Two Years Later

by Jones, Lisa Renee

  Reid

  I’m behind my desk, and it’s forty-five minutes after I left Debbie in the conference room because she has yet to leave, which was exactly why I left her there so long; to find out if she’d stay or go. Someone with a real case walks out because they can. Because they know they are going to win. Someone faking has to stay and work for the payout before they get caught. My cellphone rings and a glance at caller ID tells me it’s Royce. “She just made a call to a man named Wilson Moore,” he tells me when I answer. “He’s an attorney who went to law school with Reese. He now practices at a local firm but he’s considered average at best.”

  “And he hates Reese for his success,” I assume. “What do you have on the apartment feed?”

  “We’re working on it.”

  “I’ll get her to name exact times Reese was there,” I say. “That pins her in another lie.”

  “More soon,” Royce says and we disconnect.

  I stand and exit my office, making my way to the conference room where our scam artist waits. I enter the room to find her sitting at the long, rectangular table. I walk to her and press my hands on the desk again, leaning in her direction. “Where’s my video footage?”

  “I’m not giving you that and having you blackmail people I know.”

  Blackmail is on her mind, I think. “What do you want?”

  “A million dollars,” she replies. “I’ve already stated this.”

  “You aren’t getting a million dollars. So I repeat, what do you want?”

  “I’ll negotiate with Reese himself. I want to talk to Reese.”

  “That’s not happening. Why did you follow Cat this morning?”

  “To apologize. I know this hurts her. I shouldn’t have gone at her like I did at the courthouse.”

  “How did you know where she was?” I demand.

  “I followed her.”

  She’s lying. Royce’s men were following her and she never had eyes on Cat. “I’m going to ask this one more time: What do you want?”

  “To talk to Reese,” she repeats.

  “That’s not happening so you think about what you really want and I’ll be back later.” I start walking toward the door.

  “I’ll go to the press,” she calls after me.

  I turn to look at her. “You’ll go to the press if what?”

  “If I don’t get my million dollars.”

  I could let her think she has me by the balls, but I just don’t have that in me. “Cat would welcome that. Her column would become even more popular than it already is and she’d write a book about this entire event, and make millions. To which she’d invest in the firm to offset any damage you did. You aren’t talking to Reese and if we’re doing the whole press thing I’ll call Cat and tell her it’s a go.”

  “We both know they don’t want a scandal. That’s hard to get by.”

  I’m done with this woman. I walk to the desk. “Thirty thousand. You sign a gag order. Take it or leave it.”

  “I’m not taking that ridiculous offer.”

  “Very well. This is goodbye then.” I head for the door and she shouts, “You’re such a dirty prick!”

  I grab the door handle but don’t turn. “I am a dirty prick,” I say. “Tell my receptionist if you want to take the deal. Otherwise, leave or I’ll call the police and have you removed.” I open the door and exit it, shutting it behind me, but not before I hear her sob. That’s what happens when scam artists fail. They cry. And if she comes near my sister again. I’ll do far more than make her cry, but at least Cat’s husband is a damn good criminal attorney.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

  Reese

  I don’t want to let Cat out of my sight, which is why when we arrive at the courthouse again, I keep her close. “Come back to our holding area with me,” I say, as we enter the side door.

  “No,” she says, turning to face me. “I’m reminding you about another problem. You go focus on your case.” I motion to Savage. “I have a beast protecting me.”

  “Indeed she does,” Savage assures him.

  “And you have some problem to deal with or they wouldn’t have called you back early.”

  I inhale and let it out, dragging her to me, and turning us away from Savage. “I’ll make this Debbie thing go away. I promise.” I cup her face and kiss her. “I’ll see you in court.”

  “See you in court,” she says, and when I would move away, she catches my jacket lapel. “I didn’t get to tell you, but you were perfection this morning. You won every witness.”

  I’ve never cared about anyone’s critique but that of the jury, simply because I can’t allow that kind of noise in my head, and still stay focused. But Cat is different. I care what she thinks. I kiss her again. “See you soon.” I release her and start walking, dialing Reid again as I do.

