I hate the sound of his voice. I hate hearing how it made my own voice shake. But, this time, I don’t mind so much. This time, those same horrible words will damn him in a court of law.
No jury can ignore this. Between the photos and the tape, this case is open and shut. The attorney continues to present his case, as Blake stews in miserable silence. Christ, if only my divorce had been so cut-and-dry!
The judge finally orders a recess while the jury adjourns to determine a verdict. Blake is gonna be guilty as shit. As soon as he’s out of the courtroom, the press descends like locusts, and cameras are snapping inhisface for a change.
I spot Roger on his way out, and rush down the aisle to grab his arm. He feels my fingers curl against his coat sleeve and turns, grinning. He immediately takes my arm and whisks me away from the crowd.
Glancing over his shoulder to be sure there aren’t any straggling reporters, he pulls me into a courthouse bathroom, and I lock the door behind us for good measure. I’m shaking, I’m so giddy and relieved. Roger gently takes my hands and pulls me into a tight hug.
I breathe in his smell and beg myself not to cry on his beautiful suit.How many of these does he have? Damn!His team was wonderful out there. I pull away and stare at him, my mouth agape in pure awe.
“How… Roger,how?”
“I bought the building after I found the first round of cameras at your old place. I just had this feeling… and I couldn’t stand the thought of you being prey to something like that. Not again.”
“And the restaurant? I mean you came inafterBlake. I don’t understand.How?”Roger gets sheepish and looks down at his shoes. He bites his lip.
“Ah, that. Well, I sort of hired a team of guys to hunt through Queens until they found where you worked.” He grimaces and rubs the back of his neck before being brave enough to make eye contact with me.
“Jeez, you like me that much, huh?” I laugh and Roger breathes a sigh of relief. He has a right to think I’d be pissed about that. But, lucky for him, I can’t be bothered. I’m too fucking delighted.
“Something like that, yeah. So, once we found the spot, we bugged every table in the joint and waited. I knew that fucker would show up eventually to throw his weight around. Didn’t know how nasty it was gonna get.”
Roger’s face turns into a snarl and I know he’s thinking about that recording.
“Hey,” I say, grabbing his face. “That’s in the past now.”
Roger’s anger rolls off him in waves as he looks at me. This man. This amazing, ridiculous man went through all this for me.
His breath starts to change, and I know he’s feeling the electricity sizzle between us. I feel like I’ve got goddamn stars in my eyes gazing up at him. In fact, if he keeps looking at me like that, I’m sorely tempted to fuck him right here in the courthouse bathroom.
His hands slide around my waist and one trails down to squeeze my ass. I make a little sound of pleasure, so he pulls me close to him, his pelvis against mine.
You know what? It’s actually a pretty great bathroom, and the jury will be out for at least an hour…Why the hell not?