Chapter 19
CHAPTER NINETEEN
GREG
I’m at the community center, trying to focus on paperwork, but my mind keeps drifting back to the fight with Joanie. The look of hurt and anger on her face when she told me to leave is seared into my brain.
I know I reacted badly. I was just so scared when I saw her injuries, knowing she’d been attacked. But she’s right. She can take care of herself. Maybe I should trust her judgment, even though her actions scare me sometimes.
I’m jolted out of my thoughts by my phone ringing. And like my thoughts conjured her, it’s Joanie. My heart leaps into my throat as I answer.
“Joanie, hi,” I say, trying to keep my voice steady.
“I have some news,” she replies, bypassing pleasantries. “The cup of coffee I gave to the sheriff? It turns out it was spiked with ketamine. And since it had Ned’s prints, it was enough for them to request a warrant for his arrest. They’re working on getting that as we speak.”
I’m stunned into silence for a moment. Then I find my voice. “That’s great news. I mean, I’m pissed that he’s just as dangerous as I feared, but it’s great that there’s evidence.”
“Yeah,” she agrees. “I just thought you should know.”
“Thanks,” I reply. “And Joanie ... I’m sorry about our fight. You were right to get that evidence. I was being a jerk, telling you that you weren’t being careful. Clearly, you know what you can handle and when taking a risk is necessary. I just worry because I care about you so fucking much.”
There’s a pause, and I hear her take a deep breath. “I know you do. And I’m sorry, too. I shouldn’t have blown up at you like that. The truth is, before Ned attacked me, I was planning to make you dinner, as you know. What you don’t know is that I was also going to tell you that I love you.”
My breath catches in my throat. “You love me?” It’s so Joanie to tell me that for the first time over the phone. I almost laugh. But my heart is too full right now to do anything but revel in hearing her say it.
“Yeah,” she says softly. “I do. But then, when you got so upset about me going to the store, I started questioning if I could be with someone who didn’t accept that sometimes I might seem reckless when I’m doing what I think needs to be done.”
“Joanie, no,” I rush to assure her. “It’s not that I don’t accept you. I love all of you, even the parts that sometimes scare me. I was just upset that you got hurt.”
“I realized that,” she says. “And I also realized that I keep finding reasons not to commit to this, to us fully. But I don’t want to do that anymore. Because despite what I said, I know who you are. And I do love you, Greg. I want to be with you.”
I close my eyes, emotion welling up in my chest. “I want that too. More than anything. Where are you right now?”
“I’m at Mia and Nate’s because the B I need to let the law handle this. And trust that justice will be served. And if it’s not, then I’m sure Nate can help me find a suitable place to bury his body where no one will ever find it.
That idea shouldn’t give me so much satisfaction.
I wrap my arm around Joanie, holding her close. “You’re amazing, you know that?” I murmur. “Your bravery, your strength in all this ... I’m in awe of you.”
She leans into me. “I couldn’t do it without you,” she says softly, then looks around. “Any of you. Knowing you’ve all got my back —”
“We’ve got each other’s backs,” Nate corrects from the doorway, where apparently he’d been leaning. “I came in when Meg went out, so I caught the gist,” he adds with a wink. Mia goes to him, and he wraps her in his arms.
I press a kiss to Joanie’s temple. “Come on, guys,” I say, trying to inject a lighter energy into the room. “It’s Saturday night. Let’s go blow off some steam.”
“But I made a roast back at the house,” Mia objects, looking stricken.
Nate and Joanie laugh. “Sounds like a party to me,” Joanie responds.
“Ooh, and we can play Scrabble,” Mia adds excitedly.
“I’m not playing Scrabble with this guy,” I say, gesturing at Nate. “He’s a fucking doctor. He knows way too many big words.”
Nate’s answering grin makes me chuckle, but Joanie pipes up. “Um, lawyers,” she says, pointing between her and Mia. “I think we can take him.”
Mia shakes her head. “Trust me, we can’t.”
