Two Years Later

by Jones, Lisa Renee

  She turns and leaves. I double over with nausea. Royce scoops me up and starts carrying me. “Reese,” I say. “I need Reese.”

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  Cat

  I barely remember Royce placing me in the backseat of the SUV. I’m just sitting there, my hands on my face, beside Lauren.

  “We’re moving,” Savage calls out from the front as if warning me and my stomach.

  “Are you okay?” Lauren asks, her hand settling on my back.

  “Lauren?” I whisper, her presence really hitting me.

  “I’m right here.”

  “She’s ruined everything,” I whisper, turning to face her, and then it hits me that Savage is here. I can’t talk about this. But I need to talk about this.

  “She hasn’t ruined anything,” Lauren says. “I know you. You won’t let her. Neither will Reese.”

  “But it will always cloud this moment in our lives.”

  “It won’t,” Lauren says beside me. “He didn’t do this. You know that, right? I’ve been around this man often. He is madly in love with you.”

  “I don’t question Reese or who we are together, but it’s still happening,” I say. “Everything I try to make perfect is getting crushed. I wonder if he knows yet. He can’t know. He hasn’t called me.”

  “Royce went to him,” she says. “Royce will handle this. How are you feeling?”

  I glance toward the front of the car and back at her. “I’m fine.”

  “Right. We’ll talk at your place.”

  I rotate and settle against the seat. “I just need to rest my eyes.” I lower my lashes.

  “We’re about to be at your door,” Savage says, because of course this time we aren’t going by Dana’s place so the drive is much quicker.

  I sit back up, grab my briefcase and purse that are somehow next to me and prepare to get out of the vehicle. As soon as we are at the door, Savage calls out. “Stay where you are. I’m coming to get you.”

  He’s acting like I’m about to be murdered when the crazy woman is back at the courthouse. That idea jolts me. “Do we have eyes on Debbie? She can’t get to Reese and hurt him, right?”

  “Royce is with him,” Lauren reminds me. “He’s safe.”

  “Bullets have a long reach,” I say and my door opens as Savage appears, all big and intimidating, which makes me want him to be with Reese. “Why are you here and not with my husband?”

  “Your husband is just fine, and bullets have to get through us to get to him.” He offers me his hand. “And she can’t blackmail him if he’s dead.”

  “Right,” I say. “That’s comforting, I guess.” I accept his hand and let him help me out of the car. “Can you just confirm he’s okay?”

  “He’s fine or I’d know,” he says. “I have an earpiece. Royce is with him.”

  “Does he know yet?”

  “No,” he says. “He’s with Dana and his team in a conference room.”

  I swallow hard and nod while Savage shuts my door and another man I don’t know climbs in the driver’s seat of the vehicle. “Is he stealing your ride or does he work with you?”

  He laughs. “He works with me. If he tried to steal from me I’d mess him the F up, like I will anyone that tries to hurt you.” He motions me forward. “Let’s go inside.”

  “Right,” I say again, because it seems I have a limited vocabulary at present, which really doesn’t suit a writer on deadline.

  Lauren meets me on the other side of the car, and I’m just glad there are no reporters here. For some reason, we have been lucky to be spared that at home during these big trials and it feels like a real blessing right about now. I ride up the elevator with Savage and Lauren and when we reach the apartment, I’m in the door and darting up the stairs to the bedroom immediately.

  I end up on the floor in front of the toilet, on my knees, my shoes left somewhere along the way. When the hell is over, I lean against the wall just trying to think. Lauren appears beside me and sits down against the opposite wall, her shoes gone as well. “He didn’t do this.”

  “I know,” I say. “That’s not my issue. I wanted this to be special. I was going to tell him on his birthday.”

  “Don’t change anything because of this woman.”

  “I’m keeping a journal of every moment since I found out. Am I supposed to include Debbie? It was supposed to be such a special gift.”

  “Leave her out and it is special.”

  “It can’t even be true to what I feel without her in it.”

