Her parents wouldn’t like it, but she couldn’t say no. Judy nodded.
Gwen tapped Rick on the back and spoke to him in hushed tones. Green Eyes glanced Judy’s way and smiled briefly.
Rick stepped around the officers and met Judy by the desk. He smiled at the female officer. “Is there a back door we can use to escape the media?”
The woman nodded and ushered them around the counter and through another door. A small corridor later, Judy and Rick were running to a rental car and tearing out of the parking lot.
She stared out the back window, expecting the reporter to give chase. Only no cars or vans pulled behind them. “Take the freeway north.”
Rick switched lanes, maneuvered the car onto the freeway. Only when she was sure no one followed did Judy twist in her seat and pull on her belt, and she felt the green-eyed stare of the most gorgeous man she’d ever seen in her life fall on her…again.
Oh, boy!
Chapter Twenty-Six
An officer led Karen into a large room and sat her on a bench to wait for the judge. They brought Nolan in next, then Zach.
“Are you OK?” Zach asked.
“I’ve had better days,” she told him truthfully. Beyond them, the room filled up with their family and friends. Janice and Sawyer wouldn’t meet her eyes. She could only imagine what was going through their heads.
Samantha, Blake, Neil, and Gwen offered smiles as they took their seats.
“Did you talk to the lawyer?” Karen asked.
“Yeah. We’re all set,” Zach told her.
“Are we getting out of here?” Nolan asked.
“We should.”
A commotion brought everyone’s attention to the back door of the room.
Several people walked into the room with handheld recording devices, their eyes swung toward the three of them.
“Great, reporters.”
Zach shook his head. The three of them sat with their hands behind their backs in handcuffs. Humiliation crawled up Karen’s spine.
The lawyer who’d visited Karen earlier walked into the room followed by two more men dressed just as well. Three-piece, fifteen-hundred-dollar suits were a sure bet of highly paid lawyers. All of whom Blake and Samantha brought in. Leave it to a millionaire duke to have the best.
“All rise for the honorable Judge Stanhope.”
The occupants of the room stood and a hush fell over the crowd.
Gray peppered the hair of the judge who appeared to be somewhere in his sixties. His stoic expression said nothing as he took his seat and told everyone to sit.
“It’s a little early for this kind of a crowd,” the judge said as he shuffled papers on his desk and looked at the three of them.
A reporter in the back of the room lifted a small tape recorder and whispered into the device, drawing the attention of the judge.
“You! In the back.”
The reporter snapped his attention to the judge.
“Yes?”
“Turn that crap off in my courtroom. If I see it again I’ll have you and all your colleagues removed.”
The reporter shoved the recorder into a bag and sat up.
Judge Stanhope glanced around the courtroom. “I’ve been called in on this fine Sunday, a day I’d much rather be spending with my family…so this had better be good.”
Karen wanted to moan. Great, a pissed-off judge.
“Nolan Parker?” the judge called out.
Nolan stood. “Yes, Your Honor?”
“Do you have counsel?”
The attorney assigned to Nolan stood and walked over to the bench.
“Yes, Your Honor.”
Judge Stanhope glanced at his papers, then to the attorney.
“Nolan Parker you’re being charged with statutory rape, kidnapping, and resisting arrest. How do you plea?”
Nolan glanced at his attorney and said, “Not guilty.”
The judge looked directly at Nolan, then at Zach. “Zach Gardner?”
Zach stood along with his attorney.
“You’re charged with kidnapping, harboring a criminal, and resisting arrest. How do you plea?”
“Not guilty.”
Karen didn’t wait to be called before she took to her feet.
“I see we have a theme here today,” the judge said on a sigh. “Karen Jones?”
“Yes, Your Honor?”
“I assume the remaining attorney is yours?”
“Yes, sir.”
“You’re charged with kidnapping, harboring a criminal, and resisting arrest. How do you plea?”
“Not guilty, Your Honor.”
