29. Wombat
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Wombat
Pain. The worst beatdown couldn’t compare to the sweat-soaked state I was in.
My blurry vision focused on the tile ceiling first. Then the top of an IV stand, down the tubes, onto a bunch of monitors I didn’t have the time or the energy to decipher, then landed on probably the last person I wanted to see.
James Crowne, Esquire. Jesus. I turned my head back to the ceiling.
“What the fuck are you doing here?” I asked the pitted white tile instead of Honor’s ex.
“To quote Walt, and probably your friend, what was his name, Fly? Yeah. I’m here for shut the fuck up Friday. That’s a funny video by the way. I wish I’d thought of it.”
There were a ton of questions going through my head, but one was pretty damn important. “Was I arrested?” I didn’t have any memory of it if I were.
“That remains uncertain. Why were your prints on the handgun that was used against you?”
Oh. That was an easy answer. “I tried to get it away from her.” Winter. “Bitch.”
“So… she wasn’t there for a romantic rendezvous?”
He was such an asshole. “No.” Shit. Was that her story? “I didn’t invite her. She ambushed me outside after I dropped DA off at the house. Shit, how is he? How’s Molly?”
I tried to sit up and immediately fell to my back and the sweat bath got ten times worse. Monitors went haywire and I swear I saw a white light.
Jim leaned over me. “You were shot through the back. It exited out your stomach and lodged in Molly.”
“Is she okay?”
A nurse rushed in and checked on me, interrupting Jim for a long while until she was satisfied I hadn’t torn anything loose.
“She’s recovering well. Lemon assisted on the surgery. She’s quite something isn’t she?”
My sister? “Lemon is going to be a vet. Or do you mean Molly?” I didn’t laugh, but air escaped in its place. “And for the record, I’m very glad Molly’s alive.”
I peeked at Jim to gauge his reaction.
He was staring at his hands. “I’m glad, too. She’s great with Jake.”
It took me a moment to remember his son’s name. “You have her? Why isn’t she with Honor?”
He frowned and stalled with a messy clearing of his throat. “Honor is under arrest and awaiting trial.”
If I could have crawled out of the bed and beaten him to a pulp, I would have. But my last move almost killed me. I filed my murder plot under a later date. “Say what now?”
“While your prints were on the gun at the scene, Winter Fuller died from massive head trauma. Apparently, someone hit her with a book.”
Hell yeah. Honor knocked her on her ass.
Wait.
“Winter’s dead?”
“Yes.”
Oh shit. “And are you representing me, the club, or someone else?”
Jim smiled. “She said you were smart. I’m officially back on the club’s account, and Walt has ordered me to represent you in case there is an inquiry or inconsistencies in the trial testimony. He sent me here with a man named, ‘Kid’ who is right outside.”
Huh. Kid would never leave me alone like that. But I could use that to my advantage right now. “I killed her.”
“No you didn’t.”
Bullshit. Honor wasn’t cut out for prison. Me? I’d thrive there. “And why do you say that?”
“Because, first of all, you were shot in the back. Kind of difficult for that to happen as you’re bashing someone’s head in, correct?”
Damn it.
He didn’t wait for me to protest. “Secondly, we have a confession from Honoria that she used Black’s Law Dictionary to stop Winter from shooting you and her dog. Castle doctrine applies.” He paused a beat. “You do know what that is, right?”
Know it? I bookmarked that page and all the cross references to it. “Yeah.”
And those bookmarks probably didn’t look good. “The cops…?”
Jim grimaced. “They are barking up the wrong tree. They claim it was premeditated. They even questioned me about the purchase of said book.”
“You bought her a book?”
“The book. It was for our third wedding anniversary, you’re supposed to give something leather. It was a custom edition, and—”
Fuck, it hurt to laugh. When the pain finally eased, I couldn’t resist rubbing it in. “She re-gifted me your anniversary present. That’s cold.” What a woman.
Jim must not have liked my teasing. “She was hospitalized last night.”
The way he said it brought me to a screeching halt. “Honor?” Shit. “Is she hurt?”
Jim’s jaw worked. “She’s pregnant.”
Yeah, I knew that. Wait. “The baby?”
His face twisted a bit. Then he glared at me. “Honoria is pregnant.”
“Yeah, and? Is the baby okay? Is Honor okay?” That motherfucker was making me sweat, and I hated him for it.