  He answers on the first ring. “I just gave her the take it or leave it offer we discussed.”

  “And?”

  “She called me a dirty prick.” He laughs. “Usually women are naked when they use those particular words, but hey, I’ll take it. She was pissed. That’s when we get the emotional response that makes her dish out a threat I’ll record.”

  “But she didn’t.”

  “Not yet. But she will. I left her in the conference room and told her to leave. Thus far, she has not. I got this, man. Aren’t you supposed to be in court?”

  “Soon. I’ll call you if we get a break, but Reid, I need this to be over. I don’t want this affecting me and Cat.”

  “Trust me, I have it under control.”

  Trust him. A man who has caused Cat all kinds of pain.

  He seems to read my mind. “She’s my sister, Reese. I do love her.”

  “Tell her that. It won’t matter coming from me. Do this for me for all the shit I’ve done for you.” I hang up and round the corner to our team’s private hallway. Elsa rushes toward me. “We have a problem. Dana had a fight with Reginald and ten minutes later, Richard saw the DA talking to him.”

  “I’ve been gone half an hour. How did she have a fight with that man that pushed him to the DA that quickly?”

  “Like you said, quickly,” she says. “She called him on her break and then she was shouting at him.”

  “What did she say?”

  “Name calling, but nothing of substance. It was fast.”

  I rub the tension at the back of my neck. “Where is she?”

  “Conference room.”

  I cut around her and head down the hall, opening the door to find Dana pacing. “I failed miserably at being nice to him. I know he released that audio. I feel it. It’s eating at me. He’s the only one that gains from my father’s death directly if I inherit and he marries me,” she runs a hand through her hair. “I hate this money. I will never know if anyone wants me for me.”

  This makes me think of Cat, and how much it meant to me that my money wasn’t a motivation to her. I didn’t have to wonder. She had her own money. “Marry a rich man. That’s not him.”

  “I wanted to marry someone I loved but—did he kill my father and let me go through this hell?”

  I walk to the conference table across from her but I don’t answer her question. “He was just talking to the prosecutor. What does he have on you?”

  “He talked to the prosecutor?”

  “Right after you fought.”

  “I have not lied to you. There is nothing. That call was the only time I said anything like what I said and I was at my wit’s end. He knew it though. He didn’t want me to walk away from the money.”

  “You think he did it?”

  “It’s clawing at me,” she says. “I think he might have. I don’t want that to be true. That means he doesn’t love me. I want to take him down.”

  “Then make nice with him until I get him on the stand and off. I cannot have him turn on you, in front of the jury.”

  “I’m trying.”

  “Try harder Dana.
”

  A knock sounds on the door and a guard pokes his head in. “The judge wants to see you in chambers.”

  “That doesn’t sound good,” Dana says. “Right?”

  It’s a problem, I think, but I say, “It happens. It’ll happen again after this time. Pull yourself together. Figure out how to reel your man back in.” I don’t wait for a reply. I turn and head into the hallway while the guard motions me forward.

  Elsa quickly catches up. “What’s happening?”

  “The judge wants to see me.”

  “Any idea why?”

  “None.”

  “I bet it has to do with that meeting Richard saw.”

  “Don’t speculate,” I say. “We’ll know in a few minutes and I’d rather know in chambers than in court if we have a problem.”

  She stops walking and lets me pull ahead. Sixty seconds later, I’m stepping into the judge’s chambers. He’s behind his desk, not yet in his robes. “Sit, Mr. Summer.”

  I claim the seat in front of his heavy mahogany desk, bookshelves with law volumes on my left and right. “Your honor,” I say.

  He tosses an envelope in front of me. I open it and pull out a photo of me that has writing on it in red pen that reads, “Pig. Liar. Bastard. Cheater.” I suck in a breath and look up at him. “What is this?”

  “You tell me. It was delivered to my office while we were in court this morning.”

