Chapter 38
Hudson
Monday morning arrives and with it a knot in my stomach. Having Shannon in my bed and Serafina safely down the hall ensured I slept much better last night than I did the night before, however, it’s six in the morning and I already have a text message from my boss.
I slip out of bed as quietly as I can, pull on my sweats, and pad to the kitchen to answer this message and start the coffee maker.
Bill
Things have escalated. We need to talk.
I guess Gregor wasted no time firing one off up my chain of command as soon as he got back to his swanky hotel suite on Friday night.
Hudson
I’ll move routes.
With the help of Shannon’s parents, moving routes is now possible.
I just don’t want to lose my job with this company.
There’s not a lot of things I’m qualified for, despite my epic training and experience in the military.
Being able to move around all day and not have to sit at a desk or on the phone isn’t something I want to give up.
Bill
It’s a little late for that.
Hudson
With all due respect sir, my personal life is private. I can still do my job.
Bill
It’s no longer private when I get an email from a prominent attorney threatening to sue the company because one of my drivers was having an affair with his wife…on company time.
Fuck. I don’t know how Gregor can prove it, but the fact is…it’s true. I messed around with Shannon on the clock. Nonetheless, I have to try and salvage this.
Hudson
He’s throwing out accusations because he’s pissed his wife left him. Can’t you put me on probation or something until this dies down?
Bill
I won’t complete the termination yet, but I’ll have to look into it so this guy doesn’t come after us. Take the week off but you can forget about getting paid for it.
The other thing I love about my company is that they’re small and local. We all know each other. Bill has met Monica. He knows Cam and Ally. If I were just a number in a system, I have no doubt that my termination papers would already be in my in-box.
Hudson
Understood.
By the time I start my second cup of coffee, unsure what to do with my day now that I don’t have to go in for work, Shannon is up and bustling about.
“Good morning,” she says, rubbing sleep from her eyes as she makes her way to the holy grail on the counter. I intercept her with my bare chest pressed against her robe.
“Good morning.” With one more squeeze I let her finish her trek to the liquid gold. “So, how mad would your mom be if I kept Serafina today?” I ask.
“Don’t you have to work?” Shannon asks, pouring her first cup.
“About that…” I start, giving her a sly smile that basically tells her exactly what happened.
“Ohmygod, he actually did it. He got you fired? Jesus, Hud, I’m so sorry.” She sets her cup on the kitchen table and climbs in my lap.
“Sort of,” I correct. “He’s definitely trying, but my boss said he would conduct an investigation into my actions before letting me go.
Although, I’m not so sure that’ll help me anyway since I broke about fifty rules since starting that route.
” Shannon grimaces and I kiss her cheek. “Worth it, baby.”
“Well, even if you don’t lose your job, just know that I am absolutely helping with the bills. Hopefully, a second income will help take some of the pressure off of you.”
“Shannon, that’s not—”
“I know, Hud. But your sister was right when she said that you do everything for everyone. Let us do something for you. Let me do something for you.”
“I love you,” I tell her.
She kisses my cheek in return and reaches for her coffee. “I love you too.”
Shannon feeds Serafina her breakfast, but I pay close attention so I can help with that in the mornings she has to be at the office before Serafina wakes up.
Then she gives me a breakdown of Serafina’s routine and she’s off for work.
Serafina and I have an errand of our own to run today, and I’m about to leave the house and head to the sheriff’s station when there’s a knock on my front door.
Which is odd, because my driveway is long, and mostly hidden. It’s pretty obviously not a place someone would turn just because they wondered what was down here.
A quick glance out the window reveals two police cruisers and I sigh.
Even knowing he was going to hit hard and fast, I’m still amazed at all the chaos Gregor has set in motion considering it’s only nine o’clock on a Monday morning.
Just wanting to get this over with, I open the door with Serafina on my hip.
“Officers, what I can I do for you?”
“Are you Hudson James Goddorah?”
“That’s what it says on my license.” This day is doing its best to beat me down, I might as well be a smartass.
The unamused officer rolls his eyes and hands me an envelope. “You’ve been served.”
“Great.”
I shut the door and set Serafina down, but she doesn’t like that so much so I sit and put her in my lap while I tear the envelope open.
$3,500,000.
That’s the amount he’s suing me for. He’s clearly lost his mind. I’m not even worth that much dead. Which I’m assuming he knows and this is just his attempt to rattle my cage at this point.
Putting the letter in the kitchen, I pack Serafina up and head downtown. Officer Stewart is expecting me.
