Heart Lies & Alibis (20 page)

"You can only travel between your attorney's offices, to court, and to your own home. The routes have been preloaded in the system. If you exceed those routes, if you attempt to tamper with or remove the monitoring device, an alarm will sound and Houston PD will be dispatched at which point you will be detained and returned to jail. Do you understand?" He glared at me. I was nothing more than a criminal in his eyes and the judgment hurt.

"I understand. Yes." I returned the icy glare. I was not going to kowtow to this guy or anyone else. I was innocent, dammit, and I would prove it before I was done.

He nodded and released me to my attorneys who whisked me out of the courtroom and to Jackson's Cadillac. They sped away before any of the press waiting for a soundbite could fire a question at me. I was relieved for that small respite.

We arrived at my house and they followed me inside. After making some coffee we set up at my dining table where they talked at length to me about what was going to happen over the next few weeks, reinforced the rules of my lovely new ankle accessory, and laid our immediate plan for the next step in my trial. This basically involved trying to get a lead on Thad's real killer. Not a small task to say the least.

I was so exhausted I could barely keep what they were saying straight, their words a jumbled mess in my head. I hadn't really slept in over twenty-four hours and I felt every minute of my time in jail. I wanted to help but I was just too fried. Astrid finally took pity on me and stood up, gathering her paperwork and stuffing it in her briefcase.

"Come on Jackson. She's going to fall over any minute and I don't think she understood anything we said in the last ten minutes anyway. Listen Reagan, Jackson will be doing all the heavy lifting on this from now on. I was just here to help make the process a little smoother but I will stepping back now. If you need me though, don't hesitate to call. Anytime."

I gave her a tired smile. "I appreciate that. Thanks Astrid." She had turned out to be a great friend as well as a wonderful attorney. I knew I was very lucky.

"Yeah, you are probably right Astrid. We can pick this up again tomorrow. Get some sleep Reagan. We have a lot of work ahead of us." Jackson added gathering his own materials.

I walked them to the door. Jackson turned before stepping onto the porch and looked at me with a grave look. "One more thing Reagan. It might be best if you and the young bartender took a break from seeing each other." Obviously Astrid had filled him in on my love life. Of course my attorney needed to know everything if he was going to do his best to defend me but I was still uncomfortable having my personal life discussed in such a clinical way.

My face must have shown the total despair his words caused in my heart because his face softened a bit. He placed his hand on my arm, before saying "I'm sorry. I really am. I know this isn't easy but the prosecutor will be looking for anything he can use against you and having a young boyfriend is a huge problem in your life right now. Especially because you two got together before your divorce from Thad was finalized. Do you understand?" His eyes were kind but his tone left no room for argument.

The attorney in me understood perfectly what he was asking me to do. But the woman in me who had found what might turn out to be the greatest love of her life didn't want to understand. But I nodded my agreement all the same, even though my heart was breaking inside. I closed the door after them and slid to the floor. For the second time in as many weeks I sobbed for all that was wrong in my life.

My cell phone started ringing in my hand as I sat on the floor by my front door. I looked down and saw Declan's number. I hesitated to answer the phone but I knew he must be going out of his mind with questions and concern. I had asked him to stay at home until I was done with the lawyers but I knew I owed him some answers now.

"Hello." My voice sounded small to me, beaten, and so alone.

"Reagan, how are you? Can I come over? I need to see you." His words rushed out like the tears that slid down my cheeks.

"I'm okay Declan." I swallowed willing the sobs away long enough so I could speak. "You can't come over though. Jackson says the prosecutor could use our relationship against me at trial. He suggested, strongly, we stop seeing each other for a while. At least until the trial is over. I'm so sorry." A sob caught in my throat and I swallowed it away but I knew Declan had heard it.

His silence almost killed me. I didn't know if he was thinking Jackson was right to tell us to end things or if he was actually relieved to have a legitimate reason to stay away from me. I mean, how many guys were ready to stand by their girlfriend of less than a month while she was put on trial for allegedly killing her husband? I was a prize for sure. I was just about to say good-bye and hang up when Declan growled into the phone.

