Conviction (A Stand-alone Novel): A Bad Boy Romance (25 page)

I let that letter fall open to the bar and picked up the last thin envelope with heavy fingers. The letter was postmarked only a week ago. My father must have packaged everything together and made his way to Las Vegas shortly after he received it. The missive was an official letter from the Texas courts granting me an exoneration hearing. Jace had left a sworn statement to be read after his death, and the court was prepared to review it and clear my name. After over a decade in prison, I was to be proven innocent.

I stumbled away from the bar and the spread of letters and dropped down into a wide armchair. What had my father thought when he read those last letters? Had there been a tear through the center of him like I could feel now? All those years he had thought the worst of me, proven wrong by the one man who knew the truth. There was no way my father would have doubted Jace's words, and now the court was going to make it official.

No wonder I had seen such pain in my father's eyes when he showed up on my doorstep. I had always remembered his blue eyes as sharp, like the blades of knives, honed by bitterness and worry and disappointment. When he arrived in Las Vegas, they were faded, washed out by tears he had never shed.

I pinched my own eyes shut, knowing their color was the exact shade of my father's. I had lashed out at him, driven him back, tossed him out of my life when all he wanted to do was face me. After all those years and the deep betrayal, it must have taken all his remaining strength to stand in front of me. And all I did was yell at him.

Autumn staggered to the door wrapped in a hotel robe. "I'm sorry, Ayden. I don't know what it is, but I am just not up to adventuring tonight. It must have been something I ate back in Vegas because it certainly wasn't the wonderful food we had tonight."

She made her way to the bar and opened a bottle of sparkling water. I heard the water fizzing as she paused. The letters were all open and spread out in front of her. It only took a few moments for her to put together what had happened.

"Oh, Ayden. I'm sorry. I brought it with so we could talk about it. I didn't think you would find it and open it tonight."

"Jace took care of my father. All those years, he supported him and kept in touch. The last, the last two letters," I steadied my voice, "Jace explained what happened."

Autumn shuffled through the stack, and I squeezed my eyes shut harder. She had never believed I did the crime I was convicted of but to have it proven was an entirely different sensation. I felt as if my heart my crack into pieces.

"They're going to exonerate you." There was a long pause as she took a few shaky steps and curled up in the corner of the couch nearest my armchair. "You sacrificed yourself so Jace could have the career he was meant for."

I opened my eyes and saw tears flowing freely down her cheeks. "I never thought of it as a sacrifice. I got everything I ever wanted, the chance to study, to earn my degrees. It was just. . .different." I tried to explain, but my voice failed.

"But even your own father believed you were trafficking drugs. You were sentenced to fifteen years in federal prison," she reached across and caught my hand.

"Well, now he knows. My father tried to tell me he knew the truth, and I chased him out of my life." I closed my eyes again and let my head fall back on the chair.

"He's not out of your life. Now that your father knows the truth, now that he truly knows what kind of son he raised, he will find his way back into your life. If not for himself, then for your mother's sake. He said so himself," Autumn whispered.

I sat up, angry with myself. "I haven't done anything to prove it. I need to work at it. I need to make Knight Holdings a success. Jace deserves his legacy, and I have to secure it for him."

"Then let's get Shelton on the phone and talk through the David situation again." Autumn's hand fell away, and I saw her blanch. She was really sick but tried to shake it off.

"Oh, no. I keep doing this to you. All of this has waited over fifteen years. It'll keep for a while longer. What can I do?" I dropped to my knees on the floor in front of the couch.

Autumn waved both hands in front of her face. "I'll be fine. I'm just tired."

I scooped her up and carried her into the master suite. Underneath the robe she had put on a nightgown of pale pink satin. My body lit up at the sight, but Autumn shivered. I tucked her under the covers of the bed and got undressed. Then I slipped into bed and wrapped myself around her.

"I've ruined your getaway," she whispered against her pillow.

"Nonsense. Just rest. We still have tomorrow."

"I brought the envelope, and I dug it all up. I'm so sorry. That was just what you wanted to get away from." Autumn's voice wobbled.

