Walker Defense

by Bernadette Marie

  "Don't know her," Gerald said as Ella walked down the steps to stand beside him.

  "I do.” Ella admitted. “She's a receptionist in my building. Twenty-something. Short, dark hair. Gaelic tattoo on her wrist."

  Phillip ran his hand over the back of his neck. "Yes. That's her."

  "Where was she?"

  "Grocery store. Had just loaded her car when the red pickup pulled up."

  Gerald looked at Ella standing next to him dressed in the suit she'd had on when she arrived. Her hair mussed from sleep in his bed.

  "If it was so public, there has to be surveillance footage," she offered.

  "There is. It looks just like Gerald's truck. Witness gave us part of the plate, but it's got one of the covers on it, just like yours, to avoid speed cameras."

  Gerald's lip twitched when Phillip called him out on the cover.

  "The number matched Gerald's?" Ella asked.

  "Part of it. All we can get is the truck on the video."

  "And you can see the driver in the cab of the truck?"

  "No," Phillip admitted. "And that's the biggest problem."

  "I can guarantee you that Gerald was here with me all night long, Phillip. Whatever is going on with this guy, is a coincidence."

  "That's a pretty big one."

  "Might be, but my client doesn't have to answer any more of your questions unless you come with a warrant."

  "Your client," Phillip snarled and shook his head. "I'll be back with one if I need one."

  "You're not going to need one," she assured him.

  Phillip tipped his hat to her and walked back to his car, making sure to take one more long look at Gerald's truck before he drove away.

  "That man is going to drive me over the edge," Gerald admitted as the dust kicked up on the road.

  "Do you think he's targeting you over Lydia?"

  He would have taken a jab at her over the comment, but there was a different look to her as she watched Phillip drive away. She was serious now—lawyer-like.

  "No. I think he's got a problem in town. Only I have a problem with the guy causing the problem."

  When she turned, the seriousness of it all darkened her eyes. "You need to stay out here. Keep away from town. I'll come back out tonight. Tell your brothers what's going on in case they know of something."

  "I'm a grown man," he reminded her. "I don't need some little woman to stand up for me."

  This time she rested her fists on her hips and narrowed her gaze. "Well, if they arrest your sorry ass you'll need this little woman to stand up for you. You're not guilty of anything, Gerald Walker, and I'll defend that to the grave. Now, a woman is missing who works in my building. Someone has her, and someone is devastated because she's gone. I can be more helpful to the community if I head to town."

  Once she was done, he was deflated, just as he assumed she wanted him. He'd fall in line, just as she wanted. It hurt his masculinity, but she was right, and he knew it.

  "I have a fence to fix, a calf to tend to, and it's my turn to gather eggs. I'll be too occupied to cause any problems."

  She gave him a curt nod. "And if problems come your way, you call me."

  "Yes, ma'am."

  He heard the long breath she took in and expelled out as her shoulders dropped. The stern look was replaced with a soft smile as she moved to him.

  "I very much enjoyed my night, Gerald. Above all else, I wanted you to know."

  Placing his hand on her cheek, he lingered there before leaning in for a kiss. "I'll see you when you get back."

  "I look forward to it."

  Chapter 15

  The entire drive into town, to her house to get ready, and into the office had been silent. Ella hadn't turned on her radio or queued up a podcast. No, all the noise was in her head, and she couldn't make sense of any of it.

  Was Gerald being targeted, or was it all coincidence? She'd passed four—four—red, beat up, farm pickups on her way into town. Surely they were all being questioned as well, right?

  She'd ask Phillip. He owed her that much.

  Though Sara hadn't been at work when she'd been abducted, police presence was noticeable at the building where Ella worked. She wasn't sure if she should feel more secure having them around, or if there had been leads that centered around the building.

  Either way, she had work to do. Gerald Walker wasn't the only person she had on her defense docket.

  She'd gone straight into her office and shut the door when she'd arrived. It hadn't even been an hour when someone knocked, and the receptionist escorted Phillip Smythe in.