"This is bullshit Reagan. I'm coming over right now. You need me and I have to see you. Nobody will know I'm there. I promise." He hung up before I could respond and though the lawyer in me knew this was a mistake with potentially life changing consequences, the scared woman inside me was happy to know someone still cared enough about me to take the risk.

Fifteen minutes later I heard a soft knock on the patio doors. I walked towards the sound, pulling the curtain aside and looking out. Declan stood outside, his hands shoved in his pockets, and a look of utter despair on his face. I let the curtain go and laid my head against the door frame for a moment. As happy and relieved as I was to see him, I knew if I let him in there could be grave consequences, one of the worst being it would break my heart even more when he eventually had to leave again.

He knocked again. "Reagan, let me in. I made sure no one saw me arrive. I parked at a gas station a few blocks away and snuck in through the back of your neighbor's property. Please. I need to see you." He pleaded through the closed door. The hurt in his voice was like daggers to my heart.

My life might already be over if I was convicted of a crime I didn't commit so what could this really hurt I reasoned. I unlocked the door and flung it open. Declan rushed in grabbing me up in his arms and holding me while I wrapped my arms around his neck. He backed us into the kitchen so he could kick the door closed but never let go of our embrace. In spite of everything that could happen, I knew I had made the right decision letting him in. Eventually I released him, walking further into the kitchen with him following me.

"What else did the lawyers say Reagan besides the bullshit about us staying apart? They have to know you didn't do this, but Astrid said they had evidence. A knife and a witness?" He had stopped beside my kitchen island, leaning on his hands, his eyes watching me move across the room.

I needed a moment before I answered so I walked to the fridge and pulled two beers out, handing him one before opening my own. I leaned against the counter and took a long swig of beer. "Yep. She told you what we know. My missing knife was found with Thad's blood and my fingerprints on it. The witness is our friend Ms. Amberly Jones who has marked me as a vindictive, cold-blooded bitch who couldn't wait to murder her cheating, scumbag husband. Basically, I'm screwed." I lifted the bottle towards him before taking another long pull.

Declan stood across from me and took a drink of his own beer before he spoke again. This was a lot for anyone to comprehend and I felt immediately guilty I dumped it on him so flippantly. "We knew there could be a problem with your missing knife but what was the Turbo Slut a witness to exactly?"

I took another drink and formulated exactly what I was going to say. I had told Declan I had a bad meeting with Thad but had left out all the details about Thad trying to attack me and me threatening his life in exchange. When I told him now he slammed his fist against the wall and uttered some profanity that would have made Astrid blush a bit. I just watched him for a second letting him get it out. I had already had a chance to be that pissed off at Thad. Now it was Declan's turn. When he was done he came and pulled me in for another hug. Pushing back he looked into my eyes.

"Why didn't you tell me this on Thursday Reagan?" The anger in his eyes mixed with a look of deep hurt. I knew I should have trusted him and told him everything before now.

"Because I thought you might get a little upset. Do something crazy. React a bit violently perhaps. Lucky for me I was wrong." I rolled my eyes at him.

He snorted. "Yeah, I wish I could have had a little conversation with that guy." His face told me that conversation would have been pretty one sided and involved a lot of fists. "Listen to me Reagan. I will never let another person hurt you again. I promise you that. No matter what
a chroi
." I could actually feel how much he cared as he spoke those words and I was surprised at how much I clung to every one of them. It was a new feeling to have someone care this much and I found I had needed it far more than I could have imagined and had for a long time.

I was about to tell Declan the rest of my secrets, things I had never told anyone in Houston or for the last twenty-odd years, when Grace called. She was almost in a panic and I knew if I didn't talk to her now she would never forgive me. She needed a full update of all that had happened in the past two days so I pushed my conversation with Declan to the back burner for the moment. I would tell him another day. Maybe.

