Rebuilding Stone (The Stone Brother Series Book 2) (18 page)

The day is finally here; the one I used to dread. But I’m
ready. Ready to face Aaron in court. He needs to know that I’m happy, that I’m
strong and he is nothing to me. Right now, I’m standing outside the courtroom
with Maddox, waiting my turn.

“You can do this babe. Just look at me.”

“I know. I’m just ready for all of this to be over.” Maddox
smiles, leans down to kiss me and whispers, "I love you."

The bailiff opens the door and calls me in. I grasp Maddox’s
hand and hold on. As I walk into the courtroom, I stare straight at Evan, who
is giving me a reassuring look. I head to the witness stand and raise my right
hand, swearing to tell the truth. The whole truth. I sit down and swallow the
fear that's starting to rise. It’s not Aaron that I fear. It’s Maddox hearing
everything.

The defense attorney starts and most of the questions don’t
bother me. They’re easy to answer. How did Aaron and I meet? How long did we
date before moving in together? Those sorts of things. I still haven’t looked
at Aaron yet; I just focus on Maddox and Evan. Looking at Maddox helps me draw
strength. He nods and winks to reassure me he's there. I do notice, that once
my eyes break contract with his, he's staring daggers at the back of Aaron’s
head.

“Miss Andrews, isn’t it true that Mr. Reeves caught you in
several lies during your relationship?”

“No, sir.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes.”

“What about the day you told Aaron you were going to work.
Did he find you with Maddox Stone?”

“Yes. But I…”

“No need to explain. It was a simple yes or no,” Mr. hotshot
attorney says.

“Is it true that Mr. Reeves caught you and Maddox Stone
hiding out at the Police Officer's Ball?”

“We weren’t hiding. I was leaving the bathroom.”

“It just happened to be the same time Mr. Stone was leaving
the bathroom?”

“Yes.”

“And Miss Andrews, did you and Maddox Stone just have a
baby?”

“Yes.” I can’t help it; I smile.

“Miss Andrews, you told Mr. Reeves about an incident in high
school. One that included allegations of rape and almost rape.”

“Yes.”

“Did you press charges then?”

“No.”

“Why not?”

“I was young and embarrassed. And they didn’t rape me,” I
say, getting pissed.

“But according to you, they did rape your friend.”

“Yes.”

This questioning goes on and on for an entire three hours.
Aaron’s lawyer put me on trial. I knew what to expect, though. Finally, after
Aaron’s lawyer finishes with me, it’s Evan’s turn. I am so relieved. Evan’s
questions aren’t any easier, but it’s Evan.

“Miss Andrews, why did you lie to Mr. Reeves that day you
were with Maddox and told him you were working?”

I explain how I was asked to help my friend, Molly, pack up
her apartment. How at that time, Aaron was already hitting me. Evan continues
for a while with his examination. After he's done questioning me, we wait as he
submits my medical records, even ones dating before the final attack.

Once the judge dismisses me from the stand, I head out of
the courtroom. I hadn’t planned on looking at him, but I wanted to show Aaron
and prove to myself that I was no longer afraid of him. My eyes lock with his
and he looks pissed. I’m sure the evil, death glare he's giving me is meant to
intimidate me. Instead, I just smile. I have truly faced the devil and I lived
to tell about it. I leave the courtroom, not wanting to be a part of it any
longer. I did all that I could. I just hope the men and women sitting on that
jury will see through Aaron, who still has to testify.

Later that night, Kerrigan is nursing Eli on the couch. I
flop down next to her and turn on the TV. Some news agencies are portraying us
as a couple that wanted Aaron out of the picture. It’s all ridiculous. It
pisses me off, the way some people are talking about Kerrigan. I didn’t stay to
watch Aaron’s testimony because Kerrigan asked me not to. Honestly, I don’t
want those images in my head. I already have enough that makes me want to kill
him.

Once Kerrigan is done nursing, I take Eli and rock him to
sleep. My singing voice is horrible, but for some reason, it soothes him. I lay
him down in the crib that we've assembled in our room. God. We need to move.
This place is overrun with diapers, wipes, infant clothes, and baby furniture.
He's four weeks old and already owns way more than I do. I have to laugh. Even
with all of the other shit going on, there's nothing I want more than to be
here in this cluttered apartment with Kerrigan and our son. Well, that’s a lie.
I do want something else. It’s time.

