“Is responsible for whatever Jean Claude did. You didn’t do this.”
“We both know they will look at me and look hard.” Her jaw clenches. “I kissed you and then dragged you right into hell. That’s what this feels like.”
“This isn’t hell. This is you and me putting your hell behind us.” Hell was where I was living before I ever found her, but I don’t say that. I don’t intend to ever tell her that story.
“Cat just texted me,” Reid announces, rejoining us. “Reese is going to be another half hour but traffic is heavy. We need to get moving.”
Abbie’s cellphone rings. “That’s going to be my mother,” she says, reaching in the pocket of her jacket and grabbing her phone. “It’s her,” she says, glancing at the screen. I’m taking it.” She answers the line. “Mom,” she greets, already walking away.
I let her go, turning to face Reid, giving him the full update.
“I have only one question for you,” he says. “The only one that matters. The one I haven’t directly asked you. If she didn’t order the hit, who did? Did you?”
“I didn’t order the fucking hit, Reid. And I can’t believe you even asked me that.”
“We both know why I did.”
He’s talking about my involvement in the little prick who stalked our sister a few months back ending up in the hospital. “I don’t have time to go down this rabbit hole. You’re no boy scout, Reid.”
“I never pretended to be. That’s where we differ. I’m an asshole who claims to be an asshole. You’re Mr. Nice Guy with all your jokes and funny stuff, but we both know that you cut ten blades deep when someone crosses you.”
“When someone tries to hurt someone I care about,” I correct. “And don’t expect me to apologize for that. I won’t. I go after those who deserve it. I protect those who deserve it.”
“Just make sure she deserves it,” he warns. “You barely know her. She was married to a bastard of a man for a long time. Like minds attract.”
“Don’t be an asshole, Reid. She was afraid to leave him. Hell, she was afraid to get close to me because of him. Even her mother was afraid for her to get close to me.”
“Maybe her mother was afraid she’d eat you alive.”
“Careful, Reid,” I warn. “If this was Carrie, how would you react to having her attacked?”
He arches a brow. “Is that how serious this is? You think she’s your Carrie? Because I repeat, you just fucking met her.”
“She’s not going anywhere, Reid. You want to protect me, you protect her. If you can’t do that, step away. Go the fuck back to Italy.” I turn away, but he catches my arm.
I bite down and face him again. “What?”
“I’ll fight for her. I just need you to answer one more question.”
“You’re out of questions.”
“The one question left that matters to me. Do you trust her, and I mean, do you trust her completely?”
CHAPTER FOUR
Gabe…
Trust is not something I give easily and with good reason. I’ve been cut. I’ve been bruised, I’ve had my heart murdered and sewn it back together, with years of pain, in the process. So do I trust Abbie?
“Yes,” I say, facing Reid fully again, letting him see how much I mean that declaration. “I trust her.”
A flicker of surprise touches his expression. “Those are big words coming from you.”
“She was honest with me,” I add. “She told me what she did. She told me she went after her ex through Jean Claude.”
“Because she had to,” Reid says. “Because she’s cornered. Why didn’t she talk to you before she took action? She came to us, to me, to our firm, for help.”
“Kenneth threatened me. She was afraid for me, and us.”
“If there’s anything you aren’t telling me, if there’s anything I need to know, speak it now.”
“What don’t you know? I’ll tell you. Beyond reason and time, that woman matters to me. That’s what you fucking need to know.”
He studies me for several expanding beats before he gives a sharp nod of his chin.
“I can’t seem to get through to my mother,” Abbie frets, stepping to my side.
“I thought you took her call?” I ask.
“I did,” she confirms, “but the call dropped and I can’t seem to get back to her now.”
“Let’s call her from the courthouse,” I suggest. “We don’t want to miss Reese’s recess.”
Her cellphone rings again and she glances at her caller ID. “It’s her. I’ll take it in the car.” She answers the line. “Mom. Mom. Yes, I know. I’m fine, but I need you to come back here.”
