“Yeah, well, that bitch is enough to give anyone a heart attack.” The disapproval rings deep in my tone.
“Bottom line is he’s fine,” Jason interrupts. “We’re going to let them question you and you know the drill.”
“But first, in case they don’t let us speak with you after.” Eli kneels down beside me with one hand still on the table nearly touching my fingers. “I came because we have some news that I wanted to be the one to tell you.”
I inhale deeply in preparation for whatever this is about, there’s no way this is good news. “Okay.” I brace myself for the very worst.
“The family has decided it’s best to go ahead and have the funeral.” He's working hard not to get choked up.
“What funeral?” Who the fuck died?
Jason presses his lips into a thin line and leans forward. “Shay, Bryce has the funeral set for tomorrow.”
Oh shit. I look at Eli through tears that are spilling over at an alarming rate. “What? Uncle Bryce planned a funeral?” That means they have proof that he’s gone. He’s really gone. I’m working at not becoming completely despondent.
“Yes honey, I’m sorry. I tried to get him to postpone. But given the circumstances, Bryce thinks it’s best to just have a small quiet gathering.” Eli wants to put his hand on my shoulder. He’s hesitating, but he finally does, and it’s like a salve that takes the edge off the burn but doesn’t make it go away.
“Can’t we stop this?” I bleat, getting more upset by the minute.
“No, he’s Aiden’s next of kin. He has the final say right now.” Jason is having trouble looking at me.
“Bryce thinks I did it?” I ask in disbelief.
“I’m not sure; I just wanted to be the one to tell you.” He looks at the floor. “Especially since it will probably make the news and you’ll see it.”
The door opens and a guard comes in. “Miss Baynes, we’re going to take you back to your cell.” He cuts Eli a hard angry look.
He points at Eli. “Don’t put me in this position again. Got it?” he says and shakes his head at Jason.
“Are you not questioning her about the incident?” Eli asks.
“No, we know she wasn’t involved.” He answers curtly and stands by the door, waiting for Eli to follow him.
“Shay, remember we have a hearing tomorrow, so they’ll transport you to the courthouse and I’ll see you there, okay?” Jason hugs me and whispers in my ear. “Hang in there, he needs you to keep it together.”
I nod through my tears, still trying to digest that there’s a funeral for Aiden and that I won’t be there to say goodbye. I hope they put me in a cell alone; I just want to cry all night long. I want to die, I want to fall apart and die.
Chapter Forty-Three
Oh Harry
Harry
Shayleigh’s been in jail for six weeks now. As much as I need to see her, I’ve been learning quite a bit about this case. And I’ve been keeping Miranda out of McNab’s way. I look toward the bathroom where she’s showering then back out the window at the gray swirling clouds above Seattle.
“All clean,” she sing-songs from the bathroom door.
“Very good, Miranda.” I try to show no emotion, nor do I turn around to look in her direction.
“Do you need the bathroom before I get dressed?” She has crept up right behind me.
“No, I’m fine.” My hand is in my pocket clutching her cell phone. I’ve been checking through her messages and I’m rather disturbed by some of what I found.
“Okay, I’ll be out in a second.” She puts her hand on my shoulder for a moment then it slides off as she walks away.
I’m going to have to chalk that up as another one of my mistakes. Especially since now I’m starting to see what Carl and McNab tried to warn me about. When I hear the bathroom door click closed I pull her phone out of my pocket and connect it via Bluetooth to my computer, downloading all the message files. I’m going to get to the bottom of this, and fast.
The sound of my phone chirping cuts through the room like a knife. “This is Harry Baynes.”
“Harry, it’s McNab. We need you to get back down here.” He sounds more urgent than normal.
“What’s happened?” I ask.
“I have to go, but everything’s okay. Just get back here.” He hangs up.
Damn it. I go to the bathroom door and knock. “Miranda, get a move on, we have to get back down to Florida, something’s happening.”
I pack the few toiletries I have on the counter and I’m ready to go. I hope I’ll be able to get in to see Shayleigh.
