The appeal filed by his lawyer was denied.
Some say he was railroaded, others say he got his just due.
Only Cole and Lindsey Jackson’s true killer knew justice had not prevailed that dark day in the New York City Courtroom.
***
John McKenzie stared at his cell phone in his hand, tossed it on the sofa and then picked it up again. He had every right to question Shannon’s motives when it involved their son. She may think, with his job, the never-ending suck the life out of him house, his kids by his second wife, and another one on the way, that he was in over his head. Which he was, hell he didn’t even have time to take a crap. Well, he did, although interruptions always happened, making him understand why he guzzled bottles of pink medicine. Anyway, he was not too busy he would let this thing with Cole Jackson slide. He heard his son’s voice last night when he called him and it sounded to him like he idolized the man. Now there were many other musicians he wouldn’t mind his son worshiping, but Cole Jackson? Come on. He punched in the numbers for Shannon’s cell phone. He placed the phone to his ear. His knuckles turned white from his relentless grip, and he began counting the rings.
Chapter Four
Shannon, startled awake in the morning by the music of her cell phone, groaned as she slid the little arrow across. “Hello.”
“Shannon, what the hell were you thinking letting our son socialize with a murderer?”
She groaned again, lay back down in bed, holding the phone away from her ear to let John rant and rave. She’d known this was coming. Knew there would be a price to pay for last night. John liked controlling the people in his life, and her name still graced his list.
“And you, when I talked to Cameron last night he told me Cole Jackson asked you out on a date.” His voice climbed high on the Richter scale. “Are you out of your fucking mind? He killed his wife. I can’t let you date him! I won’t let you date him!”
How dare he tell her what she could and couldn’t do? He gave up that right after they divorced, not that he ever had it to begin with. Although she had the feeling he would have a different opinion on that subject.
“My mind is fine, thank you very much. I have every right to make decisions for Cameron and myself. And I take offense to you thinking otherwise.” Her body shook along with her voice, attesting to her anger and frustration. Many times they had loud emotional filled conversations and nothing ever got resolved, so she took a deep breath and spoke calmly. At least one of them would act sane and reasonable this morning. “Calm down John, and while you listen to me, why don’t you grab a bar of soap and wash out your foul mouth.” She heard him curse again. “First, Cameron had the time of his life last night. You should’ve seen him. He was awesome. This is his life’s dream and being exposed to the business now is a good thing. Besides, I was with him the whole time and let me tell you, every single member of BlackJack is a role model. And there were no drugs or booze anywhere.”
“Yeah, because they’re all recovering drug addicts and alcoholics.”
“Only Cole is, smart ass. Which by the way, does not make him a bad person in my book or anyone else’s for that matter. Second, Cole didn’t kill his wife. And third,” she continued no longer capable of keeping the anger out of her voice. “Where do you get off telling me what I can and cannot do?”
“Oh, Shannon, please!” John said exasperated.
“I truly believe he didn’t do it. If you met him, you would feel the same way.” She heard him yell at the dog, something in the tune of, go wipe your muddy paws.
“Shannon, be reasonable, don’t date this man. Please.”
“Whether I date him or not, it’s none of your business. And just so I make myself perfectly clear and there is no confusion, I do want to go out with him.”
“Fine. If that’s your decision. However, I don’t want Cameron anywhere near him.”
She growled into the phone. He was determined to make her lose it. “Don’t do this. If you’d seen them together.” She flinched when she heard him bang something.
“Shit! I think I broke my God damn hand. I’m coming to the hotel to pick him up in an hour. Wake him.”
“Cole leaves town tomorrow, what’s the big deal?”
He sighed deeply. “I love you Shan. I don’t want anything to happen to you.”
“Nothing will.”
“That remains to be seen. I’ll see you in an hour, be in the lobby.”
Before she could respond, he’d hung up. She dragged her suddenly weary body out of bed and took a long, scalding hot shower. Why was John being so unreasonable? Sometimes he drove her crazy. She didn’t know how Cheryl put up with him. He could be so pigheaded. She just thanked her lucky stars she wasn’t married to him anymore. As much as she loved him, he drove her nuts. After drying her hair and getting dressed, she woke Cameron up by lightly shaking him and pulling off his covers.
“Meet me downstairs in thirty minutes all packed. Your father’s picking you up.” She hoped her voice didn’t betray her anger with John.
He gave an unintelligible groan and rolled over. Wouldn’t that tick John off more if Cameron showed up late? Shannon smiled as she left the room. It would serve John right if Cameron kept him waiting.
She entered the dining room, paid for Sunday morning brunch even though all she could stomach was coffee and a muffin. She took a table next to a window facing the street. The sun shined brightly, guaranteeing another beautiful day. Too bad, after her conversation with John, she would have trouble enjoying it. Then her eyes found him as he entered the restaurant, causing her heart to soar. He wore jeans and a blue chambray shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. His eyes scanned the room and when they locked on hers, he smiled and nodded in greeting. Immediately her body quivered with anticipation. She watched him pile food on his plate and stroll over to her. My God, even the way he walked screamed out sex.
“Good morning Shannon, you’re up early,” he said as he slid into the chair opposite hers.