  “Then leave her in and document the trust you have in him. That matters. I wouldn’t question Royce either and that is not something every couple could say.”

  My cellphone rings in the other room and I jolt. “Reese,” I say urgently.

  “I’ll grab it,” Lauren says, moving quickly and returning with my phone right as it stops ringing.

  She hands it to me and joins me on the floor as the ringing starts all over again. “Cat,” Reese says the minute I answer. “I didn’t do this. I would never—”

  “I know,” I whisper, tears springing to my eyes, because as much as I trust him, hearing his voice, hearing the words, apparently matter. “I never doubted you. I just—it’s still hard.”

  “I know, sweetheart. I’m on my way there, but I love you more than life itself. You know that, right?”

  “I do,” I whisper. “I love you, too, but don’t rush here. Take care of business. She doesn’t get to screw up your trial. Dana’s future depends on you. We’re okay.”

  “Cat—”

  “Reese, do not rush here. Do what you need to do, but please be safe.”

  He hesitates. “I won’t be long.”

  “Be as long as you need to be. I’m going to write my column and Lauren is with me. I’m not delicate. You know that.”

  “I love you, Cat,” he says again and hangs up.

  I breathe out and let the phone settle on the floor. “I need to write this column so when he does get home, I can be free.”

  Lauren’s hand settles on my legs. “You have to eat. Trust me, I learned that an empty stomach is dry heave hell. How about soup from the place you love down the road? Or ice cream. Remember? That worked for me.”

  “I don’t know what works for me. I don’t want to eat.”

  “Soup and ice cream it is.” She stands up again and helps me to my feet. “Where are you going to work?”

  “In here. I’m going to change clothes and just settle on the bed where I can rest if I need to.”

  “That’s sound good.” She hugs me. “It’s going to be okay. I promise.” She pulls back to look at me. “I promise.” She releases me and leaves me alone.

  I change into sweats and a T-shirt and give my belly an inspection. It’s still flat and I’m glad. I don’t want Reese to know yet. I want Debbie to be dealt with by his birthday and I’ll make telling him special. A few minutes later, I walk into the bedroom to write my column, when Reese is suddenly walking into the room. Clearly having ignored my order to take care of business first, and the minute I see him, in all his tall, dark, perfection, tears prickle my eyes.

  “Cat,” he breathes out, and then I’m in his arms and we’re holding onto each other like we’re both afraid we’re going to lose each other.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  Cat

  Reese cups my face and stares down at me. “I would never cheat on you, Cat. You’re my life, my wife, my best friend.”

  My hands go to his wrist. “I know. I told you on the phone. I don’t doubt you.”

  “There is no one that can hear a claim like that and not have it cut and create doubt. You’re human, Cat.”

  “I didn’t doubt you. I really didn’t. I don’t.”

  His head rests against mine. “The only person I’m ever going to touch again in this lifetime is you. The only person who will ever be the mother of my children is you.”

  I swallow hard, feel
ing like I should tell him now. Yes, now, but no. No. I can’t tell him like this. This is about her. I don’t want it to be about her. “Reese—”

  He kisses me, a soft brush of lips against lips, his mouth lingering against mine, and there is so much in this kiss; love, fear, passion, friendship, more fear. I pull back. “We’re good,” I promise him. “She didn’t break us.”

  “I didn’t break us, Cat.”

  “I know. Reese, I know. I’d know if you did. I’d feel it, but we need to talk about what to do about her.”

  He inhales and releases me, turning away to run a hand through his hair. “Right,” he says, as I did about three times in the car before he walks to the bedroom window in front of the couch and stares out of the glass.

  I cross to join him, stepping to his side. “I know that Royce will have an opinion and it will matter, but what about Cole? He’s your partner and this affects him, too. It’s going to affect a lot of things.”

  He turns to face me. “The only thing that it can affect that matters, is us.”

  “We won’t let it.”

