Justice Reborn (Cowboy Justice Association Book 8) (27 page)

“I love you too,” she whispered, her heart shattering into a million pieces in her chest. This was so incredibly unfair. “I love you and we’re both going to be okay. I’ll be home before you know it.”

Home. She hadn’t had a real one in a long time but it was definitely here with Evan. Or rather wherever he was. She’d follow him to the ends of the earth and back just to be with him. All she wanted was the opportunity.

“I know some good lawyers, honey. Dare’s already on the phone to one right now. With any luck he’ll meet you in Tampa, plus we’ll be right behind you. I may not be with you every step of the way but know that I’m close by.”

Tears slid down her cheeks and he swiped them away with his thumbs. “Just knowing that you won’t give up helps.”

“I won’t give up. Ever.”

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a handkerchief, telling her to blow. Smoothing her hair behind her ear, he kissed her a few more times before finally stepping back.

It was time.

A few more words were spoken but Josie barely heard or acknowledged them. Her fate had suddenly become more real than she’d ever bargained for. People thought she was a murderer and they wanted her to answer to those charges. She was going to be questioned at the very least and possibly arrested. She might go to jail and then maybe prison. All she had done was try to help a friend and then everything had gone so very wrong. How had she come to be here?

Marisa took Josie by the arm and led her out of the house and down the front porch steps to the vehicle. It was all Josie could do not to wrench away and run as far and fast as she could. She wanted to scream at the top of her lungs that she was a good person and hadn’t done anything wrong. Words clogged in her sore and swollen throat along with a maelstrom of emotions from sadness to fury to flat-out terror. She wasn’t anyone special. Why would anyone believe her?

Josie kept her head down, not wanting to look any of the officers in the eye. She didn’t want to see the scorn or pity there. They’d probably seen and heard it all. One more person crying out their innocence meant nothing to them anymore.

Somehow Evan had insinuated himself on her other side. She doubted anyone else would have been allowed but Marisa must have been feeling generous today. “We’re right behind you, honey. Don’t answer any questions until your attorney gets there.”

Nodding wordlessly, Josie allowed herself to be placed in the back of the SUV while Marisa climbed into the driver’s seat. She and Evan spoke for a moment but Josie couldn’t hear what they were saying as much as she tried. Was Evan extracting one more promise to take care of Josie? His fingers trailed over the closed window and he gave her an encouraging smile, or what passed as one. Reed, Seth, and Dare all stood in a row behind him, their arms crossed over their chests and extremely pissed off expressions on their faces. At least after she was gone, they’d be there for Evan. He was going to need someone too.

The motorcade pulled away from the house and glided soundlessly down the driveway and onto the road. There was nothing but silence in the vehicle until they hit the interstate. It was at that point Marisa decided to speak.

“You did a good thing back there. I didn’t want to have to take Evan and his friends in but I would have done it.”

Of course you would have. You’re a total bitch.

Josie didn’t know if Marisa expected a reply but talking kept her mind off where this car was headed.

“I would never let any harm come to Evan,” Josie finally answered.

“Because you love him.”

It wasn’t phrased as a question.

It also wasn’t any of Marisa’s business. Josie had only admitted it to Evan moments ago. She wasn’t about to start spilling girlish secrets with the woman who had a warrant to bring Josie in for questioning as a person of interest in a murder case. She was dumb but she wasn’t stupid.

“You do, don’t you?” Marisa prompted when Josie didn’t answer.

“I think I did what any decent human being would do,” Josie countered instead. “I don’t think anyone could watch someone get hurt or go to jail just to protect them.”

“And you’re innocent, after all.”

The way the woman drawled through the syllables spoke volumes as to her opinion on Josie’s guilt.

“I am.” Josie spoke firmly despite the fact she wouldn’t be believed. “Amy was a good friend and I loved her like a sister. I miss her every day. I want to see whomever did this brought to justice probably more than you do.”

“I’m sure.”

They didn’t speak for several minutes and Josie watched out the window as the scenery whipped by. It wouldn’t take long to get to Tampa.

“When we get there you’ll be taken to a conference room and questioned. I assume you’ll invoke your right to remain silent until an attorney arrives?”

Just like on television, Josie had been advised of her rights when she’d been handcuffed. She wasn’t officially arrested per se according to Marisa. She was wanted for questioning and they could hold her for twenty-four hours without charging her with anything.

“I will,” Josie agreed. “Evan is working on that.”

“I’m going to do Evan a favor and not process you in any way. You can hang out in the interrogation room until the District Attorney decides what he wants to do with you. I just wanted you to know that I’m doing this for Evan as a friend.”

It hadn’t crossed Josie’s mind that it would be done for her. “He’ll be grateful. I’ll let him know that you did it for him.”

“You won’t have to tell him. He’ll know. He knows procedures backwards and forwards. He was a great marshal and he should come back.”

The certainty in Marisa’s tone took Josie aback. The woman was acting as if she knew what Evan wanted and needed better than he did.

“He doesn’t want to. He wants to do something else.”

Marisa didn’t turn around but Josie could see her knuckles turn white on the steering wheel. “He’s confused right now but the one thing he’s good at is being a lawman. He’ll come back as long as people don’t encourage this mid-life crisis bullshit. You’re not doing him any good, you know, by promoting this bum life he’s been living lately.”

