Chapter 23
Vanessa
For Vanessa, hiding her emotions and true feelings was as easy as riding a bicycle.
She’d been doing it all her life.
But sometimes, very rarely, people fall off their bikes. They hit a rock they didn’t see coming on the trail, the front wheel buckles and twists, the bike lurches and the rider is thrown into the dirt.
Flynn gazed back at Vanessa as the door to her hotel suite closed.
He didn’t hide his heart. This guy wore it around his neck.
Sure, she had read about him. Knew he was cunning and incredibly smart.
That he could manipulate judges, juries and witnesses, and outsmart prosecutors, but those things were performative.
She could look into Flynn’s eyes at any time and see exactly what he was feeling. He was a good man.
She wondered if he could see into her heart. She had to be careful with this one.
A tear formed and she felt its warmth as it snaked over her cheek.
The door closed.
Vanessa walked to the peep hole, and peered out.
The hallway was clear. Flynn and Ford were gone.
She put the security bolt across the door.
Wiping her face, she took a moment to breathe. Closing her eyes, she relaxed her shoulders, rolled her neck. Exhaled. Her heartbeat was still high. But she was gaining control.
Hiding her emotions.
Like riding a bike.
‘They’ve gone,’ she said.
The luxury hotel had not held back on décor, furnishings, fittings and trim.
She heard the handle on the bedroom door turning like a rifle pin sliding another round into the chamber.
There was only the faintest whisper from the door opening.
And then the soft brush of leather shoes on the thick carpet.
Vanessa returned to the living area of the suite and folded herself into the couch.
‘You did well,’ said Samantha Voss.
The lawyer stood over Vanessa. It was rare that Voss looked down on anyone, given her size, but when she did Vanessa got the impression that Voss enjoyed it.
There was a lot of trouble in that small woman.
‘You did exactly what you were supposed to do. Just keep talking to me, and listening, and we’ll keep Flynn on your side. Just remember, I’m in charge.’
‘If you’re in charge, why don’t you just represent me?’ asked Vanessa.
‘Because I have all the knowledge, tactics and experience, but I’m not Flynn.
Think of it like horse racing. You can train a horse all you want, but some are just faster than others – it’s genetics.
There’s no fighting it. Flynn is a thoroughbred.
Trust me – there’s very few people in the country who can do what he does.
He’s going to build a defense for you, but he can’t use what you’ve told him against Patrick.
Remember that. Remember, that when the time comes, Patrick is to be protected at all costs. ’
Vanessa didn’t want to be in this position. Voss, Patrick and Julian in one corner, Flynn in the other, and nowhere for her to go in between.
She let Voss out of the room, promised to let her know when she’d heard from Flynn.
Leaning against the hotel room door, she let the cold wood cool her face. Then put on the security chain, went to the bathroom and washed her hands.
Over and over.
Until her skin was raw.
Vanessa closed her eyes again, and let her head fall to her chest.
It was hard to keep so many lies alive. Like spider webs. Threads spreading out and overlapping. And when the wind or a twig or something else broke one single strand, she had to get over there and repair it, lest the whole structure collapse.
The trial threatened everything. She just had to get through it. To do that, she needed to trust in the right people and hope that in the meantime, her web held together.
She needed to keep it strong for a while longer.
She just needed time to catch the right person in that fragile web.
Then, she could devour them.