Now and Forever (8 page)

There was no reason not to work night and day, since he and Emma hadn’t had a real conversation since she shot down his proposal. The pain of her refusal was still fresh. He’d put it all on the line – all his savings, all his feelings and all his hopes. And she’d basically said ‘no, thanks’.

He crumpled the plastic bottle he’d just chugged the last of the water from and squeezed it. Work was a mess and so was his relationship. At least he could control setting his job back on the right course. He didn’t know what the hell to do about Emma.

“Cole?” One of the receptionists, Diane, was summoning him from the lobby. He pressed a button to respond.

“I’m here Diane, but I’m heading into a meeting. What’s up?”

“There’s a gentleman in the lobby who’s insisting to see you. He says it’s urgent.”

“Not as urgent as my meeting with McNeil. Take a message.”

“But Cole?”

He glared at his phone. “Yeah?”

“He’s . . . he’s very insistent. He says he’s a family member.”

“Is it my dad?” Cole grabbed his cell phone and scrolled through for missed calls.

“No, it’s . . . he’s asking me to give him the phone.”

“It’s Ben.” The gruff voice on the other end of the line jumped all over Cole’s nerves. “We need to talk.”

“I can’t. What the hell are you doing here?”

“It’s important.”

Cole sighed and looked at the clock on his office wall. He couldn’t be late for this meeting. But why would Ben come to his office? A sense of dread crept across his skin. “Is it Emma?”

“Get down here. Bring your coat and . . . briefcase, or whatever you carry your shit around in.”

Ben’s tone told Cole something was very wrong. Panic settled in his chest as he thought about something bad happening to Emma. Or maybe one of her parents. And things weren’t right between the two of them right now. What if she’d needed him and thought he didn’t want her to call? Christ, he could be an epic asshole sometimes.

Cole’s secretary said nothing when he flew past her. These days he seemed to be flying all the time. “Uh, Kelsie, if I’m not back in five minutes, call McNeil’s office and tell him I had a family emergency.”

“Sure,” she said, her voice fading into the background as Cole headed for the stairs. He wasn’t waiting for the elevator in this state of mind. He hustled down the steps, trying not to assume the worst.

Cole burst through the door to the lobby and saw Ben seated in a row of chairs, elbows resting on his knees.

“What’s going on?” Cole asked, breathing heavily.

“Outside,” Ben said, rising and leading the way. Aggravation and tension were coursing through Cole’s veins by the time Ben turned to face him on the sidewalk, having found a semi-private space up against the stone of the office building.

“Is Emma okay?” Cole asked.

“This isn’t about her.”

Cole sighed and looked skyward, blowing out a relieved breath. “I’m about to miss a really important meeting, so tell me what the fuck is up.”

Ben met his eyes, his expression serious. “I have to arrest you.”

Cole took a deep breath and steadied himself with a hand on the wall. “Arrest me? For what? I do nothing – literally nothing – but come here, go home and sleep. There has to be a mistake.”

Tension lined Ben’s forehead as he leaned in to Cole and spoke in a low tone. “Embezzlement. Calcotte.”

Cole’s stomach dropped to the sidewalk. He wanted to repeat the word out of disbelief, but he couldn’t bring himself to, even outside the firm’s walls. “What? No. There’s some mistake here, man.”

“Let’s go to the station and you can talk to the guys who investigated.”

“You’re seriously arresting me?” Cole asked in a low tone.

Ben nodded slightly. “I have to. I told the guys I’d do it ‘cause I didn’t want you taken out of here in handcuffs. Just come with me, alright?”

Realization set in and Cole nodded. “I’m not answering questions without an attorney. Not because I did anything wrong, but . . . shit. I don’t even know who to call to represent me.”

Ben led the way to his unmarked car. “One thing at a time, man. Call Emma and have her meet you at the station. Once you post, you can find an attorney.”

“Shit,” Cole said, shaking his head. “She’s mad at me and I don’t want to upset her with this.”

“Did you fuck up the proposal again?” Ben’s accusatory tone made Cole want to shove him into his sedan and fight out the tension knotted in his gut.

“No, I didn’t fuck it up,” he snapped. “I did what you said and she still said no.”

Ben lowered his brows with disbelief. “She’ll still bail you out.”

“Yeah, but . . .”

“Everyone makes mistakes, man.”