When I walk back into the living room, Kerrigan is crying.

“What’s wrong?” I immediately ask.

“Nothing. I’m just happy it’s over, and I’m here with you,
where I should’ve been all along.”

“Speaking of that, I got this before Eli was born. I had
planned to do it the night Eli was born, but I got a little sidetracked.” I
wink at her as I get down on one knee.

“Kerrigan, I love you. I love our little family and I’m so
proud of you. Everything you’ve been through, everything you’ve overcome.
You’re a fighter. You're the mother of my son, and my future. The only future I
want is with you. Please say yes and marry me.” I pull out the ring and watch
as Kerrigan switches from tears to all smiles.

“Yes! Yes, Maddox. I love you and I'll marry you,” she
replies as I put the ring on her finger.

An entire week passes before we get the verdict - Aaron was
found guilty. His attorney couldn’t argue against the mountain of evidence
against him nor the fact that he'd violated the restraining order twice. We
also found out that Aaron had an ex-wife in Arizona who was able to testify via
videoconference. He was sentenced to fifteen years in prison, but I was
disappointed that he'd be eligible for parole after serving only nine. Still,
he's locked away, that's comforting. From what Maddox tells me, Aaron will be
at the bottom of the food chain in prison. Being a former cop, the inmate
population won’t be kind to him. And I know that whenever Aaron gets out, I'm
safe with Maddox.

“Hey, Kerrigan,” Maddox calls from the kitchen.

“Yeah?”

“What kind of wedding do you want? And where do you want it?
I don’t want to rush you, but I do want you to have my last name,” he says with
a grin.

“Would you mind if we get married in Kentucky?” I ask,
thinking of the perfect place.

“Whatever you want. All you have to do is tell me when and
where.”

“My friend, Brady, has this amazing home at the top of a
large hill. It overlooks the Ohio River and has beautiful trees that line the
property. I’ll have to ask him first, of course.”

“Okay. When?”

“Well, I'll be leaving in a few days. Give me time to talk
to him. I still need to finish up with the details of the other wedding. But
I’d like everyone to come to ours. And I mean everyone.” Yes, I want our entire
group of friends there to share our special day.

“Alright. We'll talk to everyone and see when would work
best.” I smile. Maddox really would give me the world, if he could.

Kerrigan is back in Kentucky, busy with wedding plans. I’ll
admit, when she brought up getting married at Brady’s, I had a brief second of
jealousy. I have no idea who this man is that Kerrigan thinks so highly of, but
I know Kerrigan. She doesn’t trust easily, and the fact that she trusts him,
means I do, too.

Today, I’m meeting with Lani to go over the evidence that
she has on Jackson. She's currently staying with Evan, and it’s driving him
crazy. He says she's messy, but when I heard his version of it, I had to laugh.
Apparently, she put away dishes and didn’t line them up. He claims she also
doesn’t listen and leaves whenever she wants. He has security on her, but we
both know, it’s hard to find someone who doesn’t want to be found. And Jackson
has the resources to be invisible.

Lani’s office is in an old building West of Chicago. She
makes her money by busting cheating spouses and investigating fraudulent
medical claims.

Evan insisted that she install a security alarm at work and
she didn’t resist. She's still terrified. After I punch in the access code to
the door, I walk in and announce myself.

“In here, Maddox,” she calls out. I find her holed up in her
office with papers spread out her all around her. She motions to a chair and
invites me to sit.

“Let’s get to work,” I say.

Lani is organized. She has pictures tagged with dates and
files listed by date. She recounts her investigation that stemmed from the
incident years ago when she and Kerrigan were nearly raped.

“I started with this guy, Michael. He's the one who gave me
the drink and drugged me. He seemed to now live a respectable life with a wife
and kid, so I tried to reason with myself that maybe he'd just been a drunken
kid back then. But it didn't excuse his behavior, and I still wanted to turn
him in.

