“So, this is a good thing?” smiled Josh.
Tami held his hand tightly and returned his smile. “It's a very good thing.”
The happy couple kissed and discussed their future, a phone call from Nick disrupted their gleeful reunion. After Josh finished his call, Tami could tell something was terribly wrong. The look on his face said it all, she waited for him to speak but he appeared to be having a hard time getting the words out.
“Josh, what's wrong? What did Nick say?”
“Babe, I don't know how to tell you this, but Alexis died last night.”
“What?! What do you mean Alexis died?” Her racing heart caused the monitor to beep faster.
“Stay calm, and I will tell you exactly what Nick told me. He said you were not Ramona's only victim. She admitted to the police she fought with Alexis and left her in an abandoned storage room. Someone found her and called an ambulance. They took her to the hospital where she died from a traumatic brain injury.”
Tami’s only response was to cry with Josh holding her in his arms.
“I want us to move away from all of this madness. Start fresh in a new place with a new beginning. Just us, my mom, and our little one.”
“And your job?”
Tami pulled away and shrugged her shoulders. “I can get another one. Life is too short, and I now know our family is more important than any career. So, can we leave Houston behind?”
“Whatever, you want, babe. You pick the place and I’ll follow. Where ever you are, is where I want to be.”
◆◆◆
“What are you doing here? I thought I asked you not to come back,” said Ramona. She sat behind plexiglass, holding a phone receiver to her ear.
“I meant what I said, I'm not leaving you,” insisted Nick.
“Nick…”
“Stop pushing me away and listen. I want to help you, and you need to start by allowing me to hire an attorney.”
“I don’t want your help. Go back to your wife and stop wasting your time with me.”
“You know Lauren and I are over and I'm fine with that because I love you.” The words tumbled out of his mouth before he could stop them from falling. It’s not that he didn’t want her to know, he never intended to tell her in a jail visiting room.
“You love me?” Her eyes no longer filled with anger or pain, instead, they showed a vulnerability he hadn’t seen before.
“I love you including your misguided flaws.”
“After what I've done you expect me to believe that’s true?”
“Who I witnessed last night is not the person I fell in love with. That's not the real you.”
Nick watched as tears fell from Ramona’s eyes. He knew she loved him as much as he loved her.
“I expect to spend the rest of my life in prison. You can't help me so please move on with your life. Forget about me. I don't want to see you again.” Ramona hung up the receiver and left Nick staring at an empty chair. The thought of spending the rest of his life without her made him determined to get her out of this predicament. Doing so would cause people to turn their back on him but that's a chance he's willing to take. He refuses to become another person in her life who abandons her. Just as he was about to rise from the chair he felt a tap on his shoulders. “Excuse me. I don’t mean to intrude.” Nick turned around and faced the short, well dressed middle-aged woman.
“May I help you with something?”
“When I entered the visiting room a moment ago, I noticed you were speaking with Ramona Vasquez,” she said with a slight smile on her face.
“Yes, she’s my girlfriend. Do you know her?”
“I do. Let me introduce myself, I’m Melissa Pennington, Ramona’s aunt.” She extended her hand towards him.
“I’m Nick Corley,” he said, shaking her hand. “She never mentioned an aunt.”
“Not surprising. She’s kept her distance since her father’s death.”
“Did she call you for help?”
“No. I heard about her arrest on the news.”
“She’s not in a good place,” he frowned. “I offered to hire an attorney, but she refused.”
“That’s why I’m here. I came to tell her I have a legal team on retainer and I will spend every waking moment to make sure she doesn't serve decades behind bars.”
“But, she has a litany of charges against her.”
“Don’t worry, Nick. She’s coming home.”
Thank you for reading Shattered Lives. I hope you enjoyed it. I would appreciate if you would please take the time to leave a review.
◆◆◆
Don't miss the next book in the Shattered Series!
Shattered Hearts
Book Two
Shattered Lives (The Shattered Series Book 1) Page 24