Rookie Mistake: A Sports Romance Novel (The Beasts of Baseball Book 1) (74 page)

“Interesting.” He pursed his lips. “Still not regretting your decision to leave us? We have your spot open if you want to come back.”

“I appreciate that, but I’m perfectly happy where I am. Nice to see you again, sir.” I turned and walked into the courthouse with my chin lifted slightly. If I ever went into practice again, it would be for myself. No more working for another elitist law firm that cared more about wins and revenue than people.

The courtroom was packed when I walked in, but I wasn’t surprised. The case was being broadcast over every news channel known to man. Eliza Ketchum was being charged with the murder of her husband of forty years. I’d first met Mrs. Ketchum during the year Zek was in jail. She was kind and had given more money to the local charities in town than anyone I’d known. She needed some estate work done, and I’d been more than happy to take her case.

A year later and her husband was found dead in their fourteen bedroom home. The evidence pointed straight at her, but I had a sneaking suspicion that she was being framed. I itched to get involved, but it wasn’t possible. I was no longer with Dellup, and she was a client under contract with them. Lizzy was the next best bet for the older woman.

I turned to find Lizzy standing beside me as I leaned against the back room of the court. “Oh. Hey. You look horrible.”

Lizzy smirked and let out a quick sigh. “The judge is running thirty minutes behind. I need to talk with you. Can you join me in the conference room quickly?”

“Yes. Of course.” I moved up behind her as all eyes in the room followed me. I was sure most people were wondering who the hell I was, and why the judge wasn’t on her bench yet.

Mrs. Ketchum glanced up from her seat and gave me a weak smile. I returned it, but didn’t say anything. There were too many members of the press in the room, and everything anyone said would be taken and twisted. It was just the way of the beast.

Lizzy walked into the small conference room and closed the door before letting out a frustrated growl. “I hate this shit.”

“What’s going on?” I clasped my hands in front of my waist and gave her my attention as I worked to exude a calm I didn’t entirely feel.

“This fucking case. It’s gotten blown so far out of proportion that I honestly don’t know what to believe. And…” she turned her gaze to mine as tears filled her eyes. “And Ronnie needs me to throw the case.”

My voice rose as my heart almost stopped. “What? Are you insane? Is he?”

“Yes, he is.” Lizzy pressed her hand to her chest and started to pace the floor. “I can’t do it. I’ve never in a million years thrown a case. I can’t do it now either.”

“Lizzy.” I moved toward her and reached out, grabbing her arm. She would be my sister-in-law one day, and we’d moved from being casual friends to believing that family would soon be our title. “You can’t bend your ethics because they ask you to. Why the hell would they want that anyway? Ms. Ketchum would be reviewed for the death penalty or life in prison. This is serious shit.”

“I know. I have no clue why Ronnie is so invested in this, but he is.” She let out a long breath and shook her head. “I can’t do it.”

“Then go out there and tell Mrs. Ketchum to name me as her new attorney and give me the details of the case. You’re not turning this woman in for a murder she didn’t commit.” I grabbed Lizzy’s shoulders as my pulse began to race. “She didn’t do it, did she?”

“No. We can call a retrial and reschedule. You can pick up the case as an independent, but I’m likely to lose my job either way.” She ran her hand through her hair and let out a tired groan. “Why does this shit have to happen? Everything was fine, and now that Jon Mills is almost out of the picture, Ronnie is hungry for esteem no matter what it takes to get it.”

“How would throwing this case give him esteem?” I moved back and tilted my head to the side as confusion rolled over me. Nothing Lizzy was saying made any logical sense. “I don’t understand.”

“He’s doing someone a favor, Alisa. Whoever the guy is, he’s pulling Ronnie’s strings. If we’re willing to lose this case, he’ll be slated to win the next ten.” She closed her eyes and pressed her fingers to the bridge of her nose. “I’m screwed either way on this.”

“Stay here and act like you’re throwing up in that trashcan if anyone walks in. We’re going to call for a retrial due to you getting violently sick. Got it?” I moved toward the door as she called out to me.

“Alisa. Are you happy? Are you okay not living in the limelight?”