“Tell her to go to the airport,” I say. “We’ll have a chopper waiting for her.” She nods and starts to turn away, headed for the backdoor. I catch her arm. “I need her to avoid the police until we get her prepped with Reese.”
She covers the phone. “That’s going to make her feel like there’s a problem.”
“Just being cautious, baby,” I say. “We’re all going to be questioned. That’s expected. Prepare her but keep her calm.”
Her expression tightens but she gives me a choppy nod.
“Abigail?” her mother says, her voice lifting through the line.
“Yes, mom,” Abbie replies, returning her attention to the call.
I release her and she turns away while Reid steps close, huddling up with me. “I need to point out the obvious before Reese does: Abbie was married to a billionaire. She has to have the money to pay for a hit.”
“She walked away with nothing but the shelter.”
His brows lift.. “Nothing?”
“I told you. She was afraid of him.”
“Then go with that. You said Abbie and her mother were afraid of Kenneth. What would a mother do to protect her child?”
“You think my mother did this?”
At the sound of Abbie’s voice, we both turn to look at her and her eyes burn into me.
“She didn’t do this.”
She tries to walk away. I pull her back to me, giving Reid my back. “No, I don’t think your mother did this and as for Reid, better he asks the questions before the police, so we’re ready for them.”
Her lashes lower, her expression pained. “I hate this.” She looks at me. “I hate this beyond words. I hated him beyond words. I can’t lie about that and be believable.”
“And yet you were married to him for five years,” I say, playing devil’s advocate.
Her eyes flash angrily. “Did you really just say that me?”
“Reid just said it to me. Reese will say it as well.”
“You know why.” She cuts her stare. “It’s complicated.”
I catch her chin and turn her gaze to mine. “I know why. You were afraid of him but fear can be a motive. That’s going to come up. You’re going to have to talk to Reese about it. You’re going to have to talk to the police about it. And so is your mother.”
“I wish my mother could just be left out of this.”
“How was she on the phone? Where is she?”
“Worried but calm. She’s headed to the airport.”
Calm. I’m not sure that’s what I expected but she’s a vet who deals with critical emergencies. Calm might be her panic but I don’t comment. I open the back door of the SUV and urge Abbie forward. “Let’s get this over with.”
She nods and climbs into the vehicle. I join her, tension radiating between us that came from nowhere and yet everywhere. I reject what can only hurt us, pulling her close, silently telling her that I’m here. I’m not going anywhere. Reid climbs into the front passenger seat and the driver pulls us onto the road.
None of us speak.
But without question, we’re all thinking about the same thing: murder.
***
The ride is short, and not more than fifteen minutes later, we’re inside a large room, sitting at a conference table, me beside Abbie, Reid at the end of the table. We’ve barely s
at down when Cat walks in, her hand on her growing belly, her dress a blue satin that clings to her body and highlights her pregnancy.
“My God,” she declares dramatically shutting the door, blowing a long strand of blonde hair from her eyes. “What happened?” She looks at me, sizes me up, and with one glance warns me what’s to come. She’s going on the attack, and already she’s refocused on Abbie. “What happened, Abbie?”
And just like that, in two words and her name, Cat’s opened the door for a confession. To protect me. To protect her husband before he represents Abbie. To protect Abbie when she talks to the police, already seasoned from the internal attacks.
“Apparently murder,” Abbie whispers, cutting her stare, emotion bleeding from her, crashing into me and I try not to let that affect me. Of course, she’s emotional. She was married to the man. She’s scared. It doesn’t mean she loved him.
“And I hated him,” she adds, and as if she spoke those words for me, to me, her eyes meet mine. “I hate him,” she repeats, her gaze shifting back to Cat. “How can I say that and not end up looking guilty? I didn’t kill him, Cat.”
