Page 57 of Mine to Hold
“Please, call me Dalton.” He rose, leaning in and kissing her cheek as if she belonged in this house. “I don’t want to keep you two very long, so let me get right to the point.” Dalton opened his briefcase and pulled out a piece of paper and a pen. “I used to be the district attorney, but two years ago, I left that position and became partners with my son Seth.”
“That really burned my mother’s ass.” Emmerson laughed.
“Everyone deserves their day in court and what your mom fails to understand, we’re not about seeing criminals get off, but about making sure?—”
“Save the lecture, Dad. I got no beef with what you and Seth do.” Emmerson pointed to the document on the counter. “What’s that?”
“Rumor, do you have a few dollars you can give me?”
“Why am I doing that?” Rumor asked, glancing between Emmerson and Dalton.
“Because I need you to hire me as your attorney.” He pushed the pen and paper across the table. “Sign that, hand me a few bucks as a retainer, and I’ll get to the point.”
“I don’t like this.” Rumor lifted the pen with a shaky hand. “Why do I need a lawyer?”
“I’m hoping that you won’t ever need my services. But after Rebecca and I spoke about this situation, I pointed out something that could happen and we both agreed that there are a couple of scenarios that could lead to you needing me. But I can’t get into them until you sign that. This way we will have attorney-client privilege. Make sense?”
“I guess so,” she said softly, but she wasn’t sure she followed.
Emmerson came up behind her and rested his strong hands on her shoulders, massaging gently. “It’s okay. Do it.” He reached around her and opened a drawer, pulling out a five-dollar bill. “Here you go, Dad.”
“Perfect.” Dalton placed the money and the document back in his briefcase. “Okay. Now, when Rebecca catches these assholes, and she will, we have no idea how it will play out.”
“Yeah, we do. Those fuckers will go to prison for a very long time,” Emmerson said.
“Well, there’s that.” Dalton held up his finger. “But there are some unknown factors we can’t account for. We don’t know if Tom is involved in Tony’s plan to take down Rumor.”
“I only met Tom a couple of times,” Rumor said. “I wasn’t involved in dealing drugs or anything. I wanted no part of that. I made that clear even though Tony didn’t listen and kept trying to pull me in.”
“This is part of the problem.” Dalton folded his hands and rested them on top of his briefcase. “I called a few people I know out in California about that murder you witnessed. Theyknow Tony did it, but they can’t prove it. Since Tony went to prison, they consider it case closed. Two criminals off the streets. However, they want Tom. The heat got so bad for Tom that he moved his operation to Miami.”
“Dad, get to the point,” Emmerson said.
“Once Tom and Tony are arrested, it’s possible they will do what most criminals in their situation will do and that’s deflect, blame, and try to cut a deal. They will throw anyone under the bus. Now, they can’t blame Rumor for anything that happened here in Lighthouse Cove. But that doesn’t mean they don’t have something else up their sleeve.” He turned, pointing to the bag of cash sitting on the floor. “You took their drug money. You witnessed a murder. Whether you want to accept it or not, you have some knowledge of their operation back in California. And we have no idea how long they have been following you.”
“Rhett and Miles already looked into where she’s been and there has been no evidence of Tom’s drugs or related crimes.” Emmerson wrapped his arm around her and pulled her close, as if to protect her.
She loved him for that.
Love.
What a strong and strange concept. She’d never loved anyone in her life. The closest she’d ever come to it was George. But she hadn’t loved him. She had deep feelings for him, which was why she boogied out of town. Getting too close to anyone was something she couldn’t afford to do. Not only because it could put her in danger.
But them.
Emmerson represented everything she tried to avoid. Besides being a cop, he was the kind of man she had always dreamed of. He was caring. Honest where it counted. Tender and loving.
And he showed up when she needed him most.
Even George hadn’t done that.
“I have them digging deeper, just to be prepared.” His father arched a brow. “My point is Tony spent almost fifteen years in prison. Because of what Rumor did. If he told Tom, and Tom is giving him some leeway to get her back, who knows what they are doing to set her up. All this is worst-case shit. I don’t think it will come to this. But I want our bases covered. That’s why I had to come tonight. So that document was dated today. If anyone asks, I was here when you told your story to Rebecca. Tessa and Johnny have already agreed to that fact.”
“Seriously? Tessa said she’d do that?” Emmerson asked. “I’m shocked. She hates me.”
“That’s not true.” Rumor shifted her gaze. “If you believe that, you’re a dumbass. She’s hurt and I feel bad for what I said to her.”
“I like this one. She’s smart. And she’s right. You and Tessa might not have been right for each other, but you’re both holding on to displaced anger. Time to let that shit go,” Dalton said, lifting his beer and taking another swig. “Rumor, if it comes down to them trying to pin anything on you, including that murder from fifteen years ago, we’re going to have to sit down and have a serious conversation about exactly what happened. And you will have to make a formal statement. But let’s hope it doesn’t come to that.” He stood. “I’ll see myself out.”
