Chapter 55
Sadie
Ipaced the living room of the apartment, even though it felt like my legs were going to give out on me.
I had been shaking since the police had hauled Jeremiah out of here, without any explanation.
I was racking my brain about what this could be about.
Was it the fight from the park all those weeks ago?
Maybe Anderson was now pressing charges, but that didn’t seem to make any sense.
He was just as guilty. Was it a business deal gone wrong?
Maybe he got into bed with someone he shouldn’t have, but Jeremiah didn’t do any shady dealings when it came to his empire.
He wanted to keep his clean reputation. I knew that all too well.
I sighed and looked out the large windows to the city below.
The sun was up now and the sidewalks were busy.
It felt unfair that life went on when mine felt like it was falling apart.
I had to do something, or this was going to drive me crazy.
While I waited for Gabriella and Erica to arrive, I strode down the hall to Jeremiah’s office.
I flipped the ceiling light on, illuminating the dim room with its olive-green paneled walls and dark wood built-in bookshelves and desk.
It was dark and moody and sexy. Jeremiah-encompassed.
I started opening the drawers of his large wooden desk that sat in the center of the room. Thankfully, they were unlocked as I pulled open each one and rummaged through their contents. There had to be something here that could help me.
Then a thought came to me. Jeremiah’s attorney.
I had never met him, but I tried to remember his name.
My brows knitted together as I opened the top drawer of Jeremiah’s desk where neatly stacked piles of paper lay separated by binder clips.
I lifted each pile and my eyes skimmed over them, until they landed on a contract with a legal firm.
Ted Gillis.
That was his attorney.
My eyes scanned the page quickly until they landed on the footer where Ted’s contact information was. I quickly dialed his number with my phone and waited with bated breath as I knelt on the hardwood floor of Jeremiah’s office.
“This is Ted Gillis,” he answered firmly, though I could hear the sleepiness in his voice.
“Ted!” I said frantically. “This is Sadie. Sadie Lane. I’m Jeremiah’s…
” I wasn’t sure what to say, so I paused for a moment.
Without finishing my sentence, I continued on.
“I need your help. The police showed up early this morning and took Jeremiah into custody. Handcuffs. The whole thing. They wouldn’t answer any of my questions.
I don’t know what to do,” I said, my voice shaking as I ran a hand through my long red hair.
“Hmm, I haven’t heard from him. How long ago was this?”
“Like thirty minutes ago,” I said.
“I should have gotten a call by now.” He suddenly sounded like he was on high alert. “I’ll get down to the station immediately.
“Thank you, Mr. Gillis,” I said gratefully before hanging up.
Just then, I heard the phone ringing from the entryway table down the hallway. I quickly stood up and ran toward its shrill sound. I picked it up on the fifth ring.
“Hello?” I answered eagerly, wondering if it was Jeremiah.
“Hello. This is the front desk calling. We have two visitors down here, asking to be let up.”
I swallowed hard. Who could be here now? I felt a wave of fear wash over me as I thought about it possibly being Anderson.
“Who is it?” I asked, my mouth dry.
“I have a Gabriella and an Erica here. They seem rather adamant.”
I let out a sigh of relief, remembering I had called them.
“Yes. Yes, of course,” I said. “Please, send them up.”
“Will do. Thank you for confirming.”
I hung up and began pacing the floor of the entryway again. Soon, there was a knock on the door and I opened it to find my best friends standing there with worried expressions on their faces. They both had bedhead and wore sweats, like they had just rolled out of bed and come straight here.
“Oh,” I sobbed, letting out all my bottled emotions.
They stepped forward and wrapped their arms around me, pulling me into a tight embrace as I cried.
“We’re here, Sadie,” whispered Gabriella.
“Thank you,” I managed to whisper back.
“Come on,” said Erica, grabbing my hand and leading me to the couch.
As we walked, they both looked around the penthouse, eyes wide as they took in the large overhead chandelier and expansive sunken in living room. I realized they had never been here until now.
“This is some place,” said Gabriella, shaking her head as she looked on either side of her towards the long hallways.
“It’s beautiful,” said Erica, plopping down on the couch and patting the spot beside her.
I sunk in next to her and tucked my legs beneath me.
“Now, what’s going on?” asked Erica with a raised brow.
“I-I don’t know,” I stammered. “We woke up this morning to the police at our door and then they took Jeremiah away. It was awful.” Tears streamed down my face.
“Okay. You need to get it together, Sadie,” said Gabriella firmly, reaching over and giving my hand a squeeze.
I nodded and wiped my tears away. I took a deep, shaky breath before telling them everything that happened, including my conversation with the private investigator.
“You haven’t heard from him yet?” asked Erica, running her thumb thoughtfully over her chin.
“No.” I shook my head. “I just called his lawyer and he’s going to head down to the station.”
“Okay. Then help is on the way,” she said reassuringly.
“Will you take me to the station?” I asked them both.
“Of course,” they said in unison.
