Chapter 10 Monroe
MONROE
I sat on the balcony of my apartment, overlooking the town of Redding.
The sun was beginning to set and I’d long forgotten about the pictures in my lap.
I tilted my glass of wine to my lips as the sun drenched my skin in a hot, dry heat I’d come to love.
My mind kept running through the meeting with Knox.
I knew he was withholding information, but I didn’t know what about.
I didn’t like the fact that he was hiding from me.
I didn't like the fact that he was treating me as if I was some kind of common criminal. I was there to help him, and he didn’t give a damn that I was.
All he cared about was some idiotic reputation.
I closed my eyes and swallowed my wine as my mind drifted back to him.
I could see his ocean blue eyes staring at me with that cheeky little grin on his cheeks.
His brown hair was slicked back, but loose.
Falling into his face and lending a boyish charm to his rugged features.
The hair on his face had grown out, showcasing a stubble that made me smile.
I chastised myself for smiling as I opened my eyes.
In any other world-- and with any other man-- his confidence would’ve been alluring.
I was a strong woman with very loud opinions, and most men couldn’t handle that.
They either found me intimidating or too boisterous, which meant only a louder and more confident man could handle what I had to offer.
I’d dated once during college. A man most people hated.
He was cocky and arrogant and would always pick a fight simply to showcase how smart he was.
But I loved it.
I loved him, even though I knew he was going to break my heart.
He was a playboy, and I got that. I knew his reputation for turning over women.
It seemed he had a new girl every semester, but when he chose me I couldn’t say ‘yes’ fast enough.
He walked with his head held high and he always knew what he wanted.
He was never afraid to take it and I was never afraid to give it to him.
He showed me that being a powerhouse woman didn’t mean I had to sacrifice what I wanted in bed.
Just because I was dominant in the courtroom didn’t mean I also had to dominate in my romantic life.
He made the decisions on where we ate and when, and I loved it. He would surprise me with gifts and whisk me away on weekend retreats. The spontaneity he brought to my life made my law degree easier to obtain. That semester was the only semester I could remember not struggling in my classes.
But just like every other girl, a new semester turned over and I was tossed to the side. My heart was broken and I was stuck picking up the pieces to try and glue it back together.
Then I tried filling the rest of the gaping holes with as many classes as I could take.
That man taught me a lot. Despite how badly I had been hurt by our breakup, he showed me I could have the best of both worlds.
I could be a powerful woman and still be treated the way I wanted to be.
He showed me that it wasn’t a disgrace to my feminist attitudes to want to be treated by a man if that was the choice I made for my life.
My femininity was all I wanted it to be.
That was the point. I could be loud and outspoken in my career and still come home and enjoy the dozen roses a man picked out for me before he pinned me against a wall and made me moan his name.
I could have both of those worlds if I chose them for myself.
I bet Knox could pin my entire body to a wall.
I shook the thought from my head as I threw back the rest of my wine.
The last thing I needed was to harbor feelings for some man in a jumpsuit.
It didn’t matter that he had confidence and it didn’t matter that he was stubborn in all the ways I enjoyed.
It didn’t matter that I enjoyed how loyal he was to his friends or how hellbent he was on protecting his family.
He was my client and I was his lawyer, and that was the extent of our relationship.
Though I got the feeling he wasn’t going to accept that.
I couldn’t get the deal he had made with me out of my mind.
What kind of client made a deal to get to know their lawyer better?
Most clients I’d come into contact with during my education were only worried about saving their own ass or cutting deals for less jail time.
None of them had ever been concerned with getting to know their lawyer.
But Knox had been.
And I liked that.
The sunset over the horizon was beautiful.
The cool night time air was descending onto Redding as I gathered up the pictures off my lap.
Every time I turned around, Rose was sending me more information on this case.
And the more I looked at it, the more I knew we’d be able to prove Knox’s innocence.
I could see why it was taking the prosecution so long to turn over the evidence, though.
They were probably seeing the pattern we were.
