“Funny way of showing it.”
“Can we try again?”
“I’m not sure I want to know you anymore. You’re my sister, and I love you, but the line keeps moving farther back. It’s one thing if you hurt me, but entirely different when you drag my girls into it.”
I swallowed hard. “I know.”
“I need more time. There’s so much shit to wade through. I don’t know if I want to or not.”
“You’ll be there for your niece. Just like I am for mine.” Patrick’s voice was firm.
“She’s not your—”
“The hell she isn’t. You’re the only brother I’ve got. We’re bound together as a family more now than ever. I love your kid like she’s my own.”
A choked noise came from behind Andrew. Trish appeared, an armload of glasses in her hands. “Thank you for that, Patrick. Ella needs all the support in her life she can get.”
“I’m sorry, Trish.” All eyes went to me in surprise, but I forged on. “For the crap I’ve said and done. I wish I could promise it won’t happen again, but I’m not going to stand here and lie.” Why was apologizing the hardest thing in the world?
“I appreciate that. I’m willing to put it behind us if you are.”
I could’ve hugged her. Except I wasn’t the type. So I shoved my hands in my coat pockets instead and nodded. “I’m willing.”
She wrapped her arms around me and squeezed. “I’m so excited another little one is on the way.” She glanced toward Andrew. “He’ll come around.”
“I hope so.”
She hooked her arm through mine. “You must be starved.”
“Her pizza is the one with the big W on it.”
“You mean M?”
“No, it’s a W,” I said without further explanation.
“Do you want to finish this? Slug it out and get it over with? Because there’s too much shit going on for you to duck out on me,” I challenged.
“Shit,” Blake screamed.
Patrick’s face turned red. “Not a good thing to repeat, little dude.”
“Dude.”
“Go with your mom. See if she can clean up your potty mouth.”
“Ass.”
“No. No. No. Don’t call her that.”
“It’s true,” I said, trying not to laugh.
“I leave him with you for a few days and his language has gotten much more colorful.” Dad fought a smile as Blake pulled on his collar.
Patrick rubbed the back of his neck. “I’ll work on it.”
“He’ll learn it one way or another.” Dad patted his shoulder before he gave Andrew a stern look. “And stop being an A-S-S. Your sister is a grown woman. And she couldn’t have picked a better guy to have a child with.”
“I didn’t pick him,” I said over my shoulder.
Patrick looked a little stunned at my father’s words, but quickly recovered at mine. “Nope. I picked her. She couldn’t resist my charm.”
“What about the FBI?” Andrew lightly punched him in the stomach.
“Remains to be seen.”
Chapter Forty-Seven
Patrick
“Were you really stupid enough to solicit a cop for sex?”
“Who’s in here and who’s not?” I slung my briefcase on the desk and dropped into a chair.
“If you weren’t taking my father’s money I’d fire you.”
“I’ll bill for the work I’ve done so far and we can part ways now if that’s what you want.”
”You’re a criminal.”
“Funny that. You claim to be wrongly accused, yet you’ve already convicted me?” I put my phone on top of my legal pad.
Abraham sulked into his seat. “Have you figured out how to get me out of this yet?”
“Have you told me everything I need to know?”
His lip curled.
“How did things begin with Shel?” I started the voice memo app on my phone.
He lifted and lowered a shoulder.
“Listen. I get this isn’t easy, but the more you tell me, the better chance I can find something to get you acquitted.”
“Washing machine was broken.”
“Hers or yours?”
“Hers.”
“Where was the rest of the family?” I drummed my pen on the table.
“School. Work.”
“It was a weekday?”
“Wednesday.” It never ceased to amaze me how some details were so fuzzy and some that seemed minute were crystal clear. What about that day made such an impact?
“Why were you home?”
“Flu.”
“Why wasn’t she at work?”
“Played hooky.”
“Yet she was doing laundry?” He shrugged again. Next time I came to this prison I was bringing concrete blocks to put on his shoulders. “You let her in despite your illness?”
“Looked at me and insisted on taking care of me.”
“You tried to get her to leave?”
“A little.”
“What does that mean?”
“A little.”
“What happened next?”
“She put me in bed. I woke up to chicken soup and an angel.”
“What was different about her that day than the ones before?”
“Maybe it was the fever. Maybe it was the way she took care of me.”
It was nice to be taken care of.
“Did you find her attractive initially or did it grow after this incident?”
“Whole time.”
“Were you intimate that day?”
He slammed his fist on the table. “None of your business.”
“I’d agree under different circumstances.”
“Do you think I’d get her sick?”
“I have no idea.” I feigned indifference, though this was the kind of thing I’d need to establish his character.
“I’d never put her at risk. In any way.”
“She took care of you. What happened after that?”
His upper lip twitched. “She nursed me back to health. Started coming to check on me every day.”
“Did Alex take issue with that?”
“Not that I know of.”
“How did the relationship continue once you were well?”
“Washing machine.”
“I can’t imagine her husband not catching on to that.”
“He was stupid. Didn’t pay enough attention to her.” He folded his arms across his chest.
“I thought he was your friend. That their marriage was good.”
“He was my friend.”
“Not now?”
“He thinks I murdered his daughter.”
“And knows you fucked his wife?”
His arm muscles flexed as he clinched his fists. “No.”
“Are you certain?”
“I just know.”
“That’s helpful.” I drummed my pen on the table. He glared at the annoying gesture. “Who else knew about you and Shel?”
He looked away. “Nobody.”
“I’m the one person you shouldn’t lie to.”
“Christopher.”
I stopped drumming. “How?”
“We were in her kitchen.”
“Doing what?”
“Kissing.”
“Wasn’t that risky in her home?”
He grunted.