There is so damn much anguish in her voice that Cat reacts, her expression softening from accusation to understanding. “Oh, honey,” she says, rushing forward to claim a seat at the table across from us. “Lot’s of people hate their ex-husbands. That doesn’t mean they kill them.”
“But my ex really is dead,” Abbie argues. “I’m not most people.”
The door opens on that comment and Reese appears, dressed in an expensive three-piece suit, he radiates this kind of warrior arrogance that dominates this room and any courtroom he enters. He’s confident. He’s in charge. He’s all business as he sets out to do what I know he does with all prospective clients before he offers comfort: he decides if he’ll represent them. He tests them. He puts them on the spot. And I know that’s what’s about to happen. He sits down in front of Abbie, looks her in the eyes, and asks, “This was a contract killing, I’m told.”
“Yes,” Abbie says. “I was told the same.”
Reese leans in a little closer to her, lowers his voice, as if he’s talking to just Abbie, and no one else. “Did you want your ex-husband dead, Abbie?”
CHAPTER FIVE
Abbie…
Did I want my ex dead?
That question hangs in the air between myself and Reese while the entire room waits for my answer.
“No,” I say finally, too many seconds later. “I didn’t want him dead. I have never wished anyone dead. Not even him.”
Reese doesn’t immediately reply. He’s intimidating, his eyes probing and intense. My nerves bristle and I grip Gabe’s hand where it rests on my knee under the table.
“It took you a long time to answer that question,” Reese says, leaning in closer.
“You didn’t ask if I killed Kenneth or even if I hired someone to kill him,” I say. “You asked if I ever wanted him dead. If you’d have asked me those questions, my reply would have been fast. No, I didn’t kill him. No, I didn’t hire someone to kill him. But as to the question, did I ever want him dead? I hated him enough to need to consider my reply. I wanted to be honest.”
Reese arches a brow. “Were you?”
“Yes.”
“Why did you hate him?” Reese asks.
Why?
One word manages to be such a complicated, emotional, and personal question. A question that cuts and digs and bites. A question that exposes a part of me that I don’t even want to know as me. A part of me that was weak, so very weak. I never want to be that weak again.
I look down, aware of the audience, uncomfortable with them. Uncomfortable with this answer reflecting my life.
“Leave us alone,” Reese orders the room.
“No,” I say quickly, meeting his stare. “You’re going to tell Cat and I’m going to tell Gabe and one or all of you will tell Reid. They might as well stay.”
“As your legal counsel,” Reese replies, “should I become your legal counsel, I can assure you privacy, even with them.”
“But what does that achieve?” I challenge. “These people are all protecting me. They deserve to know who I am.” I don’t give him time to argue. “Kenneth threatened me often.” I glance at Gabe. “You know that, at least to some degree. You saw—”
“Yes,” Gabe confirms. “I saw.”
“Expand on the word threatened for me,” Reese urges. “How did he threaten you?”
“Words mostly,” I say and because I can’t choke the rest of the sentence out while looking at Gabe, I look at Reese and add, “but he could be physically abusive as well.”
Gabe pulls me around to him again. “That bastard hit you?”
I swallow hard. “Yes, Gabe. He hit me. He hit me and I know staying with him despite that was foolish but it was all about my mother. I had to protect my mother. I know that seems weak but—”
“Weak?” Gabe demands. “You think I think you’re weak? You are not weak. You weren’t weak by staying and you don’t need to defend yourself in this room or to me. He was the asshole. He was the abuser.”
Emotion wells in my chest and clogs my throat. “I should have found a way out.”
“You did,” Gabe says. “You got out.”
“Gabe’s right on all points,” Reese states. “You don’t need to defend yourself with us.” He waits for me to look at him and then adds, “Unfortunately, abuse does provide the police with a motive for you to kill Kenneth.”
“I didn’t kill him,” I bite out vehemently. “I didn’t do this. I didn’t hire someone to do this.”
“Relax baby,” Gabe says, catching my hand. “He’s just stating facts.”
