Chapter Twenty-two
“Are you saying Gloria Leland was involved in framing your brother?” Brooke was a little lost in the story the others were weaving together, partly because she hadn’t been part of their shorthand from the beginning and partly because she was distracted by the very recent memory of Reggie’s hands exploring every inch of her body. She glanced at Reggie who was sitting girlfriend close on the extra-long couch in Lennox’s and Wren’s apartment, and got a sexy, knowing smile flashed her way.
“That’s exactly what I’m saying,” Lennox said, pointing one finger at her and another at her own nose. “I keep forgetting you don’t have all of the backstory.” She shifted her focus to Reggie. “Fill your girl in, why don’t you?”
Your girl. She could tell by the brightening of Reggie’s eyes she liked the term and Brooke surprised herself by loving it, embracing it, whispering it to herself with the low breath of excitement.
“Don’t mind Lennox,” Reggie whispered against her ear. “She gets excited talking about crime.”
“Seems to be a lot of that going around. The excitement part, anyway.” Brooke whispered back. “And I kind of like being called your girl.”
“Oh yeah?” Reggie grinned. “Well, I’m yours too, you know.”
“You know, this being someone’s girl definitely has some bonuses.”
“Hey, lovebirds!”
They both looked up to see Lennox pointing again. Brooke turned to Reggie. “Is she always this bossy?”
“This is mild,” Reggie answered. “Right, Wren?”
Wren laughed. “Hundred percent. It’s one of the things I love most about her. That and the way she’s going deep crimson at me being all mushy in front of people.”
Lennox’s blush deepened and the rest of the crowd laughed. Brooke couldn’t remember ever feeling so comfortable in a big crowd of people she hardly knew, but Reggie’s friends were so at ease with each other it was hard to keep up her guard. Never had she felt more at home, and the realization prompted her to join in the conversation full force. “Okay, Lennox, when you’re done pretending to be embarrassed, please finish filling in the pieces, ’cause this girl needs some closure.” She punctuated the declaration by squeezing Reggie’s hand to let her know the closure didn’t apply to her.
Lennox shot a knowing glance at them and then started in. “It started about four years ago when my brother was charged with murder in Fort Worth. Gloria Leland, Shirley Mitchell’s attorney, represented him on that case and talked him into taking a plea despite the fact he didn’t remember anything about what happened. He’s currently serving a twenty-year sentence.”
Franco, Judge Nina Aguilar’s girlfriend, chimed in. “It turns out that Lennox’s brother, Daniel, was framed. The murder, probably committed by one of Harry Benton’s lackeys, was part of a scheme to have a section of the city condemned and later sold to Benton Enterprises. Benton hired Gloria Leland to form a fake nonprofit to petition the city to condemn the land, and then to keep the truth from coming out at trial, he bribed Gloria to represent Daniel and talk him into taking a plea. Daniel’s lack of memory about what happened, likely because he’d been drugged, meant he didn’t feel like he had a choice between taking twenty with a chance of release at ten or risking life in prison with a jury.”
Brooke nodded, but her mind was spinning with the onslaught of information. Having narrowly escaped the long reach of Harry Benton only the day before, she had a taste of what it felt like to feel completely out of control. “Is he okay?” She looked at Lennox, “Can you get him out of prison now?”
Lennox nodded. “Thanks to Wren and Franco, Daniel has a hearing set next week for a bond pending appeal. They’ll be presenting evidence to the trial judge to show the plea was coerced, and you’ll never believe who one of the star witnesses will be.”
Could it be Mark? Brooke shook her head. That guy was a psychopath, the perfect tool for someone as evil as Harry Benton seemed to be. No way would he testify against him. “Tell me?”
“Shirley Mitchell,” Lennox announced. “Sarah and the US Attorney’s office finally helped her see the light. It didn’t hurt that she was appalled to hear that Benton had threatened Ben. That combined with the fact Benton had gotten close to threatening her own kids made her finally come around. And once she started talking, she spilled everything she knew which means we have solid leads to prove Benton hired the guy who shot up Nina’s courtroom to cover up the fact he had his own daughter murdered.”
Brooke gasped at the revelation. “His own daughter?” If Benton would have his own daughter killed, he would stop at nothing.
“It’s a fact,” Franco said. “He’s big on arranging things to make sure his business thrives no matter who gets in the way. When we called him on it, a few months ago, he showed up at Nina’s house and threatened her to try to keep her quiet.”
“True,” Nina said, placing a hand on Franco’s arm. “If you hadn’t shown up, I’m certain either Harry or I would be dead.”
“I’m glad I got there in time,” Franco said. “But in a throwdown between you and Harry Benton, my money would be on you.” She turned to Brooke. “Don’t worry about Ben. The feds are watching Benton’s every move and he’ll be arrested soon.”
Brooke nodded, but she couldn’t manage to come up with words to express how much she appreciated everyone in this room and the lengths they’d gone to to keep her and Ben safe. Sure, they’d all had their own motivations for taking Benton down, but they’d banded together as a group to come to her aid, and the woman beside her was the reason why. She leaned over to Reggie while everyone else in the room started chiming in about what they thought and hoped would happen to Benton. “Promise me you’ll fill in the gaps later when we’re alone.”
Reggie grinned. “Not what I had planned for our alone time, but maybe we can take a break in between…”
She slid her hand down Brooke’s thigh and Brooke could feel the heat of her own blush. “Maybe. Or maybe we can just continue where we left off last night and worry about real life when we must. Come next week, I’ll have to get back to work and school and I assume you’ll be studying for your exam and figuring out the logistics of starting your own detective agency.”
“Actually, Skye made me an offer and I’m considering taking it. I’d start by doing some skip tracing and light stuff while I study, and once I pass the exam, start working on her backlog of cases. What do you think?”
Brooke stared into Reggie’s eyes, so full of excitement, and she was happy for her, though a little jealous that she didn’t have her own next steps lined up. “Sounds like you have it all figured out.”
Reggie grasped her hand and held tight. “I’m asking because I want you involved in the choices I make. I’m in this for the long haul, for you and Ben, and if we’re going to be together, whatever I choose to do next will affect the three of us.”
Brooke felt the tears form at the edge of her eyes just as Reggie reached out to touch them.
“Did I say something wrong?” Reggie asked.
She shook her head. “Not one thing. Everything about you, about us, feels so right. It’s just hard to believe it’s true.”
Reggie’s smile was big and broad, and she looked as confident as she had that first day they’d met at the courthouse. When she spoke, her voice was sure and steady and she was no longer whispering as if she wanted everyone in the room to hear. “I love you, Brooke Dawson. That’s the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, and you better believe it.”
After a declaration like that, how could she not? She glanced around for a moment, noticing the conversation in the rest of the room had trailed off. She could tell everyone was anxiously awaiting her response, but no one more so than the gorgeous, brave, loving woman seated next to her who gave her the confidence to speak her own truth. She took a deep breath knowing exactly what she wanted to say and not caring if everyone heard her say it.
“I love you too, Reggie Knoll. Beyond all doubt. You take that job with Skye and we’ll figure out my next step together. I can’t wait to have a wonderful life with you.”
THE END