I turned and gave her a sad stare. “No, but I’ll figure that out. I still need to be able to sleep at night, and some of the shit Dellup was starting to pull wasn’t allowing me to do that.”

“I can’t leave this life, Alisa.” She dragged her fingers down her face, and I could see myself a few months before, standing at the edge of decision and being overwhelmed by the unknown.

“I know that. We’ll figure it out. Together. Just stay here.” I walked out into the courtroom and moved to sit down beside Mrs. Ketchum.

“Hi, Alisa.” The older woman gave me another weak smile. “Is Lizzy okay? She didn’t look too well.”

“No, ma’am. I’m sorry to tell you that she’s pretty sick. We’ll have to call for a retrial, but we’ll get you back on track as soon as possible.” I glanced up as the judge walked into the room. “Have you posted bail?”

“Yes, but I’m under pretty strict orders about what I can and can’t do.” She let out a tired sigh. “And honestly, I’d rather this just be over. I’m tired of everyone staring at me like I’m the kind of woman who would hurt my husband.”

Her eyes filled with tears and I reached over and squeezed her arm. It would seem that Jon Mills wasn’t the only one with his hand in the cookie jar. Ronnie Dellup was too. Something about the idea of them being the same type of man made my stomach ache. There were too many people who had shown a completely different side of their personality as of late. I was starting to feel leery about truly trusting anyone.

I stood and caught the judge’s attention. “I request the right to approach the bench.”

The judge nodded and motioned for me to come forward. The DA walked up to stand beside me with an incredulous look on his face.

“I thought we’d won the lottery the day you stopped defending criminals.” He smirked and turned to face the judge.

“Guilty until proven innocent, eh?” I gave an apologetic smile to the judge and explained Lizzy’s situation. The case was moved to a retrial to be rescheduled at a later date. After getting Mrs. Ketchum to her son and several bodyguards that hovered around them, I made my way back to see Lizzy.

She was looking out the window with her hand over her mouth as I walked in.

“Hey. It’s all done. We’ll set a retrial.” I paused as she turned and blinked slowly a few times.

“Let’s open a practice, Alisa. Just you and me. Zek and Mark don’t need us in their businesses, but we could create something together. Something good and pure, but left our hearts racing and blood pumping.” She moved toward me, looking a little piqued.

I nodded as butterflies danced in my belly. “Let me sleep on the idea and talk to Zek. You do the same.”

She reached out and pulled me into a hug. “Okay. Good. That’s more than I expected you to say.”

“Let’s get you out of here. The room is almost cleared, but there are a few stragglers I’m sure. Try to look sick.” I smiled at her before moving to open the door.

“That’s not hard to do.” She brushed her hand over her mouth and took a shaky breath. “I almost threw that case. They offered me a million dollars to do it. I just—”

“Shit.” I turned to give her my attention. “You wouldn’t have been able to outlive that. What’s the matter with you? You just watched Zek go down for something similar. He’s going to have to rebuild everything. What the hell were you thinking?”

She nodded and crossed her arms over her chest. “I guess the same thing he was. Financial freedom would be nice, but I couldn’t do it. I need to press charges against Ronnie now. Soon. Before he turns it around on me.”

“Yes. We need to get that process started tomorrow. Just play off that you’re sick when you see him, and we’ll work through it.” I nodded toward the courtroom. “I need to go back to Zek, but call me and we’ll figure this out.”

“Alisa. Thank you.”

I had nothing to say, so I nodded and walked out of the courtroom. The air was so hard to breathe, and I was sure it had to do with too much emotion at one time. I was worried about Zek, concerned about Lizzy and lost as to how to get back to loving my professional life. I needed a break. A reminder that life was more than fleeting moments.

I pulled out my phone and walked out into the sunny afternoon.

“Zek Kellington.”

“You knew it was me.” I smiled and took a deep breath of the fresh air around me.

“I’m trying to get back into a routine. You want me to answer it with some naughty promises next time?”

I chuckled, feeling better almost immediately. “Um, no, but I do need something from you.”

“Anything.”

“You still want to go up to your lake house and lose ourselves? I think I need that.”

“Now?” His voice had an edge of concern to it.

“Right now.” I closed my eyes and tilted my face toward the sun, grateful that he wasn’t the type of man to deny me anything. “Please.”

