Surrendered

by LP Lovell

  She huffs out a breath. “They are charging him.” My heart plummets in my chest. “That stupid fucking dyke of a detective thinks she can build a case. The likelihood is that she can’t, but we need to be prepared.”

  “What about bail?” I say numbly.

  Her eyes flick to Theo meaningfully. “It’s taken care of. There will be a bail hearing this afternoon. The detectives will put forward their case, and the judge will decide whether Harry gets bail.”

  “He’s not a risk to anyone though, so he’ll get bail right?” Theo threads his fingers through mine and gives my hand a squeeze.

  Claudia pauses for a moment as though choosing her words carefully. Claudia doesn’t do careful, so that worries me. “They may try and detain him as a flight risk.”

  “Oh my god.” A trial could be months away. Harry will be in prison for months. The thought of my kind, amazing brother locked up with criminals makes me want to cry. My palms start to break out in sweat, and I can hear my pulse hammering in my ears.

  “Lilly.” I can’t answer Theo, because I feel like if I open my mouth I might either scream or throw up. “Lilly listen to me.” He grabs my chin and forces me to look at him. “I promised you I would take care of it. You said you trusted me.”

  “Did you not hear what she just said?” I say in a hushed whisper.

  “Lilly, I have taken care of it.” He doesn’t fucking get it.

  Claudia lets out an exasperated sigh and suddenly hugs me. “He has the judge in his pocket.” She hisses in my ear. “Now pull yourself together!” She pushes me away, and smooth’s down the front of my dress like I’m a child going to school. Her lips pull into a tight smile. “I will be at the hearing. If bail is granted then I will call you immediately.”

  I nod mutely. “Wait, the bail hearing is today?”

  “Yes.” I can tell her patience is wearing thin.

  “How did he get a hearing so fast?” She looks at Theo again. I glance between them. No fucking way. He made this happen. Did he know that Harry was going to get charged?

  “I have my contacts.” Claudia says uneasily.

  I decide to leave it for now. I can’t press either of them here. “Thank you Claudia.” Theo tells her.

  She air kisses his cheek. “Darling, always.” She wipes her lipstick mark off his cheek and turns on her spiked heals. She’s gone in a whirlwind of expensive perfume and scary arse attitude.

  Theo wraps an arm around my waist and pulls me into his side. He kisses my hair. “It will be fine, sugar.”

  “I think I need some vodka.” I say.

  He laughs and checks his watch. “Nope, no vodka before ten in the morning. Those are the rules. I can offer coffee though.”

  The thought of coffee is too much to pass up. Jesus, I literally live off coffee and vodka. I need help. “Yeah, coffee is good.” I say in a small voice that I don’t even recognise as my own. What the fuck is happening to me. I’m bloody falling apart. I try so hard to be this strong independent person, and yet I am quite literally shattering. I feel like the cracks are creeping over the surface, just waiting to implode at any given moment. I need to man the fuck up. This isn’t helping Harry, and me whining isn’t solving the problem. I’m so wrapped up in the idea of losing him, I’m not focusing on what I have to do to ensure that I don’t lose him. I’ve been acting as thought the fight is already lost.

  I spot the Detective Brown on the way out of the police station. She meets my eyes and nods her head slightly. Theo senses my tension and loops an arm around my shoulders. That woman is a fucking bitch. “Careful.” He says in a low voice. I keep walking, because me saying something only makes Harry and I look guilty. I still don’t know how the fuck you can charge someone with kidnapping their sister who willingly left with them. It’s all bullshit.

  Theo doesn’t release me until we are at the car. He holds the door open for me, a small smile on his face as he watches me get in. He slides in the drivers set next to me and shakes his head. “You are so fucking explosive.” He chuckles.

  “Didn’t anyone ever tell you not to piss off a redhead?” I say curtly. “That bitch is fucking lucky she was in the middle of a police station.”

  He laughs and starts the engine. He takes my hand and places a kiss on the back of it. “That’s why I love you babe. You’re a little bit crazy.”