Chapter Forty-Four
Troubleshooter
Shay
“Baynes,” the guard that has never cared for me barks. “Pack your shit, you’re out of here.”
“What?” I shoot up in bed and hit my head on the bunk. Fuck, you’d think after this long I’d stop doing that. “You mean, like pack pack?” I’m wondering if I heard her right. It just seems so unlikely that after all this time I would get bail.
“Yup, that was the order. You’ve got thirty.” She walks away from my cell.
Huh, I’m not going to question it. Even if it is some kind of clerical error, I’m going to go with it. I’d do another thirty days in here just to have Eli hold me for five minutes before they figure it out. It’ll be worth it. My heart and body ache to be near him, smell him, hear his voice that rolls like caramel. It's so easy to get lost in the excitement of being near Eli again.
I pack the few belongings I have, but leave the ramen and the pencils behind. I’m ready to shed this beige jumpsuit.
I’m so excited, not even the fact that I didn’t sleep a wink last night can get me down. My eyes are puffy and red. I cried all night, coming to terms with the fact that Aiden is really gone. For some reason the funeral happening today just makes it real. It puts the final nail in the coffin of my hope that he could still be alive out there. Whatever they have in the way of evidence is enough to convince Uncle Bryce that Aiden’s dead and for them to put me through a trial. But now, maybe I can come to terms with it. The funeral may be a good thing for me to get some closure. A nervous laugh escapes me as I consider how tacky it might be for me to show at the funeral if I'm done with the bail hearing on time.
My head starts to hang with sadness, but I pop it back up, unwilling to let sadness cloud my reunion with Eli. After lying with him and letting him hold me for as long as he wants, I don’t know what’s next. I think Eli will understand that I don’t want to get married on the same day as Aiden’s funeral. We’ll have to wait until tomorrow. Maybe by then my dad will have come to terms with it.
No, probably not.
Butterflies cinch my stomach and I try to rationalize how it wouldn’t be poor form to get married today. The thought of Eli ravaging me on our wedding night tonight is enough to send the heat of the sun through me. I’m going to see him tonight; he can have his way with me, married or not. I just need to feel him near me.
I go through about five hundred emotional shifts from absolute grief to elation in twenty minutes. I’m ready. I sit on the edge of my bed and wait. Morin comes to get me with a huge smile on her face.
“So you’re out of here, huh?” She seems excited for me.
“Yup.” I lift my eyebrows.
“Lucky girl.” She leads me down the hallway. “After they finish the paperwork here they’ll transport you to the courthouse. I’m not sure why, usually we set you loose here and you’re on your own.”
***
The ride from the jail to the courthouse doesn’t feel nearly as bad as every other ride, probably because I know I’m not getting back on this bus. I have a hard time holding back tears of happiness. A hot surge spirals through me thinking about Eli’s arms around me. I close my eyes and smile.
Jason meets me in the conference room of the courthouse. “One quick appearance and you’re done. You can change into your clothes. This is all a technicality. Honestly, you likely won’t even need
to speak, it’ll probably be better if you don’t.” He looks at his phone and bolts out the door without giving me a chance to ask him any questions. He’s rather perfunctory in how he’s just hitting and running me. I don’t even know why I’ve been released.
I look down at the bag of clothes in my hand. I’d prefer he brought me something rather than having to wear the clothes I had on when I was arrested. I finish changing and knock on the door. A bailiff opens it and escorts me down the hall. “Where’s Jason, my attorney?” I ask.
“He had to go handle some paperwork and asked me to take you to the court room.”
I spot Jason down the hall and want to go to him, but being in jail for the last six weeks I’m conditioned to stay with the guard. Jason’s having a heated conversation with someone. There’s something about the man that seems familiar, but I can’t quite place him.
He’s wearing a tank top showing his well-built arms. They are thick and rippling, covered in tattoos. Wow, this guy is way hot is all I can think to myself. Thank God for t-shirts that tight. The shirt hugs every last muscle on that man’s torso and oh good Lord is he defined. The thought of Eli wafts through my mind; of course I can totally look, I just can’t touch.