With each piece of evidence they studied and claimed for themselves, it was another piece they would have to hand over.
And if they were keeping track of patterns, they knew how bad this looked for them.
They knew they were handing over Knox’s innocence to us.
I was supposed to take the weekend off to clear my head about this case, but all I could think about was Knox.
Every time I had a silent moment, he would pop into my head.
Sometimes I would wonder how he was doing and sometimes I would simply see his eyes.
Other times I could draw the details of his lips in my mind’s eyes, and other times I was envisioning what he might look like beneath his orange jumpsuit.
But every time it happened, I beat myself up for it.
I couldn’t think like this about my client, and yet…
I couldn't stop it. What did that mean? Did that mean I had feelings for him? I couldn't have feelings for a man like Knox. He was a criminal who ran with a notorious biker gang. What the hell kind of woman did that make me? And it wasn’t like he was out of jail yet. It wasn’t like he was roaming the streets with his bike between his legs and a jacket thrown along his shoulders.
He was still in jail, for fuck’s sake.
I was harboring feelings for a man in fucking jail.
“Shit,” I said as I went back inside. “This can’t be happening.”
I tried to think of something else. Anything else.
Lying. I had to think about the fact that Knox was lying to me.
Or at least withholding information. That would make me not like him.
That would put us back on neutral footing.
I couldn’t have feelings for someone who withheld information from me.
I couldn’t build a relationship with someone like that.
If you can’t trust him now, you’ll never trust him as your boyfriend, Monroe.
Boyfriend? Now my mind thought he was my boyfriend?
I groaned as I tossed my wine glass into the sink.
Was it possible for me to have feelings like this for someone like him?
I was more confused than I’d ever felt in my entire life.
I had to do something to get him out of my mind.
Maybe a night out in Redding to explore would do me some good.
Yes. A night out. That was what I needed.
I slipped into my room and changed into a decent outfit.
A pair of light wash jeans to accent the swell of my hips and a tight shirt to tuck into my pants.
I picked out a crimson belt to match the crimson tank top I had on, then I grabbed a brown jacket and threw it over my shoulders.
I slipped my feet into my casual brown flats and stuck some sparkling earrings in my ears, surveying myself in the mirror.
I removed the clip from my hair and allowed it to tumble down my back before putting it into a half ponytail.
My strawberry blonde hair framed my face and fell between my shoulder blades, sliding against the brown jacket I had covering my shoulders.
A splash of makeup to draw out my emerald eyes was all I would need before I was ready to go.
I grabbed my purse and stuck my phone in my back pocket. I had no idea if Redding even had a nightlife, but if all else failed I could get some food somewhere. I turned off all the lights in my apartment and locked the door behind me, then I strode to my car.
I didn’t even get in it before my cell phone vibrated against my body.
“This is Monroe Williams.”
“This Knox’s lawyer?”
“Yes this is. With whom am I speaking?” I asked.
“This is Officer Morris. I’m calling on behalf of Knox.”
“What’s happened? Is my client okay?” I asked.
“I’m afraid not,” the officer said.
“Is that all you're going to tell me, or do I have to subpoena it out of you?”
I slid into my car and cranked it up before I skidded out of my parking space.
“Knox has been beaten pretty badly. He’s in the infirmary now, but he’s unconscious.”
“I want all of the footage from the cameras today to be sent to Rose Lowen of Lowen & Scott,” I said as I pulled out onto the road.
“Ma’am, we can’t-”
“If you make me get a subpoena, so help me God I will bring up charges on you for obstruction of justice. One of your inmates has been beaten so badly he’s out in your infirmary. Send my firm what we need or I’ll have you arrested,” I said.
“I’ll move it up the chain of command.”
“If it takes more than two hours to get that footage, I’ll be rolling Mrs. Lowen out of her bed tonight. We’ll see how far she gets with you,” I said.
Then I hung up the call, tossed the phone into the passenger’s seat, and sped all the way to the jail.