  Theo takes me for coffee at this little coffee shop on the edge of Hyde Park. I’ve never been before, but the coffee is awesome. We stroll hand in hand through the park with our paper cups in hand. I love London, but it can feel claustrophobic with all the buildings seeming to be on top of one another. I like the parks, they’re like a little oasis within the concrete jungle of buildings. It feels like a little break from the city.

  “I think I might go into work this afternoon.” I say.

  “But the hearing is this afternoon.” Theo replies.

  “I know, but I need to do something. I’m driving myself insane with possibilities.” I sigh. “I just can’t…I can’t think about it.”

  He stops and turns toward me. He cups my cheek in his warm palm. My eyes meet his, so clear, like a bottomless pool of water. “I promised you I would get him out. I don’t break my promises, sugar.”

  “I know, it’s just…I need to keep busy.” I offer him a small smile and reach up on tip toes to place a soft kiss against his perfect lips. He moves his hand to the back of my neck and holds me there a little longer.

  He eventually pulls back and watches me carefully for a few seconds. “Okay, I’ll take you in.”

  I just need a little time to myself, not because I don’t want him around. Honestly, he’s been such a rock these last few days…I just need to work through my own mind a bit. “Theo, I can handle it okay? You go do…” I wave my hand around. “…whatever it is you do.”

  “Important man stuff.” He says with a straight face. In true Theo fashion, he takes no offense, he doesn’t push me, he just makes light of it.

  I snort. “Yep, that. I will go to work for a while. Claudia will call you, and we’ll go from there.”

  He nods. “Okay.” He shrugs. “Do you want to go now?”

  “Soon, I just want to stay here for a little longer.” I just want a few minutes of peace before the carnage that is my life ensues again.

  I lean my head on his shoulder and pull just a little of his strength.

  When I get to the office I have a mountain of paperwork. My inbox is full, with over a hundred emails that need to be answered. I have cases that need to be actioned and clients I need to contact. I won’t lie, it’s a bloody nightmare, but it does keep my mind busy. I barely even hear my phone ring, I’m so engrossed in the contract I’m typing up.

  “Florell and Simmons. Lilly Parker speaking.” I say curtly.

  “Lilly, he’s out.” Theo’s deep voice comes over the phone. It takes me a dim witted moment to catch up.

  “Oh my god. When?”

  “Apparently you can collect him from the police station in an hour.” He says. I’m practically squealing with delight. I’m going to see Harry.

  “Okay. Thanks for letting me know.”

  “I’ll leave you and Harry to it. Just call me when you want me.” He says. I love that he wants to give me some time with my brother.

  “I always want you.” I say easily.

  He laughs. “Babe, I’m Theodore Ellis, of course you want me.”

  “Modesty always was your strong suit.” I mumble.

  “It’s okay, only you get me. Turns out, hot redheads are a rare gem, and I’m quite partial.” I can hear the smile in his voice.

  “You know Hugo once said something similar to me. You know it’s bad when you start sounding like Hugo.”

  He snorts. “Well he’s always knee deep in pussy, so he must be doing something right.”

  “I’m a quality rather than quantity kind of girl…” There’s a knock on my office door. “Ugh, I need to go. I’ll call you later. Love you.”

  �
��Yeah you do.” He says before I hang up the phone. ‘Yeah you do’. Seriously?

  My office door swings open and Josh steps in. I smile widely at him. I’ve missed Josh. As much as I love that I’m now a solicitor with my own office and everything, I really loved working as his junior.

  “How is life in your own office?” He asks brightly.

  “Good, stressful and a little boring without you.” He takes a seat in the chair on the other side of the desk and props his feet on the desk. He unbuttons his suit jacket and tucks his hands in his pockets. He kind of reminds me of an older version of Theo. He has this really laid back vibe, but he’s all smart suits and business attitude. His dark hair is greying, but it works for him.

  “I miss your…excitement.” He grins.

  “Well, I am much more exciting than you.” I smile. “You’re getting a little old for excitement.”

  “Well, that’s true.” He shrugs. “I miss the soap opera that is your life. Namely, watching you make eyes at Ellis and pretend you don’t want to bone him.”

