Love, Lies & The D.A. (35 page)

“Ms.
McLean. You’re awake. How are you feeling this morning?”

“Still
really tired, and I have a really bad headache.”

“I’m
Dr. Dubois. Unfortunately, those may linger on for a while. You have a severe
concussion.”

“Will
I be okay? How long can I expect it to last?”

“The
good news is there is no swelling on your brain. You should be okay, but those
headaches can go on for quite a while. We can treat your symptoms, though.
Right now, I want you to concentrate on getting rest. Free your body and your
mind from anything stressful.”

I
guess I should wish myself luck in that department.

“How
soon can I go home?”

He
chuckles. “Not for a few days, Miss McLean. We need to have you under
observation before we’re sure that you’re well enough to leave. Right now, you
need to rest. I’ll get you something for that headache.”

I’d
like to argue with him, but I don’t have the energy.

“Thanks,
Doc.”

He
shakes Jonathan’s hand then exits the room.

“Shouldn’t
you be in court right now?” I ask.

“I’m
where I need to be,” he says, sitting by my side on the bed.

“Go
home and get some rest.”

“I’m
not leaving you here alone.”

“Why?”

“You
shouldn’t be alone at a time like this. Try to get some rest.”

“Do
you feel obliged to be here?”

“I’m
here because I want to be. Why can’t you see that?”

I
think I’ve upset him. I know this goes back to the trust thing again.

“I’m
sorry.”

“Jada,”
he says, tenderly tilting my head to him. I slowly look into his greys.

“I’m
not going to hurt you,” he says softly. “You can trust me.”

I can
barely look him in the eye.

“I’m
asking you to please trust me. I care about you, I have no hidden agenda, I won’t
hurt you.”

“I’m…”
I sigh. “I’m really, really scared.”

He
takes my hands in his.

“I
know, but I don’t want you to be scared when you’re with me. What can I do to
put your mind at ease?”

A tear
slips down my face. “Nothing… you’re doing it all already. You’ve been amazing
through all this. On Friday, I just got so scared. I realized how deep my
feelings were for you. I’m afraid of getting my heart broken.”

He
holds me in his arms. All the images of betrayal run through my mind—Richard
and Koto on my desk, his other affairs, him stealing from me, his lies to me,
Koto’s pregnancy, the offshore bank accounts, the dirty dealings, and not to
mention all the humiliation that came with it. The hurt and the fear I felt the
last few months seem to come together in this one moment while I breakdown in
his arms.

Tightly,
he holds me and softly runs his fingers through my hair. I realize if I truly
want to be with him, at any point, I have to trust him. And trusting him means
he gets to see me like this, at my lowest point, and hopefully at my highest.
If he cares about me the way he says he does, it means he’ll accept all of me;
it means he’ll accept me, even when I’m like this.

I
eventually calm.

“Why
were you so angry with me?” he asks.

After
an extended silence, and some thought, I whisper. “Because you left…”

“I’m
sorry, Babe. I thought you regretted what we shared.”

“I
didn’t. I got afraid. I thought if I told you, you would think I was crazy… I
thought it might scare you away.”

“I
know what you’ve been through these last few months. I’d understand. You can
talk to me about anything.”

I
tighten my grip around him. I finally relax in his arms as his words sink in.
Trusting again is something I realize I’ll have to do to move beyond the hurt
and betrayal I felt with Koto and Richard. But it’s so hard to do. The last
thing I want to do is not trust a man who has been there for me the last few
months because of what they did. I loop my fingers through his while he holds
me, and I find myself slowly letting go.

“I got
your birthday present on Saturday morning. It’s the most personal gift I’ve
ever received.”

“I
wasn’t sure what to get you. It seemed appropriate.”

“You
gave me a huge part of yourself… Your words were so profound.”

“So
you liked it?”

“I
loved it. Thank you so much,” he replies, kissing me on my forehead.

“You’re
welcome. Are we okay?”

“Of
course,” he replies, pecking my lips. “Sometimes you can be the most
infuriating woman I ever met,” he continues, laughing. “Let’s not talk about
this anymore. I want you to get your rest. That should be your only priority
right now.”

“I
want us to be okay.”

“We
are. I’m going to be here for you, and I’ll help you through this, no matter
what.”

He
circles me in his arms in a warm and endearing hug.

“I don’t
want you to worry about a thing.” He kisses me gently on my cheek then
surrounds my face in his palms and kisses me softly on my lips. I lean my
forehead against his.

“Thank
you for your patience… and for being here.”

“You
don’t have to thank me. Now lie down. You need—”

A gentle
knock on the door interrupts us, and as we turn to look, Bobby walks in.

Over
the coming
days, I slowly progress. The terrible headaches still
linger on, but my speech is nearly back to normal. It looks like I’ve been
forgetting a lot, but Dr. Dubois tells me there’s no reason I shouldn’t make a
full recovery.

Somehow
it looks like Bobby managed to get Mom to stay away, but that hasn’t stopped
her from calling at
least
five times a day. I’ve had very short visits
from Ian, Solace, Pierce, and Megan. Noticeably, Daniel didn’t visit or call,
even though his recovering mother managed to find the time.

I’ve
noticed that my room is under guard, but I’m not sure why. Bobby and Jonathan
won’t tell me either. I know something is wrong. The fact that Jonathan won’t
leave the room unless Bobby is with me tells me that.