Cole shot Ben a disgusted look. “I didn’t fucking do it. Whatever this is, I didn’t do it. I’m not even on Calcotte anymore.”

“Alright, man. Just get in the car,” Ben said. Cole walked to the passenger side, disbelief weighing down his limbs as he got in the car. He’d thought things couldn’t get worse, but he hadn’t even fathomed something like this. Innocent or not, he stood to lose the job he’d worked his ass off to get and keep. If Emma hadn’t wanted him before, she sure as hell wouldn’t now.

***

There was a moment of silence as Emma let Cole’s words sink in.

“You . . . are you serious? You got arrested?”

“I’m on the way to the station now. I don’t have a clue how this happened but I promise you I didn’t do anything wrong. Since this isn’t in the scope of my job, I’ll have to pay my own bail and hire my own attorney. I’m probably gonna lose my job.”

“Okay.” Emma let out a deep breath. She was not falling apart. Not now. She had to keep it together. “So the first thing is the money, or an attorney?”

“Probably the money. I’ll have to post ten percent to get out. It’ll be substantial.”

“We don’t have a lot of money because of my construction loan payments. But we have that $10,000 in your savings.”

The pause on the other end of the line made her heart pound. “I spent that on the engagement ring.”

“Cole! Are you crazy?” She forced her lips closed and took in a calming breath. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean that. I can borrow money from my parents.”

“No. Not for this.”

“I won’t tell them what it’s for,” Emma said. “We don’t have a lot of options.”

“No. I’d rather sit in jail than take money from your father.”

Emma sighed deeply and considered. “Your parents?”

“No. I don’t want them to know.”

“What are you being charged with?”

“Embezzlement. Stealing money from the firm or a client. I don’t even know which, because I didn’t take anything from either one.”

Emma’s heart sank as she pictured Cole at the police station getting fingerprinted and charged with being dishonest and unethical. It was against everything she knew he was.

“How much?” she asked softly.

“I don’t know.”

“Cole?”

“Yeah?” His dejected tone wrenched Emma’s heart.

“Everything’s gonna be okay. I’ll get the money. I know you didn’t do this, and we’ll find a way through it, okay? I love you.”

“I love you, too, Em.” His voice broke with emotion. “Thanks.”

“I’ll get there as soon as I can.”

***

After a long morning in court, Layla looked forward to a quiet afternoon at her office. Her secretary Daniel set a cold bottle of Evian for her on the corner of his desk. She grabbed it as she walked by.

“Hey, anything I need to know?” she asked, twisting it open.

“Your nine o’clock for tomorrow rescheduled. And your sister’s waiting for you in your office.”

“Emma?” Layla turned to Daniel, surprised.

“She looked upset, so I thought you’d want me to make her comfortable.”

“Yeah. Thanks.” She went into her office and found Emma in the dark chair clients always sat in across from her desk. Her sister’s arms were wrapped protectively around herself and her eyes were red and swollen.

“Em!” Layla pushed the door closed and dropped her leather messenger bag to the floor. “What’s wrong?”

Emma stood and Layla covered the few steps between them, embracing her sister.

“It’s awful,” Emma said, her shoulders shaking as she cried into Layla’s shoulder.

“Something with the baby?” Layla asked, fear lacing itself into her heart. She already loved her unborn niece or nephew.

“No. Cole’s been arrested.”

Layla’s mouth dropped open with disbelief and she pulled back to look at Emma. “Cole Marlowe? Arrested? For what?”

“Something to do with stealing money through his job.” Emma wiped the tears from under her eyes and tried to compose herself.

“Oh, shit,” Layla said softly. “Em . . . sit back down. Do you want some water?”

“No, your . . . guy out front gave me some.” Emma sank back into her chair, and Layla sat down in the one next to it.

“Daniel? He’s my new secretary.”

Emma sniffled and smiled. “I kind of love that you have a male secretary.”

“He was the most qualified,” Layla said, shrugging. “And he told me my reading glasses weren’t the most flattering style for my face when I asked. You know how I love honesty. Anyway . . . where’s Cole right now?”

“The police station. I have to come up with the money to bail him out. That’s why I’m here. Well, two things, really. Okay, three.”

Layla smiled. “Anything, Em. What do you need?”