"Shh, like you said, it’s a good thing. The truth is out. Jace was always good at clearing the air." I smiled against her blonde hair.

Autumn gave a long, ragged sigh, and I felt her fall asleep in my arms. I lay there with her in my arms and looked out at the lights of San Francisco. I realized in the whirlwind of leaving Las Vegas and arriving in San Francisco I had forgotten to tell Autumn what I had planned to say. Now it felt buried underneath the letters from the past.

I took a deep breath and promised myself I would dig out from underneath it all and not miss my chance with Autumn. Ever since I first laid eyes on her, she had been a balm over the wounds from my past. Now it seemed they were healing on their own, and I had to stop taking advantage of her. She was so much more and she meant so much more to me, but I had not said it aloud.

Now she lay wrapped in my arms. We were insulated from the worries of work, the distractions of Las Vegas, and the complications of our lives there. I promised myself that in the morning, I would set everything else aside and focus on her. Autumn deserved it. She deserved to know how I truly felt though my insides skittered with fear at the thought of revealing so much.

"Tomorrow I'll tell you I love you," I whispered.

Autumn shifted in her sleep, her body fitting snugly against mine. The warmth, the comfort, the beating of our hearts in the quiet suite, all lulled me into a deep and peaceful sleep.

* * * * *

The sound of the phone jolted me awake. My mind had formed the old familiar picture of the prison and for a few seconds I was certain the riot alarms were ringing. I sprang from bed with such force that Autumn cried out.

"Sorry, it's okay, everything's fine. It’s just my phone," I told both of us. My vision started to clear, and I slowly remembered we were in San Francisco at the Palace Hotel.

Autumn sat up and brushed her blonde hair back from her face. "It’s just your phone, Ayden. Here it was on the bedside table."

I shook off the last of my prison memories and reached for the phone. "Ayden King," I answered.

"Ayden, I'm glad I caught you. I'm sorry for the hour."

"I'm sorry, who is this?" I held the phone away from my cheek and checked the screen. "Shelton? What are you doing calling in the middle of the night?"

Autumn pulled herself out of bed and wrapped the robe around her. "Is everything alright?"

"I'm calling about David," our attorney said.

I dropped to the edge of the bed and pulled Autumn down next to me. "Yes, I understand. I went to see David without consulting anyone. I apologize. I just wanted a chance to talk to him about the Mertz brothers before he knew what was coming."

Autumn pushed away from me and stood up again. Her cheeks burned red, and I could tell by the strength of her hands that she was feeling better. I mouthed 'I'm sorry' to her, but she shook her head and crossed her arms tight across her stomach.

"If it’s any consolation, the conversation went just the way I suspected it would. David was smug. He thinks he's out of the Mertz brothers' reach, so he had no reason to cooperate with me. I put a little scare into him. When Autumn and I get back from San Francisco, we'll go see him together, and I'm sure he'll be ready to talk," I said.

"Ayden, please, listen to me," Shelton interrupted. "I'm calling in the middle of the night because the correctional facility just called me. David was found in his cell. His throat was cut."

"David Rooke is dead?"

Autumn put both hands to her mouth in shock. I thanked our attorney for the heads up and hung up the phone. The silence in our suite pulsed as we both tried to take in the news.

"He's really dead?" Autumn asked in a taut whisper.

"The guards said there were signs of a struggle, but none of the other inmates in his cell block are talking. No surprise there. We may never know exactly who did it, but I bet I can guess who ordered it to happen," I said.

Autumn tucked herself into my arms and hung on tightly. "You really think the Mertz brothers are capable of that?"

"Yes, and it’s time we took them seriously. They want us to know who they are dealing with, but they have no idea what I'm capable of." I felt Autumn tense in my embrace, but the only way to keep her safe was to unleash the hardened version of me that long years in prison had hammered into iron.

Chapter Eighteen

Autumn

Darla squealed again as I described the top floor suite at the Palace Hotel. She sat in the chair across from my desk and held her laptop open on her knees. The official look was not fooling anyone as employees glanced through the fishbowl offices and smiled at our expressive secretary.

