Nick, p.4
NICK, page 4
“The reason is to get her off scot-free,” he quipped, pulling into a parking spot. He let the engine idle for a long moment while they sat in silence. “Why did you really take the case?”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
She could be defensive until the cows came home. This case was a slam dunk for any halfway decent DA. Why would she take on something so unwinnable?
And then the reason dawned on him.
“How’s your career going?” he asked. He could do a little research and find out for himself but figured he could ask while he had her in the truck.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” she asked, indignant. Her response told him everything he needed to know.
He cut off the engine. “Chase any ambulances lately?”
Vanessa was out the passenger side before he could round the front of his vehicle. “If you’re asking me if I came looking for this? The answer is no. Your mother reached out and…” her blue eyes flashed anger. “I thought I would try to help for old times’ sake. Figured I owed you one, but I can see that you have no intention of letting go of the past.” She stomped right past him toward the white brick hospital building. “Plus, no one else was going to take a case that, like you said, is a slam dunk. And I thought your mother deserved a fair chance at a legal defense.”
Nick muttered a string of curse words. He owed her an apology after speaking before he engaged his brain. Accusing her of being predatory was a jerk move. For now, he would table the apology and see how the rest of the day panned out. Vanessa wouldn’t accept it right now anyway. She had too much pride. The notion she would come back to Lone Star Pass to give his mother a fighting chance for him was the last thing he expected Vanessa Mosely to say. It caught him off guard. He refused to let it soften his stance toward her, though. This seemed like a good time to remind himself that a good attorney figured out what someone wanted to hear and fed it to them. Right?
As much as he didn’t buy this as the case with Vanessa, it was easier to swallow than her carrying around remorse all these years. Even so, it hit him square in the chest.
Following a couple of steps behind, he tucked his cell phone inside his pocket. The group chat message he would like to send about what happened earlier would have to wait. On second thought, what if the bullet had been meant for him? What if others in the family were at risk?
Fishing the cell out, he palmed it as the double glass doors swished open. Rather than get the whole family riled up by firing off a text about a shooter, he told everyone to use extra caution and stay on alert. A reminder not to let their guard down was always a good idea. He followed up by saying he would explain later and then requested a family meeting. Vanessa had said so herself, she would need to talk to the family. This was the easiest way to get it done.
By the time they reached the elevator, his phone started blowing up with questions. While they waited for the ding, he reassured the group he was alive and well.
Morgan called.
“Hey, I’m about to get in an elevator, so we might get cut off,” Nick answered.
“Everything okay?” Morgan asked.
“There was an incident outside at the park across the street from the jail after you left,” Nick explained as the ding sounded. “I’m safe. Just be careful.”
Morgan muttered a curse. He, of all people, would be sensitive about an attack; especially after what he’d just been through with the former ranch hand their mother had promised to split the inheritance money with. “Do you think there could be more folks involved?”
“We’ll see,” Nick said as he stepped inside the metal cage. He wasn’t claustrophobic but he sometimes questioned engineering skills. This space appeared to be sound, if slow. At least he didn’t lose the call with his brother.
“Rowan won’t be at the meeting you called,” Morgan continued.
“Did he say why not?” Nick asked, before he realized not enough time had passed for Rowan to have had a conversation with Morgan about his whereabouts.
“He’s gone,” Morgan said. “Said something about being fed up with all this nonsense. Said he was heading to Colorado to do some camping. Who knows where he is. That was yesterday. I dropped by last night to see if he was serious but his place was dark.”
“Might do some good for him to get away,” Nick said, thinking he should probably do the same. He glanced over at Vanessa, who was staring at her screen.
“I guess,” Morgan said. “I just don’t like the idea of any of us being on our own right not.”
“Understandable,” Nick replied. “What about the others?”
“Everyone’s in and out,” Morgan said. “You know how it is around here. Getting everyone in the same room is about as easy as herding cats.”
“We all have our own lives,” Nick admitted but it was much more than that. The family was divided once again.
“Where are you now?” Morgan asked.
“You’ll never believe this,” Nick said.
“Try me.”
“I’m with Vanessa Mosely at the hospital,” Nick informed.
Another string of swear words filled the line. “Are you serious? What are you doing with her?” And then it must have dawned on Morgan. “Her father is a defense attorney, isn’t he?”
“Was,” Nick clarified. “He passed a couple of months ago.”
Morgan sucked in a breath. “Are you telling me that his daughter is our mother’s new attorney?”
“That’s right,” Nick said, muting his own reactions to his brother’s epiphanies. “She’s right here if you have any specific questions.”
“Got it,” Morgan said, clearly taking the hint. “I’ll save mine for when I see you both later. I’m assuming she is the reason you’ve called the family together.”
“It’ll be easier for her to speak to all of us at once,” Nick said. Although, all nine of them could be overwhelming. Then, there were his cousins, all of whom had settled down in a manner of months. It was wild when he really thought about all nine of them discovering their forever people when he couldn’t be further from wanting or needing the same. Even Morgan and two of their other brothers were married or planning weddings. The joke about there being something in the drinking water at the ranch was growing old. The only thing in that water was rust from old pipes.