The judge stared at the three of them. “The preliminary hearing is set for two weeks from tomorrow,” he said. “Bail is set for one hundred thousand dollars each for Ms. Jones and Mr. Gardner. Two hundred and fifty thousand for Mr. Parker.”
“Oh, God,” Nolan groaned.
“It’s OK,” Karen assured him.
“If you make bail you’re to remain within the county limits until the trial. Is that understood?”
The three of them nodded.
The judge left the courtroom and the reporters fled the room.
An hour later, Karen, Zach, and Nolan were walking out of the police station only to be mobbed by the media.
Neil and Blake shoved reporters aside until the three of them were in the back of a limousine.
Karen hugged Gwen as the car left the station.
“We’ve booked a suite at the Hilton.”
“Has anyone heard from Becky?” Nolan asked.
Karen grasped his hand.
“Not yet.”
Karen’s eyes met Zach’s and held.
“This is it.” Judy pointed to the house Becky called home. There wasn’t a car in the driveway, which didn’t sit well with her.
“Does she have brothers or sisters?”
“No. She’s an only child.”
Rick parked half a block away on the opposite side of the street.
He leaned over her and opened the glove compartment. He removed a pistol and proceeded to place it in a holster he had under his jacket.
“What the hell is that?”
“A gun.”
“Well I know that. Why do you have one? Are you a cop or something?”
He smiled. “Or something.”
He moved to open his door and she grasped his arm.
“You can’t go in there with a gun.”
He waved a finger in the air. “I promise not to pull it out unless I have to.”
She tugged on him now. “Hold up. I didn’t agree to this. We just need to make sure Becky’s OK.”
Rick tilted his head to the side. “What do you think I’m going to do?”
“I don’t know, but you don’t need a gun. Look at you. You could sit on Mr. Applegate and squish the man. No guns needed.”
Rick’s smile illuminated the car. “Glad you have faith in me, Utah, but I like a little firepower in case Mr. Appleseed has one of his own.”
“Applegate. Not Appleseed.”
He lifted his eyebrows and never stopped smiling. “You stay here. I’ll check out the house.”
She shoved out of the car right behind him.
“I said, stay in the car.”
She stormed past him. “Becky doesn’t know you. You might scare her.”
He narrowed his eyes. “I should scare you.”
“Phew. Yeah, right.” The house was quiet, as was the neighborhood. Church was a serious thing most Sundays, resulting in many hours spent with the congregation. Somehow, Judy didn’t think that was where the Applegate family was today.
By the time she reached the front door, Rick was beside her. Before she could knock, he picked her up as if she weighted fifty pounds and placed her behind him.
“Hey!”
He lifted a finger to her lips. “Shh!”
Suddenly Rick wasn’t Mr. Hottie strapped in a body fit to fight an army, he was Mr. Annoying fit to earn a tongue-lashing.<
br />
“Stay.”
“I’m not a dog,” she told him through gritted teeth.
He towered over her and had the nerve to pat her head.
Judy nearly stomped on his foot.
Before she could respond, he laid his knuckles to the door. “Mr. Apple—”
“Gate,” she whispered.
“Applegate?”
They waited for a few silent moments. Rick knocked again. “Mr. Applegate?”
Nothing.
Rick wiggled the handle on the door and found it unlocked.
He removed the gun he said he would leave alone and slowly opened the door.
Judy’s heart kicked when her eyes fell on the mess in the living room of the Applegate home.
“Go back to the car,” he told her.
She shook her head. Worry for Becky suddenly overwhelmed her. Something wasn’t right.
Two lamps were in the middle of the floor, the glass in the old seventies-style end table was shattered.
“Mr. Applegate?”
“Becky?” Judy called out.
Rick glared at her now, all humor gone. His hand snapped over her lips, shutting her up.
Judy stuck to his back as he walked through the house. The kitchen was untouched; the dining room had overturned chairs. Inside the bedrooms, several drawers were opened as if someone had packed in a hurry. There wasn’t any sign of anyone.