  "You didn't get enough information this morning?" she asked and irritated herself at the bite in her words.

  Phillip stood in front of her, his hat in his hands, and his fingers were running across the brim.

  "Sara Crow was found this morning."

  Ella felt the air whoosh from her lungs as she sat back in her chair. His demeanor didn't lead her to believe that the rest of the news was going to be good.

  "Where?"

  "Outside Athens, just like the other."

  "She's okay?"

  Phillip sat down in the chair across from her and shook his head. "They found her alive. Side of the road. Beaten." He tossed his hat on her desk and ran his fingers through his sandy hair. "She died from her injuries about an hour ago."

  "Oh, Phillip." Ella leaned in, resting her arms on her desk. "This is horrible."

  "They don't think she was sexually assaulted, and Abby wasn't either."

  "Someone just gets a thrill out of kidnapping?"

  He shook his head again. "I think we have something bigger. He—I assume he—is feeling this out. Abby and Sara were similar in height and look. I think he's going a little farther each time."

  "You think there will be more?"

  "I hate to say that."

  "I hate it too." Ella crossed her arms in front of her, suddenly chilled by his words. "What do you need from me?"

  "Tell me it's not Gerald, and I'll leave it all alone."

  "You can't do that. You know that." She shook her head. "It's not Gerald. I was with him last night, all night. And you were with him when they called in the missing girl. You know it's not him."

  "Yeah, but the Walkers have some serious crap luck with things like this. Look at Eric and Bethany. He lost his house and got shot over some crazy lunatic. Russell got run off the road by another. The list goes on and on."

  "You think someone is setting him up?"

  Phillip eased back in his seat. "I don't know. I can't tie it together. He's taking girls from here and dumping them in Athens. There's no correlation, except that the truck is a match and so is the description of the man, though vague."

  "It's not enough to go on."

  "No. But I'd throw Gerald's ass in jail to keep him safe," Phillip admitted, and it brought Ella some peace. "Tell him to park that POS truck and drive something else from the ranch. That'll keep him under the radar in town."

  "Okay."

  "And you watch your step," he warned as he stood and gathered his hat. "This guy is around, and I don't want anyone to get hurt."

  "I'll be careful."

  "I'm headed over to the Bridal Mecca to talk to the ladies there. Seems like a prime target to me."

  "I wouldn't want to be the guy who messes with one of them."

  That made him chuckle. "It's not great to be on the wrong side of them."

  She figured he would know.

  "Take care, Ella." He turned to leave and stopped at the door turning back to her. "Gerald is a good man. I'm glad you guys worked it out."

  "Me too."

  Phillip's visit should have brought her some comfort, at least his admission that Gerald was a good guy. But it seemed to have had the opposite effect on her. Who was this creep? Why was he stalking women? Gerald just was an ordinary guy, and that was this guy’s cover, right? Regular Joe?

  She swiveled in her chair to look out the window. Every person on the street had
a different story. They came from different backgrounds and chose different paths. Watching, she noted that every man on that street below her office had some trace of Gerald. Height, weight, jacket, hair color, and swagger. Could it be that the only thing keeping Gerald as a suspect was that stupid truck?

  Pressing her hand to her belly, she fought off the wave of doubt that made her sick. It was all coincidence. Gerald could never do anything so horrible as to kidnap a woman or a child.

  She shook the thought from her head. No, Gerald would never do anything to harm anyone. She was more capable of hurting someone than he was.

  Her mind went to Sara Crow, who was dead now. Tears stung her eyes, and she closed them to ward away the pain that it caused her. Whoever had taken her had discarded her. She agreed with Phillip's assessment. Whoever was doing this was working up to bigger things.

  Ella didn't fit his profile. For that, she was grateful but no less scared. What if he took these women for looking one way, but decided that she fit the bill with her blonde hair and small frame?

