Chapter 33
Bastian
It took all my strength the next morning to rise at the time my alarm clock went off on my phone to get in the shower. I was tempted to stay snuggled in bed alongside Joanna as she slept peacefully next to me, but I forced myself to climb out of bed as quietly as possible so as not to disturb her.
I settled in the warm shower while I mentally went over what needed to happen today. I needed to get ahold of Shelly right away to let her know that Joanna had indicated to me that my legal problems were undoubtedly caused by Sid. I needed to find out who Joanna could talk to about pressing charges against Sid, and how I could get this jackass stripped of his authority as a cop along with that gun he pointed at everyone. I had a feeling that the only reason Sid waved that gun around anymore was because he lacked the equipment to make himself feel better as a man. That much I suspected from how Joanna responded to our lovemaking every single time.
Drying off quickly, I dressed in the living room while I listened to Joanna’s phone vibrate like crazy in her purse. I reached for it but then pulled my hand away before I could take it out. I didn’t want to become Sid by monitoring Joanna’s every call and movement. I trusted her to do the right thing. I trusted her to keep herself safe now that she was here until I could figure something out with Shelly.
It was close to 7:50 a.m. when I called Shelly to arrange a meeting at my office in thirty minutes.
“I have a meeting at eight thirty with another client,” she said, exasperated. “Can you wait until then?”
“I suppose,” I said reluctantly. I didn’t like the idea of not jumpstarting an investigation into Sid’s involvement in this bullshit case against me—especially because Joanna had come back with me. It was only a matter of time before the guy found her all over again. “I’ll meet you at nine sharp in my office. It’s important.”
“How so?” she asked.
“I have Joanna here with me,” I said, and I heard Shelly sigh into the phone. “She told me that Sid has been threatening her to come back to him. If she goes back to him, then he’ll make all these legal problems go away.”
“While I see your point that he’s admitting to guilt, none of that will work without Joanna’s word to back it up. This will appear to be a love triangle, two men fighting over a woman. I’m just saying, Bastian. I told you it might be a good idea for you to cool it with Joanna until I can come talk to you.”
“It’s not going to happen,” I said flatly. “He’s threatening to kill her and to hurt her mother. I am not going to let that happen.”
“I understand, Bastian. You have to convince Joanna to think about filing a police report. That’s all I’m saying. It would open an investigation against Sid and blow this whole thing wide open.”
I smoothed a hand over my eyes because I knew that was futile at the moment. Joanna didn’t want to file a report yet, so it was up to me. I had to do it while we had a bit of time left before Sid tried to figure out where she had gone again.
“You’re right,” I said. “I’ll see you in my office at nine.”
I hung up before returning to the bedroom where Joanna slept peacefully, curled up against the pillow I had been sleeping on. My heart constricted in my chest as I leaned over her to press a soft kiss against her cheek. She stirred sleepily underneath me before rolling over onto her back to gaze up at me with dreams still clinging to her eyes.
“What’s going on?” she asked, her voice still thick with sleep. “Is everything okay?”
“Everything’s fine,” I said. “I just have to get into the office to handle a few things today. You going to be okay staying here today?”
“Of course I am. Can I order room service?”
I smiled down at her teasing question. The tips of her breasts popped out from beneath the sheets and blankets. It took all my restraint to pull away before I found my mouth nibbling at that tender flesh there.
“Order away,” I said. “My credit card is on file.”
I leaned down to peck a kiss to her lips before she rolled back over to curl up. I adjusted the blankets about her shoulders.
“I’ll call a bit later,” I whispered. “Make sure to only answer the door if you know who it is.”
I stopped by the front desk to leave instructions for a security guard to remain at the door at all times before I felt confident enough to leave. After defrosting the windows, I drove back to my office, which was over thirty minutes away, and met Shelly in the parking lot right as she closed her car door.
“Talk about timing,” she said, arching an eyebrow at me. “What’s going on that you needed to see me so badly?”
I grasped Shelly by the elbow to steer her in the direction of the private elevator. I didn’t trust the unusual number of cars with tinted windows sitting in the parking garage. I waited until the doors closed before I turned to look at Shelly.
“I know Sid is behind this ridiculous harassment case,” I said. “Joanna admitted it to me herself. He’s trying to extort everyone to get what he wants.”
Shelly sighed as she shook her head at me. “As sad as it is, Bastian, I can’t do anything about this without Joanna here to talk to me about it. Is she afraid to press charges against him?”
“He’s a cop, Shelly. You think she has any faith that the police department will do anything about this?” I shook my head in disgust. “It’s only going to piss him off even more. She admitted that to me, too.”
