want to talk about John, Kelly, my parents, or anyone. What I want to do right now is go home with the woman I love, wrap her in my arms, and sleep.”

  My heart ached, and I took his hand in mine. “Then let’s go.”

  ***

  Our steps were slow to the bedroom. Dalton trailed behind me, his hands on my waist, guiding me. He flipped on the lights and turned me around to face him. The torture and guilt was clear on his face.

  “I will make this up to you,” he said. He’d repeated those words non-stop on the car ride home, even though he said he wanted to quit talking about it.

  He rushed over to the bed, pulled down the sheets, and came back to my side. His hands pressed into my shoulders as he carefully sat me down on the bed. He dropped down to his knees and started to drag my flats off my feet.

  “Dalton, look at me,” I demanded. It took him a few seconds to do what I asked, and I gulped, noticing his glossy eyes. I leaned down and wiped them dry the best that I could. “You don’t need to make anything up to me, okay?”

  “But - ”

  I cut him off with my words. “You spent your entire night in an interrogation room and apologizing to me?” I shook my head, running my hands over his cheeks. “Nu uh. This isn’t your fault. I won’t let you take the blame for it.”

  He pulled my hand away from his face and kissed my palm. “I said no more talk of this, remember? Tonight is about you and me.”

  He went quiet and started to undress me. My arms instinctively flew up so he could pull my dress over my head. I sat there, wearing only a bra and panties, and watched him undress.

  My breathing labored when he came my way. He stopped directly in front of me, his hands at his sides.

  “Lay back, baby,” he whispered.

  I did as I was told. I felt his weight against mine as he followed me, our bodies practically becoming one, as we made ourselves comfortable.

  “Do you want me to shut off the lights?” I asked.

  “No,” was all he said before his lips brushed against mine. “I want to see all of you tonight. I want to keep reminding myself that this is real.”

  We then made slow, passionate love in the comfort of our bed. His touch seemed to erase the day’s events and put me at ease.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  DALTON

  The lights and coffee maker were off when I walked into the office. I’d left before the sun came up, before Gabby woke, before the city came alive. Sleep didn’t come to me. Too much was on my mind.

  My phone rang at the same time I sat down in my chair. I fished it from my pocket.

  Leo.

  I guess I wasn’t the only one who couldn’t sleep.

  “Good morning,” I grumbled into the speaker. I shouldn’t have been taking my anger out on him, but it was too hard to hold back. He was the one who brought Kelly into our lives.

  Scratch that.

  Our parents did.

  “Morning, brother,” he replied. “I want to apologize again for yesterday’s events.” The sadness was evident in his voice. “Please give my apologies to Gabby, as well. I feel like this is all my fault.”

  “It’s not your fault, but you better keep that woman the fuck out of my sight.” Anger hammered through my veins. “You know she’ll get a big piece of my mind if I see her. I got arrested at my girlfriend’s baby shower. She embarrassed Gabby and completely ruined that moment for her.” It was like my family couldn’t leave her the hell alone. “I’ll never forgive Kelly for that, ever. So thank God you’re divorcing her crazy ass.”

  He let out a long sigh. “I understand. If there’s anything I can do to make up for it, let me know. Kelly has issues, I’m well aware. I knew she could be vengeful, but I never thought she’d go that far.”

  I held in my sarcastic reply. I didn’t want to make him feel even shittier for her doing. “How did you get her to confess?” I knew that wasn’t an easy task for him. Kelly was stubborn and never admitted to her faults.

  “I had to rip up the divorce papers.”

  “You can’t be serious?”

  “I’m serious.”

  “So you have to stay with her for me? Now I feel bad about that.” That was probably Kelly’s whole plan. The scheming woman knew Leo would sacrifice his own happiness for the sake of his family.

  He let out a chuckle. “She’s under the assumption that ripping them up means the divorce proceedings are over. It’s not hard for me to have them drawn back up.”

  “My man. She’s going to be pissed she’s getting played at her own game.”

  ***

  “Please say you have something for me,” I told Murphy, as soon as he stepped into my office. “Anything.”

  He held up his hand. “Man, first I want to say I heard about what happened,” he said, shaking his head and taking a seat. “That’s probably one of the most fucked up things I’ve heard lately, and that’s saying a lot considering I work here.”

  I nodded. I was already getting sick of talking about Kelly. I didn’t give a shit about her anymore. I only had one thing on my mind: Ivy and her mystery dude.

  “But that happening only gave me more motivation to work harder and smarter,” he went on. He held up a folder. “I got the sketch you wanted. I spent all night going through scenario after scenario, possible suspect after possible suspect. I drew a blank, so I decided to look more into Harold, going off the idea that
this might be an inside job. There wasn’t much in his recent records, but I went back farther.”

  Murphy was having trouble hacking into the police’s system, but Lonnie had been sending him anything he could get his hands on. Nothing else had been added to the evidence log. All fingerprints had been wiped clean. Her fingernails had been torn off, most likely because she fought back, and they didn’t want to risk their DNA being found underneath them. Whoever did this was a smart killer – a professional. There were no eyewitnesses. They had nothing, and I still wasn’t sure if that was purposely.

  “And?” I pushed.

  “Take a wild guess who Mr. Cop has been talking to.”

  I gave him a stern look. “Not really in the mood to be playing guessing games at the moment.”

  “Oh … yeah … right.” He leaned forward in excitement. “Malcolm Gentry.” I snatched up the folder as soon as he slapped it down onto my desk. “They were in constant contact two days after Ivy went public about her affair with John. I mean, eight calls in one day. Then after that, nothing. I’m not sure if it’s anything big, but it screamed out for me to look into it.”

  “Why the hell would those two be talking?”

  “Something smells fishy,” he drew out. “And the stench is coming from that shady cop.”

  “Any texts between them?”

  “None that I could find. If they were talking about anything illegal, I’m guessing they got burners.”

  Of course, they weren’t complete idiots.

  I pulled out the sketch and studied it. Shit! Even though it was exactly what the maid had described, it was generic as fuck. It was impossible to put a name to. It looked like every friend of my father’s. The sketch wasn’t going to do shit for us.

  But what reason would they have to kill Ivy?

  Then it hit me.