  Debbie, I think, and she most definitely has a partner. I stick the photo back in the envelope. “Is this confidential?”

  “Yes. Speak freely.”

  “A few years ago I had a stalker who faded away. She’s back and I’ve hired private security, but obviously, she’s not dissuaded. I don’t want to delay the trial, but extra security wouldn’t be a bad idea.”

  “Understood and as long as I feel no one else is in danger, we’ll continue. But are you in danger, Mr. Summer?”

  “I’m not concerned about me, I’m concerned about my wife.”

  “What do you need from me?”

  “Nothing. Not unless you have a tip as to how I convince her to leave town.”

  He chuckles. “Been married twenty years, son. Never convinced my wife to do what she’s dead set on not doing, but I’ll recess the afternoon to give you a chance to try. Go. Do what you can to protect her.”

  “Thank you, your honor.” I stand and head for the door, dialing Royce as I do.

  “We’re recessing for the afternoon. I need to see you at my place, immediately. There’s a development.”

  “I’ll be there.”

  “Can you tell Savage to get Cat and meet me at the side door?”

  “Done.”

  I disconnect and exit to the hallway and Elsa and Richard are waiting. “Well?” Elsa asks.

  “The judge is recessing for the afternoon. Be at my place at seven.” I walk past them and enter the conference room, where Dana is once again pacing.

  “Afternoon recess. Use it wisely.” I turn and exit to find Elsa and Richard standing in front of us.

  “Why are we recessing?”

  As it stands they know nothing of the extra security for any reason other than Dana’s getting a lot of hate. “A personal situation, per the judge.” I turn away from them on that statement that isn’t a lie. I didn’t say who had the personal situation and they’ll assume it was the judge.

  I’m out of the hallway quickly cutting left and when I arrive at the door, Cat’s not there yet. I turn and wait, watching her appear in the corridor with Savage, the sway of her hips mesmerizing. I watch her every step, and when she’s in front of me, I kiss her and lead her to the vehicle. Once we’re in the backseat with Savage behind the wheel he claimed from one of his co-workers, I drag Cat to me and kiss her. “What’s wrong?”

  “Nothing you can’t solve,” I assure her, before pressing my lips to her ear. “Once I’m inside you, and I will be soon.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

  Cat

  The minute Reese and I are in the back of the SUV with Savage in the front seat, I ask the question, “Why did court dismiss? What’s going on?”

  “There was a delivery to the judge, meant for me,” he says and holds up a finger. “Hold on, sweetheart.” He looks to the front seat. “Savage, before you drive, you need to see this.” He pulls an envelope with the photo from his briefcase and hands it to Savage before turning to me. “A photo of me with words written over the top of it. It’s an obvious threat.”

  “Debbie,” I say. “She’s telling you she’ll go public. Gabe was right. She’ll do it just to get us to pay her off and make her go away.”

  “Reid’s made her a small offer,” Reese says. “I’m counting on him ending this.”

  Savage hands the photo back to Reese. “In a rare move for me, I’ll hold my thoughts until we’re in the company of Royce.”

  Reese takes the photo and hands it to me. I suck in a breath and open it, reading the words written across the surface. I hate the word “cheater,” scrawled over his image, not because I don’t trust Reese, but because it just feels bad, like our perfect relationship, and it is perfect, is being questioned by the world. It shouldn’t matter what others think, and it really doesn’t, but it still twists me in knots.

  I shove the photo back in the envelope. “I want this to end.” I look at Reese. “But I do not want to reward someone for this behavior with money. Part of me really just wants to write about this, Reese. It ends this. We take control. We handle the blow. I go back to the money I could make. I’ll go to my publisher, pitch a book about it and we can take the payout to invest in the firm, to offset any damage.”

  “There’s no guarantee she goes away,” he says. “We don’t know her mental health.”

  “Someone else is helping her,” I say, rejecting that idea. “There’s no other way she found me today. It has to be about money. We take away the payout, and they move on.”

  “Let’s wait and see what Royce and Reid have to offer.”

