How Deep Is Your Love 3

by Jade Royal

  “She had the gun Terrell! Are you blind to the fact that she tried to plot your death?” Destiny asked.

  “I don’t believe it!” Terrell said. “She’s my wife, Destiny, and I’m gonna do what I need to in order to bring her home to me.”

  “Maybe I need to fuck her, so I can see what the fuck you’re so sprung on,” Destiny snapped.

  “Whatever, Destiny. Just leave me the hell alone right now. I don’t wanna hear shit, unless it’s about Charm being free. So just sit ya ass down.” Destiny pouted, but flopped down in a seat. She couldn’t believe her plan with Gabrielle was backfiring like this. None of them had taken into consideration that Terrell would actually try to ensure that Charm got out.

  Terrell is making sure that Charm gets out. Destiny sent the message to Gabrielle. Even though it was early, Gabrielle responded.

  So is Denzel. Destiny shook her head. Charm didn’t realize how fucking lucky she was to have two men vying for her attention. Yearning to have her in their lives that they’d go the extra mile to get her out of trouble no matter the circumstance. In that moment, Destiny’s jealously and dislike for Charm sprouted even higher.

  ********

  Charm’s skin was itching under the orange uniform she was given when she was granted a shower. She felt disgusting even if she did wash under the cold spray of water. The jail cell was barren and cold. Charm hadn’t been able to sleep a wink. How could she? When she closed her eyes, she just jumped back awake, realizing where she was and how it was that she was there. Obviously, someone was setting her up. A gun in her car was impossible, unless someone put it there. Charm was banking on it being Destiny, but she just didn’t see the gain of Destiny wanting Terrell gone. It made no sense. All she knew for sure was that she was innocent.

  “Bradley-Robinson?” Charm stood at the call of her last name. An officer appeared at the bars of the cell with cuffs ready for her. He opened the cell and promptly cuffed her.

  “What’s happening?” She asked.

  “Time to see your lawyer before the hearing,” He answered, gruffly. She had watched the sun come up, so she knew it was at least 8am by now. She hadn’t even thought about the public defender until now. Charm was just hoping their caseload wasn’t high and they would actually be helpful to her situation.

  The officer brought her to what looked like an interrogation room. He opened the door and pushed her inside.

  “James?!” Charm gasped. The man looked up from the files he was looking at and smiled brightly.

  “Princess Charming,” he smiled at her. As soon as the officer uncuffed her, she rushed to James to give him a big hug.

  “Who would have ever thought Miss Charming would be in an orange jumpsuit?” He joked.

  “Shut up, it’s not funny,” she smiled. James’s smile disappeared when he saw the officer still standing there.

  “I’d like to be left alone with my client,” he said, sternly. The officer grunted and left immediately.

  “So, Terrell knows I’m here,” Charm said, lowly.

  “Yep. He called me this morning. But I’m wondering why you didn’t call me. Lost my number?”

  “Well, you were always Terrell’s friend before you were mine, and I didn’t even think about you honestly. I can’t even afford you.”

  “Terrell is your husband, Charm. Whatever he can afford, means you can afford it too.” Charm sighed.

  “Me and Terrell are separated,” she admitted.

  “Oh. What happened?” It was clear James didn’t know anything about the situation.

  “He cheated,” Charm responded. James and Terrell were good friends, but it wasn’t like they were hanging out every weekend. With James being a lawyer, and Terrell working real estate, their schedules didn’t mesh, but if any of the two needed something, they were always there for each other. But this was far from college days. And a lot has changed.

  “Damn, Charm. I’m sorry,” James said. “Guess he lost his damn mind. I told you to date me instead of him.” Charm smiled and shook her head.

  “You know you’re not my type,” she laughed.

  “Sure, sure, sure.” He smiled. “Either way, Terrell cared enough about you to call me and foot the bill.”

  “Thanks for coming. I was afraid of having a public defender.” James looked down at the files.