Rae folds up her apron and walks around the counter. “I’m willing to give it a shot.”
All four of us turn to her with raised eyebrows. Joanie gives her an appraising look. “My money’s on Rae. That voice of hers came out of nowhere for me, too, so I’m betting she’s got some other mad skills she’s hiding.”
Now it’s Rae’s turn to wink, and we all laugh.
“Bring it on,” Nate says, rubbing his hands together. “You bringing some pastries home, babe?”
Mia rolls her eyes and trudges into the back.
“We’ll meet you guys there, okay?” I pipe up. Nate nods, and we wave goodbye.
When we get out into the cold, fading afternoon, I press Joanie up against the passenger side of my truck.
“I meant what I said in there. You amaze me, city girl.”
She grins up at me, trailing a finger down my chest. “You haven’t seen anything yet.”
I shake my head and smile down at her. “I love you, Joanie. Exactly as you are. And I’m so damn proud to be yours.”
She tilts her face up to mine. “I love you too, mountain man. More than I ever thought possible.”
I lean in and kiss her, not holding back. Our tongues meet, and I groan into her mouth. And as I lose myself in her kiss, I know that whatever comes next, we’ll face it together. Through all this, I realize she’s not just my love; she’s so much more. For the first time, I’m picturing what it would be like to share my life with someone. To grow old together.
Despite all this drama, I want to be with this woman. To protect her. To take care of her. Despite all the obstacles that have been thrown our way. Because a love like this? It’s worth fighting for.
* * *
I’m there for Joanie when she tackles the next obstacle first thing Monday morning at the County Clerk’s office. She files the protection order and is informed that she’ll be on the docket this afternoon. When she comments on how quickly she’ll get in, the clerk shares that Ned’s arraignment will immediately follow her appointment in a courtroom across the hall. In case we’re interested in attending that as well.
Obviously, we are.
Given that information, I’m much less surprised when neither Ned nor his parents personally appear at the protection order hearing and instead are represented by an attorney. Probably not even their main attorney, as Joanie speculates they’ll be helping Ned prepare for his arraignment.
But the protection orders are a slam dunk either way. With the evidence and our statements, Joanie is granted temporary protection orders against Ned and my aunt, given that they both assaulted her, even though Joanie has declined to press charges against my aunt. Since my uncle didn’t touch her and didn’t make direct threats of bodily harm, that order is denied. The temporary orders will be in place until a hearing they schedule for next Wednesday to make the orders permanent.
It goes so quickly that we have to wait a few minutes before entering the courtroom across the hall.
When we’re allowed in, Joanie sits toward the back to avoid notice, and I sit beside her, wrapping an arm around her protectively.
“Why didn’t they tell you the arraignment was today?” I ask in a hushed tone.
She shakes her head. “They’d only bring me in if they needed me for the pre-trial hearing. Given the mounting evidence against him, I doubt they will.”
I open my mouth to ask another question, but the judge calls the matter to order. My eyes scan the front and land on Ned’s greasy head next to an older gentleman, who I presume is his lawyer, with my aunt and uncle seated behind him.
“Are you supposed to be in the same room with them, given the protection orders?” I can’t help asking quietly.
Joanie smirks at me and points to the heavily armed bailiff. “I think we’re good,” she murmurs.
We listen as the judge reads the list of charges against Ned. It’s a whole fuckload longer than I thought it would be and is filled with legal jargon, not all of which I understand. But I catch “sexual assault,” and I’m floored when the judge lists crimes against minors. One look at Joanie’s face tells me there’s more going on here than just the charges she filed. When the judge is done, he asks Ned to enter an official plea.
His lawyer stands. “My client pleads not guilty, your honor.”
My mouth opens to protest, but Joanie immediately shuts me down with a look. “That’s standard procedure,” she says soothingly. “Don’t worry.”
They move on to reviewing bail, and I’m pleasantly surprised when the judge denies Ned bail. But again, looking at Joanie’s deep frown, I know there’s something else I’m missing here. Once they set the pre-trial hearing for this Thursday, Joanie grabs me and quietly pulls me out of the courtroom.
