28. Chapter 28
Chapter 28
Nova
I couldn't stop smiling.
Anson and I weren't exactly back together, but I was so relieved that at least the hostility between us was gone.
I'd taken the day off, but I was checking my email all the same when my phone rang. It was the doorman, and he told me that there was a Detective Birchmore and a Detective Camp from Savannah PD for me. Confused, I told him to send them up. But something didn't feel right. I texted Trevor and told him that two of Savannah PD's finest were coming up to talk to me, and if he didn't hear from me, he needed to investigate.
Was I paranoid? A day after Pete arrested me again? Yeah. Yeah, I was.
I opened the door and saw a man in his late forties who looked like ex-military standing next to a petite black woman.
"Miss Nova King?" the woman asked after she introduced herself as Detective Camp.
"We need to talk to you about some financial discrepancies at Larue Homes," Detective Camp said, her voice firm but professional.
My heart sank. "I don't understand," I replied, trying to keep my voice steady.
"We'd like you to come to the station so we can—"
"Am I under arrest?" I asked, holding my ground.
"No, but you can be if that's what it takes to get you into the station house for a conversation," Detective Birchmore growled.
He was the bad cop.
"Fine, then arrest me." I sounded cocky, I knew that, but I wasn't. I was scared shitless.
Detective Camp sighed. "Miss King, we just need to talk."
They couldn't just arrest me. I knew that now, as I'd learned after what happened with Pete. At least this was Savannah PD, which meant they had to follow regulations, unlike the Sentinel sheriff.
"I'll be out with you in fifteen minutes," I told her. I wasn't going to let them into my apartment.
"We'd feel better if we wait inside for you," Detective Birchmore said.
"I'm sure you would, but it wouldn't make me feel better," I threw back at him.
"Don't try to run because—"
"And give you a reason to arrest me? I don't think so, Detective Birchmore." Fear was slowly being replaced by anger. Fucking Anson Larue. What was last night? A way to soften me up? Complete his revenge? Asshole . "Ah, which station house will we be going to?"
"Savannah-Chatham Metropolitan," Detective Camp answered.
I closed the door behind me, and quickly changed into a pair of slacks and a shell blouse. I put on a jacket because I wasn't sure how cold it would be in the station house. Dread settled deeper into me.
My phone beeped.
Trevor: All okay?
Me: No. Going to the station with detectives. I need a lawyer.
Trevor: On it. Don't talk. Don't show emotion. Just sit still. Someone will be with you shortly.
Me: Thanks. I'll be at the Chatham-Met station.
Trevor: Hang in there. We got this.
I wanted to insist on driving my car, but I didn't want to take that fight. Damn it, the second day in a row I'd be getting into a fucking police vehicle. Working with Anson had brought this upon me. My life had been simple, good, and he fucked it up. That's who he was.
The ride to the station was a blur. When we arrived, I was led to an interrogation room, stark and cold, with a single table and a few chairs.
"Please take a seat, Miss King," Detective Camp instructed.
I sat, trying to steady my breathing. The room felt suffocating, the weight of the situation pressing down on me. I could hear the murmur of voices outside the door and the occasional ring of a phone, but inside, it was eerily quiet.
The two detectives both sat across from me.
"My lawyer will be here shortly. I'm not saying a word until—"
As if on cue there was a knock on the door. A uniformed policeman nodded to let the detectives know to come outside. The detectives left me alone, and I took the opportunity to gather my thoughts.
They left me there for over an hour. Finally, the door opened, and a sharp-looking blonde woman in her early thirties walked in, exuding confidence.
"Nova, I'm Lemon Goodwin," she said, extending her hand. "I'm your attorney."
I shook her hand, relief washing over me. "Thank you for coming, Miss Goodwin."
She sat next to me, her expression serious but reassuring. "Let's get through this. Tell me everything you know, and we'll figure out a way to clear your name."
"I don't know anything. They mentioned something about discrepancies with Larue Homes' financials."
"Do you have access to Larue Homes's financials?" she asked.
I shook my head. "They gave me access, but I handed it over to my finance department. Wanda Bethel's been managing the budget part of the project."
"Is that normal?"
I shook my head. "I…I have a history with Anson Larue. Seven years ago, he accused me of stealin' from him, and I worried that…well, I worried that I'd be accused again, so I talked to legal and finance, and they set it up this way. I have no access to anything."
She nodded, and then started to type into her phone. I didn't ask what she was doing. After ten minutes, she set her phone on the table, face down.
"Well, isn't this goin' to be fun," Lemon smirked. She went to the door and opened it. "Detectives? Let's get this done. I have theater tickets for eight thirty."
We were done way before opening bell at the theater.
Lemon Goodwin was a force to be reckoned with. She ripped the detectives new assholes and did it with a smile and a flutter of her eyelashes.
I liked Lemon. She reminded me of Luna but with a Mae West inflection.
"She has access to nothing ," Lemon told the detectives. "You can confirm this with Nina Davenport, who is waiting outside."
I stared at Lemon. Nina was here? She ignored me.
"As is Wanda Bethel, who will confirm that Miss King here did not have access to Larue Homes financials."
"Is that normal?" Detective Camp asked.
"How does that matter?" Lemon snapped. "Now, unless you're goin' to arrest my client, we're gonna go."
"Wait, a minute. Miss King has a history of stealin'." Detective Birchmore slammed his hand on the desk. Both Detective Camp and Lemon rolled their eyes.
The detective's tough guy act was getting old, real fast. He knew that there was no evidence against me, but he wanted to be a hard ass because that's how he got his jollies.
"You got some evidence about this history, Detective?" Lemon asked in a sing-song voice.
He looked at his partner, who shook her head. "Thanks for coming in, Miss King. We apologize for the inconvenience."