Rick holstered his gun and surveyed the room. “I don’t think they’re coming back.”
“Oh, Becky. This is bad.”
“Doesn’t look good. Is there any close family nearby?”
“I don’t think so. I’m not sure.”
Judy stepped over the glass in the middle of the living room and noticed a dark spot on the carpet. She knelt down and touched the sticky liquid. “Is this what I think it is?”
Rick touched her finger and frowned. “Call the police.”
The suite at the Hilton filled with people quickly. Zach recognized Karen’s friends and shook Blake Harrison’s hand. “Thank you for expediting the lawyers and bail.”
Blake shook his head. “Don’t mention it.”
“I’ll pay you back.”
Blake waved him off. “We’ll work that out later.”
Zach’s parents walked into the hotel room and eyed the crowed that had gathered. To his father’s credit, he hadn’t called him on how he and Karen were found when they were arrested. By now, their pictures were spread all over the tabloids and the media filled the lobby of the hotel, all of them hoping for a statement about the adulterous affair. Seemed they were more interested in a sex scandal about a celebrity wife than about a possible kidnapping.
A hush went over the room as his parents walked in. Zach could see his mother’s torn expression as she glanced at Karen. But she seemed to get over whatever stopped her quickly.
Janice lifted her hand to Karen’s face. “Are you OK, dear?”
Zach noticed Karen’s hesitation. “I’m fine.”
“This looks like it hurts.”
The bruise on Karen’s face reminded him of the police slamming her against the wall.
“It’s not bad.”
Before Karen could finish introductions, the door to the room opened again.
Mike strode in, his hard gaze landing on Zach briefly before he found Karen.
He walked to her side and pulled her into his arms. “Are you all right?”
She sighed. “I’m sorry.”
He pulled away, looked her over. His gaze stopped at the angry bruise on her face and he cursed under his breath.
Janice kept glancing between Karen and Mike and then back to Zach. Sawyer remained silent in the back of the room.
“It’s OK,” Mike told her. He kissed her forehead softly before leaving her and walking toward Zach.
Zach squared his shoulders and tried to prepare for their very public confrontation.
A tick in Mike’s jaw was the only motion on his brother’s face. They stared at each other. When it looked as if Mike was going to walk away without a word, Zach started to relax only to have Mike’s fist fly through the air and catch him in the jaw.
The room exploded as Zach fell back to the floor.
Karen jumped between them, Blake grabbed Mike’s arm, and Neil stepped in front of Karen.
“Michael!” Janice yelled.
Mike waved his hand in the air. “That’s for not keeping her safe. The media is going to massacre her character and for that I blame you.”
Zach wiped the blood from his lip with the back of his hand, looked at it, then his brother. Mike wasn’t hitting him for sleeping with his wife, but for being caught by the press.
Zach nodded and waved off Neil’s hand as he reached to help him up.
Mike pushed forward, pressed his hand into Zach’s palm, and hauled him to his feet. At first, Zach wasn’t sure if his brother was going to swing again or not. One fist was fine, expected even, but Zach had no problem reminding Mike who the older brother was.
Karen moved between the two of them. “Are we good here?”
Zach looked at his brother.
“Yeah,” Mike managed.
Karen turned to Zach, dabbed his lip with a tissue, and blessed him with a soft smile. “Don’t we make a great pair?”
“I’d smile but it hurts.”
Mike chuckled.
“Nice to know you still have a right hook to rival mine,” Zach told him.
“Learned from the best.” They’d fought growing up, as brothers often did, but the fight never went into the night or the next day. Seemed they were going to keep the tradition.
Sawyer cleared his throat from across the room. “Would someone please tell me what the hell is going on here?”
The room grew silent again.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Karen was stuck, literally, between Zach and Michael. Across from the three of them sat Janice and Sawyer, both of them held their emotions in check as everyone else left the room.
