Page 88 of Mending Hearts

My throat closed up, and it took a moment before I could speak. “Yeah, I know.” I shifted closer, secured my arm a little tighter. If only my grip was enough to keep her here, attached to my side.

She’d spent the whole pregnancy convincing herself that a life with me, a life with a baby was the last thing she wanted. Was it still? Would it be once the trial was over? The only certainty was that when tomorrow came, I couldn’t come apart at the seams. Too many people were depending on me.

Hold it together, Tyler. Hold it together.

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Mia

Across the conference table sat our family lawyer. His face was familiar, but I’d always let my mother deal with any problems. Legal things were a distraction, over my head. Or maybe that’s what Laura had wanted me to think. He’d forced my mother to wait in the lobby of the law firm.

The conversation between the two of them had been tense, far more tense than any I’d seen between them before. In the end, he won. I wanted to know what dirt he had on her to make her fold. They’d been too far away for me to hear.

“There is no press here today because no one knows we’re meeting.” He flipped open his file.

“Right,” I agreed in a bored voice. “Your point?” He was dancing around my appearance. I’d chosen my clothes carefully with Tyler’s help before I left.

Is she fat? Is she pregnant?What’s the right thing to say here?He must be wondering, but unable to find a polite way to phrase the questions.

I could ease his discomfort, but I had no intention of telling anyone anything. Everyone could speculate. Let them all run wild. Eventually, they’d run themselves out.

“There will be press tomorrow when you go for your deposition with the prosecution.”

“Yep. I figured.” I leaned my elbow onto the table and shifted. “But you wanted to see me before?”

“It’s customary. Often, I’ll meet a client just prior to a deposition, but I thought it would be beneficial for us to meet the day before.”

“Why?” The chill between us was my doing. I wanted to be here, but I also really didn’t want to be anywhere near Nashville right now. My heart started bleeding out when our car drove away from Tyler’s house. If Laura hadn’t been sitting beside me, I’d have collapsed onto the seat, sobbing. I’d have played all the heartbreak songs I could find and wallowed in self-pity.

For months, I’d been free to let my feelings explode. My emotions needed help when I was younger, and they got out of control: a tourniquet or an ice bath. Right now, I was trying ice. Later, I might need the tourniquet, a necessary evil. I’d tied off my emotions once before.

Cut out the heart to save the soul.

“The police have a search warrant for all the properties, offices, and spaces Mr. Connors has used in Nashville.”

That sounded ominous. I’d only met him at the label in his office. Maybe he’d taken girls to other places. Promises. Hope. He would have fed them to the girls like Turkish Delight. My stomach clenched, and a wave of nausea swept over me. It had been so long since I’d felt like this that it was almost surreal.

“Okay,” I said. “What does that mean?”

“They’ve obtained an envelope during those searches that appears to have originated with either you or your mother. She’s also being deposed tomorrow.”

“My mother?” Ice shot through my veins so quickly that the hairs on my arms rose in protest.

“She’s not the only mother being deposed in this case.”

He was staring at me, but I didn’t know what he expected me to do or know. Nothing. I’d never seen the contents of the envelope. I had no idea what my mother knew.

The blank look on my face must have given him a clue because he muttered under his breath, “Sothisis why she wanted to be in here.”

“I don’t understand.” The iciness was gone, and in its place was a taste of panic.

“In your own words, I want you to tell me what happened with Kenny Connors.” He clicked his pen open and pushed the file to the side, grabbing the notebook from the other side of him. “We’ll get into the types of questions the prosecution will be asking you. You’re not the one on trial, but we have to prepare you as though you will be.” When our gazes met, his eyes were full of sympathy. “This case isn’t going to play out in the courtroom alone.”

“Is there a chance it won’t go to court at all?” There was still the ray of hope. I wanted him to go down, but if I didn’t need to testify, that was even better.

“Never know. Deals might happen behind the scenes.” He opened his mouth as though he was going to say more and then closed it again. Adjusting the grip on his pen, he said, “In your own words, please.”

So, I told him. When and where and how often. The last part I’d never divulged to anyone else. Twice.

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