“I have a private investigator out looking for her father, but I think that it would be a good idea for her to file a missing person’s report soon,” he said in an authoritative tone. “Yes, I have all that documented. Now, if you could go over the state’s case with me again, that would be great.”
I
smiled to myself, not wanting to distract him. Anderson must be someone important in the firm since he seemed to have my case right in front of him. As they talked, Blaine started taking notes, stopping to ask questions that I already knew the answers to. Part of me wanted to jump right in with the team and help in my own defense. Who knew the details of my case better than me? I knew where everything was, who everyone was, and exactly what happened. From the sound of it, though, I might not have any real options when we got to court. The prosecutors had tied this one up pretty tightly and were very secure in their reasoning. They had arrested me because of an eyewitness that said they saw someone that looked like me walking into the victim’s home at the time of the murder. Then, when they searched my house, they found the murder weapon, wrapped in the victim’s clothes, in a trashcan outside of my house. It was set up by Paulie perfectly, and in my mind, a little too perfectly. I was shocked that no one was questioning why I would have that weapon in a trashcan out front, a trashcan that had been emptied at least twice since the murder by the garbage men.
It didn’t help that I couldn’t show any proof that I was at my house that night. My only alibi was my father, and he was still missing. I figured that Harry and Paulie probably had him locked up at this point, unable to leave to give us that information. In reality, I didn’t even think they would spare my father’s life once I was convicted. That was too many loose ends for the mob. They would kill him and throw the body in the river like so many others that had crossed their paths. My mind tried to block that image out, knowing that there was still a chance to correct all of this.
I had no idea what to do or even where to start. There was so much stacked against me, and I wasn’t sure how to prove them wrong. I felt a lot better knowing Blaine and his firm were already ten steps ahead of me. They had picked up the case as soon as I was arrested, and they’d been working the details ever since. If there was a way out of this nightmare, Blaine would find it, and that, in itself, gave me the ability to relax just a bit. I couldn’t spend the rest of my life behind bars.
Chapter 23
Blaine
“All right man,” I said to Anderson. “Thanks. I’ll give you a call back in a little while. We should go over the timeline this afternoon.”
“Sounds good, buddy,” he said.
I hung up the phone and looked down at my notes. It looked absolutely impossible, but I knew that it wasn’t. Besides, Anderson had gotten me some good information on this Paulie character, and I wanted to hear Josie’s story again while Anderson dove deeper into the two mobster thugs. She was lying in a huge nest of blankets and pillows on the couch, but she was anything but asleep. I could tell she was restlessly listening to everything going on, and I knew that her mind must be running a million miles an hour. I walked over and sat down next to her, grabbing onto her hand.
“I need you to do something just one more time for me,” I said. “I need you to recite exactly what happened on Wednesday. I know you’ve told me over and over again, but I want to make sure I have everything perfect.”
She took a deep breath and pulled herself up on the couch, reaching over and grabbing her bottle of water. I could tell she was already running the events through her mind, and I could see the stress start to build. I didn’t want her to be stressed, but I knew right now it was inevitable. She recounted her story, beginning at the conversation with her father at dinner about his gambling addiction.
She went through all of the events, but what really caught my attention was what happened in the jail cell after she was taken by the police. My eyes widened as she talked about Harry the Hammer, and how that woman, the same woman from the night Josie was arrested, ended up in the cell right next to hers with a violent message. She threatened Josie again, but this time, there were witnesses, and I knew no matter how loyal someone was to another inmate, the thought of freedom would make them sing like a bird. I was pretty pissed that none of the guards were there to help Josie.
As soon as she was done with her story, I leaned over and hugged her tightly, wanting her to know just how great she was doing. She smiled at me as I kissed her forehead and picked up my cell phone. Anderson needed to know this information, and the team had to get a jumpstart on it.
“Hey,” I said when Anderson answered. “I just found out Harry, the woman from the night of the arrest, was in the jail cell next to Josie the other night. She threatened her and gave her a bloody lip. The normal intimidation.”
“Shit, man,” Anderson said. “What do you need me to do?”
“See what you can find out about this Paulie and Harry duo,” I said. “There has to be something about them we can dig up. Josie said the woman was like a celebrity in jail, so there’s a good chance she’s been in and out of trouble. Find out if she is still in jail.”
“Will do,” he replied. “Call you back as soon as I have that information.”
“Great, thanks,” I said before hanging up.
I looked over at Josie and saw that her arms were covered in goosebumps, and she was shivering. It was warm in my place, so I knew it had to do more with telling the story than it had to do with the temperature. I walked back over to her and sat down, pulling my arms around her body and bringing her close to me. Slowly, her body began to relax again.