"I was about to give up on the investigation since I
couldn't remember much from that night and didn't really have anything to go
on. One day, I got lucky. I was at Club Six on a cheating spouse case when I
saw Michael at the bar buying this girl a drink. She wasn't his wife, so I
decided to hang around for a bit. After about twenty minutes, she seemed fine
and not drugged. I was about to leave when two other guys showed up.

"My memories came back in a rush. It was Jackson and
another guy, Dylan. I suspected they were up to no good. I waited in the bar
until they closed for the night. Everyone had gone their separate ways, so I
went home. I had this gnawing feeling in my gut that something was going to
happen, but dismissed it since they all left in different cars.

"The next day, I went to the police station to see if
there had been any rape allegations. There was. A woman claimed that the guys
gave her Jackson’s address and told her to meet them there. She said she went
because he was the governor's son. She never dreamed anything bad would happen,
not with his father being so high profile.

"Once I had the other men's names, I started following
them - trying to find out if they had a system and how often they frequented
different places. I thought the cops were working on the rape allegation, so I
focused on the guys. After two weeks and no arrest, I went back to the police
station and asked what was going on. They said the woman had dropped the
charges and admitted that she lied. I checked into her. There was a $25,000
deposit from an offshore account wired to her. They paid her off,” Lani
concludes.

Shit. I’m officially afraid for Lani.

We go over mounds of paperwork, and I realize that Lani is
in way over her head. If we don’t get this taken care of quickly, I hate to say
it, but we could be attending Lani’s funeral. These guys are good, but I’m
better. It helps to have a brother who may not be an equal match in the
political world, but Evan is a thinker. He's brilliant and would fund any plan
to save Lani, no matter what the cost. Now, I have to convince Lani to go into
hiding.

I just met with the young couple to show them the things I’d
picked out for the wedding. They were so grateful. And I was right; she was
pregnant. I got to meet their precious newborn daughter. It made me miss Eli so
much. Annie, Molly’s mom, keeps him for me during the day. I offered to pay
her, but she wouldn’t let me. I think it’s because she misses her grandsons so
much. When she talks to Eli, she refers to herself and Jay as mamaw and papaw.
I choked up the first time I heard it. Neither Maddox nor I have parents worth
a hoot, so it means so much to me that she loves Eli. Even though I plan on
moving back to Chicago in a couple weeks, I will always come back to visit.
Jay, Annie, and Kelly are now my family as well.

Right now, I’m on my way up to Brady’s house. I can’t say
that he and I are friends, but we’re close to it. I still don’t know his story
and he doesn’t know mine. We’ve hung out a lot in group settings and I tend to
gravitate towards him. It's probably because he's so laid back and doesn’t try
to talk over everyone. I haven’t asked him about his story, but I am curious.

 
I hate driving
up this hill. One wrong move and either your tire will blow out or you’ll head
off the cliff. I breathe a sigh of relief as I reach his house.

Brady is outside working on his motorcycle. This man has
every grown man’s toy. I’ve even seen a boat in the driveway. He might be able
to pass off that his construction business built the house, but it doesn’t
explain all this other crap. It takes money, lots of it, to accumulate
everything he has.

“Hey,” I greet as I get out of my car.

“Hey, glad you made it. I’ve got someone coming with gravel
to fill the holes,” he says.

“Why don’t you just pave over it?” I ask. That makes more
sense to me.

“Because when it snows, I won’t have any traction and I
don’t have a death wish,” he smiles at me.

“That makes sense,” I reply. I feel weird asking him for
this favor, but this place is gorgeous.

“What’d you want to talk about?” Brady asks.

“Well, I’m getting married.”

“Yeah. I was there when you made the announcement,” he
teases.

“Yeah,” I let out a little chuckle. “I wanted to ask you for
a big favor.”

“What kind of favor?”

“The first time I was here looking over the trees and down
at the river from all the way up here, well, it was just peaceful and perfect.
I was wondering if you’d mind if I got married up here.” I watch as he raises
an eyebrow.

“It is beautiful. I love this place, too. Of course, you
can.”

“Okay. I’ll have to work out the logistics. You know,
seating and ceremony and other fun wedding stuff. I’m making a wooden canopy
and hanging white roses from the top. I need to figure out how to get this
stuff up here. Don’t worry, my wedding invitees will be less than twenty.”

