Running Away With You (Running #3) (53 page)

I crawl over to him and wrap my arms around his waist and nibble on his ear.  “I’ll be right here waiting for you after your game.”

He swings around, grabs me, and deposits me on his lap.  “As tempting as that sounds, I think I’d be able to play better if you were there with me.”  Evan places a kiss on the tip of my nose and puts me square on my feet.  “You’re coming to my game, and that’s the end of this discussion.”

Evan wastes no time joining the others for lunch.  Reese has a platter full of sandwiches and a nice hot pot of cream of potato soup simmering on the stove.  Evan and I fix our lunch and take a seat with Marcus and Adam, who are nearly done with their meal.  Reese soon joins us, and suddenly all eyes are on me.

“So did you make any new friends at your sleepover?” Reese teases.

“Ha, ha.  Very funny.”  I know she’s just trying to lighten the heavy mood.  “But since you asked, I can tell you that they gave me a private room with a view.  They had room service and everything.”  I take a big bite of my sandwich before continuing.  “Unfortunately, the room they gave me had no TV and no WiFi.  I’m never staying there again.”

“Damn straight you’re not,” Evan agrees with his mouth full.

“So, Jette, what happened in there?  Why did they hold you for so long?” Marcus asks.

I explain to them how I was booked and questioned by the Indianapolis P.D.  I don’t get into the specifics, but I tell them enough to satisfy their curiosity.  It’s hard for me to look at Adam as I retell the story, knowing that the police have him in their sights, too.  I’d like to know what happened when he was questioned, but it will have to wait until after the game.

“Too bad Emmy’s at Rush,” Adam interjects, “because if she was here right now, she would tell you not to dwell on the bad, but to look at the positive.”

“I’m positive you’re completely whipped,” Evan teases, giving Adam a friendly jab in the arm.

Adam rolls his eyes.  “Yeah, yeah.  Whatever.  But seriously, Jette was questioned for hours, and they had no choice but to release her.  That’s a pretty damn good sign, right?”

Everyone agrees.

“You two are back together again,” Reese chimes in.

Evan kisses me.  Again, heads nod in unison.

I was in such a dark place for so long, it feels good to step out into the light and look at things from a new perspective.  Even if it’s only for a short while, I’m going to enjoy this while it lasts.

“And I have a division playoff to win today,” Evan adds.

He, Adam, and Marcus begin discussing today’s game strategy.  I love to watch Evan talk about football.  He always speaks of it with such reverence and awe, it’s impossible not to feel his passion.  Each man sounds more to me like a general, debating elaborate schemes and attack formations, waging a take-no-prisoners warfare approach to defeating the enemy and emerging victorious on the battlefield.  I gave up my naïve childhood notions about dumb jocks long ago, and I now know the game they play is as intellectually complex as any out there. 

Much sooner than I would have liked, Evan finishes his lunch and it’s time for him and Adam to make the drive down to the stadium.  He wraps his arms around me and reminds me of our deal.  “Callie and Dean are going to pick you up on the way to the game.  Wish me luck.”

“You don’t need luck,” I assure him.  “Play smart and come home to me in one piece.  That’s all I want.”

“That plus a win would be nice,” he admits.  He tips my chin up and kisses me.  “I love you.” He smiles gently, warming my battered spirit.

“I love you more.” I love this man so deeply I can hardly contain it, now knowing more certainly than ever that he would weather any storm in our path. 

I watch as he pulls out of the driveway.  The same two paparazzi who were here earlier this morning remain.  They point their cameras at Evan as he slips past them.  I wonder how long we can expect them to stay.

I return my attention to the kitchen so I can help Marcus and Reese clean up, and I find Marcus chatting on my phone.  He motions for me to come over.  “Emmy, hold on – here’s Jette.  Tell her what you just told me.”

“Um, Jette, I hate to bother you, and I know you have a lot to deal with right now, but Derek just left and there’s no one here to hold down the fort.”

My entire managerial staff is here right now:  Reese, Marcus, and me.  And now my head bartender just took off without warning.  “What do you mean, Derek left?  Where did he go?”

“Didn’t say.  He got a call and left.  Something must have happened, though, because he left in a big hurry.”

“All right, Emmy.  One of us will be right down.  Thank you for calling.  How’s everything going otherwise?  Still slow?”

Emmy laughs loudly.  “Slow?  Hell, no.  There’s a line out the door, Jette.  Ever since your arrest, it’s been a madhouse.  Your legal problems are the best thing that’s happened to this place in months.  If we can get Evan to keep winning football games, we’re going to need to hire more staff.”

I hang up the phone and find that Marcus is already halfway out the door.  “I got this, boss,” he tells me.

I know Evan wanted Marcus at the game today, but now that Derek’s missing, one of us has to run the restaurant.  The only other option is to close for the day, and from what Emmy tells me, we’re making good money for the first time in quite a while.

Reese and I stand at the sink, washing and drying our lunch dishes.  “So now that I have you here alone, tell me – how bad was it?”

With my wet hands in the soapy water, I take a deep breath, sigh, and admit, “Terrifying.  I’ve never felt so alone in my life, Reese.  David better be fucking dead, because if he’s not, I’m going to kill him.”

“How’s Evan taking all this?” she asks.

I turn off the water and turn to her.  “That’s the worst part.  He’s been amazing.”

“I’m sorry, did you say that’s the worst part?”

“Yeah.  I kept all of this a secret because I didn’t think he could handle all this bullshit and still focus on his job.  I was wrong.”

“No shit,” she agrees.

We finish washing and drying the last few items.  I grab two mugs, fill each with some hot, fresh coffee, and hand one to Reese.  “Reese, can I tell you something?”