“There are a few things that we can do then,” Shelly said. “You said that he pulled a gun on you twice, correct?”
“Correct.”
The doors slid open. I led Shelly through the office, nodding to anyone who wished me good morning. I paused at Roger’s desk to leave word for him to have Ashton get to my office as soon as possible. Once in the privacy of my office, I shut the doors behind Shelly while she made herself at home in the chair across from my desk by pulling out a few documents from her briefcase. I sat down on the edge of my chair while I powered on my computer to check through a few emails before devoting my attention to Shelly.
“This balance is only going to get harder once you do what I’m about to suggest,” she said.
“What balance?”
Shelly nodded to my computer. “Your business and dealing with this cop. It’s only going to get worse if you follow my suggestion.”
“Will it protect Joanna?”
“There’s a good chance it could,” Shelly said, but she held up a finger. “However, I can tell you that domestic violence cases can turn deadly after the partner gets turned in. Keep that in mind. You might want to consider your options out here until this possibly goes to court if Joanna decides to pursue charges.”
“I’ll make sure that doesn’t happen,” I said determinedly. “Even if I have to move Joanna out of this damn state, I will make sure that bastard has no way of catching her. Who do I need to call to report all of this to?”
She held out a card for me to take. I glanced down at the name and number on it. Marcus Flannagan. Head of Internal Affairs. I dimly remembered the name from an incident years ago that had gained the media’s attention. A crooked cop had been caught picking up a prostitute while on the clock. The officer had had a list of previous problems, and it was Marcus Flannagan who had taken the cop down.
“I remember this guy,” I said. “He took down a police officer here in Salt Lake.”
“He is very good at his job,” Shelly said in agreement. “Just know that Salt Lake also has their own internal affairs division here, too, so there will be two agencies putting on the heat.”
“Even better.” A grin spread across my face. “What do they do exactly?”
“They will take down reports, look at past behavior, talk to a few partners.” Shelly leveled a pointed glance at me. “This is where Joanna’s testimony would be beneficial. If she reports the incident, they look at that, too. He’s breaking the law in so many ways by doing what he’s doing.”
“Like a false sexual harassment suit?” I asked.
“Yes,” she said, nodding. “This said victim is stalling on their end, so I sense it has something to do with what Sid is waiting for.”
I knew without a doubt what Sid was waiting for. An answer. He wanted an answer from Joanna.
“Thank you, Shelly,” I said, setting the card down on my desk. “I’m going to call after this meeting I have. Keep me updated if you see any movement on their end.”
Shelly gathered her briefcase from the floor. “Keep me posted as well.”
I sat back in my seat with a relieved sigh. Internal Affairs. I had completely forgotten that they would be the ones investigating the situation with Sid. There was plenty of evidence on my side of things to have his gun and badge stripped. That would be it, though. I needed to find a way to convince Joanna to come forward if she was to be promised safety.
The doors to my office opened ten minutes before my next conference meeting with a few potential companies here in Salt Lake that needed funding. Ashton stepped in after closing the doors behind himself.
“How is Joanna?” he asked. “I’ve heard the heat has been growing around the office.”
I shook my head at that. “It’s going to be doused with ice-cold water. I’m taking this to Internal Affairs, whether Joanna is okay with it or not.”
“You’re going for the badge and gun, huh?” Ashton rubbed at his jaw with a worried look. “I’m all for you trying to protect Joanna, but you know this corrupt cop isn’t going to go down without a fight. Right?”
“I know that,” I said crossly. “I’m aware of it. I’ve been aware of it for a while, but this is Joanna. I love her.”
Ashton held up a hand to cut me off. His eyes grew wide, and I realized I had just admitted out loud that I loved Joanna. Again. He shook his head with a whistle of amazement.
“You really do then. I never thought I’d see the day you would fall in love,” he said. “Good for you, though, man. I’m happy that you’re finally stopping your mistrust of women after all these years.”
“Yeah, yeah. Don’t make a big deal out of it.”
I glanced up at the clock before rising from my chair. Smoothing out the wrinkles in my shirt, I did my best to put on a smile. I didn’t want my future contracts to see my anxiety playing out on my face. Ashton stopped me before we could step out together. He grasped me firmly by the shoulder to look me straight in the eye.
“Don’t hurt Joanna,” he said. “She’s a good woman. I wouldn’t be able to maintain a friendship with you if anything happened to her.”
“I know,” I said, reaching up to squeeze him on the forearm. “I promise you that I am going to do it right this time.”