“We’re going to get Addison to make Cody confess,” Charlie spoke.

“What?! The hell we are!” Andrew shouted. “She’s not going anywhere near him.”

“Andrew, we don’t have a choice. Do you want to go to prison? Addison is our only option. He’s in love with her.”

“You don’t know that for sure, Charlie,” I spoke.

“The mysterious flowers that were always popping up on your desk without a card, him showing up everywhere you were, the phone calls, I know that was all him. I know what goes on in the heads of these guys. I used to defend their asses. Don’t forget that. The only thing going right for us at the moment is that he doesn’t suspect you know he’s the one behind it all. So, this is what you’re going to do. You’re going to be friendly with him like usual and not let on you know anything. He’s going to want to comfort you because of Andrew. He’s hoping you’ll fall right into his arms. Let him.”

“Charlie, stop!” Andrew scowled.

“I’m sorry, son, but this is the only way. I’ll be tailing him, and Addison will still have her bodyguard with her. She’ll be safe.”

“He’s right, Andrew. We have no other choice.”

“I will not let you be a part of this!” he shouted.

“And I will not let you go to prison!” I shouted back at him as tears filled my eyes.

Suddenly, the lobby phone rang, so I went over and answered it.

“Hello.”

“I’m sorry to disturb you again, Miss Belle, but your mother is here.”

“What?!” I exclaimed.

I placed my hand over the phone and looked over at Charlie and Andrew.

“Madeline is here!”

“Shit.” Andrew shook his head. “Have her come up and take her right into the kitchen. Charlie, go in the bedroom and wait until the coast is clear.”

“Sure, Andrew,” he spoke.

“Send her up, please.”

My heart was racing a mile a minute as I hung up the phone.

“Where are you staying, Dad?” I asked.

“At a hotel. We’ll discuss it later. It isn’t safe for me to be here or around you. I’ll be in touch, Rosebud.” He kissed the top of my head before heading to the bedroom.

I heard the elevator approaching, so I walked into the foyer and waited for the doors to open.

“Addison,” she spoke as she held out her arms. “What on earth is going on?”

“Hi, Mom. I wish you would have called and told me you were coming.”

“You would have told me not to and you need me at a time like this. Where’s Andrew?”

“He’s in the bedroom. He’ll be out in a minute. Let’s go into the kitchen and I’ll make us some coffee.”

“Are you okay?” she asked me.

“Mom, I’m fine. And to be honest, now isn’t a good time for you to be here,” I spoke as I made us each a cup of coffee.

“I needed to see for myself if you were all right. You weren’t answering my calls.”

“That’s because I was at the courthouse all morning and talking to Andrew’s lawyers. Now he’s home and he and I need to talk.”

“Hello, Madeline,” Andrew spoke as he casually walked over and kissed her cheek.

“Oh, Andrew.” She got up from the stool and hugged him. “I know you didn’t kill that woman. You could never do anything like that.”

“Thanks, Madeline, for believing in me, and no, I did not kill her.”

“We can’t talk about the specifics of the case, Mom, but Andrew has excellent attorneys that are going to prove his innocence.”

“I hope so.”

“It was nice to see you, Madeline, but if you don’t mind, I’m going to go lie down. Sleeping in a jail cell was not very comfortable.”

“You poor thing. Go get some rest.” She kissed his cheek.

Madeline stayed for about an hour and we talked about things other than Andrew.

“It’s too bad your father isn’t alive right now. He would defend Andrew and get the case thrown out of court,” she spoke.

I swallowed the lump that was sitting in the back of my throat.

“I know he would have.” I gave a small smile.

“You look tired, sweetheart. Maybe I should go.”

“If you don’t mind. I was up the entire night.”

“Of course you were.” She walked over and hugged me. “Go get some rest and I’ll head home. Please don’t ignore my calls again. Understand, young lady?” Her brow arched.

“Yes, Mom. Thank you for coming over.”

The elevator doors shut, and I let out a deep breath. Walking into the bedroom, I found Andrew sound asleep on his back. My heart ached for what he was going through because of me. I climbed on the bed and snuggled up against him. He stirred and wrapped his arms around me, holding me as if he was never going to let me go. He always made me feel safe, and now it was my turn for him.

I rolled over and looked at the clock. We had been asleep for over three hours. When I rolled back over, Andrew was staring at me. I gave him a small smile as I traced his lips with my finger.

“Hi.”

“Hi.” He smiled back. “How long have we been asleep?”

“About three hours.”

“It doesn’t feel like it,” he spoke.

“How about a nice hot bath?” I asked. “I’ll put a little bit of lavender oil in it to help relax us.”

“Sure. Sounds nice.”

I climbed out of bed, went into the bathroom, and started the water. Andrew followed me in and placed his hands on the counter while he stared at himself in the mirror. I walked up behind him and began massaging his muscular shoulders.

“I think the bath is ready,” I spoke.

He turned around, placed his hands on my hips, and softly kissed my lips. After he climbed into the tub, I took my normal spot between his legs with my back firmly pressed against his chest. His arms wrapped around me and his chin rested on my head.

“I’m not comfortable with what Charlie suggested,” he spoke.

“I know you’re not, but it’s our only hope. I can get him to confess.”

“It’s too dangerous. He’s a murderer, Addison.”

“I’ll be fine, Andrew.”

“I don’t know what I’d do if I ever lost you,” he spoke.

“You don’t have to worry about that. You’re never going to lose me.”

I could hear my phone ringing from the bedroom, but I didn’t care. I was happy and content right where I was. After our bath, I slipped into my pajamas and grabbed my phone from the nightstand. A wave of nausea swept over me when I saw I had a missed call from Cody.

“What’s wrong?” Andrew asked.

I held up my phone to him.

“That motherfucker!”

“Shh.” I placed my finger up to his lips as I dialed Cody’s number.

“Hello,” he answered.

“Cody, it’s Addison. You called?”

“Addison, I heard about Andrew and I’m in shock. This can’t be true. How are you holding up?”

“Not good, Cody. Not good at all.”

“What are you doing right now? I can come by and we can talk.”

I wanted to run into the bathroom and vomit just hearing his voice.

“I can’t. I’m sorry. I’m packing all my things and moving back to my old apartment.”

“What? You’re moving out of Andrew’s place? Why?” he spoke with delight.

“You don’t expect me to stay with someone who was accused of murder, do you?”

“No. Not at all. I’m just surprised you’re not sticking by him.”

“How can I? All the evidence the police gathered proves that Andrew killed his ex-wife.”

Andrew took a seat on the edge of the bed and placed his face in his hands.

“I have to go. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“You’re coming back to work tomorrow?” Cody asked.

“Yes, I have to keep busy and find some normalcy again.”

“Okay. I’ll see you tomorrow. Coffee is on me.”

“Thanks, Cody. I appreciate it.”

I ended the call and let out a deep breath.

“We’re going to nail that son of a bitch,” I spoke to Andrew as I took off my engagement ring and handed it to him.