By
late Thursday afternoon, Phillip, Douglas, and Cooper are by my side, asking
tons of questions. After they leave, it’s now clear to me why the security is
present.

Who
would try to kill me and for what purpose? The Chief of Police would lose
millions of dollars by having me killed, so neither the FBI nor I are sure that
he’d have anything to gain by me being dead.

There
was that threatening phone call, but we still have no clue who it was from.
Other than that, as far as I know, I don’t have any enemies—unless it’s someone
who believes I had something to do with Richard’s death, and they want to fight
his cause.

I try
not to think about it. Now that they’ve left, my headache has returned. I look
forward to tomorrow when I get to go home and be in the privacy and comfort of
my own space. Bobby will be leaving on Saturday. I’m eager to spend a little
time with him before he exits.

After
a long
visit from Dr. Dubois the following morning, Bobby takes
me home. He is driving Jonathan’s SUV. We leave through the service entrance
because of the number of reporters that wait at the main entrance. The drive
home is strangely silent.

I am
happy to be home. I collapse on the living room sofa while Bobby gets me some
juice out of the refrigerator. He joins me on the opposite sofa after a few
moments.

“The
new place looks great.”

“Thanks…
I know you’re upset with me. I tried giving you clues over the phone when we
spoke, but I guess you didn’t notice.”

“In
retrospect, I do. But you should have told Jonathan about that call.”

“He
had just found out his mom was sick. I didn’t want to worry him.”

He
shakes his head, and while I think he understands my reasons, I know he’s
pissed that this happened.

“Let’s
not talk about it right now. Where’s Jonathan?”

“He
had some things he had to take care of. He said he’d come by later.”

“Is he
okay? He seemed a little distant this morning when I saw him.”

“He
has a lot on his mind… He’ll tell you about it later.”

“What’s
going on?”

“I
know he wants to discuss it with you himself. He’ll talk to you later. He’s
crazy about you, you know.”

I
blush.

“He’s
deeply in love with you.”

“Did
he tell you that?”

“No. I’m
not blind. He didn’t—”

The
ping from the elevator interrupts our conversation, and Jonathan walks in with a
vase filled with white calla lilies. I’m surprised he’s wearing a suit. He
sheds his jacket. After a hug and kiss, he carefully replaces the cushion under
my ankle with his body and joins us in conversation.

Sometime
later, Bobby leaves us alone to go get a nap. I’d prefer to lie down, so
Jonathan helps me to my room. After changing into his favorite worn jeans and a
black T-shirt, he sits next to me on the bed.

“What’s
wrong? You haven’t been yourself?” I ask.

“I
resigned today,” he replies sadly.

“I’m
sorry. What finalized your decision?”

“The
circumstances of the last couple weeks. None of those meetings panned out the
way I had hoped. Mom has an uphill battle. I need to save what’s left of Dad’s legacy,
and I need to be there for my family… and you.”

“Thanks
for that, but I really hope that I wasn’t the deciding factor.”

“No,
it was sort of the final straw.”

“Are
you happy with your decision?”

“It
was the right decision. However, it was also a very difficult one. This is not
a normal job I resigned from. People elected me and put me there. I guess there
will always be a part of me that hates disappointing them.”

“I’m
sorry… is it public knowledge?”

“I let
the State Attorney General know yesterday. I announced it in a press conference
a while ago.”

“How
did that go?”

“Well,
I managed to shock the public twice in a matter of a month. So they had lots of
questions.”

“Did
you answer them all?”

“Most
of them. Since I didn’t discuss this with you, I wasn’t prepared to answer
questions about you.”

“I
personally don’t see why it’s anybody’s business, but I understand your
position. Whatever you told them is fine.”

“I
didn’t tell them anything. I refused to comment on any questions that involved
you.”

“Sounds
like there were many?”

“Well,
what do you expect? You’re stunningly beautiful, and you’ve been surrounded by
controversy recently, and it’s public knowledge that we’re at the very least—friends.
I also recused myself from your case in case you forgot, so they’re bound to
ask questions.”

“I don’t
know how to respond to that.”

“You
make a good story,” he says with a sexy gaze.

“Is
that all it is? A good story?”

He
chuckles. “To them… To me, you’re a whole lot more. And speaking of more, just
so we’re clear, as you so colorfully put it, I’m not fucking or seeing anyone
else. You’re the only woman I want in my life.”

“Me
too…”

“You’re
the only woman you want in your life?”

“No, Silly.
You’re the only man I want in my life.”

“I
should hope so.” He smiles.

“Friday
was incredible by the way… before it came to that unceremonious end.”

“Let’s
not rehash old memories. Hurry up and get well so we can make new ones.”

I
smile at him then take his hand in mine.

“I’m
sorry… for so much. About Friday night and that I didn’t tell you about that
call… I just thought you had enough on your mind at the time.”

“I
understand that, but I don’t want you keeping this kind of thing from me. I don’t
care what the circumstances are.”

“Your
mother’s health was more important than that phone call.”

“Jada,
I know you’ve gotten used to dealing with things on your own. But this is the
sort of thing you have to tell me about as soon as it happens.”

“I
didn’t want you to worry.”

“I’m
always going to worry about you, especially with this mess going on. What I don’t
need is worrying about whether or not you’re being honest with me. It will only
make me more concerned. I prefer to know what I’m dealing with.”

He’s
not shouting, but I feel like a child being scolded. I know I should have told
him.

“I’m
sorry,” I whisper.