“I’ll see what I can do about rounding up the others,” Morgan promised. “Does she want our cousins involved?”
“She’ll have to tackle that side on her own,” Nick said. It was still a sore and uncomfortable subject between cousins for obvious reasons. Nick was surprised it didn’t divide them again, but everyone seemed intent on trying to glue the family back together after all the recent tragic events. Not to mention the fact their grandfather, the one responsible for creating the divide in the first place, was gone. Nick’s mother had found out their grandfather had planned to cut them out of the will in order to leave money to his mistress. It was a mess. The fallout from one man’s life and machinations was still being felt like waves of sound in a canyon.
The elevator dinged, indicating they’d stopped on his mother’s floor.
“I have to go,” he said into the phone before ending the call with a promise to report back immediately.
With no information, Nick feared he was about to walk into another mess.
Two prison guards approached the minute the doors opened. Vanessa held up a hand to stop them. “I’m the attorney of record for Mrs. Firebrand. I have a right to visit with my client.”
“I need to see some ID,” one of the guards said. His nametag read: Wilton. He was roughly six feet tall, with buck teeth, and a big nose. He wore his hair in a comb-around. The fluorescent lighting bounced off the crown of his head.
Vanessa dug into her bag, located her wallet after some digging—she really needed to clean that thing out—and then produced her driver’s license.
“Ma’am, this license expired last month,” he said after staring at the date.
She bit back a curse. Of course, it had. She’d been swimming in paperwork and e-mails. She remembered something coming through but forgot all about the notice while she grieved her father. Her grief was being cut short since saving the law firm and preserving his legacy had to take center stage. Besides, lawyers were threatened all the time. Sometimes directly and some of the threats were veiled. It came with the territory and was part of the not-so-glamorous side of her job—a job that had felt lackluster until Jackie Firebrand called asking for help.
Vanessa issued a sharp sigh. “Is it still within the grace period?”
“Technically—”
“Then, I suggest you allow me access to my client,” she said, cutting the guard off and taking control of the situation. The term fake it till you make it applied here. She’d noticed the person who seemed like they had the most authority in a given room was the one everyone listened to.
Wilton studied her for a moment before rechecking the ID. He handed it back with a nod. “Right this way, ma’am.”
It wasn’t a good sign that she still hadn’t received a full report from the sergeant. What was he trying to cover up? Incompetence? Or something bigger? A high-profile case like this one could attract a lot of attention. She wondered how Nick would feel if Vanessa ramped up news coverage on the case. If she ‘leaked’ a few tidbits of information, could she cause the stir she needed to get the trial relocated if the altercation wasn’t evidence enough?
Would Nick object to the plan? The last thing she wanted to do was cause him more pain. Could she afford to care about his opinion? Another thought hit harder. This was a big case. The stakes were high. Was Vanessa up to the job? In theory, she knew all the correct steps to take. Reality was a whole other beast. Right now, she couldn’t afford to doubt herself.
Doing what was best for her client had to come first. She had to do what was right and not worry about sparing anyone else’s feelings. The first rule of a good defense attorney was staying emotionally detached even if her heart protested after seeing the pain in his eyes.
“Hold on there, sir,” the second guard said to Nick. “You need to stay out here.”
“He’s with me,” Vanessa stated, taking a step back as Nick squared off with the guard. The determination in Nick’s expression said he would walk right through the guard if he tried to stop him. “Hey, hey.” The looks between the two men could melt a glacier. “I said he’s with me.”
“Last I checked, only an attorney had the right to see a client,” the man said, digging his heels in.
“I’d be happy to file an injunction against you,” Vanessa stated. “Or how about I just call your boss right now and get his clearance.” She didn’t think the sergeant would green light Nick going into his mother’s room, but she said the words with the kind of authority few folks challenged in her experience. Plus, she had an ace in the hole. Her uncle was the warden. The two of them weren’t exactly close but she could play the card and bluff her way through if she had to.
The guard studied her before checking with his partner. The two conferred for a few seconds before green-lighting the entry.
“I’d like to speak to my client’s doctor,” she said to the nurse’s station as they were escorted past. Nick walked a step behind, and she could feel the tension radiating from him. Without any idea of the condition of his mother, they were walking in blind. Meaning, she had no idea what to expect. Her lawyer instincts were probably kicking in because she wanted to prepare Nick for what he might encounter. But he was grown and would be quick to remind her of the fact if she forgot.
Still, she slowed her pace and reached for his forearm. The touch, meant to offer reassurance, sent a firebolt of electricity rocketing through her. Based on his reaction, the same thing happened to him. Though, neither would admit as much to each other.
All these years later, and the chemistry they’d shared still sizzled.
Even though this—whatever this was—fell into the category of ‘never gonna happen,’ it was good to know it still existed in the general sense. Why hadn’t she felt this way in far too long?
