Drake Forever (Unrestrained 7)

It was just then that Drake started down the stairs, freshly showered and drying his hair with a towel. He was wearing pajama bottoms and a robe, looking every inch the wealthy man of leisure that he was.

"Don't say anything," Lara said, reaching out to touch my arm. She raised her eyebrows. "Let him tell you."

I nodded.

Lara turned to Drake when he entered the kitchen. "Just in time," she said and held up her glass. Drake took his and the three of us toasted each other before taking a sip.

Drake drank his whole glass down at once.

"Ahh," he said when he was finished. "I needed that. And it tastes like another."

I laughed and poured him another glass of champagne. "It's going to be that kind of night, is it?"

"It is," he said and only sipped at the next glass. "I'm going to stay in all weekend and do absolutely nothing.

"Will you listen to the coverage?" Lara asked, eyeing Drake over her glass. "The closing arguments are tomorrow. I don't know how you can stand not going to court so you can hear it."

"Will they be broadcast?" I asked, curious myself.

"No," Lara said. "But I imagine there will be lots of news coverage."

"I may go," I said, glancing quickly at Drake. "I usually wouldn't want to, but I'd like to hear the closing arguments myself."

"We could go together," Lara said. "I have an in with the clerk."

She winked at me and I laughed. "I'm sure you do."

"You really want to go?" Drake asked, frowning. "I thought you wanted to avoid the trial and anything to do with it."

"I did, but this is the end and it would be interesting to hear them argue their cases. Would you mind?"

"Of course not," he said and drank more of his champagne. "As long as no one recognizes you. I thought you'd want to avoid any publicity."

"No one knows me," I said. "There are so few pictures of me in public. The one they use when they talk about me is from several years ago. I could wear my hair up, fake glasses and casual clothes. No one would know who I was."

"I'll get you in, if you really want to go, but maybe we shouldn't sit together. Some reporters know me and would likely ask questions about who I was with. If you want anonymity, that would be best."

"That's fine. You don't need to get me in, if that works better. I'll go incognito wearing my ordinary mom disguise."

"If you really want to," Drake said. "You can be our spy. People know my face by now, so as much as I'd like to hear closing arguments, there's no way I'm going. Who knows what another nutcase family member might do?"

We all nodded, thinking about the two attacks on Drake from Lisa's crazy family members. For the next half hour, the three of us drank our champagne, and talked about the trial, going over the main testimony and evidence, then how we thought the jury would decide the case.

"Guilty of second degree murder," Drake said.

"Agreed," Lara replied and finished her second glass of champagne. "I do think she'll get a light sentence. There's been a lot of talk in the press about women and abuse. A lot of sympathy for victims who later do violent acts. I think the defense lawyer has been pretty good at playing that up in the jury's mind."

"It doesn't excuse her," I said, angry at the thought that someone as conniving and manipulative as Lisa would be seen with anything but contempt. She wasn't a victim, although she played one very well.

"The most important thing is that she'll most likely get at least another ten years minimum -- more likely fifteen -- tacked onto her existing sentence," Lara said firmly. "She won't be out of jail before she's fifty. And based on what I've seen of her, she'll likely get in trouble in jail and spend even more time there. Someone like Lisa can't help but try to control others around her. She'll get in trouble inside as well as out of jail."

"She should stay in the rest of her life," Drake said.

I turned to look at Drake, surprised at his tone, which was acid. "She should, but that's not going to happen."

It was then we heard a little voice on the baby monitor.

"I'll go get her," I said and left Drake and Lara. When I got to Sophie's bedroom, she was sitting up in her bed, playing with a tiny plastic person that was part of her tiny world toy. She had the farmer in one hand and a cow in the other and was sucking on her pacifier.