“Morning Cole, so are you.”
***
His radar spiked. Something had changed since last night. He took a sip of his steaming coffee and studied her. Yup, something was definitely wrong and his stomach took a dive. Was it him? Did she regret kissing him? Only one way to find out.
“Mind telling me what the matter is?”
She forced a smile. “What makes you think something’s the matter?”
He sat back, cradling his coffee mug in his hands, his brows drawn together. “I may have only met you yesterday, but I’m an extremely perceptive person and something’s screaming at me something’s wrong.”
She played with her muffin, breaking off pieces and letting them crumble onto her plate. “John called.”
“Ahh, John, as in the ex, he heard.”
“Yeah, he heard. I’m sorry Cole. He’s coming to pick up Cameron.” She glanced at her watch. “Soon.”
She didn’t say anything, just stared at him and her eyes said it all. The look caused his pulse to jump and sent a jolt to his heart. “I see,” he said, not even trying to hide his anger. Or was it hurt? After putting his coffee mug down, he leaned forward and covered her small warm hands with his large ones. “He shouldn’t blame you. I invited Cameron on stage. In hindsight I shouldn’t have asked. I should have realized his father would not approve of him playing with a convicted murderer. How people perceive me is always dead center in my mind, but Cameron’s talent blew me away I wasn’t thinking there would be consequences. I’m so sorry I’ve caused you trouble.” He went to pull his hands away but she stopped him.
***
“No, don’t go,” she pleaded. “You’re right. But you don’t know John. He’s just doing what he thinks is right. He thinks he needs to protect his son from you, but he’s wrong.”
This time she didn’t stop him when he pulled his hands away, even though the loss of contact was almost physically painful to her. He ran them through his hair, and she noticed for the fir
st time all the gray hairs mixed in with the blond. It wasn’t all she noticed, his hands trembled.
“Tell me Shannon, what does John do for a living?”
Shannon openly cringed at his query and paused for quite some time before she finally answered in a near whisper. “He’s a police lieutenant.”
Cole closed his eyes, and when he opened them, Shannon witnessed the hurt she caused—correction, John caused. “I’m sorry he feels that way, but if he met you, I know he’d change his mind. I know he would,” she said with strong conviction, which wasn’t easy to do, considering her throat burned as she fought back the panic and tears sure to come. “And I meant everything I said last night,” she added with a deep sigh.
He reached over and wiped the single moist tear slowly trickling down her cheek, and then touched his heart. “I know you did, but I’ll not be responsible for your ex-husband making your life miserable or causing problems with Cameron.” He pushed his chair back and stood to his full height. After clearing his throat, he continued in a quiet voice, “Good-bye Shannon Gallagher, it’s been an honor and a pleasure meeting you. Tell Cameron to keep up with his music. I expect to attend one of his concerts someday.”
She watched him leave through a haze of tear stained eyes, and she swallowed the lump in her throat. That’s it. Done and over before the relationship began. Her hand found its way to her chest and she’d swear her heart stopped beating.
She watched as Cole briefly spoke with Cameron who had just come into the restaurant. He gave him a hug and her heart broke, for her son, for Cole and for herself. Damn you to hell and back John for being so stubborn.
By the time she met John in the lobby, anger overtook her heartache. She was fuming. It was probably the first time she had barely been civil toward John. She kissed and hugged Cameron. “Keep your studies up at school and behave. I’ll be back in one week.” She didn’t acknowledge John’s hug or kiss, nor did she speak to him. Which she could tell didn’t sit well with him. Well that’s just too damn bad.
***
Cole watched the happy family reunion from a chair in the lobby, sitting off to the side so they couldn’t see him. The ex was an imposing figure, and he held himself with an air of confidence and arrogance many police officers possessed. He stood extremely tall and fit, his dark hair showing signs of receding. He seemed to Cole to genuinely care for Shannon, and he clearly loved his son.
Cole felt a twinge of envy. He’d been robbed a family of his own. Oh, he knew there was still time, but he didn’t have any delusions of grandeur. If nothing else, prison life made him a realist and forced him out of the world of songs and music. He now lived in the world convicted murderers lived in. He knew that was always in the back of people’s minds when they met him. And he believed, deep down inside, his bandmates and other acquaintances couldn’t get it out of their minds either. He didn’t really blame anyone for believing he killed Lindsey, after all he did the time. Oh, he didn’t feel sorry for himself, he was out of prison and things were going relatively well. He felt sorry for Lindsey because her life had been stolen from her, and her murderer was left to run free.
As he came to the understanding he would probably never see Shannon Gallagher again, he thought ahead to the tour. Tomorrow they left Boston for New Jersey. He was skipping over New York. He couldn’t bring himself to face the city responsible for convicting him. The city he loved beyond all others.
***
Shannon moved through her day on automatic pilot. The book signing turned out well. But somehow, she couldn’t get excited about it. She began plotting ahead to the next two days in New York. She had three different bookstore appearances and a guest spot on Good Morning American. During the evenings she would have some time to herself, but her days were tight.