"Thank you, Detective Camp," Lemon spoke.
I was surprised to see Stella, Luna, Aurora, Gabe, Noah, Nina, Wanda, and Beau waiting out in the bullpen. Nina came to me and hugged me tight.
"You okay?"
I nodded, shocked. What was everyone doing here?
Everyone hugged me, ignoring the fact that we were in a police station, and that we were making a ruckus.
"Trevor sent me," Beau told me, his lips pursed. Shit! He knew. I could see it on his face. He was angry as hell. "He's out of town for that teacher's thing in Atlanta, so—"
"Oh my God." I slapped a hand against my mouth. "I completely forgot that he and Katya were in Atlanta this week."
"You're excused," Beau clipped, "since you were bein' arrested for no fuckin' reason."
A large man in a suit came up to us then. He looked at everyone who surrounded me.
"Chief," Beau ground out.
The Savannah Police Chief looked chagrined.
"Beau." He nodded to everyone. "Miss King, how are you doin'?"
"Not good, Chief," Lemon spoke for me. "Not good at all. It's obvious that Larue Homes has some vendetta against Miss King, and I hope you'll make sure they know not to accuse Miss King or Savannah Lace as they just did."
Chief nodded. "I hear you, Miss Goodwin, and I assure you we will deal with this. Miss King, please accept our apologies."
"Thank you." Lemon put an arm around me to stop me from even saying thank you.
The Chief smiled tightly.
I guessed when Lemon Goodwin said I should say not one word in front of anyone from law enforcement, she meant it. I was fine with that. I didn't have anything to say. I just wanted to go home and lick my wounds.
As we filed into the parking lot, I was inundated with offers to be driven home.
"I'm takin' her," Beau thundered. Everyone backed off. Beauregard Bodine was one of the most laid-back people, so the fact he was off-kilter was not lost on anyone.
"Beau?" Gabe put a hand on his shoulder.
"Nova and I need to talk. Don't we, Nova?" He looked at me pointedly.
I nodded. "Yes."
No one probed, but I knew the women would want all the details, soon .
"Take the rest of the week off," Nina said. "We'll be canceling the contract with Larue Homes. This was a breach of…you know what, I don't give a fuck what it this is legally. They can go fuck themselves."
I didn't have the energy to protest, and I wasn't sure if I wanted to. I'd known when Anson insisted I have access to the project funds that he was up to something. And he was. I was disappointed more with myself than Anson. He did what he had to, and I was the fool who believed him, who fell for his lies again . He was just using me for revenge because he sincerely believed that I'd done him wrong.
Beau was quiet as his driver drove us to my place.
"You want something to drink?" I asked once we were inside my apartment.
He shook his head. "Let's sit." He took my hand and sat me down on my couch, and then slid next to me, facing me. "I'm fuckin' furious with you and Trev. How dare you not tell me that you're my sister?"
Tears popped into my eyes.
"Ah, Nova, no cryin'. No fuckin' way. I get to be angry about this, alright? I could've had a sister for the past five years, but you both took that away from me. And I'm fuckin'… so fuckin' angry."
Tears started to roll down my face. He wasn't angry with me. He was accepting me as his sister, just as Trev had. This was on me.
"I was afraid you'd reject me," I sobbed.
"Fuck." Beau pulled me into his arms and kissed my hair.
"We didn't want to hurt Donna, and—"
"Mama is a grown-up, and she'll deal. Trust me, she's gonna be happy to have a daughter." Beau set me away.
I was her husband's illegitimate child, I doubted she'd think of me as a daughter. But before I could say something, his eyes went bright with glee. "You know what this means?"
I shook my head.
"You're family, Nova. Don't get me wrong, I'd be there for you because you're Trev's friend, but you're my sister. Damn it, Nova. How could you not tell me? I deserved to know."
"I'm sorry," I sniffled. "It's been a real shitty couple of days. Can you not yell at me?"
He sighed. "I'm going to tell Mama…so fair warnin', she's gonna be up your ass about everythin'. And the family lawyer will be in touch. One of Lemon's colleagues who does estate law."
I raised both my eyebrows. "Why?"
"'Cause according to Daddy's will, he split his inheritance amongst his children. And you're one of them.
I moved away from Beau. "I don't want your money.
He chuckled. "Yeah, Trev told me that, but tough titties, Nova. The money is fuckin' yours."
"But—"
"And it ain't my money, it's our money. It's not a lot. A few million."
My eyes went saucer wide. " Million ?"
"Three or four, I think. Trev has a trust fund set up, so that's separate. You don't have that…but you know, if you want more we can—"
"Are you nuts?" I blurted out. "How rich are you that you think three or four million dollars is not a lot…it's dollars, right?"
Beau grinned. "Yeah, Sis."
I liked it that he called me Sis. I liked it a lot, way too much.
"I don't want—"
"Don't care. Got to follow the law."
"But you have no proof that I'm your sister." Trev had refused a DNA test; he said he didn't need it.
"Daddy helped you, that's all the proof we need. He was a good father and a half-decent husband, even if he was having extracurricular relations—but he was a selfish sumbitch, and he'd only extend himself for blood," Beau explained.
"He didn't want me to reach out to him ever again."
"That's ‘cause he was a selfish sumbitch. He was probably afraid Mama would find out and rip him a new one, which she would—but his mistakes are not on you, darlin'."
I took a deep breath. "This is all very confusing."
"I know." He smiled at me. "Now, tell me about Anson Larue and why he has such a hard-on for you."
I gaped at him.
"Oh, it's like that," Beau smirked. "He has an actual hard-on for you?"
After the God-awful days I'd been through, I didn't think I'd ever get to this point, so it was pure relief when I finally burst out laughing.