I worried that she was going to have some serious issues with all of this when it was done. She looked so tired, so frail, and so lost, and it was breaking my heart. He skin was pale, but where her usually rosy cheeks and pink lips were, was no color, only skin. She had bags under her eyes, and her hair wasn’t as shiny as it normally was. I could see this whole thing taking the kind of toll on her that illness did with other people.
I leaned forward and kissed Josie’s lips, missing her touch and her taste so much. She reached over and wrapped her arms around my neck, falling into me. She was so beautiful, and her mouth began to push harder against mine, her tongue running over my lips. She was passionate, and I could feel every part of her wanting more from me. She unwrapped her hands from me and smoothed down my shirt, her fingertips pressing hard into my skin. I opened my mouth and kissed her lustfully, feeling the heat in my chest rising. What started as a gentle kiss was quickly turning into something much more, and from the feel of her body against mine, she had more on her mind than just a gentle kiss. She pulled back and breathed deeply, looking into my eyes. I could see the lust covering the fear and stress that she was struggling with. She reached up and kissed my cheek, sliding her lips over to my ear.
“Make love to me, Blaine,” she whispered. “Make me forget everything. Make me forget all the bad things that have happened. Remind me how much you love me.”
I smiled at her words, knowing that she wanted to feel as cherished as I felt she was. I knew she needed to feel close to me on every level, and I felt the same. I had missed her so much, and in my worry, I had kept my distance physically, letting her decide what she wanted. Now, with her lips near mine and her soft body close, I couldn’t help but want every single part of her. I wanted to once again feel that passion and intensity that I had taken for granted when we first met, thinking it would always be there. I wanted to give her everything inside of me. She wanted me, and who was I to refuse a request from the woman I loved? It was impossible.
I ran my fingers over her shoulders and leaned forward, kissing her neck. She cooed softly at the feeling of our skin touching. She smelled absolutely amazing, like the lavender I had put into her bath water. I ran my hands over her cheeks and pulled her face in for another long and sensual kiss. I could feel my cock start to rise in my pants as she closed her eyes and put her hands on my thighs. I brushed the hair from her face and hugged her tightly to my body as my hands trailed down her back and onto her exposed skin right above her waistband. Goosebumps popped up everywhere my fingers touched, and her breathing started to increase. My hands were gentle against her, wanting her to feel the calm sensation of our lovemaking. She had been through so much drama, I wanted this to be an esca
pe.
I couldn’t help but think about our time together, and the fact that no matter how optimistic I was, this might be one of the last few times I would be able to show her how much I cared for her. It might be one of the last few times I could feel her wrapped around me and hear her moans as I brought her to a climax. She needed every part of me, and I was more than happy to give it to her.
She grabbed onto my arms, my muscles tense as she squeezed my biceps. She moved forward and straddled me, linking her ankles behind my back and kissing me lustfully. My hands went up under her shirt and unclasped her bra, feeling her large, bouncing tits press against me. I ran my fingers down her spine and cupped her ass, pushing my rock-solid cock against her warm mound. She flicked her hips, giving me an electric sensation in my legs, and the gentle lustfulness began to pick up. As our lips moved across each other’s, she swirled her hips in my lap. I pushed against her ass, thrusting my cock forward and rubbing it up her body. She moaned loudly, and immediately, I wanted to tear off her clothes and make love to her. As if she felt the same way, she began to pull off her clothes, exposing her skin to my eyes.
I ran my palms down her tits, stopping to pinch and rub at her nipples. She leaned her head back as I kissed her neck gently, feeling the pulse in her neck increase as my tongue slipped from my mouth and I tasted her salty skin. Her hips continued to glide over me, and she moaned loudly as her mound got wetter and wetter. I reached my hand down and slid it into her pants, cupping her pussy and rubbing hard as she continued to grind against me. She grabbed onto the side of the couch and lifted up slightly, allowing me to slip two fingers inside of her. She was so wet, and my fingers went right through her folds. It was sensual and trusting, the way she fucked my hand, and my cock was bulging in my pants. She reached one hand down and grabbed my wrist, moving her body like a wave against my palm. I could tell she wanted me to make her come, and that was exactly what I had in mind.
It was the most amazing and sexual thing I had ever seen, watching her bounce up and down on my hand, grinding on it the same way she did my cock. I wanted so badly to feel my dick inside of her, but I knew she needed to do whatever it was that she wanted to do. Her tits bounced up and down, and her head fell backward as I wiggled my fingers side to side as she came down hard on my palm. I pulled on her pants, moving them slightly down for a better handle on the situation.