Chapter 35
Chapter Thirty-Five
Luca
Before Ariana finished her dinner, she got up from the table and returned to the whiteboard.
“Gina was definitely in on something with someone, and I’m guessing that someone was Sam Butler,” she spoke. “When the two of you were in the room, someone else was either in there or came in when you were passed out.”
“Do you think it was Sam?” I asked.
“He never left the party. He only went to the lobby when he made a phone call at ten o’clock.”
“There are stairs, you know,” I spoke.
“But the stairs only lead to the twelfth floor. Any floor above that is elevator access only, and her suite was on the twentieth floor. Someone entered the lobby and went up to her room.”
“And how the hell are we going to find out who?” I asked.
“I don’t know.” She sighed as she sat back down in her chair. “Someone wanted her dead and wanted you to take the fall for it. It has to be someone who knows you.”
“Maybe Sam wanted her dead because it was his baby she was carrying,” Sheila spoke.
“I thought of that. But if she was with Sam that day and they had sex, he used a condom. If he knew she was pregnant, why would he use a condom?”
“I don’t know. It doesn’t make sense.” Shelia shook her head.
I got up from my chair and took my plate to the sink.
“Maybe she didn’t tell him she was pregnant yet, but he found out,” I spoke. “Could you imagine what that would do to his family and reputation?”
“I’m heading back to the firm,” Sheila spoke as she grabbed her purse. “I just want you to know, Luca, that I’m searching Sam’s office.”
“Good idea. Let us know if you find something.”
“I will.” She smiled. “Thanks for dinner. It was amazing.”
“You’re welcome.”
As soon as Sheila left, I glanced over at Ariana, who rested her head on the table. She needed to relax and unwind. The stress of this case was getting to her, and I didn’t like seeing her that way. I went into the bathroom and started the water for a bubble bath.
“What are you doing?” she asked as she stood in the doorway.
“Drawing you a bubble bath. You need to relax, Ariana. You’re exhausted,” I spoke as I dried my hands on the towel.
“A bubble bath does sound good right now.”
Walking over to her, I kissed her tender lips.
“Climb in, and I’ll bring you a glass of wine.” I smiled.
I went into the kitchen and poured some wine into the glass she had with dinner. By the time I returned to the bathroom, she was already in the tub with the bubbles up to her neck. I wanted desperately to climb in with her, but this was her time, and she needed to relax without any distractions from me.
As I cleaned up from dinner, I thought about how, in two days, it was her birthday. She hadn’t mentioned anything, and I wanted to do something special for her. She deserved it, especially after everything she’d done to prove my innocence. It sucked that it was the day before the trial started. I knew she needed to write her opening statement, which would take up a lot of her time. I’d have to get her to start writing it now because when her birthday came, she was going to enjoy it and not worry about anything else.
After leaving the office, I stopped at the jewelry store and bought her a beautiful silver necklace with a pendant. The front side was an etching of fleur de lis, and on the back side was an etching of the North Star with a quote that was written in Latin. I was sure she didn’t know Latin, so I wasn’t worried that she would know what it said. If she asked, I’d tell her it said something else. The quote was true for me in every form. I just wasn’t sure how she’d feel about it.
I returned to the bathroom, and she finished her wine.
“Would you like another glass?” I asked.
“No. I’m good.” She smiled.
“Do you think maybe you should start working on your opening statement?”
“I’m good.” She closed her eyes.
“What do you mean you’re good? The trial starts in three days.”
“I have it all up here.” She pointed to her head.
I stood there in confusion.
“So, you’re not writing anything down on paper?”
“Nope,” she spoke with her eyes still closed.
Now she had me worried. Even the best lawyers in the world wrote down their opening statements.
“Ariana, this is your first major trial. I think you should write it down,” I spoke with concern.
“Do you not trust me?” She opened one eye and looked at me.
“I do trust you, but?—”
“Then, if you trust me, don’t worry about my opening statement.”
I sighed as I put my hands in my pockets and leaned against the bathroom counter. Every day I learned something new about her, and the things I learned surprised me. That was what I loved about her. She was exciting and kept me on my toes. I had this fantasy about going up against her in court. The two of us objecting to each other’s questions, battling it out together in defense of our clients. It turned me on just thinking about it, an urge so strong that my cock started rising.
“I think you need to get out of the tub now,” I spoke.
“Why?”
I looked down at the bulge that was in my pants and then at her. A smile crossed her face as she bit down on her bottom lip.
“I thought you wanted me to relax?”
“Trust me, sweetheart, I’ll make sure you do nothing but relax.”
She held out her hand as I grabbed a towel, helped her from the tub, and wrapped it securely around her. Picking her up, I carried her to the bedroom, dried her off, and then asked her to lie on her stomach while I massaged every part of her soft bare skin.
I rolled over, and my arm, which was supposed to be wrapped tightly around her body, fell onto the crumpled sheet where she lay. Opening my eyes, I glanced at the clock and saw it was one thirty a.m. Climbing out of bed, I went into the living room, where I saw her sitting on the couch, hunched over the coffee table, and looking over Sam’s phone records.
“What are you doing? You’re supposed to be sleeping,” I spoke.
“I couldn’t sleep. I have to look over these phone records.”
“Ariana, that can wait until morning.” I lightly touched her arm.
She pulled away, and with an authoritative tone, she spoke, “No, it can’t.”
“Sweetheart, yes, it can. Now come back to bed.”
“NO!” she shouted as she got up from the couch and headed into the kitchen.
“What the hell is the matter with you? I said come back to bed. You’re exhausted, and you need your rest.”
Suddenly, she slammed the glass she was holding down on the counter, and it broke into several pieces.
“Don’t you tell me what to do!” she shouted as she started to cry.
I stood there in shock, wondering what had happened between the time we said goodnight and now. I walked over to where she was standing and noticed she was bleeding.
“Ariana, you’re bleeding.”
I quickly grabbed a towel and wrapped it around the palm of her hand.
“What is the matter with you?” I asked as I led her to the bathroom.
“You don’t get it, Luca. I have to find out who did this.”
She placed her hands firmly on my chest and stared at me with despair in her eyes. Not only despair but also fear.
“You could go to jail for life, and it would be all my fault. Don’t you understand that? Aren’t you even worried?” she frantically spoke.
I’d never seen her like this before. It was almost as if she was having a breakdown. And if she was, I needed to stop it. I grabbed hold of her arms to try and calm her down.
“I am worried, and I do understand. You’re working too hard on this, baby, and you need to slow down.”
“I can’t.” She shook. “If you go to prison, I don’t know what I’ll do. I need to do this. You aren’t in control anymore, Luca. You just aren’t.” Her head fell onto my chest as she sobbed.
I wrapped my arms around her and held her tight. I didn’t know what to say. I didn’t want to lie to her and tell her that everything would be okay because the truth was, it might not be.
“I’m sorry, Ariana. I’m sorry for trying to stop you from doing your job. I had no right. It’s just that I’m worried about you.”
“And I’m worried about you. That is why I can’t stop until I find some proof that someone else was responsible for her death.”
I closed my eyes, brought my hand up to the back of her head, and held her against my chest.
“Do what you have to do, sweetheart. I won’t try to stop you anymore. Okay?” I broke our embrace and stared into her teary eyes.
She lightly nodded her head.
“I’ll come back to bed now,” she softly spoke.
With my arm wrapped around her, I led her to the bedroom, and we climbed under the sheets where I held her the rest of the night, too afraid to let her go.