The man’s head is shaved and he’s wearing dark sunglasses, which seems odd. I immediately let my imagination run wild that this guy is some hired gun that Jason employs for “special” situations like mine. He's probably the “troubleshooter” that's responsible for me getting out of jail.
There's an undeniable chemical reaction happening inside. I wish I could take my eyes off him, because some of the thoughts I’m having about him are illegal in at least four states that I’m aware of. Jesus, I’ve been in jail way too long. Okay, so any amount of time in jail is too long. McNab's words haunt me again, “Is the whole world in heat?” Yes, McNab, we are.
The discussion between Jason and the guy crosses into another level of heated when the man whips his sunglasses off. I’m completely frozen in place; a series of hot and cold tingles runs through my body like runaway electricity on flailing high-power lines in a hurricane. My face goes from hot to cold a hundred times in one second and tears free fall from my face uncontrollably. My will finally reaches my feet and I run toward him, away from the guard.
When I nearly reach him I call out to him, “Aiden!”
I jump into his arms and wrap my entire body and soul around him. His arms envelop me and it feels like at this moment he will never let go of me again. It’s him, it’s really him in all of his fucking asshole glory, and it feels like home. He’s more solid, like he’s been working out nonstop. His skin is darker from exposure to the sun, his hair is shaved and he’s grown a beard, but it’s him, it really is him. I knew it the second I saw those honey-brown eyes.
He holds me tight for an eternity. I can feel his breath on my neck and he whispers in my ear over and over, “I heard you.”
My sobbing subsides slightly and I breathe into him. “I thought you were dead.”
He hesitates, but only answers with, “I was.” I hear the smile in his voice. He inhales deep through his nose. ”I can still smell your essence under the scent of jail.”
He seals his lips over mine and my first reaction is to kiss him back. After a moment I pull back, this isn’t right. I’m with Eli, and after all I’ve been through, all I’ve felt because of his absence, I’m pissed. Who the hell does he think he is, kissing me? Fuck that. I slide down from him and give him a good hard shove. “What the fuck is wrong with you, Aiden?” I have to take a breath because I can’t contain my anger and I feel my hands getting hot. “I was in fucking jail for forty-three days, twelve hours and twenty-seven minutes because of you. Where. Were. You?”
McNab comes up behind me. “Hey kid, you’ve got bigger problems right now.” He motions toward the front door in the atrium where I catch sight of Eli pushing the door open so hard it makes a loud crash as he leaves.
“Oh fuck, did he?” I ask McNab.
McNab nods. “Yeah, he only caught the ‘good part.’”
I start to leave to go after Eli and the bailiff stops me. “Miss Baynes, you can’t leave just yet.”
Jason shakes his head. I look at the door again, then Aiden. “I need to go after him.”
Jason is dialing Eli’s number, but it goes straight to voicemail. “You can’t leave right yet and neither can I. He’ll answer in a bit.”
I look around for Carl, but he’s not here. “McNab, where the fuck is Carl?”
“I’m not sure.” He looks around, realizing he’s not there. “Where is Carl?”
Chapter Forty-Five
Benched
Eli
Jason was so cryptic in his text and won’t pick up. I’m not sure what’s happening, but I’m driving like a bat out of hell at the prospect of seeing Shay. I love that woman with my entire being. One day she’ll be my wife, maybe even today if I’m reading the text right. “‘Shay’s being released, come to the courthouse.’ What the hell is that supposed to mean,” I say out loud to no one at all, hoping that maybe this time I’ll be able to decipher it.
There are no reporters, so I’m wondering if she’s really being released or not. Either way, if I can just see her. It’s been killing me not being able to go to the jail to see her. Yesterday when we broke the news about Aiden I just wanted to pick her up and take her home.
“Good morning, Mr. Walker.” The guard at the front door greets me.
