I shook my head, wringing my fingers together. I was starting to lose my temper. Why wouldn’t anyone believe me? “Sit down, Linda.” My voice came out harsher than I intended it to. My lawyer looked shocked before she took a seat, placing her briefcase on the table. “Why do you even carry that thing if you don’t plan on defending me properly?”
“It’s none of your business.” Her voice was icy and cold. She also had her hands folded in front of her. I studied her for a moment. She was cute. Looked a little too innocent to be working as a public defense lawyer, but I wasn’t one to judge a book by its cover.
“Fair enough. So tell me, why did you decide to become a lawyer? Better yet, someone who defends the bad guys.”
“Irrelevant and also none of your business.”
“It is my business because you’re my lawyer.” The back of my orange jumpsuit was starting to get really itchy. I reached back and scratched myself. Instantly, the guards who were stationed in the room stepped forward, their hands on their guns, looking ready to shoot. “Damn, can’t a man scratch an itch? I don’t have any weapons on me. You did a thorough search to make sure.” I glared at them and they eventually backed down. “Besides, I’m not some lowlife murderer. Never will be.”
Linda sighed, her blue eyes softening just a bit. “Sure. You’re not a murderer, but if you want to get out of this, you really should come up with a better story.”
“I’m not lying so why should I say anything other than the truth?”
“You really want me to believe that one of Ross’ men killed him? That a member of the Iron Horses would kill their own leader just so they could drive the Blackbirds, your motorcycle gang out of town?”
“Think about it. Killing Ross and framing me for it seems like a pretty good way to get rid of us. Besides, it’s much easier to kill your own leader than it is to kill the leader of a rival group.”
Linda still didn’t sound convinced. “If I ask for bail at $100,000, will your friends be able to pay for it?”
“Yes, no problem. But I already told you, I’m not going to settle for a bail.”
“Would you prefer to rot in a jail cell?”
“No. I prefer justice.” She scoffed at my words. I got up, slamming my hands against the table. “Look, there has to be a good reason why you decided to be a public defense lawyer. You must think that there are some innocent men who get sent to jail for crimes they didn’t commit. I’m one of those people. I didn’t kill Ross!” My face had moved dangerously close to hers before the guards harshly pulled me away. “Why won’t you believe me?”
Linda had a calm expression on her face as she got up, grabbing her briefcase, but I could tell that her fingers were shaking. Was I scaring her? I did my best to calm down a bit. “I still don’t know whether I believe you or not, but I think it seems more likely that you killed Ross McArdle than one of his own members. After listening to witnesses, Ross held great respect among his people, why would one of his own –”
“I already told you! Whoever did this is a coward! They didn’t have the guts to find me and kill me themselves.”
“That’s enough, Mr. Johnstone.” One of the guards dug their fingers into my arm so hard I nearly winced.
“You have to believe me…” I said through gritted teeth. “If you don’t, then who will?”
“Look. I’m going to get you bail, but that’s the best I can do. If we go for a trial, you most certainly will end up in jail.”
“Is it because you’re scared?” I challenged.
“Huh?”
“Are you afraid to defend me in court? To question all these gang members and put yourself in jeopardy.”
She just crossed the room, her high heels clicking against the hard cement. She was much shorter than me, but even so, she held my gaze, her face serious. “I’ll tell you one thing, Mr. Johnstone. I’m never scared.”
Chapter 2
Linda
Well, that was a lie, but Kyle didn’t need to know that. I turned on my heels and walked away with a dignified step. I gripped my briefcase tight in my hand, my knuckles turning white. I was shaking all over, but I wasn’t about to let anyone see that.
Out in the hall, I finally let out a sigh of relief. I leaned against the wall, running my fingers through my hair. Like always, my curls were horribly frizzy and I cursed myself for not using hairspray that morning.
“Miss Harris, how did it go in there?” My personal assistant, Jeremy, showed up, a bundle of papers in his arms.
“Fine, just fine.” I walked past him, keeping my head high. “The hearing starts in an hour, we’ll have to get everything sorted before that.” Jeremy nodded, grabbing my briefcase and carrying it for me. “Have you gotten those profiles for me yet?”
“Yes, ma’am. They’re all right here.”
“Perfect.” We were already outside, where Jeremy had parked the car against the curb. He opened the door for me.
“Here you are.” He handed me the papers and I took them, closing the door to stop him from staring at me. Jeremy was a hard worker, but he was awkward at times. He was like a little gnat that always hung around for too long. “To the courthouse, correct?” He asked once he got behind the wheel.
“Yes. Thank you.” I sunk into the leather seat and started to go through the profiles Jeremy had printed out.
The first one I looked at was Kyle’s. He was the leader of the Blackbirds, a long-standing motorcycle club. He had inherited the leadership from his father, Keith Johnstone. The Blackbirds frequented the Black Rock Bar on the east side of town and were peaceful, for the most part.
