31. Laura
laura
. . .
Y ou’re fired? You’re fired?
I’m offended. No, way more than fucking offended. Pissed off. Enraged.
I found my control slipping. The urge to destroy my office was insane. The only thing that promised any type of relief was the thought of throwing my computer through the window and shattering the glass. It took everything I had not to.
She fired me.
Not only did she fire me, she had me do all the work on her behalf only to hand it all off to her agency’s lawyers.
They too were fucking annoying, by the way. They were pissed at me, obviously blaming me for their client being in the situation. And they were like rabid dogs looking to take a bite out of Lenard—which wasn’t the worst thing, to be honest. That meant they were motivated.
The worst thing was sitting on my ass and doing nothing.
I knew deep down that Harley wasn’t pushing me away because she thought me incompetent or that I wasn’t able to do it.
I knew why she was doing it. And it made me even angrier.
She was pushing me away to save me. After years of building up her mask and hiding behind it, she was deciding to throw it all away. Just like that.
The same person who once thought it would be better for us to go down together was now giving herself up. For me. She was trying to save me.
No one had ever done that. And I knew I didn’t need it. I could save myself—and her—just fine. But she was still doing it. Giving me up in the process if things went downhill.
It’s not my fault. At least that’s what I tried to tell myself. But the guilt was eating away at me.
It’s Lenard’s fault. That fucking bastard.
I looked over the third email I was about to send her agency. It was the last of the files they would need if this turned into a criminal trial. After this, she would be essentially out of my hair.
And that’s when it all hit me.
Memories of her in my bed. Of the way she watched me when we were together. How she looked out for me. The feeling of wholeness whenever she was near. Safety. All of it rushed through me.
Love?
If I were sane, I would have just sent it. I would have been glad to hand her off. This would be the easiest way to cut ties. Every dirty lawyer’s dream. And Harley had been so willing to take the fall.
Fuck this.
I slammed my computer closed and stood.
With steady hands and a renewed fire in me, I put my hair up in my high ponytail, tightening it so hard it caused my head to ache.
I’m taking matters into my own hands.
“You even got a nice fancy room,” I said as I shut the door behind me. I made quick work of drawing the curtains .
Lenard was sitting up in his hospital bed, a cup of Jell-O in his hands. He looked far too healthy to have been stabbed as deeply as he said he’d been. Amping up the drama to his advantage for sure.
He gave me a shit-eating grin.
“Come to beg for your little girlfriend’s li?—”
“Wow, it’s really been a long time if you’ve forgotten I don’t beg,” I said, giving him a sickly-sweet smile. “Least of all, you. No, I’m here to get even.”
He rolled his eyes.
“Oh, don’t try to act all tough. Like you’re going to get revenge for her— hey, what the fuck ?”
He was so cocky and relaxed that he hadn’t noticed me sneaking forward. Nor did he have a chance to fight me off once I slipped a cuff on his left hand and cuffed him to the hospital bed.
The next time he opened his mouth, I stuffed a cloth in it. It wasn’t easy to tie it around his face, but I got it done.
The sound of the door opening had my head snapping back to it. My hackles immediately lowered when I saw a familiar face peek through.
“Finally,” I huffed as Lenard bucked against me.
Avery Maddox. Someone I’d only heard about in the news and read about in the files Ana prepared for me. She had been personally recommended by Sloan. Normally, I would have done more research, added a few backup plans and a fail-safe, but desperate times called for desperate measures.
“Sorry, I had a prior engagement,” she said, giving me a devilish smile.
It was like we were old friends just catching up at another friend’s bedside—if said friend was still desperately trying to scream over the gag in his mouth.
Until she grabbed the pillow behind him and turned him over, slamming his face onto the mattress.
Hard. “Jeez, shut the fuck up, will you?”
When I told Sloan I needed someone quickly who could really fuck someone up , I didn’t think she would send her , but I was not complaining. Especially when her strength seemed to double mine.
“Okay, so, listen closely, Lenard,” I cooed and pulled apart the back of his hospital gown. “You’re going to pull the charges. You’re going to go to the police, tell them what an asshole you’ve been, and make this all go away. Understand?”
The muffled sounds coming from his mouth sounded a lot like “fuck you.” That was fine too. I wasn’t expecting him to agree all at once.
But he would.
Especially since I wasn’t afraid of getting my hands dirty. Literally .
The wounds were covered by gauze, but dark red blood could still be seen seeping through the white fabric. I pushed my hand into it, and he let out a groan.
“You will,” I told him. “Otherwise, not only will I rip the stitches and leave you bleeding while we watch, but I will also have CNN publish all the cases where you’ve tampered with evidence.”
He let out another curse.
“Oh wait, witness coaching as well,” I added and placed my other hand on his back, ready to pull apart the wound.
“Might as well add in witness intimidation. Some bribery. Don’t try to get around it.
You think after all these years I haven’t been collecting evidence just in case you tried to pull some shit like this?
And you thought you could marry me? You clearly don’t know me at all. ”
Avery let out a laugh.
“You’re kinda crazy,” she said. “I like you. No wonder Sloan bent over backwards to try to get me to be here for you.”
“There’s nothing kinda about it.”
I gave her a half-hearted smile, and when Lenard didn’t say anything, I started to pull.