This woman didn’t have a clue. She’d spent years as his partner and Josie had spent less than two weeks with Evan but she already knew he wasn’t going back. He’d moved on in his mind and heart. That part of his life was done and over.

Josie could go on and on about what a talented writer he was or how handy he was around the house but she didn’t. Marisa was living in a fantasy of her own making and nothing Josie said was going to change her mind. Only time would tell the real truth.

The rest of the ride was silent and Marisa drove them into a parking garage somewhere in downtown Tampa. She put the SUV in park and twisted around in her seat to face Josie who was having a hard time breathing in and out now that they had arrived. She was going to be questioned, and based on that the DA would decide if she was telling the truth. Everything was at stake and the next few hours would be crucial to her future.

“Are you ready? The DA is upstairs waiting.”

Josie simply nodded because it didn’t matter if she was ready or not. It was happening.

Denial? Not an option.

Chapter Thirty

E
van shifted impatiently in the passenger seat of the SUV. Seth was driving and Reed and Dare were in the back seat on the way to Tampa. Evan was hoping he’d be allowed to see Josie before she was questioned and maybe – just maybe, if he could swing it – he would sit in. He knew the men and the women in the District Attorney’s office well although Washington D.C. had jurisdiction in reality. If it were locals he had a better than average chance to convince them it would be a good idea for him to be in the room when they talked to her. He’d be able to hold her hand and keep her calm.

But who was going to keep him calm? Frankly, since Josie had announced that she was turning herself in he’d been a mess. On one hand he was grateful that she loved him enough to sacrifice herself but dammit, his job was to protect her from just this situation. He’d failed spectacularly.

Whatever his former partners faults, he did trust Marisa to try to keep Josie safe while in custody so that was some comfort. It wouldn’t be enough, however, until he could see the woman he loved with his own two eyes.

While he didn’t have a clue what his future held he knew she had to be in it.

“We’ll be there in about fifteen,” Seth interrupted Evan’s thoughts. “Do you want to go straight there or do we need to stop at the attorney’s office?”

With his inside contacts, Evan had secured one of the best criminal lawyers in the state. On such short notice it had taken some doing but he’d called in every favor owed.

“He’s meeting us there.”

“She’s not under arrest,” Dare added, obviously trying to lighten the mood. The whole drive had been about as happy as a funeral. “Not really. It’s just questioning. When she tells her story, they may just let her go, especially if she has some high-powered, high-priced lawyer by her side.”

“It does help but there’s so much I don’t know,” Evan sighed. “Who is going to do the questioning? Are the D.C. police here? Will they hold her until they are? Shit, will Marisa even get to be there to keep an eye on Josie? This is the one moment I hate being a civilian.”

“Will she keep you informed?” Dare asked. “She seemed pretty frosty at the house. I kind of got the feeling she wasn’t super fond of Josie. Maybe I’m crazy but she appeared to be jealous.”

Evan shook his head. “No way. It was always casual between us.”

But he’d been thinking that perhaps Marisa had been more involved than he’d given her credit for. At the very least, she didn’t like change and Evan moving on to another woman wouldn’t sit well.

Reed chuckled as he stared out of the window. “It was casual for you, but was it casual for her? Maybe she has more feelings for you than she let on. Seeing you loving up on another woman might just put her in a nasty mood. Remind her of the past.”

“She said she’d take care of Josie.”

Although now that Evan thought about it, Marisa had been acting strangely these last few months, constantly trying to talk him back to the Marshal Service.

“Yep, because every woman loves taking care of her ex-boyfriends girlfriend,” Dare observed. “Even if she didn’t have loving feelings for you she might not be all that thrilled about her babysitter role. Is Marisa the soft-hearted, caring type?”

“Fuck no,” Evan admitted with a groan. What he knew about the fairer sex could fit on the head of a pin. Relationships weren’t his forte. “She’s all business and all about the job. Ambitious as hell too. Shit, I thought the whole friends with benefits thing was too good to be true.”

Thank God, Josie had taken pity on him and loved him because he knew zero about females.

“It always is,” Seth laughed. “It sounds like a great idea, doesn’t it? Sex. No strings. No feelings. Except that there’s another human being involved and you can’t control them. They could end up hating you or loving you. Which one do you think fits here?”

Good question. Maybe a little of both. Neither one boded well for Marisa treating Josie well.

“Not sure but let’s kick it up a notch. We need to get there and see if I can talk my way in. I need to make sure Josie is okay.”

And that meant back home with him.

*   *   *   *

The girl was terrified.

Marisa sat next to Josie and could almost feel the younger woman vibrating with pure terror. Her skin was pasty white and a sheen of sweat had broken out over her forehead when Marisa had cuffed her to the table. She had to give the girl credit, though. She’d been incredibly strong the entire way here but this was where the rubber met the road. She swore up and down she was innocent but now that she had to actually tell her story…

One thing had been a surprise and that was the DA wasn’t present in the room. Instead, two FBI agents sat across the table looking decidedly tame, almost friendly, when Josie sat down. They’d asked her if she wanted a soda or if she was hungry. They had even inquired as to the temperature in the room. Looked like they were going for the “I’m your best friend” interrogation technique.