I frowned, reading the description. Maybe there was some truth to Kyle’s words, but that didn’t make sense. I was sure he was leaving something out. Why would Ross’ own men kill him? I just wasn’t prepared to believe that. These men were supposed to uphold honor and comradery and yet, Ross had been shot in the back… It just didn’t make sense.
I flipped the page, turning to Ross McArdle. He was the leader of the Iron Horses, an equally as respectable motorcycle club. He had taken the position by force twenty years ago when he had landed the previous leader into a coma. The charges against him were dropped by the family and he was never taken to court. The Iron Horses frequented Patty’s Pub on the west side. At least one member of the Iron Horses was arrested a month.
“Hmm…” I twirled my pen in my fingers.
“What is it, Miss Harris?”
“Nothing.” I dismissed Jeremy, flipping through the case files. Ross McArdle had been killed in the city center. It didn’t seem likely that an intrusion on turf was the motive… I shook my head. There had to be something more to this. Then again, if I tried to figure out every gang feud in the city, I would quickly go crazy. It was better to pick my battles and this wasn’t one I was prepared to fight.
***
The prosecutor on the case was one of my biggest enemies: George Pollock.
“What a pleasure. I didn’t know you were working on this case.” He grinned, shaking my hand as we approached the bench together.
“I didn’t realize I’d be working with you either.” I tried my best to remain civil, but I hated this guy’s guts. When I first became a lawyer, he kept roasting me to the point where I thought I would give up my career.
“Well, best of luck.” The sarcasm in his voice shot right through my soul. I ground my teeth together to keep from snapping at him.
From the bench, the judge looked down at us. She was elderly, but a notoriously ruthless judge. She fixed her glasses, pushing them up the bridge of her nose. “Miss Harris, what do you plea?”
“My client pleads guilty and we’re asking for a $50,000 bail agreement.”
“$50,000?” George glanced at me. “For one of the most wanted men in the city?”
“Kyle Johnstone may be the leader of the Blackbirds, but he doesn’t have any major felonies on his record. He has never been charged with murder.”
“And what makes you think it wo
uld be a good idea to let a murderer run free?” George questioned. “$200,000 bail.”
“That’s excessive, Mr. Pollock.” I turned to the judge. “Your honor, this is a feud between two motorcycle clubs. Their rivalry has been going on for generations and as long as violence doesn’t spill over into civil territory –”
“Are you suggesting that the brutal murder of a rival member, or anyone else for that matter, is okay?” I ground my teeth. George was really getting under my skin.
“No. But as a first-time offender, Mr. Johnstone deserves a bail sentence. Besides, there’s no solid evidence against him. All you have is a bullet casing found at the scene of the crime. No fingerprints or DNA. There’s nothing to pin him with the crime besides the accusations of the rival gang.”
“But your client pleads guilty.”
“Only to save himself from a court trial that would convict him without a fair process. You know people here hate the Blackbirds as well as the Iron Horses. There would be no way of getting an unbiased jury.”
The judge suddenly slammed her gavel down. “I’m setting the bail to $500,000. If it is not paid within 30 days, then Mr. Johnstone will face ten years in jail for manslaughter.”
The courtroom went silent and I felt my blood boil as I noticed George’s smirk out of the corner of my eye. Without another word, I left, feeling defeated.
Chapter 3
Kyle
I had almost forgotten how hard and lumpy jail mattresses were. I looked up at the ceiling, my hands folded under my head. Closing my eyes, I thought of Linda. I wondered whether she would show up soon. Her image appeared in my mind. Her soft, fair face. Her pink lips. The look in her eye when she told me she wasn’t afraid of anything. I chuckled. The girl had guts. I liked that.
I heard the sound of the cell opening and I propped myself up. “I’m leaving already?” I asked, raising an eyebrow in question.
“Your lawyer would like to have a word with you.” The guard pulled me out, tightening the handcuffs around my wrists.
“You know, I don’t understand why you think it’s necessary to handcuff us. Doesn’t that just make it easier for inmates to choke people if they manage to get the handcuffs pressed against someone’s neck?”
The guard didn’t say anything, but he did take a step away from me, his baton still pressed against my back, urging me forward.
“I hope you know I’m kidding.” I chuckled. I sighed as he didn’t answer me. “Fine. Silent treatment it is.” As I walked along, I passed some of the other cells, where other inmates looked bored with their lives. They should have thought about that before they committed their crimes. I laughed again, thinking how ironic that sounded.
The guard shoved me into one of the visiting rooms. I nearly fell forward. I looked back and glared at him, but he was already gone. Straightening myself out, I stretched before finally sitting down. “Do you think I could get some water?” I asked, knowing they were watching me. Of course, no one bothered to acknowledge my existence. It was like I was less of a human just because I had been accused of a crime. I hadn’t even murdered Ross. But of course, no one believed me.