“Both are fine. Honor fainted at the arraignment hearing. Given her prior history, the doctors kept her for observation. But they’re going to have to move her back soon.”
Back… into holding so she could be charged and processed. “Did they postpone?”
“Yes.”
Good. “Who’s representing her?”
“Stephen. She’s in good hands.”
“What’s the bail estimate?” I’d call Walt and see if the club’s bondsman could cover it and… “Where’s my stuff?”
Jim shook his head. “You’re seriously thinking of leaving the hospital?”
Yeah. If I could just sit up and…
Flat on my back again. This time it drew more than one nurse. The crowd finally cleared out, leaving both Jim and Kid with me in the room. Neither would leave. And both of them got a warning not to upset me.
“You got to take it easy, Wombat.” Kid crossed his arms and skewered me with his stare. “That’s an order.”
I closed my eyes. Kid was an officer, which meant I had to listen. “Can you find out who’s on Honor’s bail?”
Kid chuckled. “You mean Slugger? Although Walt is arguing for Casey—you know, like Casey at bat? But Fly—”
“I don’t want to hear about the stupid nicknames, I just want her out.”
He paused and looked down at me. “That ain’t going to happen quickly, you know that.”
Probably not, because the best defense lawyer in the region was locked up for murder. “What if I take the fall?”
Kid glanced over his shoulder to confirm no one but Jim heard me. “That’s why this asshole is here. So you don’t do something stupid like lie about committing murder. Dipshit. Do you know what that would do to the club?”
“But Honor?”
“She’s smart. Okay? You gotta trust the process.”
But she’s pregnant and— “The stress can’t be good for the baby.”
Kid’s face changed. “You dumb motherfucker.” He glanced at Jim again. “What in the fuck? Is he punking me?”
Honor’s ex shrugged. “It’s true.”
Kid paced the room in as big of a circle as he could, landing back at my bedside. “What did I drill into your head about condoms?”
“It broke.” And I couldn’t bring myself to be upset about that fact.
“Plan B?”
I smirked. “Her body, her choice.”
Kid made it to the door before hissing an extra vehement fuck to the wall.
“That was almost my reaction,” Jim noted.
“No one asked you,” I growled.
He shifted in his chair to ignore me.
Kid did another circuit of the room, trying to control his temper. “First you parade her around the club, then you knock her up.”
“I knocked her up before I paraded her around.”
He made a face and squeezed out a sarcastic, “Oh, that makes it so much better, doesn’t it?”
Jim, who was staring at the wall, spoke out loud. “Who was Winter Fuller? And why was she at your house?”
I clammed up.
Kid didn’t. “She showed up one night in December at a party. Wombat here took her upstairs.”
“Is that a euphemism?” Jim asked.
My snort wasn’t welcome. Kid didn’t let me talk. “No. There are rooms upstairs with beds in them.”
Jim blinked. “And am I to assume that all parties are willing to share those beds?”
“Always.” Kid and I said the word in tandem.
I added, “We even check IDs to make sure they’re legal age.”
That was met with a horrified stare.
Kid saved my ass. “Believe it or not, some minors think they can pull the wool over the club’s eyes. Whether it is to live on the wild side, or because they are working with an FBI task force to entrap us, we don’t take that bait. Ever. Got it?”
Our temporary lawyer looked damn uncomfortable. “So you slept with Winter, then Honor? Or was it in the other order?”
“Sweet Jesus, ’Bat?”
“Winter in December, Honor? Later. Once my case was done.” Hopefully, that wouldn’t get her in more trouble. Jim had to know about the agreement with the firm about our relationship. He’s the one who forced us into exposing it.
“And did you sleep with the deceased after that party?”
“Hell no.”
It was Kid’s turn to snort. “But that didn’t stop Winter from stalking him. She was a stage-twelve clinger. Totally Wom-batshit.”
Jim leaned forward. “Miss Fuller stalked you?”
Kid and I shared a silent conversation. Should we divulge everything to our lawyer or not? I blew out a breath carefully. “She showed up at the club, and at one of our places of business. I told her not to come back.”
“When was this?”
Fuck. “Does it matter?”
The deflection didn’t work. “It establishes a pattern.” Jim pulled out a notebook and took notes.
I shared another long look with Kid. This was going to get messy.