“Good morning, Jeff,” I return his greeting while putting my keys and briefcase on the conveyor belt. I walk through the metal detector and assume the position. I’ve done this a hundred times, I know the drill.
“You’re set, have a great day,” he says.
“Thanks, you too. Have a good one.”
Walking up the atrium stairs, I see Shay running across the upper mezzanine. I pick up my pace because all I want to do is hold her, touch her and shower her with my love and affection. At the top of the steps I’m frozen in disbelief. There she is, completely wrapped around Aiden in a passionate kiss. What the fuck.
A myriad of emotions flash through my being all at once, but the only one I can hold on to right now is anger. I should have known the only way we could ever be together is if that motherfucker was dead. There’s not one part of me that’s glad he’s alive. I wish that fucker was still dead.
I step down one stair before turning around and bolting for the door. I’m sure I’m going to get the same bullshit, “I’m so sorry Eli.” I’m not sticking around to watch the crash and burn.
No, I really am sorry this time. Fuck this. I swing the door open so hard I’m surprised it doesn’t shatter when it hits the outside of the building. I get in my car and stew for a solid ten minutes. With my hands on the steering wheel with no place in particular to go, I replay that kiss in my head over and over on a loop.
I need to stop torturing myself like this. The darker recesses of my mind know what I should do. I listen to the voice in the back of my mind. I start the car and pull out of the parking spot. I hear a banging on the back of the car. In the rearview mirror I see Aiden with both hands on my trunk.
“Get the fuck out of the way or I’ll run you down,” I yell out the sunroof.
“Come on man, just hold on,” he says coolly. “Talk to me, it wasn’t what you think.”
I’ve heard those words from him more times than I care to remember. I’m compelled out of the car and go straight to him, pushing him in the chest, away from the back of my car. “Fuck you, Aiden. Get out of the way, I’m leaving.”
“No, I’m not letting you leave until you’ve heard me out.” He puffs out his fucking chest like King Kong.
“Aiden, get the fuck out of the way.” I push him again.
He puts his hands up in surrender. “Listen, if you don’t want to hear from me, at least come in and talk to Shay. This wasn’t her fault.”
“I’m done with her, you can have the little whore.” The words hurt me when I say them. I
know I don’t mean it, but I’ll say anything at this point to get out of here and get a drink. It hurts even more when I look past Aiden to see her standing there with a wounded look on her face and her arms dangling by her sides listlessly.
Aiden turns and sees her; he’s immediately incensed and closes the distance between us. “Listen dude, you’re going to apologize and then you’re going to listen to one of us. It isn’t what you think.”
“It doesn’t matter, you’re back and I’m on the bench.” I use his words against him and it makes me feel even more irate.
“You know I’ll take credit for every other time she chose me. But this time it’s going to be all on you.” He looks at me with a smug smile and leans in close. “Stop letting your issues fuck up a good thing. Get your head out of your ass. I kissed her.”
Everything goes red, and then black, then a flash of anger spurs me into action. I land a right hook straight on Aiden’s jaw. He’s so shocked he stumbles backward before falling down. Shay screams my name and runs for me; I close the car door and lock it before she reaches me. As fast as I can I put the car in reverse and get out of there, leaving them both in the dust.
“It’s just you and me, Elijah, now let’s get that drink.” The voice comes from within me and forces a smile on my face. I grip the steering wheel and feel myself fading away. “That’s right Elijah, let go. Let go to me and all will be better.”
The car pulls into the Cold Keg as though it knew the way. I get out of the car absently and walk through the door like a zombie and sit at the table next to the tree. I hate that fucking tree. If I had an axe I would cut that fucker down right now.
In a voice that sounds like me but isn’t, I order myself a triple shot of Johnny Walker. Hell yes. The waitress brings it out to me and I slam it hard. The burn as it goes down is satisfying and I don’t fight it one bit. “That’s right, have another and another.” My inner voice goads me on.
“Keep ‘em coming, honey. And bring me a tall glass of water,” I order the waitress.
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