“I believe you,” Reese replies. “Gabe’s right again. This is about facts and strategy. We’ll decide what you need to share and with who when we know more about the murder.”
“Then you’ll represent me?” I ask.
“Yes,” Reese says. “I will. I believe you’re innocent and from what I’ve been told by Reid and Walker Security, there were plenty of people who wanted your ex dead. But I need to ask a direct question and get an honest answer. You said you were protecting your mother. Explain that.”
“He threatened to hurt her if I left.”
“And yet you left.”
“Yes, well eventually he cared more for his other women, and less about me. It was like the bars came off the windows. He lost interest in me. I think he had a real thing for one of them. He asked for a divorce.” I give a choked laugh. “It was the best day of my life to this point.”
“He asked for the divorce?” Reid asks, looking confused, his gaze shooting to Gabe’s, before returning to mine. “Why didn’t you ask for a fair settlement?”
“He told me if I did, he’d punish me in creative ways I couldn’t even begin to imagine. I couldn’t believe he allowed me to keep the shelter but that felt safe. How could that possibly backfire on me? And yet, it did.”
“Okay, Abbie,” Reese says. “I think, for now, we’re close to wrapping up.”
Abbie. They all call me Abbie. Because of Gabe. Because he’s shaping my life in ways I don’t yet understand but I want to. I so want to. “Help Gabe stay out of this, Reese. Please. Put him first. He’s what matters to me.”
“I’m going to help you both,” he replies. “If I’m even needed. If we’re lucky this doesn’t go beyond some basic questioning. They may have their man. I know only what you know,” he says. “And that’s not much, certainly nothing official.” He pauses a split second. “I’ll make a preemptive call on my way back into court, but if you’re contacted by the police, tell them I’m your attorney and that you’re dating my brother-in-law. That lets them know I won’t let you talk and that I’m prone to being extra cautious on this one.”
“That’s great,” I say. “Thank you.”
“I’ll let them know that I’m representing your mother as well, for the moment,” he continues. “I need to meet her before I’ll say tha
t goes beyond initial law enforcement contact. Fair enough?”
“Yes,” I say, relieved. “Thank you.”
“No thanks needed,” Reese assures me. “Now. Aside from me talking to Gabe, which I can do later tonight, is there anything else I need to cover with you, Abbie?”
“Yes actually,” I say. “There’s something you need to know before you make a call on my behalf.”
Reese laces his fingers in front of him, settling in for more. “I’m all ears.”
But so are Cat and Reid. I glance at Gabe and he nods. “Tell him. Reid knows. Cat is under a confidentiality clause with Reese’s firm.”
Tell his siblings that I all but killed my ex? Of course. Why not let them hate me right out of the gate? “My ex was threatening Gabe. He was threatening my mother. Bottom line, I not only told Jean Claude Laurette that my ex stole from him, but I gave him proof by email. I knew Jean Claude was a dangerous man but I believed he’d fire him not kill him.”
“Telling Jean Claude about your ex stealing from him is not the same as contracting someone to kill him,” Reese assures me. “You’re fine.” He winks. “You have me.” He looks at Gabe, and almost nonchalantly, says. “Did you kill him?”
“No,” Gabe states.
“Did you hire someone to kill him?”
“No,” Gabe says again.
“Do you know who did?”
“No,” Gabe replies. “But if I did, I’d send them flowers and chocolate. He was a snake, as is Jean Claude.”
“A snake you and Reid worked for,” Reese counters.
“I worked for him,” Reid states. “Gabe wasn’t in that circle. It was me and my father.”
Gabe looks at Cat. “He’s involved, Cat.”
Cat frowns. “Who?”
“Dad. He’s doing legal work for Jean Claude again now that he left the firm and Jean Claude had investments with Abbie’s ex.”
“Oh God,” she whispers, eyeing Reese. “What if he did this to pin it on Gabe and Reid? As payback for pushing him out of the firm?”
Her Submission Page 2
