Alexa
THE NEXT AFTERNOON, we arrived at the courthouse thirty minutes before I was due to testify. At least I’d had the morning to relax… my interview time had been pushed back until two. We were ushered to our little prison again, only this time, Summer was sequestered with us.
“Oh, my goodness, I’m so glad you’re here,” she said, and hugged me.
I studied her. Her face was a little red and her eyes looked puffy, like she’d been crying. “Are you okay?”
She nodded. “Yes. I just had a really rough morning.”
“Oh no… did ‘ball gag’ get the best of you?”
Reese choked back a laugh.
Summer frowned. “Huh?”
“The defense attorney.”
“Oh, yes. He was really mean, but I handled him. No, I got a call from my sister. She’s in the hospital.”
“What happened?”
She bit her lip. “Car accident. But I can’t leave until I’m excused.”
“That doesn’t sound fair.”
“I know,” she said.
“Let me see what I can find out,” Reese offered and left the room.
“Who brought you here?” I asked.
“Um, someone named Dallas. Super cute.”
“Yeah, he is.” I smiled. “Also super married.”
She sighed. “They always are.”
I giggled. “Not always.”
“Well, considering you married one, I beg to differ.”
I heard a popping sound outside the door, then Reese rushed in, followed by Dallas.
“Get in the bathroom,” Reese demanded. “Lock the door and stay there until I come and get you.”
“What’s going on?” I asked, jumping to my feet.
Reese pushed me and Summer through the door. “Just stay here.”
“Ohmigod, Reese, you need to tell me what the hell is going on!”
“Shooters,” he snapped. “Stay here.”
He pulled the door closed and I faced Summer who now looked like she wanted to kill someone… not the reaction I expected.
“You okay?” I asked.
“I swear to god,” she ground out. “If I have to come back and do this all over again, I will annihilate those damn Russians! They’re behind this and I am so over it.”
Okay, so Summer’s a badass. Good to know.
She reached for the door, but I stepped in front of it. “You can’t go out there.”
“Why not?” she snapped.
“Um, because you could get shot,” I returned. “I kind of like you, Summer, so please don’t be an idiot.”
“I want them to pay, Alexa,” she seethed. “I’m so sick of them hijacking my life!”
“I know,” I admitted with a sigh. “I totally get it.”
“But you get to go home to your gorgeous man every day. I have to go back to the abbey because my life is no longer my life.” She paced the small bathroom. “I was happy. I had a great job… yes, I know it wasn’t real, but I didn’t know that back then… I had a gorgeous apartment overlooking the Willamette, and I had friends. A lot of friends! I’d just met a great guy and we were ready to take it to the next level, but no. Those fucking Russians ruined my life, Lex. Ruined it!”
“Okay, I hear you. But can I just point something out?”
“No.”
“Okey doke,” I said.
She huffed. “What?”
“You said you didn’t want me to point it out.”
She waved her hand. “Just say it already.”
“Well, you’re twenty-six.”
“Four.”
“Twenty-four… you have a few more days of testimony and then I’m pretty sure you’ll be able to leave the abbey.”
“Unless they don’t get convicted,” she cried.
She had me there. I sighed. “I’m pretty sure they’ll get convicted.”
“You don’t know their reach.”
“Oh, I think I do,” I countered.
Summer sighed. “Right. Sorry.”
“It’s okay. I get it. Really. It’ll all be over soon.” I said all this, all the while knowing I’d had the same conversation with Reese not even a week ago. I was over being on house arrest and wanted to go out to dinner or to a movie, but I had to stay sequestered in our home. A home I loved, yes, but I didn’t like being forced to stay there. A gilded cage, despite how beautiful, was still a cage.
The door slammed open and I couldn’t stop a scream, but it was Reese, who pulled me in for a hug and kissed my temple. “It’s okay, baby.”
“What happened?”
“Hans and Franz two-point-oh decided to give the courthouse a visit.”
The original Hans and Franz were sitting in a federal holding cell awaiting trial. We hadn’t seen them since our honeymoon.
“Is anyone hurt?” I asked, checking Reese for injuries.
“I’m fine, Lex. One of the cops got shot, but he had a vest on, so he just got winded. They took the guys down and are assessing any other potential injuries. That’s all I know right now.”