  He steps to me again, his forehead finding mine. “We won’t let it,” he agrees, kissing my temple and then guiding me to the couch, where I happily, queasily sit down. Did I really wish for morning sickness that is apparently all-day sickness?

  “You’re right though,” he says. “I have to talk to Cole. I called him. He and Lori are on their way over here. You need to call your family.”

  My family that I barely get along with. “I guess so. I could—I guess ask Gabe to come over. He’s the one I’m closest too. Actually, Reid’s the real bastard. We might need him. Should I just ask them to come over?”

  “Yes. Ask.” He pulls his phone from his pocket and hands it to me.

  I breathe out. “I hate calling them.”

  “I know. I’m sorry.”

  “Don’t say that. Just—just don’t.” I dial Reid and he answers on the first ring.

  “Cat?” he asks, sounding surprised.

  “I have a problem. I need you and Gabe.”

  “I don’t remember the last time you said that to me. Are you okay?”

  “Yes, but I need you. Now. Here at my place, as soon as possible.”

  He’s silent a beat. “I’ll cancel my evening meeting. I’ll be there. I’ll bring Gabe. Whatever it is, it’ll be okay.”

  “Did you, Reid Maxwell, just comfort me?”

  “I’m your brother,” he says and hangs up.

  Tears burn my eyes as I hand the phone back to Reese. “He’s coming.”

  Reese takes the phone and swipes tears from my eyes. “I heard what he said. He loves you.”

  I nod. “I guess,” I say. “And Royce? Is he here?”

  “Downstairs waiting on us,” he says, angling in my direction. “But I needed to talk to you first. Everything is you first, Cat.”

  I grab his hand. “Stop, Reese. Stop acting like we’re delicate. We’re not. She’s a bitch and we’re going beat her. Let’s figure out how.”

  He stares at me a few beats and then laughs. “She’s a bitch and we’re going to beat her?”

  “Yes.”

  He leans in and kisses me. “That’s my Cat. And yes, to both.”

  “Good,” I say. “Will she go public?”

  “She’s crazy. She’s capable of anything which is why Royce is having Savage shadow you unless you’d prefer someone else?”

  “Savage is funny,” I say. “And I get the idea he wouldn’t mind killing someone just because it felt good, and he’d consider that loyalty, so right about now, that works for me.”

  “Savage it is,” he says.

  “What about you?”

  “What about me?”

  “Will someone be with you?”

  “Yes,” he says, “and not because I want protection, but because there are too many people around me at all times who could get caught in the crossfire.”

  “And with a gun?” I ask urgently.

  He pulls me closer. “If I’m dead, she can’t extort me, but that’s why I’m worried about everyone else.”

  “What about Dana?” I ask. “If this goes public, she could freak out.”

  “I’m going to call her this evening after we have a plan. I’d rather talk to her in person, but the press will make that challenging.”

  “What about the police? Do we talk to the police?” I shake my head. “Never mind. She hasn’t broken a law yet. She hasn’t asked for anything.”

  “She did. She told you if I didn’t contact her, she’d go to the press. Royce wants me to talk to the police, too, but after we all talk. Him, you, me, Cole and Lori.”

  “Do we know who the real father of the baby is?” I ask.

  “Royce is working on it, but that could take time.”

  “I go back and forth between the need to keep her quiet, and the need to just beat her to the punch and expose her in my column.”

  “I don’t want you affected,” he says. “If I have to pay her off—”

  “No,” I say, a sharp pang of emotion in my chest jolting me. “No, you will not pay her off.” I try to get up and he holds on to me. “Let me up.”

  “Cat—”

  “Paying her off feels like guilt.”

  “It’s not about guilt, you know that.”

  “Paying her off feels like guilt and admission of owning that child’s future for the rest of our lives, and her with it.”

  “It’s about protecting the firm.”

  “And she knows that. She picked now, while you’re in the middle of this trial, for a reason. Not only do you need her silence, you can’t demand a DNA test now without endangering the child.”