  “I’ve looked through all the information the prosecution gathered and it’s really not that much. I just need you to be honest with me. They say that you’ve been having an affair too. Which means that, even if you say Terrell cheated, they are banking on you wanted to continue your affair, so that’s why you shot at him.”

  “It wasn’t an affair, James. I caught Terrell humping our surrogate in our home. After that, I declared I wanted a divorce, and left him. Only then, did I engage in another relationship! So technically, it wasn’t an affair.”

  “I can only defend you if I know what really happened. Did you shoot him, Charm?” James asked, seriously.

  “No.” James nodded, believing her.

  “The gun found in your car matched the bullet taken from Terrell’s body. It’s unregistered. Have any idea how it got in your car?”

  “Not a clue. But maybe the woman he cheated with is behind this. She hates my guts like I did something to her, but she’s the one that was persistent in wanting to take Terrell away from me. Now she has him and she still won’t leave me alone.”

  “Alright. I believe everything. But the goal for today is to get you out of here on bail. That means you have to appear as nonthreatening as possible. Which that should be no problem for you. And I’ll be here to defend you along each step of the way. So when the judge asks, you’re going to plead not guilty.”

  “I’ll have to go to trial?” Charm asked.

  “Yes.” Charm couldn’t help but shake.

  “I’m afraid,” she admitted.

  “I know it’s scary,” James said. “But look at this file.” He waved the slim file at her. “They have nothing on you. The gun in your car is the only reason you’re here. If they can’t prove that you had possession of the gun before the shooting, or if you’ve even contacted a gunman, which you haven’t, I have your phone records here, then there’s no way you can get convicted. Trust me, Charm. I may not be a bomb ass painter like you, but I’m good at my job.”

  “Thanks so much,” she said, wiping a stray tear away.

  “It’s almost 9. You’re going to see the judge at 11. But hang on. If all goes well you’ll be free by tonight.”

  “Okay.” Charm took a deep breath. Even though she was having her issues with Terrell, if it wasn’t for him, she would be in a world of worry right now. But having James, she felt confident in his words. Even if it was Terrell who was making this possible, Charm was filled with thoughts about what Denzel was doing at the moment. Most of all, if she was to go free, the first person she wanted to see was Denzel. Her soul was crying out for the comfort of his arms.

  Chapter Four

  Brianna was braiding Denzel’s locks into two cornrows to keep herself busy. They’d been at the courthouse since 9am and Charm’s case hadn’t come up yet. When they first arrived to the courthouse, they went straight to the information desk that let them know Cham was scheduled to be arraigned at 11 that morning. None of them wanted to leave, so they decided to just wait the two hours until the arraignment. To keep busy and to keep Denzel calm, Brianna had started to braid Denzel’s locks. Jason was sitting across from them, his foot bouncing up and down as he looked all around him. None of them were talking, because there was nothing to talk about. All they were thinking about was Charm. Brianna knew that Denzel felt the worse of them all, because he wanted to protect her, and he couldn’t help her in this situation.

  “It’s 11!” Jason jumped up from his seat. Denzel and Brianna hopped up as well.

  “Which courtroom was it again?” Brianna asked.

  “This way,” Denzel led the down the hall to the last courtroom. The room was vacant, except
for the detectives that arrested Charm, and the prosecutors. Detective Joe turned and looked at Denzel before smiling slyly.

  “Son of a bitch,” Denzel mumbled.

  “Forget about him right now,” Brianna said. “Come on.” The three of them went to the front of the courtroom, to sit on the first bench right behind the railing that split the room from where the public sat and the prosecutors and defendants sat in front of the judge.

  “Is that the public defender?” Brianna whispered to Denzel, nodding towards the man sitting on the defendants side.

  “Probably,” Denzel replied. He paid little attention to the man that was supposed to defend Charm. He just wanted to see his woman. And when the side door opened in the courtroom, Denzel stood immediately. Charm was led into the courtroom by an officer. She was wearing the orange uniform and his heart sunk completely. Her hair was combed neatly like it always was, but her skin was dim. It wasn’t the same brightness he was used when he saw her. But then she turned and looked at him and gave him the most delightful smile he’d ever seen. Denzel had to control himself from running up to the railing and trying to get her into his arms.