  I blanch. “Oh my god. You did not just say that. I thought you were all professional.”

  He throws his head back and laughs. “You don’t work for me anymore, I don’t have to be professional. Anyway, what’s going on with you?”

  I sigh. “Everything. I have so much to catch up on.” I gesture to the papers scattered all over my desk. I don’t tell him why I’ve been absent for the last two days. I’m a solicitor, a young solicitor. I’m supposed to be working sixty hour weeks with no holiday and taking contracts home on the weekends. Instead I’ve taken a lot of time off recently. To be fair, most of it was before my promotion, but still. Josh must be suspect as to what can possibly be so pressing that I’m letting it effect my career. There are thousands of law school graduates who would sell their own mother to have the opportunities that I have been given. I cannot tell him that my life has borderline imploded, and my brother is in jail. I trust Josh, and I like him. I’d definitely call him a friend, but not that kind of friend. I need to keep this whole situation under wraps. I told Simmons I have a family emergency. That one has to be getting pretty old by now. The old boy does seem to let me do whatever the fuck I want. That must be Theo’s influence. Surely? Who knows? Usually I’d be pissed about that, but right now, being Theodore Ellis’ ex-girlfriend, is beneficial. I say ex, because as far as they know, that’s what I am.

  “Yeah, this looks fun. I’ll leave you to it. Oh, and I came in to say that I’ve been dealing with Hardy this week. He has a meeting scheduled with you on Monday.”

  “What for?” I ask suspiciously. The last time I spoke to Hardy was at the Florell and Simmons summer party. That was awkward to say the least. He didn’t say anything, but there was this tension about him when Theo walked in. Maybe it was just me. I don’t know. There was some serious bloody tension on my part.

  “Well, obviously you know Ellis is undercutting him on the buyout of that company. He wants your help in getting him another company.”

  “So he’s not giving me grief about it?” I ask.

  He shrugs. “He seemed pretty laid back about it to be honest. I was surprised he still wanted to stick with the firm after we fucked him like that, but apparently you have some kind of magic touch that keeps them coming back.” He raises an eyebrow, his dark eyes shining with humour.

  I roll my eyes. “Yeah, something like that. Honestly, this place is like a soap opera.” I shake my head.

  He stands up and smooth’s his suit jacket down. “It wasn’t before you rocked up.” He teases before he strides out of my office.

  I check my watch. I need to clear up and go pick Harry up. I pick out a few of the more urgent contracts and put them in a file, which I shove in my handbag. I clear the rest away. I’ll have to come in early in the morning to get some of this stuff done. I really want to hang out with Harry tomorrow, but I’m treading on thin ice as it is. I cannot take any more time off work.

  I take the lift down to the garage in the basement of the building. I don’t usually drive, but I needed my car in case I needed to go and get Harry. I can’t imagine he would really want to have to use public transport after having been locked up for two days. I press the button on the fob and the car beeps in greeting. She stands out like a sore thumb amongst the sleek black and silver German saloons. The cherry red paint shines under the fluorescent lights. I open the door and slide into the seat. The smell of Italian leather engulfs me. I love this car far too much to sell it…again. Parting with the last one was hard enough. This one is even nicer. Theo will have to pry the key from my cold dead fingers. I plug in my ipod and Adam Levine’s voice blasts through the speakers. I’m in a good mood. Harry is getting out. Theo and I are good. Things are falling into place, and I feel like maybe happiness isn’t so unattainable.

  I wait anxiously outside the court house. I’m pacing back and forth when my heart leaps at the sound of Harry’s voice. “Lilly.” He rumbles.

  I spin on my heel and face my brother as he reaches the bottom step of the wide concrete stairs. “Harry.” I can barely raise my voice above a whisper. I run and throw myself into his waiting arms.

  He squeezes me tight, and it’s as though everything is right in the world again. I feel like I’ve been missing a piece of my soul being separated from him. He holds me for a long while. When he pulls away he smiles at me, his green eyes warm and affectionate.

  “Don’t cry, baby girl.” He brushes a tear from my cheek, and flashes me that smile of his. That smile has restored my faith in humanity many times.