  “But I can demand it as part of the settlement and I will, Cat. I shut up her up now with money she can keep even after the test. It’s about protecting everyone else, including you, but damn it, Cat, I’m not guilty.”

  “I know.”

  “You don’t,” he says, his voice hard now. “I feel that in you now.” He squeezes his eyes shut. “Damn it.”

  “I trust you, Reese, but the idea that other people might not, feels weird which is probably why I just want to do it myself and write about it. It’s about control. I’d have some kind of control I don’t have right now but it’s not your fault. I don’t want her to punish you through me.”

  “She is. She most definitely is.”

  “No,” I say. “Pay her off. Your career matters.”

  He lowers me to the couch, and comes down on top of me, like he needs to hold me in place to keep me from running. “You matter. Only you.”

  “Your career matters,” I say. “It matters to you and me. It matters to us and our future. It matters to our future family. Pay her off.”

  “Our family?”

  “Yes. Our family, Reese. We want one. Don’t we?”

  “Yes, sweetheart. We do.”

  “Then let’s go downstairs and end this.”

  “Not yet,” he says. “I’m not ready. We’re not ready.”

  “We are ready. We’re strong together. We need to show that strength now.”

  “You’re strong,” he says. “So damn strong, Cat, and I swore when you said ‘I do’ I’d keep you from having to be that strong. I’m supposed to protect you.”

  “We protect each other.”

  “I need to feel you right now,” he says, his mouth closing down on mine, a deep drugging lick of his tongue stroking against mine, possessiveness, passion, and something I’ve never felt in Reese in that kiss: desperation and fear. He’s afraid of losing me and I feel that same fear, for no reason. We’re in love. We’re happy. That isn’t going to change because of Debbie.

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  Reese

  I kiss my wife, who is my life, and I will let no one take her from me. I want her to know this. I want her to feel, not just hear, how much I love her, and yet, there is a rage of anger inside m
e I need to bury and control. I have to go downstairs and act like I’m king of the fucking world when everything I love is right here in this room, and delicate, too damn delicate. As surely as I think those words, though, Cat bites my lips, and not gently. “Get out of whatever place you are in your head,” she demands. “Right now. I know what you need, so use me.”

  “I never use you, Cat.”

  “I use you,” she says. “Every time I need out of my own head, I drive you to the edge until you fuck me the way I want to be fucked. Until you make me forget and,” she grabs the lapels of my jacket, “stop what you’re doing right now. Stop acting like we’re different because that makes me think things that I didn’t think before, that I know aren’t true, but you’re scaring me. You’re making me think this is going to change us.”

  “It’s not,” I say roughly. “I’m just angry.”

  “Then be angry. Angry at her. Deal with it, with me. Show me.”

  I don’t need to be pushed any further. I need her. My mouth closes down on hers, my tongue licking into her mouth in a deep, hungry kiss, and I let her taste everything I feel. My fear of losing her, and us. The gut-wrenching moment I heard what Debbie claimed. Just thinking about how that must have affected Cat, gutted me. Just thinking about her actually believing it, tore me apart. And some part of her has to doubt. It’s human. I don’t want her to doubt.

  I tear my mouth from hers. “You’re all I need. You’re what I needed before I even knew I needed it.” I kiss her again and then raise up on my knees to shrug out of my jacket, tugging away my tie and tossing them both. I’m back with Cat in all of sixty seconds, kissing her again, my hand caressing her waist, reaching up to cup her breast.

  She arches into my touch and while moments ago, I just needed inside her, the anger in me refocuses on the here and now, and Cat. It’s all Cat. I want her to moan for me. I want her to come for me. I want and want where she is concerned, and she needs to feel that now. I didn’t do what Debbie claims I did, and Cat needs to be reminded how much she completely rocks my world. I skim her T-shirt up her body and tug it up and away, but I don’t let her lower her arms. I do what I rarely do with Cat. I pin her hands over her head.