Looking down at my robe, I hurried to my closet. I quickly threw on a pair of baggy jeans and a sweatshirt before meeting them at the door. We took the elevators down to the lobby where the doorman spotted me. He looked at me nervously.
“Is Mr. Mason okay?” he asked as we approached.
“I’m on my way to him now,” I said with a nod, realizing he had seen the whole thing go down. Along with whoever else happened to be in the lobby at the time. Poor Jeremiah.
He pushed open the door and we quickly hailed a cab.
Soon we arrived at the station. I felt my nerves set in.
I had never been to a police station before.
It was every bit as awful as I thought it would be, especially when I went up to the front counter and was met with one of the officers who had taken Jeremiah away hours before.
“I’d like to see Jeremiah Mason,” I said as firmly as I could, Gabriella and Erica at my side.
“Sorry. No visitors,” he said coolly, barely looking at me.
I felt my heart sink. Gabriella cleared her throat to say something, a fierce look in her eyes, but was interrupted by the door opening behind us.
We turned and watched as a man in a crisp gray suit and sandy-blond hair walked in.
He strode in and stood next to us. He firmly planted his hands on the counter, demanding the room. Demanding the officer’s attention.
“I’m Jeremiah’s Mason’s attorney, Ted Gillis. I’ll see him now.”
It wasn’t even a request. The officer sighed frustratedly, knowing he couldn’t refuse this visitor. He buzzed the door and nodded for Ted to enter toward the side door.
Erica, Gabriella, and I walked toward a row of chairs against the wall and sat down. I felt a little better that Jeremiah had someone here who could really help him. I hated that he’d already been here for hours, while they did who knows what to him.
Fifteen minutes later, my heart skipped a beat as I saw Ted walk out the door, Jeremiah following suit.
He looked tired, his hair still disheveled from sleep and his mouth pressed into a thin line.
I stood quickly and rushed toward him, and his blue eyes lit up.
I threw myself at him, wrapping my arms around his neck
“Are you okay?” I asked before pressing my lips to his.
“I am now.” He smiled down at me. “I’m so sorry, Sadie. I hate that this happened. Are you okay?”
“I’m fine.” I waved him off and laughed softly. He was the one who had been arrested.
“Thank you for calling Ted,” he said, reaching up and touching my face. I leaned into the stroke of his thumb.
“It’s a good thing she did,” said Ted, stepping beside him. “They were refusing to allow him his phone call,” he said, looking at me.
“Assholes,” Jeremiah muttered, before turning to Ted. “Anderson Bradley is behind this. He must have paid Markus to lie. Another takedown scheme.”
“Markus? The Markus” I asked worriedly, looking at Jeremiah. I knew that name. Knew how dangerous he was. I couldn’t believe he was still causing problems after all this time.
“It’s okay,” Jeremiah nodded, running his hand down my arm until his fingers interlaced with mine. He squeezed my hand gently.
“I’ll get to the bottom of it,” said Ted with a confident nod. “I’ll call you soon.”
Jeremiah shook his hand firmly before watching him stride out the door with the same confidence he had when he arrived. I watched him go as Gabriella and Erica walked up behind me.
“You must be Sadie’s best friends,” said Jeremiah with an easy smile, like he hadn’t just had the morning from hell.
They both introduced themselves, and my heart swelled slightly. I had been waiting for this moment. The location wasn’t ideal, but at least the people who meant the most to me were finally meeting.
“Why don’t we get the hell out of here and get some breakfast? My treat.” He grinned.
They smiled up at him before he turned to open the door for us. They both gave me swooning looks when he wasn’t looking, to which I laughed and rolled my eyes. The four of us walked out of the station and into the sunshine and crisp, fall air.
We walked down the block to a nearby breakfast spot where we all ordered pancakes and a huge plate of bacon.
Erica and Gabriella talked animatedly, eager to spill embarrassing stories about me that had Jeremiah in deep belly laughs.
I didn’t even care. Seeing us all together made me too happy to care that my friends were harmlessly poking fun at me.
I leaned my head against Jeremiah’s shoulder and looked up at him as he listened with an amused smile across his perfect lips.
He looked down at me and his eyes had that familiar twinkle in them.
He leaned in and gave me a quick kiss on the lips before turning back to Gabriella who was telling us all about her new apartment.
After breakfast, we said our goodbyes, promising to all get together again soon. Jeremiah hailed them each a cab, paying the drivers generously before sending them on their way with a wave. As they disappeared from view, he grabbed my hand and we began strolling down the sidewalk.
“Everything is going to be okay, Sadie,” he said softly.
I looked up at him hopefully. “Promise?” I asked.
“Promise.” He stopped and looked at me intently. “I’m going to put this thing with Anderson to bed before the baby comes.”
I didn’t know what that meant, but didn’t ask questions. Instead, I stood on my toes to give him a kiss on the cheek. I believed he would. I knew he was going to be okay. I knew we were going to be okay. The three of us.
“In the meantime, let’s get you home,” I murmured before raising my hand to hail a cab.