  “I’m here you know,” Savage reminds us.

  “You and Royce are one,” Reese says, to which Savage murmurs something incomprehensible.

  Reese tunes him out, rotating to face me. “I’m going to make this go away. I promise.”

  I cover his hand with mine. “We’re going to make it go away. You and me.”

  He brushes his lips over mine, but there is a shift in him, an edginess, that defies the delicateness of the kiss. I know this man. When he’s on edge, he needs certain things, he needs me. As if reading my mind, he presses his lips to my ear. “I need you alone,” he whispers. “Really damn badly.”

  “Soon,” I promise as my cellphone rings.

  Reese presses his forehead to mine and then breathes out as if the interruption is an unwelcome reminder of the here and now, but he kisses my temple and says, “Take your call.”

  I grab my phone to find Lauren’s number. “Hey,” I say.

  “I’m meeting you at your apartment. I have your meds. I’m sorry it took me so long. I had a client with a crisis. What’s happening?”

  “We’re pulling up to the apartment now. I’ll explain upstairs. And thank you on the meds.”

  “Okay. I’ll see you in a few.”

  We disconnect and as soon as we pull up to the door Savage says, “Don’t move. My man is taking the car and I’m coming around to get you.”

  Reese takes my hand, and we are quickly ushered inside where Royce is waiting by the elevator. “The judge on my case received this,” Reese says, handing him the envelope. We step into the elevator and Royce glances at the contents once we’re there, but says nothing. Despite my urgency to hear his opinion, I like this about Royce. He’s discreet. He won’t say anything in a place that could have a camera.

  And so I endure the elevator ride and walk to the apartment. We’re just heading inside when Lauren comes running down the hall. “I’m here.” She holds up a bag. “I have the meds.�
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  Reese opens the door and lets Royce, Lauren, and Savage, inside, but holds me back just inside the hallway. “How do you feel?”

  “Right now, I’m okay,” I say, “and I hope that means it’s over.”

  He presses me against the wall. “Cat, we need to make an agreement right now. If Royce believes you’re in danger, I need you to go to the ranch, and take Savage along for the ride.”

  “My job is to cover this trial and even if it wasn’t, I’m not leaving you with a crazy woman stalking you.”

  “Sweetheart, we’re going to fight over this and I’m going to win. That’s just how it is.”

  “You don’t get to say that’s how it is. I’m going through this, too. And we don’t even know what’s happening with her and Reid or even what Royce’s assessment is.”

  His hands go to the wall beside my head. “I’m going to win on this, Cat. I don’t do this to you often. I don’t want or need to win with you, ever, until now. Because I love you, you will do this if Royce thinks it’s best. Because you love me, you will do it.”

  His voice is hard, and yet it radiates with emotion. He’s coming out of his skin, I realize now. He’s really worried, beyond just trying to be cautious. I press my hands to his face. “Let’s go talk to Royce, then you and I will talk.”

  He covers my hands. “You understand that I—”

  “I don’t need you to finish that sentence. I understand. I just—can we talk about this alone?”

  He takes my hand and kisses it. “The sooner the better.” He laces his fingers with mine and we walk into the kitchen where everyone has gathered around the island. Lauren has set a bottle of pills on the counter with water. “Thank you,” I say, stepping to the spot across from her, while Reese stands across from Royce. Savage is at the endcap between Reese and Royce.

  “What’s the assessment?” Reese asks.

  Royce replies, “We have footage of Debbie with an attorney named Wilson Moore, who I believe is your competitor.”

  “Hardly,” Reese replies. “He’s just not that good and I know this because—”

  “You went to school with him,” Royce supplies. “We’re operating on the assumption that he’s looking to ruin you, and get a payoff. Is the baby his? Could be. Right now, we’re working through all of his electronic data, looking for proof. What we need you and Reid to do is buy time with Debbie. Keep her from going public before we can take them down. Even if Reid gets Debbie to blackmail you, something damning from Moore seals an arrest.”