“Anything.”

“Let’s sit down.”  I lead her into the living room to chat.

“Is it about your police interview?” she asks.

“Kinda.  I told you the police asked me a lot of questions about my history with David, right?”

“Right.”

“Well, that’s not all they asked about.”

“Go on.”

“They asked about Auggie, Derek, and Adam too.”

She looks at me like I’m speaking Chinese.  “What do you mean?”

“Well, all three of them were taped leaving the hotel alone late at night and I have no idea where they went.”  She has a look of shock on her face.  “Well, that’s not entirely true.  I know Adam went to pick up Evan from the trainer, but he was gone for hours.”

“Do you think one of them might have ... ”

“I don’t know.  All I’m sure of is the fact that I didn’t, and I think the police know it too.  There’s no video of me leaving the building until early the next day.”  I wait for her to process what I’ve just shared.  “What do you think?”

“Honestly, Jette, I think it’s possible.  Auggie would do anything for you and you know it.  Derek is a wildcard.  He’s unpredictable and ... well, who knows.  Adam?  Frankly, I don’t think there’s anything he wouldn’t do to protect Evan.  David was a threat to Evan’s career just as much as yours.”

“That’s exactly what I’m afraid of.  If I could go back in time, I would do things differently this time.  I’d call the police immediately and get his punk ass thrown into jail.”  And I mean it.

“Well you can’t.  And it looks like David got his in the end.”

Just then, I hear a phone ringing.  Reese and I both check, and it’s neither of ours.  I scurry into the kitchen, following the sound, and I find Evan’s phone sitting on the counter.  Adam never gave it back to him.  I check the caller ID, and it’s Gavin, so I hurriedly answer it before it goes to voicemail.

“Gavin, it’s Juliette.  Evan forgot his phone.  Is everything okay?” 

“No, Juliette, it’s not.  I just got a call from a reporter who got someone at the courthouse to leak copies of Evan’s paternity suit.  He wanted an official statement from Evan.  He’s going live with it immediately.”

Holy crap.  I wonder if that’s why Derek took off so suddenly.  Maybe Shea got the same call.  “And what did you tell him?”

“I told him that if he released sealed court documents, we would sue his ass and take him and his network for everything they’ve got.”

“Do you think it worked?”

“Probably not.  The truth is, this scum bucket isn’t the one who released the documents, he’s only reporting on the contents.  The best we can hope for is to throw him in jail and wait for him to release the name of his informant.  The problem is, most of those cases fail and the name of the informant is never revealed.  I’m afraid there’s not much we can do.”

“How much does he know?”

“He’s got it all.  The name of the mother, the minor child, the legal guardians.  Everything.”

“Is there anything Evan can do about it?” I ask.

“Not at this point, no.”

“Okay.  Thanks for letting us know.”  I hang up the phone and let out a loud and emotional, “Fuck!”

Reese looks at me with fear laced with concern.  “Jette, what the hell just happened?  Who was that?  You look like you’re ready to tear someone’s face off.” 

“Someone who works in the court offices, probably an unpaid intern or minimum wage staffer, leaked confidential information about Kai to the press.”

“I hope whoever it was got paid well, because if Evan ever finds out who the mole is, he’s going to tear him a new one,” Reese sympathizes.  “Are you going to tell him?” she asks.

“Of course,” I snap.  “The minute I see him.”

“But you won’t see him until after the game,” she reminds me.

“Exactly.”

“Don’t you think you should warn him?” Reese asks.  “Suppose he finds out from someone in the locker room before the game?  Aren’t you afraid a reporter might ask him about it before the game?”

“His teammates would never say anything to upset their quarterback before the game, so I’m not worried about that,” I assure her.  “And lucky for us, reporters are allowed in NFL locker rooms after practices and games, but there's no access before games.  We should be good.”

“So now what?” Reese asks.

“It looks like I have a few phone calls to make.”

A
s I finish getting ready for the game and putting on my mascara, Reese calls from the other room,  “Jette, you’d better get in here.  You’ll want to see this.”

Reese is standing stock-still, staring at the television screen, watching one of the twenty-four hour news channels.  There’s a breaking news banner crawling along the bottom of the screen that reads:

“Shit!  Already?” I hoped I would have a little longer to prepare for the fallout.  Reese and I take a seat on the couch, our eyes glued to the television to view the coverage. 

They throw to a reporter on the scene, reporting live from the Ocean County Courthouse.

I repeat the last part of the broadcast aloud.  “The results of the test have been determined.” 

Reese looks at me and asks, “Are you ready for this, Jette?  Is Evan ready?  Things are happening really quickly now.”

“A little too quickly, if you ask me.”

“It’s not like there’s anything you can do about it.  It’s best to just ride out the wave and see where it takes you.  You can’t stop the waves from coming, but you can learn how to surf.”

“Wow – wisdom spoken like a true Jersey Girl.  You’re not even here for a year and you sound like you grew up at the Shore.”

Just as she’s about to give me what I’m sure would have been a smart-ass comeback, the doorbell rings.  Reese hurries over to peek out the window just to make sure it’s not some brazen reporters trying to get a quote for their story.  “Jette, Callie and Dean are here!” she calls as she opens the door and welcomes them in.

Callie is the big sister I always wished I had.  She tosses her things down on the couch and, without missing a beat, walks straight toward me, arms outstretched, and gives me a big bear hug.  She slowly sways back and forth with me, whispering in my ear, “I was so worried about you.”

I allow myself to be swallowed up by her embrace.  As she slowly releases me, I feel Dean’s firm hand on my back.  “Hey, kiddo, how you holdin’ up?”