  “I’m so happy to see you.” I choke. “I missed you.” God, I love my brother. There are some people that you just cannot function without. My brother is one of those people. He’s the other half of my soul. When two people endure the things that we have endured, an unbreakable bond is formed. Harry is my brother, my best friend, my protector.

  “It was two days, Lilly.” He grins.

  I smack his arm. “I thought you were going to be put in prison.”

  “Still might.” He shrugs. “It’s not worth worrying about, so don’t.”

  Guilt batters away at me. Harry is suffering now because he helped me. It’s all so wrong. “It’s my fault.” I say quietly.

  He frowns and shakes his head. “No. Never think that. I don’t for a second regret taking you Lilly. I would do it again in a heartbeat.” He pulls me into another bone crushing hug. “I love you more than my own life Lill’s. Never forget that.”

  “I love you.” I sniffle. God, I’m such a pansy around my brother. I get little sister syndrome. “Lets go before I turn into a sobbing mess.”

  “Can I drive?” He grins.

  I roll my eyes and throw the keys at him. “Only because you did hard time for me.” I point a manicured finger at him. “Scratch her and I will scratch your eyes out.”

  He smirks. “Just checking you haven’t turned into a total pussy.”

  “Dick.” I say with a stupid grin on my face.

  CHAPTER SIX

  THEO

  I pull into the empty car park, next to a black Mercedes, the only other car parked here. Picking up the envelope from my passenger seat, I switch off the engine and step out of the car.

  I open the rear door of the Merc and slide into the back seat. “Ellis. How are you?” A deep voice asks.

  I turn and meet the lined face of Judge Gregory Manning. “I’m well, and you?”

  “Very well, thank you.” He’s always the same. He likes his polite small talk, despite our less than ethical relationship.

  “Thank you once again for your help today.”

  He smiles. “Well, that was a small favour, considering your past transgressions.”

  I shrug. “True, but no less valued.” I hand him the envelope. “Your payment.”

  Gregory and I have had a healthy relationship for some years now. Whenever I find myself in need of a little leniency from the law, Gregory delivers. It may be that a company I wish to
buy is in legal difficulties. It may be that I myself am being investigated, or charged. I have had more assault charges brought against me than I care to admit, all simple bar fights, but of course, everyone always wants to press charges, because they think they can make some money. Gregory gets me out of a lot of holes, and in exchange, I pay him. I don’t pay him in money, that would be too obvious. Like any man, Gregory seeks to earn and expand his enterprises. I have an eye for money, and so I buy shares in companies I believe will expand and earn, I then gift him these shares. There’s less of a paper trail, and I suppose it’s more…ethical. Needless to say, I have made Gregory a very rich man over the years.

  I know Harry may have been granted bail regardless, but I needed to make sure. I made a promise to Lilly.

  “Always a pleasure, Ellis.” He says. I step out of the car and close the door behind me.

  I climb back into the Aston. The Mercedes pulls away and quickly blends into the night again. Gregory and I sometimes bump into each other at functions, but as a whole, we can’t be seen together publicly, not with my track record.

  I’m almost home when my phone rings. I answer it, and Claudia’s sharp voice comes over the blue tooth system. “I have bad news.” She says quickly.

  “What now?” I grumble.

  “The police have found the evidence they needed. They’ve traced forged papers stating that Harry was Lilly’s Legal guardian. They may well try and charge him with fraud as well now.” Fuck.

  “What can you do?” I ask. Claudia always has a way out, a loop-hole.

  She sighs. “Nothing. I can probably get him off when pleading to a jury…if I can use Lilly’s story, and call her as a witness.”

  “Not happening.” I growl.

  “Well then darling, you had best find a way to make these charges go away. You’re good at making problems disappear. Apply yourself.” She drawls. I know exactly what she’s implying. It’s a drastic step.

  “Do what you can. I’ll get a team on it.” I bark and hang up. Shit. To make these charges disappear, I’m going to have to go to the source. Jane. Persuading her won’t be easy, but if she can’t be persuaded…well, I’m prepared to do whatever it takes to protect Lilly, that includes keeping her brother out of jail.