Worse? Once Honor found out I’d been dealing with Winter after we slept together, it was going to ruin everything.
But if I lied and Honor was convicted for Winter’s murder, I’d never forgive myself.
It was better if Jim knew. But what if he used that information to sabotage what me and Honor had?
Kid tried to read my thoughts as I hesitated, but unless I spelled it all out, there was no way for him to understand.
“In January, Winter came to the clubhouse looking for me. Before that, there was no contact except the party in December.” I kept it vague, testing the waters.
“That party was the second Friday of December.” Kid’s confession was a nudge for me to follow his lead. I relaxed a little knowing that the club had my back like that.
Jim scribbled notes. “When was the business event? And what business?”
The cops had been called, it was bound to come out in court. “January 18th at the strip club.” I said.
“Wombat kicked her out of the club the night before,” Kid added.
Jim’s pencil froze. His eyes shot to mine.
“You extracted Winter from your club on January seventeenth, and from a business on January eighteenth?”
“Yes.”
He set his pencil down. “And when in that span did you fuck my ex-wife?”
Well, maybe the truth was the wrong path to take. Kid’s shoulders shook. I’m certain he was trying his best not to eavesdrop, but his memory was too damn sharp. He had to remember me getting Winter’s number.
“On the seventeenth. Before I got the call to extract Winter from the club.”
Jim ignored the pressure-cooker of giggles that Kid couldn’t keep contained. “You fucked Honor, then went to your club and met up with Miss Fuller?” It was stated fairly bluntly.
But it was also wrong. “We weren’t an item yet. Your ex-wife is pretty independent when she wants to be.”
He was quiet for almost a minute. “Ah. She didn’t handle my news well, slept with you, then dumped you.”
It wasn’t exactly dumped, but... “I wouldn’t say it like that.”
“And you began a relationship with Winter?”
“No. God no.”
Kid cleared his throat. He had to be remembering the phone number I took. And even more importantly, Walt’s order to use Winter to get information on the local dealers.
“Okay, maybe I strung her along a bit. But I cut things off on February eighth. I have a witness. Her neighbor, Craig, I think. He owns a mixed breed Lab... Apartment 2B.” Details flooded back.
The call, the fake tears. The feeling of violation when she clung to my legs.
“And I only slept with Winter one time. Back in December. I want to be clear about that.”
“Any contact with her since that date in February?”
“No. But strange things were happening around the farm. Doors open, things broken. We caught Winter on camera the night my barn burned down.”
“We’ll need that evidence for Honor’s defense. It will prove escalation.”
“And she poisoned my dog.”
Jim’s eyes lifted. “Any proof?”
I shook my head. “Just speculation, but the timing fits. That’s why we put up cameras.”
His face softened. “I would guess your speculation is accurate. She shot Molly. Anyone who’d shoot a dog—”
I cut him off. “Let’s be clear. She shot me. I just happened to be holding Molly.” It was mostly so Winter wouldn’t kill Honor’s dog, but Jim didn’t need to know that.
“Why?”
“Because Winter was crazy, I don’t know.”
Jim held up a hand to stop me. “Why were you holding Molly?”
I looked him in the eye. “Honor showed up. Molly slipped her lead, ran into the house, and attacked Winter. She got a hold of her sleeve. I was trying to get Molly off Winter so she wouldn’t be put down, and when Molly let go, I wrapped around her to— to keep her from biting Winter again.”
“You just lied.”
So?
Kid tilted his head to listen closely as Jim continued. “I can’t coach you, but I would appreciate it if you told me the truth. Why was Molly in your arms?”
“Winter threatened to shoot the dog. She said, say goodbye to everything you love. She said that to Honor. Not me. And I knew she was going to kill Molly. So, I wrapped around her.”
There was moisture in Jim’s eyes. “You tried to save our dog by... And you did. You saved Molly.” He tucked the notepad into his pocket and stood up. “Thank you.”
The outstretched hand he offered hung in the air. I didn’t take it. “Thank me by getting Honor free. That’s all I want.”
“Are you sure? This makes you look bad.” He touched the pocket where his notebook hid.
I knew it looked bad.
But I’d do anything to help her. I’d take a bullet meant for her dog, I’d claim to be a murderer, I’d give up everything I owned for Honor. Even it if meant losing her. “Yeah. I’m sure.”