Total pages in book: 60
Estimated words: 72561 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 363(@200wpm)___ 290(@250wpm)___ 242(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 72561 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 363(@200wpm)___ 290(@250wpm)___ 242(@300wpm)
“On one condition.” Varian said ignoring his lawyer’s attempt to beckon him to stop speaking.
“Mr. Strong, I advise you to take counsel with your lawyer before you go making deals that you can’t get out of,” Judge Keen said in a bored tone.
“We’ve spoken at length about this already. I’d just like to have my thoughts on record, and then we can discuss a deal,” he grinned at the old man.
Judge Keen’s eyes narrowed, but that was the only outward sign that he was annoyed.
“And that would be, Mr. Strong?” Dortea asked sweetly.
“I want to speak to Rector. Alone.” Varian smiled.
They all turned to me at once.
I was sitting in the back of the room.
I was only supposed to be there in case any of the facts were needed on the case. I wasn’t supposed to actually be needed.
That motherfucker.
I nodded once, and they all stood, emptying the room out in less than a minute.
Varian’s lawyer was the last to leave, and he glared at me, as if saying with his mind that I’d better watch it.
What did he take me as? A vagrant?
“What do you want, Strong?” I asked once the lawyer closed the door.
“Nothing. I’m going to take the plea. I just wanted to see your face when I said what I had to say,” he said smoothly.
“And what exactly did you have to say?” I asked just as smoothly.
My outer tone didn’t portray the inner turmoil. What was he going to say? Did he know something I didn’t?
“You know, you’re not the only one who watched that neighborhood,” he said in a bored tone.
Outwardly, I was as cool as a cucumber, but inwardly, I was wary. On the edge of my seat. Where was he going with this?
“Is that right?” I asked.
“Yep. Saw you watching that girl next door to you. Saw you running behind her every morning. Saw that your windows are real close to each other’s,” he smiled widely.
My body froze. My lungs stopped producing the oxygen that my blood needed. Everything in me came to a standstill, waiting to see where he was going with this.
My jaw tightened until it was clenched so hard my molars hurt.
“I was just wanting to make an observation. You can have the lawyer brought in,” he smiled.
Standing up stiffly, I walked to the door and opened it.
Once they were seated, I left.
I was no longer needed, and I was in a hurry to make sure Channing was all right.
***
The drive took less than nine minutes.
I’d just pulled onto the street that ran outside our subdivision when I saw her sitting down on the curb. I would’ve passed her by had she not fallen backwards as I passed.
She was wearing a tight pair of black running shorts and an oversized t-shirt, and her hot pink running shoes that she always wore when she ran.
Pulling over quickly, I came to a stop directly in front of her and shut the engine off.
“Jesus Christ,” I snapped. “Are you okay?”
“Fine,” she wheezed. “I just forgot my inhaler; I needed to take a break before it got too bad.”
Reaching for her hand, I lifted her up until she was in a sitting position. “Get on, I’ll take you home.”
I was relieved. Not that she was having an asthma attack, but that she was alive to have an asthma attack.
“Loki, you said we couldn’t be seen together. You made me promise, in fact. What’re you doing?” She asked breathlessly.
I got her to her feet and directed her to sit in front of me so I could keep an eye on her on the last mile stretch of road before we reached our homes.
She sat stiffly for all of three seconds before leaning back against me and resting her head on my chest.
We rode back slowly. Pulling into her driveway, nearly up to the house, I shut the bike off and helped her stand before following her.
“Loki, seriously, what the hell are you doing?” She asked alarmed.
“Inside, I’ll tell you there,” I rushed out.
She looked at me worriedly, but walked into the house.
Without punching in the code to her alarm.
Pinching the bridge of my nose, I said, “Please tell me you didn’t leave your house unarmed.”
When I looked up, it was to see her eyes wide, and her teeth nibbling worriedly on her lip.
“I forgot,” she said lamely.
“You forgot,” I tried the word on my tongue. “Well how does being raped sound?”
She flinched as if I’d hit her, and suddenly the word choices I’d used didn’t sound like the best idea anymore.
Pushing my hands through my spiked hair, I started explaining. “Listen, I’m sorry if I was too blunt, but I really don’t want anything to happen to you. Today, Varian pointed out that he’d seen us together quite a bit over the time I was undercover. Then he took a plea bargain that’ll only give him twenty-five years. He took it too easily, in my opinion. He’s got something planned, I just don’t know what.”
Pacing now, I continued. “Yesterday, two women were raped and murdered. One was the one who hired me at the construction company. The assailant left a note. For me. Said if I didn’t withdraw my statement, they’d kill two people a day until I did.”
“But...but,” she said confused. “He’s in jail. If he was in jail, how could he threaten you with a note? Does he really have that far of a reach?”
“I have two theories on that, but it’s not good either way it goes. One way, it’s Varian having some sort of hold on the men in his employ. Something he’s doing for them that they can’t get anywhere else. Or he’s blackmailing them, forcing their compliance. The other is that there were two people raping, and both of them were working together. My sole focus had been on Varian. It never even entered my mind that he could be working with someone to accomplish his goals. Either way, I fucked up,” I sighed.
She’d sat quietly throughout my explanation, contemplating her hands, and then an invisible piece of lint on her shirt.