“I could make the canopy for you, if you’d like. I mean, I
do work construction after all,” Brady offers.

“Thanks, Brady. If you honestly don’t mind, I’d love the
help. Maddox and his brothers can pitch in as well.”

“It’s no bother. It can be your wedding present.”

"I really appreciate it. I’ll let you know more when I
get the details planned out.”

“What’s your story, Kerrigan?” Brady asks.

“What’s yours?” I respond, returning the question.

“Ah, the ole tit for tat,” he replies.

I decide to give just a little background. “I left an
abusive relationship. I needed to get away from the city, from the people who
knew me.” I watch the compassion spread across Brady’s face.

“Mine is the age old heartbreak. The one you never recover
from,” Brady says. I think it’s enough for both of us.

“Thanks again, Brady.”

“Anytime.”

Driving back down the hill, I get a little emotional.
Virtual strangers are doing more for me than my own parents ever did. I think
about Eli and how much he means to Maddox and me. It’s hard not having Maddox
around. I miss him and I know it’s killing him not having around the clock
access to Eli. Thinking about that makes me want to drive up to Chicago and
surprise him. Yes, that’s exactly what I’m going to do. I’ll go home, pack, and
make the drive. I’ll call Molly on the way to ask her to help with my surprise.

When I get home, Kelly is watching
The Walking Dead
without me. That little hussy.

“What the shit, Kelly?” I ask.

“I heard it was a good one. People kept talking about it.
I’m sorry. I don’t normally cheat on you this way, but when Daryl cries, the
whole world cries,” she jokes. I can’t help but laugh.

“Do not spoil it for me. I won’t be able to watch it anyway.
I’m taking Eli tonight and surprising Maddox. Well, actually, I'm leaving very
early so that I can make it home for lunch.”

“I'm so jealous of you and Molly! I want a man. A real man.
A bossy, spank your ass kind of a guy,” she says seriously.

“What about Brady? I mean he’s hot. Why not?” I ask.

“Brady is off limits. Besides, he is too sweet for me. I
mean it when I say I want an ass spanker.” I start rolling again. This girl has
no filter.

“Why is Brady off limits?” I ask. I really am dying to know
his story and Kelly did not disappoint.

“Brady was in love. Deeply in love. No one liked Claire. We
all knew it was all about the money for her. We tried talking to Brady, but he
loved her. I can see why. Claire was beautiful and she hid her true nature by
acting. Every time we were all together, she’d put on the sweetest face, asking
if anyone needed anything or needed any help. Brady would see her being nice
and then hear our impressions.

"He didn’t see what we saw. He saw the sweet, shy,
humble girl. Whenever we saw Claire out and about, she'd have her nose in the
air. I was behind her in line at the store one day and she was being ugly and
disrespectful to the cashier. The poor girl was only in high school and she
didn't deserve the tongue-lashing she got from Claire.

"Brady gave her everything. Claire took it okay, but
she never gave anything in return. Brady’s parents died in a house fire a few
years back. He was already doing well for himself. He’d started his own
company, but he wasn’t rich. His parents had owned close to twenty businesses
and made millions in the stock market. They left some money to local
organizations, but Brady was an only child, so he received the bulk of their
estate.

"Anyway, Brady was torn up, of course. Brady called
Shawn one night to let him know he was going to propose to Claire. He didn't
want to waste another second and he wanted everyone on board with it. When he
proposed, Claire said yes. I mean she was about to get her hands on millions. We
suggested he get a pre-nup, but Brady just called us crazy and said he trusted
her.

Unfortunately for Brady (or fortunately, depends on how you
look at it), Claire left her email open one day. The girl was having so many
affairs, not just one or two, but close to ten! He confronted her and she
couldn’t deny it, so she left. A few weeks later, she called to tell him she
was pregnant. Long story short, she wasn’t. She totally fucked him over, so bad
that Brady is now a closed off man. No one, and I mean no one, is ever getting
in.” As Kelly explains all this, I sit in sadness. You'd think after what I’ve
been through, nothing would shock me.