Maybe Never (Maybe #2) (11 page)

I follow my lawyer up to the table at the front, a table I never imagined I would ever have to sit behind. Scarlett squeezes me again to try to comfort me, but it doesn’t help. I can see the worried look on her face.
 

“I’ll be sitting right behind you.”
 

“Thanks, Scar.”
 

She smiles, and then true to her word, she takes a seat at the bench behind me.

My lawyer pulls a chair out for me, like we are sitting down for dinner at a nice restaurant, not like he’ll be defending me in court. I take a seat, and he sits next to me. Then, he begins pulling out papers from his briefcase while I sit nervously.
 

I feel the sweat building under my shirt. I nervously tap my foot under the table. And then I swing my leg. And then I tap again. I switch back and forth, trying anything to calm myself, but it’s useless.
 

Mr. Greene leans over to me. “It’s normal to feel nervous and scared. You shouldn’t be here after all, but just make sure you don’t look guilty. Just be as natural as you can.”
 

I nod.
 

“All rise,” a woman says.
 

I stand next to my lawyer as everyone else in the room also stands. I watch as a judge and jury file into the room, and then we all take our seats.
 

I see the judge’s lips moving, but I don’t hear the words. I’m too busy tapping my foot again to listen. I watch the prosecutor stand. He’s older. His hair is graying, and he has wrinkles around his eyes.
 

He begins speaking about why we are here. That, by the end, he is going to prove my guilt. He doesn’t speak to me. He speaks to the jury while occasionally motioning to me. It makes it easier for me to pretend like I’m not here.
 

I try to picture myself sitting on the beach. When that doesn’t work, I picture myself hiking in the mountains. Image after image goes through my head when the prosecutor speaks and then when my lawyer speaks. Their words don’t matter. I don’t have to respond to them. I won’t have to testify until next week—if at all, depending on how today goes. So, I just try to forget I’m here. It’s all I can do.
 

When I hear Killian’s name, my ears immediately perk up.
 

“Agent Byrne will take the stand now.”
 

I keep my eyes forward as Killian makes his way into the courtroom. I don’t look at him until I watch him climb up into the witness box next to the judge. He only glances at me for a second, but it’s enough. Enough to calm me and excite me at the same time, and then his eyes go right back to the prosecutor.

“Can you explain your relationship with Ms. Felton?”
 

Killian looks to the jury. “I was an undercover agent for five years at the Felton Corporation, the company her family owns and operates. I also spent time getting romantically close to Ms. Felton in order to gain her trust.”
 

“And what was Ms. Felton’s relationship with her father and grandfather?”
 

“She was close to them.”
 

“Close enough that they didn’t have any secrets between them?”
 

Killian nods. “I would guess not, but I can’t be sure of that.”
 

The prosecutor nods and walks back to his desk. He picks up a piece of paper in a plastic cover. “I would like to submit the first piece of evidence.”
 

He places the piece of paper in front of Killian. “Can you describe for the jury what this is?”

“It’s a document, a contract of sorts between the Felton Corporation and their investors, stating how much money the Felton Corporation earned during a specific time period. It’s a lie the Felton Corporation presented to their investors to get them to invest more.”
 

“Whose signatures are at the bottom?”

“Robert Felton, Lee Felton, Kinsley Felton, and mine.”
 

He nods and then passes the paper to the jury for them to inspect and then over to our table where I glance at the evidence for the first time. I look at the paper. I look at my signature at the bottom, and that’s when it all comes flooding back.
 

I remember my father brought me in almost three years ago over my summer break. I remember signing a bunch of papers about my inheritance. I remember Killian coming in to speak to my father during that time. He watched me sign this paper. That’s what he is testifying to. That’s why he thinks I will go to jail. But they are wrong. All wrong. This paper doesn’t say anything about what they are suggesting. And if it did, the numbers on it must have just been a mistake. We wouldn’t have purposely misled anyone about our company.
 

The paper is taken back out of my hands quickly. Too quickly for me to really read it. All I know is, I signed it without a second thought. I used to sign everything placed in front of me without a second thought.
 

I watch as the prosecutor walks the paper back to Killian. “Can you confirm for everyone how you know this isn’t a forgery and the signature at the bottom belongs to Kinsley Felton?”
 

I suck in a breath and wait for Killian to confirm what I already know—that I did sign the paper. If that paper does in fact seem criminal, even if it was a mistake, they could still convict me unless we find a way to prove it was just a mistake. It wasn’t intentionally done. They only have one paper from one time. That’s not enough to show proof of money laundering or fraud.
 

Killian looks at the piece of paper, and then he looks up at me. I think he’s preparing me for the words that will come out of his mouth, the words that will convict me.
 

Then, he opens his mouth. “I can’t confirm that this signature is Kinsley Felton’s.”
 

The prosecutor raises his eyebrow at Killian, obviously not expecting that answer. “Are you sure you didn’t witness Kinsley Felton signing this piece of paper?”
 

“I didn’t see her sign anything.”
 

The prosecutor walks back to his table and shuffles through some papers. When he finds what he is looking for, he says, “Your report dated three years ago clearly states that you witnessed Kinsley Felton sign this paper. Are you telling me this report is wrong?”
 

“Yes. I witnessed Kinsley Felton sign something, but I wasn’t sure what. At the time, I assumed it was this paper. No, I
hoped
it was because I was tired of my assignment after being undercover for three years, and I wanted evidence to release me from my duty. After thinking about it now, I realize that she was signing a birthday card for her mother. As you can see from the date on the report, her mother’s birthday was the next day. It is my belief that her father or grandfather then forged her signature onto this document. I believe they couldn’t convince her to go along with their criminal activities, but they wanted the company to stay in the family, so they forged her signature.”