“I needed to cry and tell someone I’m scared shitless. I’m pregnant, sick, broke and now my rock is on his way to jail. I belong on a cheesy talk show right now. But I’m not letting any of this on to Cole. I need to be there for him. So that’s out of my system now.” She squared her shoulders. “The other two things . . . they’re not as easy as that one.”

“You said you’re broke, so you need help with the bail money,” Layla said. Emma nodded.

“I’m sorry I have to ask you. I know you’re planning a wedding, and still growing your office—”

Layla held up a hand to stop her. “It’s done, Em. We’re sisters. When I need something, I know you’ll be there. I’ve got the money, and it’s yours. What’s the other thing?”

Emma sighed deeply. “Is he going to need an attorney?”

Layla considered for a second. “Yes. If the alleged crime wasn’t in the scope of his employment, the firm won’t provide one. I know some good ones. I’ll get one hired.” She stood and wrapped an arm around Emma’s shoulders. “It’s gonna be okay.”

“I was thinking of . . . you,” Emma said.

“Me? You don’t want me, Em. That’s not my specialty. Cole won’t want me, either. You need the best.”

“I want you.”

Layla considered. The last thing she wanted was to tell her panicked little sister no right now. But she also wanted to give her the best advice she could. Maybe, with the help of an attorney from her former firm . . .

“I could do it,” she said, her uncertainty coming through in her tone.

“Thank you!” Emma threw her arms around Layla’s waist. “Thank you, Layla. I know Cole didn’t do this, and he needs an attorney who believes in him and will work hard for him. I don’t know how I’ll repay you, but somehow I will.”

A weight settled onto Layla’s shoulders. She wasn’t experienced enough to represent Cole, and her performance would drastically affect the lives of him, her sister and her unborn niece or nephew. She also didn’t think she had enough money to bail Cole out, and there was only one person she could borrow from. And she knew Ben well enough to know how that would go over.

“You’re not repaying anything, Em,” she said. “I’ll get the money back when Cole shows up for court. And we’re family, so you guys aren’t paying me to represent him. It’s all gonna be okay.”

Now Layla just needed someone to convince her of that.

Chapter Five

She was happily spoken for, but Layla still liked drawing a little attention from the opposite sex. One of the detectives in Ben’s division was openly grinning at her while another one thought he was getting away with secretly checking out her legs.

“What’s up, sweetheart?” John Calvetti asked, his smile widening as she approached.

“Just looking for my man, is he around?”

“Yeah, he’s in with the lieutenant. Should be out anytime. Sit down. Catch us up on how you’ve been, what color panties you’ve got on and all that shit.”

Layla laughed and leaned against the table. “I’m good. And . . .” She raised her brows and considered. “I don’t remember. It was dark when I got dressed this morning.”

“You want me to investigate?” Calvetti said, rolling his chair closer and staring at her sheer stocking-covered thighs.

“The fuck is this?” A deep, gruff voice demanded. “Get your fucking eyes back in their sockets and get back to work.”

Layla smiled at Ben, who was giving both her and Calvetti a look of disapproval. “Hi, baby,” she said, walking away from the table to greet him. He wrapped an arm around her waist and rested a large, protective hand on her ass.

“Get your shit done, assholes,” Ben barked to his men. “Our caseload’s backed up.”

Layla was still smiling when Ben led her into his office and closed the door. “How are you, Sergeant?” she asked, kissing him softly.

“Fucking busy,” he said, loosening his tie. “But this is a pleasant distraction.”

“You know how much I like seeing you at work,” Layla said, arching her brows and offering a seductive smile. “So commanding.”

“Baby, I’m commanding all the time.” Ben sat down on the edge of his desk, his long legs jutting out across the floor space. “What’s up? You hear about Cole?”

Layla walked over to his desk and leaned on it next to him. “Yeah. Emma’s really upset. What’s going on, Ben? Do you know anything about the case?”

He nodded, but his expression stayed impassive. “Nothing I can talk about, but yeah. I brought him in.”

Layla sighed deeply. “I just can’t believe Cole would do something like that. Do you have an opinion on it?”

A small smile crept across Ben’s lips. “I know you don’t like hearing no, baby, but I can’t discuss facts
or
opinions of a case with you. You know me pretty well, though, so I think you can draw your own conclusions.”

Layla shook her head with frustration. Like most cops, Ben was analytical. He believed in gathering as much evidence as needed before making an arrest. She’d seen him hold his officers back on arrests until a case was airtight.