“I know,” I whispered. “But then, what’s the point in trying to reopen the case? We’d just lose. Again. Maddox wasted his time.”
Grayson shook his head, giving me a smile full of secrets. “What do you think he has been doing the last eight months?”
I opened my mouth, but found myself wordless. I didn’t know what to do with this news. Maddox hadn’t told me anything about this.
When I found out about Christian… he never said anything about reopening my case.
He never said anything about fighting for… me.
“Maddox spent two months, trying to convince my father to work with him on this case. Then, he spent another three weeks, trying to find the best and most trustworthy lawyer. After all that? We needed proof. We needed a reason to reopen the case. Rolland Carmichael covered his tracks very well. It was almost impossible to gather the proof we needed. It took us months… and months of carefully extracting all the information. And now, we have a solid case.”
Grayson nudged the file in front of me. “This is everything. The driver who took the blame? He’s ready to speak in court. The cops that were on scene… Christian’s friends who saw him drunk that night and getting into the driver’s seat. Oh, and the security camera. You can do a lot when you have lots of money at your disposal. Maddox threw some cash at some people… and the job was done.”
I didn’t dare touch the file, too scared it’d burn me alive.
The world spun and grew blurry, dots scurrying across my vision. “Maddox didn’t tell me…”
“I spoke with him last week. I told him I’d have everything by today, but he isn’t picking up my calls.”
“Last week? You mean, he was still working on this with you? All this time?” I felt faint and cold… so, so cold.
Grayson looked confused. “Yeah? Why is that surprising?”
“We broke up almost two months ago,” I confessed, breathlessly. My ears were ringing, and my lungs squeezed.
His mouth rounded with an ‘o,’ and he nodded, slowly. “I don’t know your reasons for breaking up, but Maddox has been very adamant about bringing you the justice you deserve.”
And that…
That statement… decimated me.
Killed me. Ripped me apart.
Maddox wanted to bring me justice, to give me the closure I needed. All along, he was on my side.
All this time, he had been trying to protect me.
Oh God, how foolish I was. How stupid I had been. How careless I was with his heart.
My gaze landed on the brown file, and I swallowed back a cry. “Thank you, Grayson.”
He cleared his throat. “You’re welcome. I’ll see myself out.”
I closed my eyes and brought my head down to the table, resting my forehead on the surface. Grayson got up to leave, but my voice stopped him. “Riley is back in town for Christmas.”
He coughed and thumped his chest. “I didn’t need to know that.”
Without lifting my head up, I waved him away. “Well, now you know. Do what you want with it,” I said.
Long after Grayson had left, I found myself in bed, with my phone in my hand. I debated calling Maddox. It wasn’t late at night, and I knew he’d still be awake, right now. If I called him, it wouldn’t go to voicemail, like it always did.
If I called him… he might pick up.
And maybe that was why I wanted to do it.
I wanted to hear his voice – not a recording. I wanted to speak with him, ask him why. Why he didn’t tell me? Why he kept it a secret – another secret? Why he let me believe the worst… and why he kept working on the case, even after we broke up?
I had so many questions and absolutely no answers.
The pain burned deep into my core. Maddox was secretly taking care of me… when I left him behind, especially when he needed me the most. Now all my reasons for doing so, appeared moot.
My lungs denied me breath, and tears burned the back of my eyelids.
Maddox and I were foolishly in love…
And now? Look at us.
My thumb pressed the call button, before I could overthink it. I brought the phone to my ear, and, after two rings, Maddox answered the call.
“Hello?”
His voice. Lord, have sweet mercy on me. That gruff, deep baritone, husky voice. I missed it so much. I didn’t know how much I had needed to hear his voice until now.
I tried to clear my throat, because I suddenly forgot how to speak.
“Hello?” he said again, curt and irritated. My lips twitched. He was always so impatient, just as I remembered. Some things never change.
My heart thundered. My lips parted to speak.
“Oh my God!” There was a happy giggle and then, “The baby kicked again. He’s literally playing football in there. Maddox! Here, feel it.”