  “Hi,” she whispered.

  “Hi,” he smiled at her. James saw Charm looking at someone behind him, so he whipped around to figure out who was there. He knew Terrell obviously couldn’t make it. Three people were sitting on the front bench, but Charm was paying attention to the man with the locks. Since the judge wasn’t in yet, he figured he could give Charm time to talk to her friends.

  “Is that him?” James asked. “The man you’re seeing?” Charm just nodded, as she was occupied with staring at the man. Even though James and Terrell were friends, they were both grown. James wasn’t going to ignore the mistake Terrell made for the sake of friendship. Cheating on Charm in the first place was fucked up. But everyone made their mistakes.

  “Come,” James led Charm to the railing. The man with the locks shot up immediately.

  “You can’t touch her,” James said, immediately. “They’d think you’re giving her something and we don’t need that suspicion.” The man looked at James up and down.

  “Denzel, this is James. He’s my lawyer,” Charm spoke. Denzel reached out and shook her hand.

  “James?” Jason popped up.

  “Still in the family, huh?” James joked. Jason rolled his eyes.

  “And who’s-” James’s next words were lost between his brain and mouth, when the woman with Denzel and Jason stood. He saw her sitting there before, but hadn’t looked at her until now. She was just as tall as he was, probably a foot shorter, but tall none the less. Her figure screamed runway model, but her hips splayed in the juiciest of ways and James completely forget that he was in a courtroom ready to defend someone up for arraignment. Denzel cleared his throat when he saw the way James stared at Brianna. He was used to men giving her looks, after all, she was beautiful. But he didn’t know who this dude was yet.

  “Sorry,” James rushed out.

  “Brianna,” she said, holding her hand out. James looked at her slender fingers, before shaking her warm hand. Her toasted honey skin was vibrant, but her cocoa eyes held a hint of something wild, telling him she wasn’t a quiet and polite girl. Brianna let James’ hand go quickly. She looked away, trying hard not to keep blushing. It has been a while since Brianna blushed for any man, but when they were tall like James, smelled like expensive cologne, and bearded, with milk chocolate skin, she just couldn’t help herself. Denzel gave her a look like he was her older brother and he knew she was looking at a man in a certain way.

  “Um, how do you and Jason know each other?” Denzel asked. He was confused about that part.

  “We all went to college together,” Jason supplied. “James and Terrell are close friends.” Just at the mention of Terrell’s name, Denzel got tense. That meant that James wasn’t just the public defender. He was specifically Charm’s lawyer.

  “Terrell hired you?” Denzel asked. James nodded.

  “Princess Charming here, knew she could have called me too.” Denzel was not pleased at the nickname he was calling her. He knew James was there to defend her, and they were friends from college, but every territorial bone in Denzel’s body wanted to snap his head off.

  “Denzel, it’s not like that,” Charm spoke up immediately. She saw the calculation in his eyes and a vein was slowly popping out in his neck, as if he was ready to unleash the hulk. The hulk didn’t need to be here today. She just needed her Denzel. James didn’t realize what was happening, until he saw the look on Denzel’s face. And then when Charm reassured him, Denzel looked at her, and something just clicked. James didn’t know how deep this fling between Denzel and Charm was until that moment. The way they looked at each other, was nothing like he’d ever seen. And he was at Charm and Terrell’s wedding. But seeing her smile and blush at the way Denzel looked at her, was proof that it wasn’t just a simple fling.

  “I’m sorry, baby girl,” Denzel finally spoke. “It’s just been hard without you. I wish I was powerful enough to make this all go away.”

  “You’re powerful,” Charm said. “It might not be in the way you want, but you have no idea how you’ve helped me keep my head up. This is temporary,” she waved her cuffed hands at him.

  “How much trouble you think I’d be in if I just kissed you?” Denzel asked.