“Hudson, nice to meet you. I’m going to have to start paying Phoenix for referrals if you guys keep delivering criminals to my doorstep. And who’s this cutie?” he asks, wiggling his finger at Serafina. She’s not amused and buries her face in my neck.
“This is actually the daughter of the man I’m trying to have arrested and if he knew she was with me right now, he would no doubt call and report that she’d been kidnapped.
” I switch Serafina to my other arm and scratch my forehead.
“Luckily for me, he doesn’t actually care about her beyond using her as a means to try and control her mother. ”
“Sounds like a real nice guy,” Officer Stewart says.
“Do you remember questioning, and ultimately arresting, Steve Ellington a while back?” I ask.
“Sure do,” he chuckles, “total clusterfuck.”
“Well, the guy I’m going after is his attorney.”
Officer Stewart’s eyes go wide as he drags a hand down his face. “Christ, you’re going after Gregor Hartley?”
I fight the urge to grown. How does everyone know him?
“Yeah,” is all I say.
The officer’s lips tip up in a smile as he gives me an answer I wasn’t expecting. “I’d love to see that guy finally land behind bars.”
“You know him?” I ask.
He shrugs. “As much as I know any of the defense attorneys around here. We run into each other when we’re called as witnesses for cases.
Gregor though? Oof. He’s a slimy bastard if I do say so myself.
Wicked smart, though. How can I help?” he finally asks.
“Your email just said you needed to access a police report and Phoenix just told me you were legit and that I should help you, so here we are.”
“I need to see everything you can show me from a drunk driving accident that happened just over a year ago, but if you could somehow filter out the pictures of the cars’ exteriors and the victims themselves, I’d ap…appreciate it.” I get choked up on the last part of my sentence.
Officer Stewart asks me basic questions like the date, the county where it took place, and the victim’s name. All of which I know by heart.
He pulls it up and I reach in my pocket for the two pieces of paper Shannon and I picked up from Monica yesterday after getting Shannon’s new cell phone.
Unfolding them, I scan the document on the screen until I find what I’m looking for.
“Son of a bitch. There it is,” I breathe.
I point at the photo on the left of the screen and trace my thumb under item six-B from the document in my hand.
“Gregor argued the breathalyzer they used on Jason Reed was faulty. That it was part of a recall for having hypersensitivity issues. But the brand that was listed on the police report is different than the breathalyzer shown in the photos.”
Officer Stewart leans closer to the screen. “They have the same model number and brand name,” he says, looking at me with a puzzled expression.
I flip to the next sheet of paper in my hand and hold it out to him. “Look at the shape and size. The one in this picture is the actual model that’s listed on the police report. This one’s different.”
It’s subtle. But the differences are there. One’s edges are more square to its counterpart’s rounded edge, the display screen is slightly larger on the real one, and the power button on the real one is raised whereas the other is a hollow groove.
Officer Stewart keeps looking down at the paper in his hand and back up at the screen.
“How the fuck did we miss this?” he asks. I don’t offer an answer because the question is rhetorical.
“At the time of the trial, I was so torn up, I couldn’t stand to hear about it. So, I stayed away. Now, I wonder if I’d gone, maybe the asshole who got away with manslaughter would be serving time instead of walking free.”
This gets Officer Stewart’s attention. “Someone you knew in the other car then?”
“Someone I loved very much,” I admit, drawing on the strength I found from hearing Will’s voice at the beach. “Is this enough to launch an investigation into Gregor and his firm?”
“Absolutely. Hell, it’s enough to have the SBI in here to investigate our own office.”
By the time I leave Officer Stewart, I’m feeling lighter despite the multi-million-dollar lawsuit with my name on it and probably having no way of paying an attorney to fight it.
As soon as I get back in my truck and buckle Serafina in her car seat, I pull my phone out and shoot Monica a text. I know Jake’s dad’s trial starts today so she’s in court, but I want her to know the updates.
She calls me back when the court takes a break.
“It’s great news that they’re going to launch an investigation.
It’s about fucking time,” Monica says with heated anger in her voice.
“Look, he works fast and I know he’s already trying to have me kicked off this case.
Plus, I want insurance in case he somehow manipulates the SBI’s investigation.
Can you meet me at the courthouse tomorrow at noon?
The longer we wait, the more time Gregor has to prepare. ”
“I’ll be there,” I tell my sister.
“It’s time to get blood under my nails.”
I shake my head.
At least it won’t be Shannon’s.