  Her hands shook, so she clasped them together atop her desk.

  When the phone on her desk buzzed, she jumped. Her heart hammered in her chest, so she pressed her hand to it.

  Picking up the phone, she noticed her hand still shook.

  "Your one o'clock just arrived." Abe's voice cheerfully filled her ear.

  "One o'clock?" She looked down at her wrist and realized she hadn't charged her watch since she'd slept at Gerald's. How had the day passed so quickly? "Okay, send them in."

  The rest of her day was spent listening to the angry high-pitched voice of a woman scorned by her husband. Every time Ella had thought they'd managed to settle the case against him, the wife—ex-wife now—wanted something else. Ella listened to her demands, talked her out of some, and listed the others. She would make the call to the husband's—ex-husband now— lawyer in the morning and they would begin working through a settlement—again.

  By the time the woman left, Ella was mentally and physically exhausted. Why would someone want to get married, only to… she stopped right there with the thought.

  She, of all people, had no right to wonder why someone would marry someone else—or not marry someone.

  What she did know was she'd spent the night in the arms of the man she'd never stopped loving, even if her emotions had gotten in the way of that love. Of course, she wasn't stupid enough to think that it wasn't just sex either. It was entirely possible that Gerald Walker would turn around and say, "Ha! That was for what you did to me years ago."

  Anger rose from the pit of her stomach before she could let the thought go. Gerald wasn't like that. If he wasn't interested in furthering a relationship with her, well that was his right.

  Ella buried her face in her hands. She was just worked up. A lot was going on, and she had a lot on her mind.

  The knocking at the door had her lifting her head as Gerald walked through.

  "Still here, huh?" He smiled at her as he closed the door behind him. "I was hoping I'd catch you. I thought we could go to dinner and stay at your place."

  She was sure her expression must not have been what he'd expected. She stared at him in disbelief. "You came to town for that?"

  "I borrowed dad's SUV."

  Tears stung her eyes and laughter contradicted the feelings stirring in her.

  "I had just talked myself into thinking last night was just sex. You and me rekindling something we understood."

  "Why would you say that?" He moved toward her desk. "That's not my style."

  "Not mine either," she admitted looking up at him. "I was working on a divorce case, and it just got in my head. It made me realize a lot of time has passed for us. What were we thinking last night?"

  Gerald walked around her desk, took her hand, and pulled her from the chair. "Your overthinking cost me, last time, and I'm not sorry for saying it like that. I carried you into my place last night full of pent up emotion for you, but you didn't fight it or run away. You were the one who came to my defense and then brought pizza. So don't go overthinking this either," he concluded before he pressed his mouth to hers and solidified his point.

  Chapter 16

  He hadn't driven into town for her to meet him with resistance. Ella Mills was on his mind from the time he woke up with her until he'd pressed his mouth to hers.

  Now she took from him, just as he'd have expected. Ella's fingers gripped his hair, and her tongue worked against his. Gerald pulled her as close to him as he possibly could. He wasn't about to let her mind wander into territory that would make the feelings he was having impossible. He'd never stopped loving her. There were reasons Ella had come back to Macon. Gerald wanted to be one of those reasons.

  When they'd had their fill, Gerald eased back and rested his forehead against hers. "Let's get some dinner, have a glass of wine, and some easy conversation. Then we'll stay the night at your place if that's okay."

  "It sounds perfect."

  He wanted to tell her he loved her, but even if they had shared the words in the past, he knew it wasn't the right time to say them. Holding on to them in his heart, he waited for her to gather her things.

  As she picked up her purse and her bag, she looked up at him. "Have you talked to Phillip today?"

  "Just this morning when he drove out to accuse me again. Why? What did I miss?"

  "Sara Crow died this morning from her injuries."

  He felt the blood drain from his head and he reached for the back of one of her chairs to support him. "Son-of-a-bitch!"

  "He said she hadn't been sexually assaulted, just kidnapped and beaten."

  "And left for someone to find?"