After dealing with John and his stubbornness that morning, she’d decided she would look into Cole’s trial. With any luck she would get to talk to the detective or detectives in charge of the case. She’d use the excuse she was doing a book about the murder of Lindsey Jackson. Of course, that wasn’t the real reason—the real one was a selfish one. Shannon wanted to clear his name so she could see him without John hassling her. And put the nagging minuscule amount of doubt in her brain to rest. Maybe she could dig up something everyone missed way back when. She would contact his lawyer, knowing ahead of time, he wouldn’t reveal anything confidential, but he may have some helpful suggestions on where she should investigate.
When the signing ended, she walked to a small café in Copley Place and ate a late lunch. Back at her hotel room, she stripped down to her underwear and bra and climbed in bed to take a nap. When she awoke, darkness swirled around her. She wondered how the concert was going for Cole and wished she were there. He’d been incredible to watch last night. His tall, lean, muscular body playing guitar and singing song after song had made her totally aware of the fact he was all male and she was all female. His blond hair flying, his body dancing and jumping on stage had taken her breath away. The memory had her burning for him now.
How he had treated Cameron as one of the band members, instead of the self-absorbed teenager he could be at times touched her deeply. She had been shocked when he told her he’d never been with anyone but his wife. The tabloids had portrayed him as a philandering playboy, even though he was married. What they never said was he had genuine morals. He’d had so many opportunities to trip up in life with his career, but he hadn’t. His only real mistake had been to drink himself to the point of numbing his heart and brain from his unfaithful wife.
Shannon could not, for the life of her, understand how Lindsey had turned to other men when she had Cole. And why did she not remember that being a factor in the trial? They portrayed her as the innocent monogamous wife and Cole as the adulterer.
Her mind made up, she would go to Cole and see him once more before they both left tomorrow for different lives. She’d let her imagination run wild last night with the possibility she and Cole could have a future together. Then reality crashed around her. She traveled the country on book signing tours or researching settings or was held up in her office in her bedroom writing. He toured the country in a band and Christ, she didn’t even know where he lived. But none of that mattered at the moment. The only thing that mattered was she had to touch him, see him, smell him and taste him one more time. Say goodbye one more time.
***
Cole was not nearly as nervous for the concert tonight as last night, nor was he as enthused. Shannon and Cameron had added to the air of excitement. Electric currents crackled through the air with her around. Tonight the electric currents eluded him. The air around him hung suspended, void of life, choking and suffocating him. Some things would never change though—he still puked in the barrel off the stage before he went on. There was a great crowd again tonight, enthusiastic, energetic and cheering them on, and it wasn’t long before they sucked him into their excitement. The band gave it everything they had, and then some. Cole’s body and soul were truly wiped out when the last encore ended. And as with the previous night, he took off immediately, leaving everything once again for AJ.
After he arrived at the hotel, he showered and put on a robe courtesy of hotel management. He ordered up room service, an action flick on cable and settled down for his last night in Boston. Dozing on and off on the bed, he snapped awake when room service knocked on his door. He let them in, signed the bill, and pushed his food around more than he ate. His mind wouldn’t get off Shannon. Her sad face when he’d walked away from the restaurant kept flashing before his eyes. The tears that glistened and flowed gently down her cheeks were tears of pain. Frustrated with the turn of events, he threw his fork down, stripped off the robe and climbed under the covers, only to be tormented once again by her face, her lips and her touch.
Someone knocking on his door awoke him a short time later. He hadn’t the foggiest notion who it could be this time. He tossed the robe on his naked body, peered out the security-hole as an instant jolt woke him u
p. His hand couldn’t turn the doorknob fast enough to let in a stunningly beautiful Shannon Gallagher who looked, to his eyes, uncertain and shy.
“Hi, I hope you don’t mind me stopping by.”
God, how he wanted her and he could barely hear anything besides his heart pounding in his temples. He scanned her face, her eyes, and he came to the conclusion she wanted him too. Words were not needed as he pulled her inside, closed the door, pinning her up against it with his fully aroused body and took her lips with his.
He tasted every last speck of her mouth. His tongue tangled with hers. He drank, nibbled and tasted some more while his hands found their way to her firm, round breasts on their own accord. His mind did not condone it because he had no intentions of this going anywhere. He knew, once he sampled her body, really tasted her sweat feminine juices, brought her to orgasm, and he released his seed deep inside her, there would be no leaving her. And he knew he had to leave.
Shannon clung to him, he felt her body quivering, heard her purring. But he had to do it. He would not, could not be selfish when it came to her. She meant too much to him.
He tore his mouth from hers, held her tightly within his arms. When his breathing calmed and he trusted himself to speak he did, but his voice sounded distant and foreign to his own ears.
“We can’t.”
Her body tensed up in his arms and he waited for her to speak. And he continued waiting, barely able to breathe.
“Shannon?” he whispered.
Her arms squeezed him tight. So tight he felt her heart beating simultaneously with his. “It’s okay, I know, bad timing and all. I just wanted...” She sniffled. “I just wanted to hold you once more.” She dropped her arms and Cole stepped back. Before she left, she meet his eyes, and he didn’t know how she managed it, but she smiled. It didn’t reach her incredible blue eyes, but he would always remember that smile.
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