“What’s going on?” Sawyer said a second time after the room had cleared.
Karen placed a hand on Michael’s knee, offering encouragement. The motion didn’t go unnoticed by anyone.
“You were never supposed to meet Karen,” Michael said. “Our marriage was scheduled to last a year. A year and a half tops.”
Janice blinked several times, her eyes switching between Karen and Michael. To Karen’s right, Zach watched her.
This was Michael’s story to tell, however much of it he wanted. She’d offer nothing and back up whatever he said. So far, nothing was a lie and easily agreed to.
“Scheduled to last? What does that mean?”
“My life is in Hollywood, Dad. Every film in the past four years has doubled my salary every six months. Publicity, dating, marital status…all the graphic details…all of it heightens public interest and keeps my name on the lips of producers and my fans. Karen and I have had a paper marriage…only.”
Karen glanced at Zach.
“Wait. You two have never been…”
Karen shook her head, looked Zach in the eye. “No. Never!”
Relief washed over Zach’s face. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I couldn’t. I made a promise to Michael.”
Zach took her hand in his, squeezed it.
Sawyer shot out of his chair. “But we’ve all seen you kissing…holding each other.”
Michael shook his head. “I never wanted any of this to touch you. I knew you wouldn’t understand.”
“But—” Janice started.
“I’m an actor, Mom.”
“Why didn’t you tell us? Why pretend with us?” There was outrage in his mother’s voice.
Michael looked at Karen. For a moment, she thought he’d open up to his parents about his sexuality. “I didn’t think you’d understand.”
Sawyer stood, shoved his hands in his pockets. “Well I sure as hell don’t understand. And what’s with you and Karen?” The quest
ion was directed at Zach.
Zach swallowed. “The attraction was unexpected.”
Karen leaned into him.
“This is damn awkward,” Sawyer grumbled.
“And will probably be more so before we leave the hotel,” Michael said. “Karen’s going to need the support of this family. I meant what I said about the media persecuting Karen. The world thinks she and I were happily married. With our divorce pending…and Zach…”
“I’ll be fine,” Karen offered.
“I don’t know, babe. The media can be brutal.”
“Michael, the media blows hot and then cools nearly as quickly as the match was sparked. This will blow over in a few weeks and I’ll simply be your ex.”
“So you were planning your divorce the entire time you’ve been here?” Janice asked.
It was time for Karen to come to Michael’s defense. “Sawyer, Janice…I’m sorry. We’re sorry. We’d hoped to have a brief paper marriage that the world would buy for a short time, and then move on. Hollywood is extremely flighty and right now Michael is one of the hottest things out there.”
“Is the money so important that you’d sell your soul?”
Michael shook his head. “Hardly that dramatic, Dad. Karen and I are close friends. We’ve had a good time playing the perfect couple for the past year. But that’s all it was…playing. Now that she’s interested in someone, it’s time to stop pretending.” Michael shot a glance to his brother. “Chaps my ass that it’s you she’s interested in.”
Zach was smiling, not taking anything seriously.
Janice shook her head, clearly not convinced. “Just a couple of weeks ago you and Tracey were close, Zach. What are we to think of that?”
Zach’s smile fell. “Before you come to Tracey’s defense, consider this. Outside the hotel last night when we were arrested on trumped-up kidnapping charges, Tracey was standing in the crowd watching.”
“Oh, no.”
“Oh, yes.” Zach lifted Karen’s hand and kissed her fingers. “I think she followed us.”
Janice glanced at Sawyer and lowered her gaze to the floor. “We saw Tracey outside the courthouse.”
Zach swung his gaze to his mother. “What did she say to you?”
“She apologized. At the time, I didn’t understand what she was talking about. Said she thought she was doing the right thing when she heard from her cousin that you and Karen were in St. George and were keeping Becky and Nolan hidden from Becky’s parents.”
The Weekday Brides 04 - Single by Saturday Page 24
