Chapter 29
Chris
I’m fucking agitated.
And that’s putting it mildly.
I stare out the window, down at the city. People and cars go about their days as if they don’t have the weight of the world on their shoulders. Hoping alcohol can clear me of my unsettled state, I take a sip of bourbon.
The fact that Tony broke in and offered me something that I want more than anything in the world rattled me more than I want to admit.
It isn’t the morality of the offer. I’ve done some things in my career that have bordered on illegal. Hell, I’m involved in a somewhat illegal poker game with a bunch of lawyers and judges, for fuck’s sake.
I’ve always felt that when someone sees the laws and justice system at work from the inside, that person will start to sway to one extreme or the other—the law is the law and there’s no grey area.
The laws are arbitrary rules people, primarily men, have made up to give order to society, and sometimes there can be lapses in the applicability of those laws to every situation when there’s a greater good in mind.
However, I recognize that there are risks in making the choice to deviate from societal norms, the least of which is the longevity of my career.
But this situation lends itself to the greater good argument. Blake Bennett was undeniably a bad guy. To his wife. To his business partner. To the community, apparently.
So, should someone who suffered for years because of his actions be sent away for the rest of her life?
I take another sip of bourbon, thinking back to the day that changed my life forever.
When Tom called me and told me what happened, there was no doubt in my mind that he didn’t do it. Because if he had, that would mean that the man I thought he was all those years was a lie. He loved Monica, and she loved him.
In my gut, I know Lily is a good person. And the woman I’ve fallen in love with.
That realization doesn’t scare me as much as I thought it would.
Neither does her confession. No, that doesn’t scare me, thinking about what she did.
The alternative of how that night could have ended scares me a hell of a lot more.
What scares me is trying to make sure she doesn’t go to jail.
Now that our relationship has morphed into something so special, I can’t imagine a life without her in it.
I don’t want to be alone anymore I want her by my side.
I’ve spent too many years fighting for everyone else.
But now, with Lily, I want to be selfish.
I want to fight for her because that is a fight for myself and what I want.
I just have to figure out how to keep what I want.
Arms wrap around my waist as I take another sip of bourbon, pulling a hint of a smile from me. Lily rests her cheek against my back as she hugs me tight. The smell of her body wash fills my nostrils since she’s fresh from the shower.
Spinning in her arms, I pull her into me, burying my fingers in her wet hair and holding her head to my chest. I kiss the top of her head, letting my lips linger and enjoying this moment with her.
Making a decision, I ask, “Is there any way you can take a long lunch tomorrow? I have somewhere I want to take you.”
She pulls her head away from me and looks up at my face, a small smile playing on the lips I love to taste. “Yeah, I think I could do that. Where are we going?”
Gripping her chin, I tilt her head up more. “It’s a surprise.”
Then I take her lips in a kiss that I hope conveys every emotion I want to say out loud, but can’t bring myself to quite yet.
Lily eyes the building cautiously as I pull into the parking spot. “Is this about to be one of those reality TV show episodes where they lock someone inside a jail so they turn their life around and make better choices?”
I chuckle and turn off the engine. “No, Lily. That’s not what this is.”
She doesn’t look convinced as she unbuckles her seatbelt. “Whatever you say.”
Smiling, I get out of the car, and Lily follows suit. We meet at the front of my car, and I intertwine our fingers, her warm palm soothing me. I didn’t think I’d be this nervous, but my stomach is in knots.
What if Tom doesn’t like her? Or vice versa?
I don’t even know what I’d do in that situation, so with each step closer to the door, I try to push that out of my mind. It doesn’t work, but I try.
Once we’re signed in and seated at the table, waiting for Tom to be brought out, I turn to her and say, “I wanted to introduce you to Tom.”
She gives me a nervous smile, and it makes me feel better that I’m not alone in that sentiment. “I was thinking that might be the case when the guards knew you by name. I figured you probably wouldn’t be bringing me to see some random client of yours.”
Placing an elbow on the table, I run my fingers over my mouth. I feel like I should say something more. But I’m unsure how to tell her that I want her to meet the man who changed my life in more ways than I can count.
It all sounds like too much and not enough at the same time. I’m saved by the door across the room opening, and the guard waves Tom through. Surprise flickers across Tom’s face when he sees I’m not alone at the table.
As he gets closer, I steal a glance at Lily. She’s watching him approach with a cautious smile on her face and her hands clasped in her lap. I rub a hand up and down her back as Tom takes his seat.
His eyes shine as he takes in my gesture and throws a knowing smile my way before looking back at Lily.
“Lily, this is Tom. Tom, this is Lily, my…girlfriend?” I wince as I finish the introduction. For all my stressing, I never thought about how to explain what she is to me. I probably should’ve just left it as her name, but here we are.
Lily pats my leg with a laugh. Extending her hand to Tom, she gestures between us with her other hand. “This is still pretty new, so labels are hard. Hi, Tom. It’s nice to meet you.”
Tom’s grin widens. “It’s nice to meet you, too, Lily.”
He shakes my hand next, his grip a little tighter than normal. I hope he’s trying to convey something positive. If the look on his face is any indication, I would guess it is.
“So Lily, tell me about yourself.”
Lily tells Tom about her job and how she moved to Nashville.
And the things she misses about Seattle.
His questions help me learn even more about her, and I just sit there reveling in the moment.
The two of them chatting away, laughing and teasing me, is just the way I’d always want it to be between the woman I love and the man who helped make me who I am.