“Agent Byrne, I would like to remind you that you are under oath. Whatever you say must be the truth, or you could go to jail if what you’ve said is proven to be false.”
 

“I understand.”
 

The prosecutor glares as Killian, but he remains calm and composed. I don’t understand why he is lying for me, why he is protecting me.
 

“Then, I would like to call for a recess,” the prosecutor says.
 

My lawyer stands up. “Your honor, I would like to call for the charges to be dismissed against my client. The prosecutor’s main evidence has just been proven wrong by their own witness. They don’t have anything else against my client.”
 

The judge turns his attention to the prosecutor. “Is that true?”

“Yes, your honor, but we would like more time to reexamine our evidence. We still believe Kinsley Felton is guilty.”
 

“For the time being, if you are not prepared to continue now with this trial, then I have no choice but to dismiss the charges against Kinsley Felton. Ms. Felton you are free to go?”

I have no idea what just happened, but the room seems to be spinning with chaos. I turn to face Scarlett, who is smiling brightly at me. I watch as Killian steps down from the stand and is immediately scolded by the prosecution. He doesn’t glance my way. He just walks straight down the center aisle and out of the courtroom.
 

I begin walking down the center aisle as well. I don’t bother speaking to my lawyer. Scarlett tries to get my attention, but I motion that I’ll be right back, and she looks at me with a knowing face.
 

I make it through the crowded courtroom and out into the hallway, but I don’t see Killian. Instead, cameras and microphones are thrust into my face as reporters ask about how I feel now that the charges have been dismissed.
 

“Good,” I say with a blank stare as I look out past them for Killian.
 

I see a group of men wearing all black suits, and I begin walking in that direction. When I walk closer, I see Killian standing next to one of them while another man is speaking harshly to him. I hide around the corner so that I can hear the conversation but not be seen.
 

“You can forget about that promotion. In fact, expect a demotion coming your way. You’re lucky I’m not firing your ass right now.”
 

“Yes, sir,” Killian says flatly.
 

“And if I do find clear evidence that you were flat-out lying on the stand, I will fire you and send your ass to jail. Do you hear me?”
 

“Yes, sir. I wasn’t lying though. I just realized that my report was wrong. After thinking about it more, I realized what really happened.”
 

“I don’t want to hear it. Just get out of my sight and get your shit together before Lee Felton’s trial.”
 

“Yes, sir.”
 

I watch Killian walk past me without looking at me, and I follow him. We walk past the metal detectors. We walk out the front door and down the front steps. He walks to the driver’s seat of his car while I climb in the passenger seat.
 

“What are you doing?”
 

“I should ask you the same question.”
 

“Get out of the car, princess.” Killian grips the wheel but doesn’t move to look at me.
 

I can’t read him, and it’s killing me. I have to know why the hell he did that back there.
Why did he lie on the stand for me?
 

“No, not until you tell me why you lied.”
 

He looks at me now with his dangerous dark eyes that are hiding more than I even knew was possible to hide. He doesn’t answer me though. He just backs the car out of the parking spot. He doesn’t speak to me or look at me as he turns onto the street, and that’s when I realize I need to text Scarlett.
 

Me: Got a ride home with Killian. Thanks for coming with me today.
 

Scarlett: No problem. Glad the truth came out. Be careful.

Me: I will.
 

Scarlett: Call me later.

Now that I’ve done the responsible thing, I can turn my attention to Killian and to getting him to speak to me.
 

“Where are you taking me?” I look around, trying to find any clue as to where Killian is driving us, but I don’t have any idea.
 

“I’m not taking you anywhere. I’m driving home. You are stealing a ride.”
 

I frown. After what he just did for me, I thought it meant something. That he would open up to me and finally tell me the truth.
 

He doesn’t though. He is still as cold as ice.

I don’t try to get him to speak to me again. I just stare out the window at the buildings that pass by as Killian drives. We don’t turn the radio on. We don’t look at each other. We both just exist, lost in our own thoughts.
 

I try to figure out what just happened. Why I’m not still sitting in the courtroom, sweating and worried that I could actually go to jail for something that was nothing more than a mistake, and the only thing I can come up with is…

“You love me.”
 

Killian looks at me, and I can see it in his eyes even if he can’t admit it to himself.
 

“You love me. That’s why you couldn’t testify against me. That’s why you risked everything to save me. You risked your job. You gave up a promotion. You risked going to jail yourself. All for me. The only explanation is that you love me.”
 

I watch him swallow hard before his eyes drift from me back to the road, but I’m not going to take his silence any longer. I grab his head and force him to look at me, despite the fact that we are driving on a busy Las Vegas road. I’m willing to take the risk because I can’t wait another second to know.
 

“You fell in love with me even though you weren’t supposed to. You fell for the supposed criminal. Admit it. You. Love. Me.”
 

I bite my lip, waiting for his answer that still hasn’t fall from his lips. Maybe I was wrong. Maybe I just want him to love me so badly that I see anything he does as an admittance of his love.
 

“You’re wrong,” Killian finally says as he pulls into a parking spot. He turns off the ignition.
 

My eyes widen at his words even though I was just thinking it. It hurts more than I want to admit because, despite everything, I still know how I feel about this man. I know, because the second he protected me, the hatred that I’d thought I had disappeared. The hatred though was just a part of the love that I feel for him.
 

“I didn’t lie on the stand because I love you.”
 

I drop my eyes to my lap as I pull on the hem of my jacket.
How can I be so stupid and fall for the wrong man time and time again?
I’m so incredibly stupid.