  "Yes."

  Gerald scrubbed his hand over his face. "We have to get this bastard. We have to pool resources and get him."

  "Phillip is hell-bent on doing so. He told me to be careful, and he headed from here to the Bridal Mecca to talk to Lydia, your cousins, and sisters-in-law."

  "It makes me sick."

  "Me too," she admitted as she swung her bag over her shoulder. "For tonight, let's have dinner and enjoy a quiet night in."

  Ella reached her hand out to take his.

  Maybe it was the right moment to tell her he loved her. What if tomorrow never came?

  His thoughts were diverted when her phone rang.

  "Hello, Mama. Yes, I'm okay. I know, I know," she said as she locked her office door. "The police are looking for him. Everyone is looking for him. I'm headed home now. Gerald is with me."

  Her pause caused him to turn and look at her. He knew what was going on on the other end of the phone. Ella was getting a long dissertation about her spending time with him. Not that he was the bad seed, but when a woman turns down a man's proposal her mother quickly assumes he did something to push her away.

  "I'm fine, Mom. I'm in control, and I'm fine. I have to go. I'll call you tomorrow."

  Ella exchanged a few pleasantries and sent her love to her father.

  As they walked out of the building, she tucked her phone into her purse. "I'm sorry about that."

  "Mom isn't too happy about you spending time with me?"

  "She doesn't want me to get hurt."

  Gerald gritted his teeth, and Ella turned to face him, stopping them from walking to the car.

  "Gerald, I'm sorry. I know that…"

  "Stop. If we're going to rehash who did what and who said what every day, then this isn't even worth working on."

  Ella added, "You're right." She rose on her toes and kissed him gently. "Moving forward."

  * * *

  The call from her mother had put a damper on Ella's mood. Well, the call mixed with her fear about being a victim to someone who was kidnapping women. Admittedly she had a lot on her mind.

  They'd chosen to grab Chinese takeout and head home. The silence was their friend tonight, she thought, and a useful step in the right direction. They were comfortable—just as they once had been.

  She could never ta
ke back the time they'd lost, so she promised herself not to fret over it. They'd have been different people had they gotten married, settled down, and had kids. As it was, she was successful now, and that had been most important.

  Ella stirred the noodles in her takeout container with her chopsticks.

  "Something on your mind?" Gerald asked, and she lifted her head to see him watching her.

  "A lot of things. Sara Crow. Your truck. My mom. That stupid woman whom I represent that keeps wanting more money from her ex-husband."

  "Why represent her?"

  "Because the firm does. She pays my salary."

  "But you don't believe in her cause."

  "No, but I believe in Nichole's cause. I have to put up with stupid cases like divorce, petty theft, and parking tickets to get to make an impact for people like Nichole when they need me."

  A smile formed on his lips and lit in his eyes. "I hadn't thought of it that way. My family is very grateful to you for helping her out."

  "She's a good woman who loves her children and wants the best for them."

  "I think they're in good hands now."

  "I agree. Your brother is a fortunate man. All of your brothers are lucky. They've married some terrific women."

  All of those women would have been her sisters-in-law, she thought, as she gathered noodles and slurped them out of the container. Had all things gone as initially planned, she would have been the first Mrs. Walker. As it was, Gerald was now the last of his brothers to get married, and the last to move from the main house. Had she held him back? Was that all her fault?

  "I have to drive up to Atlanta next week. We're picking up two new steers. Would you be interested in going with me?" Gerald eased back in his chair and took a pull from his beer.

  "I suppose it would depend on what day."

  "I can make it any day. This guy is getting paid handsomely. He'll meet me any time."

  Ella set down her chopsticks and picked up her glass of wine as she contemplated his offer. "I suppose I could manage a Friday off."

  "Perfect. Why don't I tell him I'll meet him on Sunday morning, and we'll make a weekend of it. We'll take our time and drive up on Friday, spend Saturday in the city, and come back on Sunday."