CHAPTER 5

e

Zek

I
could tell by the sound of her voice that something was wrong. After wrapping things up with Celia, I’d spent an hour talking with Jeffery about everything. I was all in, but not for him or Alisa, though they both mattered more than enough to stay for. I was in for me. Celia’s story was no different than mine, nor was Jeffery’s. We’d all done something that we were ashamed of, something that changed the trajectory of our lives, but maybe that’s what it was all about.

Being brave enough to try again.

Alisa’s soft voice pulled me into wanting to try anything until I got it right. Maybe it wasn’t just about her deserving the best, but me simply wanting to be that for her no matter the cost. It was a good feeling.

I left the office and walked down to the bottom floor to wait on her as warmth swept through me.

She walked in through the crowd of people standing in front of the building and gave me a cute smirk. “What? Were you waiting for me?”

“Yep. I’m going to sweep you away and remind you that we’re not city folk. We look like them, talk like them, hell I bet we even smell like them.” I pulled her to me and pressed my lips softly to hers. “You even taste like one. Not that I know—”

“You seem better.” She pressed her fingers to my lips. “I’m glad. I was getting a little worried about you.”

I kissed her fingertips and pulled her hand down. “Yeah, I was starting to unravel. It’s weird trying to reemerge into society. Everyone expects you to be just like you were when you left, but it’s impossible. All the shit I went through, including that madness with you and Melissa… I’m a different man. I’m not sure if it’s for the better or not, but I’ll let you decide that.” I studied her beautiful face, falling more in love with her as she tightened her grip on me.

“I doubt there’s food up at the cabin. Let’s go to the house and get packed up, swing by the grocery store and then get up there in time for a late night swim in the lake.” She lifted her eyebrow. “You up for it?”

“As long as we’re talking no swimsuits.” I wagged my eyebrows playfully.

“And have a fish nibble at my butt? No way. I’m wearing my suit.” She turned and took the hand I offered her.

“Hmm… what can I do to talk you into being more adventurous? The girl I fell in love with would have jumped from a high dive naked if it would get the boys talking.” I glanced over at her and laughed at the shit-eating grin she had on her face. Something was bothering her, but much like I did when she was around, she was relaxing because of me. It felt good.

“I’m still that girl. Fine. No suits.” She pushed the door to walk out onto the city streets and tightened her grip on my hand. The press moved in as if they’d been waiting patiently all damn day for me to reemerge. With all of the stories on the news that morning, I had a hard time believing they didn’t have something or someone better to follow.

I ignored their probing and opened Alisa’s door for her when we reached my car. She got in and turned to me as I got in and buckled up.

“I need you to help me think through something.” She took a quick breath, and I turned to face her.

“You wanna do this now, or on the way up to the lake? It’s a bit of a drive. Let’s talk about whatever you’re considering then. That okay?” I slid my hand down her thigh and squeezed her knee. “Just lean back and rest for now. Relax and know that whatever is bugging you, we’re going to figure it out.”

“Okay. You’re right.” She wrapped her hand over the top of mine and let out a soft sigh. “Can you invite Mark and Lizzy to come up for dinner tonight? I want to cook something good for all of us. We haven’t seen them in forever, and I know they want to celebrate your first day of freedom with you.”

“Yeah, but I’m not inviting them to stay the rest of the week with us. I want time just me and you.” I moved my hand back up her thigh, shaking off her hold on me. “I know I have you every night, but I honestly can’t stop thinking of the next time I’ll get to press my lips to yours or slide my hands over your silky skin.”

“You’re turning me on.” She looked over at me with a dreamy look in her eyes. She could play attorney all day long, but she was still little Alisa Beeler when she looked at me like that.

“Hold that thought, and I promise to exploit it fully later tonight.” I smiled as she swatted at me before closing her eyes.

“I love you. Be mine forever,” she whispered softly before letting out a contented sigh.

“You’re stuck, baby.”

*

We took our time packing, and by the time we’d stopped by the grocery store and were on our way to the lake house, it was getting dark. Lizzy and Mark were going to meet us up there for a late dinner, and some part of me lamented over Alisa wanting to share the evening with them, but I understood it.