I heard the click, click, click of what could only be Linda’s heels. I looked up to see her standing at the door, her blue eyes blazing. Seeing her for the second time that day, I realized just how striking she really was. If we had met at the bar, I would’ve definitely bought her a drink.
“How did it go?” I asked, running my fingers through my hair. After a few nights in jail, my usually slicked-back hair was just a mess.
“Not exactly as I planned.”
“So, you got me a court trail then?”
“No.” She sat down. “Like I said, it would never hold up. There might not be any solid evidence to support the case, but the jury won’t care about that. In their eyes, they would be putting a violent gang member away for good.”
“You know, we aren’t all that bad,” I mumbled.
“Hmm?”
“I said, we aren’t all that bad.” I stared into her eyes and moved a little closer. “We’re people just like everyone else. Flesh and blood. The only difference is, we like to ride motorcycles.”
“That doesn’t really interest me, Mr. Johnstone.” She pulled out a piece of paper and handed it to me. “The judge set your bail at $500,000.”
“What happened to the $100,000 plan?” I asked, looking a little shocked. I wasn’t quite sure if my members would have enough resources to spring me.
“Didn’t work out as well. The prosecutor brought up the point that the judge shouldn’t release a murderer back into society. So, they set the bond for half a million dollars, thinking it would stop you from paying.”
“And if it does? Would you be okay with letting me go to jail for a crime I didn’t commit?”
“This case is no longer my concern. I have done everything that I could, given the circumstances. You people work in morally gray territory and it’s hard to give you justice when you think it’s appropriate to use violence to achieve your goals.”
“But I didn’t. Do you really think I would kill someone? Does this look like the face of a murderer?” I grinned at her, flashing my pearly whites. I saw her eyes flicker over my face, taking in my features. I wasn’t usually one to brag, but I was pretty attractive if I do say so myself. Had a few girlfriends in the past who were completely obsessed with me.
“I’m not going to answer that –”
“Because you know I’m telling the truth. You know I didn’t do it.”
Linda got up. “As I said, this case is closed. Your bond is set at half a million dollars. If no one pays that within thirty days’ time, then you are to spend ten years in jail for manslaughter.”
“You can’t do this!”
“I didn’t do anything. I just did my job.”
I was seething with anger. How could she treat me like this? “Is this how you defend people? Let them out to dry with yesterday’s laundry. I’m telling you, I didn’t do it.”
“And I’m telling you, there’s nothing more I can do, so I suggest you find the bail money and get back to your life. Just forget that this ever happened.”
“How am I supposed to forget about it when I have the label of a murderer on my record now? I’m not some lowlife coward like the man who killed Ross!” My voice started to escalate. “And you should be ashamed of yourself, blaming me when the man who did this is still running free on the streets.”
“If he is, then the authorities will catch him. I can do nothing about that myself.”
“You could believe me.”
“And how will that help to apprehend him?” She held her ground as I continued to grill her. She was stronger than she looked, that much was certain.
“It will keep an innocent man out of jail!” I screamed at her, but she was already leaving. I ground my teeth together. I had to make her believe me. One way or another.
Chapter 4
Linda
It had been a few weeks since the Blackbird trial, but I still couldn’t get Kyle Johnstone out of my head. Had I made the right decision? What if he really was innocent and I had just condemned him to serve ten years in prison for a crime he didn’t commit?
I shook my head and walked into the kitchen, popping the freezer open. I grabbed a container of frozen yogurt before moving back into the living room. My favorite show was about to come on. I had just started my one month vacation and I was ready to enjoy myself. I plopped onto the couch, tasting the frozen yogurt. “Mmm…” I licked the spoon before going in for another bite.
“You can’t go after him, Liam, it’s too dangerous.” On TV, a distraught-looking girl was trying to convince her boyfriend not to go after their best friend who had just gotten lost in the forest.
“But until I know he’s safe, I can’t give up on him,” Liam answered, his eyes fierce. “What if he’s in there suffering and no one helps him because I’m too scared to go after him?”
“But what if it g
ets you too?” Liam leaned down, kissing his girlfriend before he dashed into the forest. The scene cut to a commercial and I groaned.
“Typical.” I kept picking at my dessert, waiting for the show to come back on. On the wall, I looked at the time. 9:41. Nineteen minutes left. Would they really kill off one of the main characters? It wasn’t unheard of, but I didn’t think they would cut one of the hottest guys on television.
As I closed the tub of frozen yogurt and put it back, I started to think about Kyle again. My heart ached as if I were feeling guilty. I tried to ignore the thought, but he just kept popping into my mind. Maybe it was the way he looked at me with those dark eyes. I will admit, he didn’t look like the kind of man that killed someone, but at the same time, I shouldn’t be judging people by their appearance. So what if Kyle was attractive? That didn’t automatically make him innocent.
Pursuit: A Bad Boy Romance Page 72