“Are we still going to testify today?” Summer asked.
“Don’t know,” Reese said. “We’re waitin’ until they clear the building.”
“Assholes,” she hissed.
“Indeed.”
I held Reese tighter, the fear suddenly setting in, and my body started shaking.
“Okay, baby, I’ve got you,” he whispered.
“Is this ever going to stop?”
“Yeah, baby. It’s stoppin’ now.”
“They’re going to keep coming.”
He stroked my hair. “Not if we cut the head off the snake.”
“Except for every head you cut off, a new one grows.”
He sighed. “I don’t give a shit about new ones. I just want the one whose radar you’re on.”
I wrapped my arms around his waist and leaned heavily against him.
“Reese!” Dallas called.
“In here, man.” He released his hold on me, but didn’t go far. “All clear?”
“Yeah,” Dallas said walking toward us. “But they’re canceling session for the day… probably tomorrow too.”
“Fuckers,” Summer hissed. “Are you going to kill these people, Dallas?”
He smiled. “Wish I could, Summer.”
“Pussy.”
“Whoa,” I said. “I think that’s kind of harsh.”
“Sorry, Dallas,” she grumbled.
Dallas laughed. “I didn’t take it personally. I get it.”
“So, if I “found” someone to take care of the problem―”
My mouth dropped open of its own accord just as Dallas raised a hand. “Don’t say shit like that to me, Summer. I’ll have to lock you up.”
Summer mumbled a few expletives and Dallas and Reese ushered us out of the room and to a back exit currently under heavy guard. After the men showed their credentials, we were allowed to leave and I was whisked home, while Summer was taken back to the abbey.
* * *
Two weeks later, it was over. Summer and I had our final day of testimony six days ago; the jury had deliberated for two days and then come back with “guilty on all counts.”
The men would never see freedom in their lifetime, and apparently one of them (I don’t know which one) flipped on a couple of lower-level guys, so he had ten years shaved off his one-hundred-ninety year sentence.
Paisley, Summer, and the rest of the ladies who testified would need to stay at the abbey for a few more weeks or so, but it meant Dallas and the rest of the FBI could smoothly transition them back to their lives. At least that was the plan.
Summer’s sister was home and healing from her car accident, and Dallas made sure Summer could see her on a regular basis, so Summer seemed calmer now that everyone was safe.
I’d been awakened by the call of my stomach rebelling and I currently had my head in the toilet for the third time in an hour.
“What can I do?” Reese asked from the open doorway.
“You can get me some saltines.”
“Okay, baby, I’m gonna make a quick run to the store.”
I nodded. “’K.”
I didn’t move until he got back and he was smart enough to buy a couple more pregnancy tests. I was late again, but figured it was the stress of the trial, so I expected another negative result… however, I was wrong.
Reese’s face looked like it would explode with happy glitter. “You’re pregnant.”
“That’s what it says.”
“Take the other one just to make sure.”
I giggled. “I’m kind of peed out, honey. Later.”
“Love you, Freckles,” he whispered, kissing me gently.
“Love you, too.”
“I’m gonna feed you, then you’re goin’ back to bed to rest.”
“I don’t need to rest, honey.”
“Humor me.”
“You’re not going to give me problems when I go back to work, are you?” I challenged. Cameron had filled my boss, Arthur, in on the kidnapping and some minor details after I was taken to the abbey, letting him know I’d be in protective custody for an indefinite period. Arthur had been incredibly gracious and offered me my job back the second I called to check-in with him.
“You’re not going back to work.”
“Reese,” I admonished.
“You’re pregnant.”
I laughed. “Pregnant women work all the time.”
“Not my pregnant woman.”
“Ohmigod, sugar bear, I’m going nuts. I love working. I love everything about it. I need it,” I argued. “They held my job, Reese. I want to keep my end of the bargain.”
He sighed. “We’ll see what the doctor says about it.”
I rolled my eyes. “Okay, honey.” I knew the doctor would be fine with it, so I let Reese have his moment.
As Reese fed me a gourmet breakfast of saltines and Sprite, I made him join me in bed, which meant once I felt better, I was gonna get me some.
He protested for all of ten seconds and as he made love to me, I relished the feeling of being wholly loved and completely free.