“Based on the look on your face, I’m going to guess Ned is in some deep shit?” I hazard as we head back to the car.
“Deep, deep shit,” she confirms. “The good news is, he’s likely to go away until he’s a very old man. Going after women was bad enough. But Federal charges for involvement in the sexual exploitation and assault of minors … that’s one of the deepest levels of shit there is.”
My jaw drops. “I’m sorry, he did what now?” Minors. The words rattle through my head, and my stomach turns. Not even knowing exactly what she means by that, I’m already disgusted by the thought that I could ever be related to someone who would hurt kids.
Joanie stops at the car and turns to face me. “On top of drugging and raping both adult and minor females, they’re accusing him of being involved with criminals that sell kids for sex.” My jaw drops even further, and she holds up a hand. “I doubt he’s that dumb. Or that far gone, as it were. But who knows? Anyway, my guess is he used their services, and, in turn, the legal system is using him to flush out the people behind that operation.”
Fuck. Holy fuck. Holy fucking shit fuck. I take a long, deep breath as I process that. The depth of his depravity is … astounding. That his parents have denied and covered up his behavior all these years has clearly only fed his sick nature. This is exactly the kind of thing I’ve been worried might have been going on. Still, now that he’s been caught, there’s an end in sight. And I’ll focus on that so I don’t beat myself up over what I should’ve done sooner. As the shock passes, Joanie’s words sink in.
“They’re trying to scare him into taking a deal,” I realize out loud.
“Bingo,” Joanie confirms. “Even if he’s not involved with organizing it, for them to find evidence that fast that he was involved …” Her face takes on an uncharacteristically furious look. “However that went down, he deserves whatever he’s got coming to him.”
“Well, now I’m doubly glad they denied him bail,” I murmur angrily.
She shakes her head grimly. “Can’t have him alerting anyone. Or assaulting anyone else.” We share a heavy look.
“Come on,” I say, opening the passenger door for her. “Let’s go home.”
One side of her lips tips up ever so slightly, but I can tell it will be a while until the clouds that have formed over her break up — probably not until at least after the pretrial hearing in three days. It’s a feeling I understand. I’ve long felt responsible for him knowing he was a creep — even if I didn’t know exactly how much of one — and not being able to do a damn thing about it.
Unfortunately, when Joanie contacts the court for the exact time and location, she’s told it’s a closed hearing. Which means we won’t know what goes down until after the fact. Joanie doesn’t seem surprised. I guess I shouldn’t have been either, given her suspicions. There are some serious stakes here, and I can see how sensitive information might come out that they’d want to keep a lid on.
But we don’t talk about it. We don’t talk about much. Joanie seems withdrawn, and God knows I’ve got enough on my mind between keeping momentum at the community center and surreptitiously researching my luxury town idea. It’s slow going, with intrusive thoughts of Ned getting off the hook breaking through constantly.
I can tell Joanie is anxious, though. And God knows I am, too. Everyone wants to see Ned go away for a long time so he can’t continue terrorizing the women of Alpine Ridge. He likely will, though the waiting and anticipation leave plenty of room for doubt.
Finally, Thursday, the pre-trial hearing day, arrives. If the past three days have felt long, it’s nothing on waiting out the day for news. But we don’t hear anything. Well, not until Friday anyway, when someone from the sheriff’s office calls.
Joanie answers and listens intently for a few minutes, asking very few questions that don’t reveal anything. Her face is blank when she hangs up.
Her shoulders sag with either relief or despair.
“Ned has accepted a plea bargain. He’ll be held at the county jail until he’s transferred to federal prison in a few weeks. And that he’ll be in for a minimum of twenty-five years.” She huffs a wry laugh as tears start to spill down her cheeks.
It was relief. Definitely relief. She climbs into my lap and wraps herself around me. I hold her tight.
“Thank God,” I murmur, squeezing her against me. “Thank fucking God.”