"How romantic!" she sighed.

"Well, we didn't really get much of a chance to see the city," I admitted.

Darla waggled her perfectly shaped eyebrows, "Now that's my kind of getaway. A luxury suite and no reason to get out of bed."

I felt my cheeks grow hot. "Hush! What if someone heard you?"

"I'll tell them you were researching hotel investments in San Francisco. It was one of Jace's favorite business opportunities to explore," Darla reminded me.

I thought of Jace and all those handwritten letters that had spilled out of the manila envelope. He had truly owed everything he had to Ayden King. Jace's friend had stepped in and saved him without a second hesitation. Every time I thought about it, my heart fluttered, and I had to control my breath to calm down.

"So you and Mr. King," Darla breathed another dreamy sigh. "It’s a fairytale romance: hardworking Vegas climber meets mysterious sudden millionaire."

"Trust me, it hasn't been all hearts and rainbows," I reminded Darla.

The looming specter of David's death had not yet reached the office. Ayden planned to make an official announcement later that day but until then, I was glad that Darla was smiling and gushing.

"Whisked away on a private jet. Did you fly over the Golden Gate Bridge? Could you see the Bay from your hotel room?" she asked. "Mr. King has got a lot of style. I have to give him that."

I smiled and felt a new warmth spreading to calm my fluttering heart. It would not be long before Ayden's name was cleared. I had no doubt he would then be named the official CEO of Knight Holdings, and everyone would see him as the quiet hero he really was.

I shook off the darkened memory of his tense muscles and iron resolve. The middle of the night phone call and his threatening mention of the Mertz brothers had chilled me. It was hard to reconcile that cold steel version of Ayden with the proactive and charismatic leader that walked by and winked at me through the glass walls of our offices.

"He does have style so here's the big question: what do I get him?" I asked Darla.

She perked up, ready for a challenge, and happy to be involved. "What sort of message are we sending?"

I tangled my hands together under the desk out of sight and thought about it. What sort of message did I want to send Ayden? I thought my growing love for him was already radiating every time I saw him. He would have to be blind not to see it. Plus it was not quite the right time. There were still so many obstacles.

"How about we keep it simple and stick to 'thank you,'" I said.

Darla sat back, somewhat disappointed, but thought it over and then smiled. "How about a new shirt. I noticed he never wears cufflinks so you could get him a shirt that needs them, and then surprise him with a pair."

"You really are the perfect assistant. And friend," I told Darla. "I'm assuming you also know the perfect place I can go."

She stood up with a pleased smile. "Of course. I'll call your driver and let him know."

I glanced at the hulking shape near the front doors of Knight Holdings. "Just write down the directions, please. I have an escort today."

"The bodyguard?" Darla glanced over her shoulder at Alan. "I meant to ask about that. Is everything okay?"

"Yes. Everything's fine," I suppressed a shudder and pushed away all thoughts of the Mertz brothers. "Turns out Ayden is romantic and just a touch protective."

Darla smiled, "That is romantic."

I noticed her looked warmed as she glanced at Alan again. The combination of our peppy secretary and the mountainous and serious bodyguard was too incongruous not to laugh. Darla caught herself and gave a pretty blush.

"Why don't you go tell Alan where we're heading," I suggested.

My stern bodyguard had the ghost of a smile playing around his lips when he joined me in the elevator. "Ms. Darla filled me in. I know the shop. They do custom work for me."

I eyed his impressively wide shoulders that dwarfed the confines of the elevator. "It must be hard to find suits that fit. Darla does make great suggestions. She's a real treasure," I said.

He smiled again but tried to hide it.

"By the way, thank you for shadowing me," I said. It was hard not to appreciate Alan after the eerie feeling at the mansion and David's shocking death.

I tried to keep that appreciation foremost in my mind, but Alan's bulk quickly drove me insane at the swanky boutique. Every shirt I considered, he loomed behind me until I was sure I could not breathe without screaming.

"Alan, I need to use the ladies' room." I held up both hands. "Please do me a favor and browse out here. I'm certain I can handle it on my own."