Declan refused to leave me alone for the night and I was more than happy to have him in my bed. We decided we would just do our best to keep anyone from knowing we were still together. Declan had proven he was pretty good at sneaking into my house so we had that advantage I guess. I knew I was being selfish asking him to take the risk but I needed to know I wasn't alone in this nightmare. I fell asleep in his arms hoping the next day would dawn with a bit more hope than this one had ended.

The local news stations splashed Thad's face on every channel I turned to the next day. Suddenly, he was some do-good lawyer, offering his services pro bono to the poor and downtrodden. I hadn't never seen Thad offer anyone free legal advice. My guess is Ms. Jones was helping create a picture for the media of him as the victim and me as the evil woman who had taken his life. What a wonderful moment for me.

Tired of the lies, I switched off the television and started cleaning the kitchen with a vengeance. Whenever I was upset or had something to think about I would clean like a women possessed. I had scoured the counters, the floor, the walls and was just starting on the sink when the damn monitoring device about drove me mad. I hated having something on my body, tracking my every move. It made me angry and embarrassed.

I was scratching again at my annoying ankle accessory when Declan came in the kitchen. I watched as he headed for the coffee. His jeans were still unbuttoned at the top, he was without a shirt, and his hair was mussed from sleep. I thought he had never looked sexier.

He smiled as he poured a cup. "Good morning Beautiful. How's that lovely bracelet treating you today?"

I scowled at him. "It itches. I hate having to wear this thing." I stretched my leg out, my short sleeping shorts riding up and showing a long expanse of leg.

Apparently that display of flesh was all it took to get Declan raring to go this morning. Again. He set the coffee mug down and his lips were on mine in record time. Maybe sex wasn't the answer to my problems but it sure made things seem more worthwhile I thought as he guided me up the stairs and back to bed.

"How are you going to sneak out now that it's daytime?" I asked as we lay in my bed some hours later. My head was on his chest and he twirled my hair around one of his fingers, a habit he had developed in our time together, and one that I loved. "The news crews are everywhere. Who knew I would be such an instant celebrity? I thought you were the only one worthy of being on the news."

Declan smiled but I could see his mind was a thousand miles away. He hadn't really heard what I said. I turned so I could look at his face more closely as I spoke. "Hello? Hey where are you?"

He looked at me, another million-mile gaze on his face. "Hmm. Sorry what was that Reagan?"

"Where were you Declan? What are you thinking about?"

He continued to play with my hair as he struggled to find the right words. "Before I came over last night I got a call from Hayes. He had seen the news about your arrest. He wanted me to be extra careful right now, especially after the whole thing earlier this week with Ms. Thelma. He not so subtly suggested, like Jackson, we may want to take a bit of a break. He reminded me if my cover gets blown this time, things could go very bad. He said I have to make sure no one gets my picture during all of this." He was so distracted as he spoke and I was worried he was trying to tell me he had decided to heed Hayes's words.

I put my head on his chest for a moment before looking back into his eyes. "Should we stop seeing each other Declan? For everyone's best interest, do you think it would be best to take a break? I can't risk your life and I have no idea how long this whole thing could drag on, with the trial and everything. I can't ask you to go through it too." As much as I wanted him with me, I couldn't be that selfish. I had to give him the option of leaving if I ever loved him at all.

He looked at me, his stormy eyes locked on mine. "Is that what you want Reagan? Do you want me out of your life?"

I could only whisper "No."

His eyes softened. "Good because the truth is I've fallen in love with you. From the first day we met, I knew it was going to happen. And I know it seems crazy and fast and all the other arguments we can make against it but I have never known a woman like you and I knew from the first night in the bar I wanted you in my life forever. All of this other stuff is just part of the package that makes you the woman I love. You aren't asking me to do anything I don't want to do. I would stand beside you if you had killed Thad, I sure as well will be beside you knowing you didn't. What I am saying is I'm willing to take a chance on everything, for us, if you are."