  “We don’t need another person in jail right now,” James said. He pulled Charm away from the railing, sensing that her control was going to snap, and she was going to dive over the partition to kiss Denzel.

  “Come on, the judge will be coming in soon.” And just as he said that, the bailiff was asking everyone to rise for the judge.

  It was hard sitting back and watching the arraignment. For Denzel, hearing the charges against Charm, all he wanted to do was stand up and shout, ‘I object!’ It was freaking ludicrous the shit they were trying to charge her for. Denzel didn’t know how good this James guy, was until it was time to set Charm’s bail.

  “How do you plea?” The judge asked Charm.

  “Not guilty,” Charm responded, in her sweet voice.

  “We are requesting bail, your honor,” James spoke up. The prosecutors jumped into action.

  “We believe Mrs. Bradley-Robinson is a flight risk. She has ample resources, plus, she can maintain contact with the person she hired to attempt to murder her husband. In custody, we can assure that there will be no tampering of any further evidence.” The judge looked back at James for his rebuttal.

  “Your honor, Charm Bradley has a business here in town, and with her love of her craft, I doubt a wild animal will even be able to drag her away from her business. She’s not going anywhere. We have all of Charm’s phone records and known whereabouts, for up to a month before the shooting occurred. There is no evidence that remotely suggests she’s been in contact with a gunman.”

  “She was seen as a gun range!” The prosecutor interjected. “She could have met them there.”

  “Eyewitness testimony has been taken, as well as security footage from the property. Charm was seen entering, chatting with workers, going to her section of the range, shooting her rounds, chatting with several other workers before waving and leaving with her company. No one at the gun range was approached by Charm, and asked to commit a crime. In fact-” James looked at a paper in front of him before continuing.

  “In fact, I have, in writing, a testimony from one of the workers. It says, “Charm was about the sweetest woman I’d ever come across and jumped at the sight of a gun. The look on her face made me laugh. Reminded me of my sister’s face when I told her I was going to work at the gun range. Are you sure the police has the right woman in custody?”’ James looked up at the judge to make his point.

  “So far, the cops have arrested my client based on the weapon found in her person. But there was no further investigation to rule out any other possibilities on how the gun ended up in her car. And if other possibilities weren’t ruled out, that means that there was not a co
mplete investigation, which still leaves open any amount of other explanations for the crime. She should not have to wait in jail while prosecution scrambles to piece together their case against her, when there’s no substantial evidence to keep her in jail to begin with.”

  The prosecution was stunned into silence. Denzel crossed his fingers, hoping that the judge listened to James.

  “Based on the nature of the charges, I cannot release you on your own recognizance Ms. Bradley-Robinson. But I will set your bail at 250,000 dollars.” He banged his gravel. “Court Adjourned.” Denzel’s jaw was in his lap. He turned and looked at Brianna and Jason, the both of them carried the same expression he did. Denzel put his head in his hands. 250,000 dollars! He couldn’t even believe it. He didn’t want Charm to see his worry, so he picked his head up quickly. But when he looked at her she had that same worried expression on her face. Denzel stood and went to the partition.

  “Don’t worry, baby girl,” Denzel said to her. But she didn’t get a chance to answer him. The officer in the court immediately took her by the elbow and led her to the side door and out of the courtroom. James packed up his files slowly. Denzel was just about panicking about Charm’s bail amount. He quickly turned and walked out of the room. Jason and Brianna hurried after him. He was really trying to refrain from sending his fist flying into a wall.

  Once outside the courtroom, he paced the halls, trying to keep his anger under control. After all the lack of evidence against her, by default, her bail was still set at a high amount. Denzel didn’t understand that.

  “250,000 GRAND!” Denzel shouted.

  “It’s a lot, but remember that she’d only need to pay ten percent of the bail to get free!” Jason butt in.

  “That’s 25,000 dollars,” Brianna said.

  “Which none of us have!” Denzel snapped. He pressed his hands to his eyes so he could think.