The disappointed look on both of their faces when the guard informs us that our time is up confirms that I made the right decision—helping Lily all those weeks ago and bringing her here today.
As soon as we’re outside the doors, I spin Lily into my chest, and my lips take hers in a hard kiss.
She doesn’t hesitate to kiss me back, spurring me to deepen the connection.
I grip her head so I can angle her face perfectly, our lips and tongues doing all the talking.
It isn’t until I hear someone clear their throat that I remember we’re in the parking lot of a prison.
I break the kiss and stare down at her flushed face. We’re both breathless as I take her hand and we make our way back to my car.
She stops before getting in and turns to me. “Thank you for letting me meet Tom. I can see why he’s important to you.”
Swallowing down my emotions, I peck her lips. “I have no doubt he feels the same about you.”
Lily squeezes my hand before ducking into the car. When I climb inside, I can tell something is wrong. Lily’s staring down at her phone, with her hand covering her mouth.
“Lily, what’s wrong?”
She flips her phone so I can see the screen. “Someone broke into my house.”
The video shows two masked men breaking into one of the downstairs windows and disappearing inside. I open the middle console and grab my phone. We both left our phones in the car while we were inside since we couldn’t bring them into the visitation.
There are multiple notifications from her security system on my phone since she gave me access to her account.
“Fuck,” I bite out before connecting a call and starting my car. I toss my phone into the cupholder when it connects to my car.
“Detective Martinez.” Carlos’s distracted voice comes through the line, and I can tell he didn’t even look at who was calling.
“Carlos, it’s me. I’m with Lily. I need your help.”
“Uh, I’m a little busy. What’s up?”
I step on the gas as I turn onto the main road. “Two men broke into her house. We saw it on the security camera feed on our phones.”
“Fuck.” His voice gets muffled as he yells a command to someone. “Are they still there?”
I glance over at Lily, and she shrugs.
“We can watch the camera on the way, but my guess is that they’re long gone. I think the first notification was almost forty minutes ago.” I look at Lily again to confirm I’m remembering the time correctly, and she nods.
“Okay. Wait. On the way? Are you going over there?”
“Yes, but I’d prefer to have the police there with us.”
He barks out a laugh. “Well, thank fuck for that. Let me make a call. If you get there before me or the uniforms, please, for the love of everything, don’t go inside.”
“Thanks, Carlos.”
Lily grips my forearm when I disconnect the call. “Chris, he’s right. You can’t go in. Please. I don’t want anything to happen to you.”
“Don’t worry, baby. I’m not going to do anything stupid when you’re with me.”
“Chris, I’d really like you to not do anything stupid when you’re not with me, too.”
With a grin, I reassure her, “Well, we don’t have to worry about that today, do we?”
She shakes her head with a laugh. “I suppose not.”
We make it to her house just as the first cop car is turning into the driveway behind us. I sure as hell hope that Carlos told the cops the owner of the house was also on her way here. They park behind us and jump out of their vehicle, jogging over to my car.
“Are you the homeowner?” he asks as I roll down the window.
I point to Lily. “She is. I called Detective Carlos Martinez about the break-in.”
The cop clearly has no idea who I am as he looks at me, confused as to why I would call a detective directly about a break-in instead of nine-one-one. He shakes his head and looks over at his partner. “Let’s go clear the house.”
Lily and I sit in silence in my car as we wait. Grabbing her hand, I cradle it between mine, her skin cold and clammy. I take it as a good sign when the cops emerge just minutes later, holstering their guns as they walk back to my car.
The one I talked to before stops at my open window. “Whoever broke in is long gone. We’ll get someone over here to dust for prints. It looks like they got in through a window at the back of the house.”
“Yes, we have a video of that we can send over,” I provide.
He nods. “Okay, great. I think Martinez will be here shortly. You two can go in, but don’t touch anything. Just a warning; they were clearly looking for something.”
I glance over at Lily, and her eyebrows are pressed together in distress. Looking back at the cop, I say, “Okay, thank you. We’ll take a look around. But I promise we won’t compromise the scene.”
When they go back to their vehicle, Lily and I get out of mine and walk to the door.
“You good?” I ask as we climb the stairs leading to her porch.
“Yeah, I think so.”
I take her hand again, and we step inside.
She gasps and her hand flies up to cover her mouth as we take in the entryway and living room.
Every drawer and cabinet is open, the contents smashed and thrown about.
Cushions are cut open, the stuffing spilling out all over the floor.
Lamps are broken, which seems completely unnecessary since that would be an unlikely hiding place, but whoever this was, they were apparently leaving no stone unturned.
We wander through the rest of the house. Every room is exactly like the first.
When we get to her bedroom, I ask, “Do you want to check to see if there was any jewelry they stole?”
She shrugs and stares at the room. “All the jewelry that means anything to me is at your place. The only thing here would be a pair of diamond earrings and my engagement ring. But I don’t think valuables were what these people were looking for.”
I cross my arms and take in the mattress flipped off the bed and cut open along with the box spring. “No, I don’t think so either.”
Her inhale is shaky. “I need to call work and let them know I won’t be in for the rest of the day.”
When she’s left me alone in the room, I wait a few minutes, and when I hear her voice from downstairs, I pull out my phone to take a picture of the carnage.
Pulling up my email, I type out a quick message and attach the picture.
Vern,
Any chance you know what they were looking for?
Chris
The chance of him answering is low, but I figure it’s worth a try. I’m desperate at this point.
And desperate times call for begging assholes for any information that might help, or whatever the hell that saying is.