First of all, she’d graduated high school early. Secondly, she’d done undergrad in three years. Don’t even get her started on law school. Despite taking all three years to finish, the workload at University of Texas at Austin Law was more than enough to kill any social life. She’d dated a couple of study buddies, mainly because those were the only other humans she knew, but nothing serious had ever come of the short relationships. She’d told herself stress had slaughtered romance, but it was more like lack of interest on her part. The heartbreak after walking away from Nick had been soul-crushing, and her fault. Being young and naïve, she didn’t realize what they’d found in each other was rare.
Vanessa needed more than another pretty face to light the kind of campfires inside her that Nick had no trouble doing. She was much more attracted to what was ‘under the hood’ so to speak, namely, a guy’s brain. The way a person looked at life and what they liked to talk about was far more important than outwardly physical good looks.
Although, it didn’t hurt that Nick’s made her stomach flip-flop like a dozen butterflies had been released inside her. He was pretty to look at. He would also laugh at being described as pretty. But there was no denying the adjective fit.
He cut her off at the door of his mother’s room.
“Hold on a second,” he said with a concerned look—a look that stopped her in her tracks.
5
“What is it, Nick?”
Vanessa’s clear blue eyes coupled with the concern in her expression reached a place deep inside. Nick decided it was best not to dwell on physical reactions, especially like the ones that happened every time they made physical contact.
“Do you want to wait here and let me go in first?” he asked, figuring he could spare her from a horrific scene if his mother was in bad shape.
“I could ask the same question to you,” she said. “But I won’t because I know there’s nothing that would stop you from turning around and walking inside that door.”
Nick agreed. He didn’t want to go into detail about the fact his mother could be faking the whole fight scenario. It was possible she wasn’t even injured but came up with a plot to get out of jail for a little while. She had to realize she’d be sent back but maybe saw this as a break or mini vacation. The woman had nearly pulled off a murder plot, so there was that to consider. When it came to her mind, he didn’t rule anything out.
His thoughts bounced between fearing she had crossed a line with another inmate, causing a fight that she would certainly lose, and her faking it. It was a sad statement that he couldn’t believe in his own mother’s integrity.
“One of us will have to accompany you inside the room,” one of the guards said. It was the one who’d challenged him at the elevator a minute ago.
“That’s fine,” Vanessa said like it was her say. It wasn’t. Nick could tell she’d been bluffing back there in the way her voice changed, moving up an octave. She spoke with more authority and straightened her back, standing tall at her full height of five-feet-seven-inches.
Nick pulled in a breath before taking the couple of steps inside the room. There were two beds; only one was occupied. His mother’s was near the window. The blinds were closed, plunging the room into darkness. His eyes had a difficult time adjusting from the bright fluorescent lighting in the hallway to the wall sconce on what had to be the lowest dimmer setting.
One of the guards stepped in behind Nick, leaned his back against the door, and rested his right hand on the butt of his service weapon. Was it meant to remind Nick the guy would have the upper hand, so no funny business? This was Nick’s mother’s room. What the hell did the guard think Nick was going to do?
Vanessa slipped her hand in his as they both walked toward the bed. Normally, he would pull away from contact but not this time. Not while he walked up to the bed where his mother was either faking it or seriously injured. Either would gut him.
Beep. Beep. Beep.
Machines were hooked up to his sleeping mother. There was white gauze wrapped around her head, covering her forehead.
Nick bit back a curse as he got close enough to see swollen eyes and a busted lip. She had five or six stitches holding her nose together. White hot rage caused his grip to tighten around Vanessa’s hand. Rather than squeeze to the point of hurting her, he let go.
“I’ll make sure this doesn’t happen again, Nick,” she whispered as his mother’s eyes fluttered open. “I’ll make sure she’s safe from here on out.”
There was a hint of grandeur in Vanessa’s voice along with a whole heap of sympathy. It dawned on him why. She would be able to get his mother’s trial moved away from Lone Star Pass now. This had to be the proof she’d been looking for.
Guilt slammed into him for doubting his mother. It struck him as odd that she could be downright evil on the one hand and a victim on the other. He didn’t have it inside him to hate her as he saw her try to smile at him. She winced in pain, so he reached out to touch her hand, and then realized her wrists were cuffed to the bed. It shouldn’t shock or anger him, but it did.
What if there was a fire?
Okay, he could admit the thought was a little out there. She had guards stationed twenty-four hours a day as far as he could tell. The men had been pushy with his mother’s attorney. It wouldn’t look good for a prisoner to die on their watch. The media would have a field day. They would ensure she made it out alive, if only to save their own hides.
His mother’s face twisted in pain. She tried to speak.
Nick moved close to her ear and whispered, “It’s okay. I’m here. Don’t hurt yourself.”
As much as he wanted to hear what she wanted to say, there would be time later. Looking at her as she lay helpless, bound to a hospital bed, all his anger toward her subsided. For now.
She squeezed his hand.
“I’m going to make certain you are never back in that jail cell again,” Vanessa promised, renewed anger and something that sounded a lot like resolve seethed in her tone. “This is totally unacceptable.”
