One That Got Away Read online

  Her cell phone rang, interrupting her thoughts.

  “Hi, Emily. It’s Justin.”

  “Hey, Justin.” She tried to sound composed but heard the depression in her own voice.

  “Evan just called. He’s willing to sign the car over to you if you pay off the rest of the loan.”

  What? Freakin’ bullcrap! Evan could kiss her butt. “No!” She preferred the anger in her voice now over the pathetic wimp a second ago.

  “No?”

  “He took it. Let him deal with it.”

  “He did say he’d drop the charges.”

  “So? How’s that going to help? Does it make up for what he’s put me through so far? This is not my fault. None of it is.”

  “Maybe you shouldn’t look at it that way.”

  “Whose lawyer are you, Justin?” She turned her annoyance to him. “I don’t trust anything he says. Let’s be realistic here. He’s not finished with me.” She shook her head, Evan was a nut job. “I gave you proof of every payment I made. He can’t dispute that.”

  “Maybe.” Justin sighed. “If it was just that Theft charge, yeah. But then there is the Reckless Endangerment charge. The more we can get knocked off before we go back, the easier it’ll be to get the rest of the charges reduced. A Reckless charge won’t just impact your sentence, it could impact whether or not you’ll keep your license. It’ll make your insurance payments go up as well. The speeding charge doesn’t help either.” What were you thinking?

  He didn’t ask the question but Emily was sure he had said it in his head.

  She wanted to swear. Her entire life she was the good girl. Then, just because she wanted out of a relationship going nowhere, and for fifteen minutes of poor judgment on the road, she was screwed. It wasn’t fair. She wanted to scream and rip her hair out. Rrrgghh!

  “So what do you say, Em? Do you want to take Evan’s offer?”

  Emily sighed. “I’ll think about it. I don’t have the money to pay off the car, but I’ll try and see if I can get a loan.”

  “Maybe your dad—”

  “No! Certainly not.” She had no intention of asking them for anything or dragging them further into the Evan-fiasco.

  “All right. Just a suggestion.”

  She checked the clock on the wall. “I’ve got to get to work, Justin.”

  “Think about it, Emily. I’ll talk to you later.”

  “Thanks. For everything. I do appreciate your help.” Guilt had her apologizing for snapping at him.

  “Hey, we’re practically family,” he said, his voice softening and losing the lawyer tone. “If I don’t talk to you sooner, I’ll see you at Sunday dinner. Call me with your decision.” He clicked off.

  Emily swallowed hard. Now that her parents were back from Florida, they’d expect her to go to dinner at their house on Sunday. She wasn’t looking forward to it, not after the way she yelled at them. Whether she was wrong or right, she’d have to apologize for raising her voice at them. And she’d have to apologize to her mother for making her cry.

  It was the right thing to do even though her mother made her cry plenty of times. The bitterness of her teenage years and the control her father still had over her ate at her heart. She was young when she fell in love with Luke back then, but it was love. The connection they shared was pure and sweet. Her parents didn’t understand. They only saw a leather jacket and a motorbike. They still thought the same way today. Evan had the proper haircut, the right family background, everything. They couldn’t see the real picture.

  An image of Luke popped into her head. He was even more handsome now than he was as a teenager. She realized something else. Now that they made love, Emily knew she was falling for him again. She was falling in love with him. The memory of his hard body against hers, the smell of him and the hungry way he touched her made her shiver. There was no mistaking the want and need she had for that luscious man.

  Needing to clear her head, she picked up her purse and made her way outside. After locking the door, she hurried to her sister’s car to get to work. Daydreams didn’t pay the rent. She climbed in and pushed away her thoughts of Luke Wade. At least she tried to.

  Emily cursed looking at the clock on the dashboard of the car. The glut of cars on the highway choked a swift ride into New Haven as everyone moved at a slow crawl. The last thing she needed was to be late again. Her employers were rapidly losing patience with her tardiness and absences. Five years of hard work were rapidly wasting under one month of hard luck and bad choices.

  Slapping her hand on the signal arm she glanced over her shoulder to scan her chances of pulling over in the extreme right-hand lane. Typical of New Haven drivers, cars passed her on the right anyway. They ignored her signal light and weren’t willing to let her in. Except she had to get to that lane. If she took the next exit she’d have a chance of getting to work on time.

  Heart pounding, she stuck the nose of the car in the first small space of an opening when the car ahead on the right-hand side pulled away. The car in back of her honked and kept sounding the horn as Emily wedged her way into the lane. Sorry, Horn Honker.

  Emily’s hands shook. She had never managed a move like that before. She didn’t know whether to be triumphant she pulled it off or scared shitless she was that stupid. But she was in the lane, and when the exit came up she dashed down it. The minutes ticked away as she navigated the local traffic and streetlights to get to her job. It seemed to take forever.

  Finally, she arrived in the parking lot. The clock let her know she had five minutes to spare. Counting that a minor miracle, she got out of her car.

  And stopped short.

  “Hi, Baby.”

  Emily’s heart pounded at an erratic rate. She knew the voice; did not want to talk to him. She turned slowly.

  Evan stood leaning against his car. “I’ve been waiting to talk to you. You’re late.”

  Emily straightened; resolved not to speak a word to him. She avoided meeting his gaze and walked past him.

  Except Evan wasn’t going to allow that. He grabbed her arm and jerked her to face him. “Hey. I said I wanted to talk to you.”

  “I’m late,” said Emily coldly.

  “Be late,” he said. “I hate how you are avoiding me.”

  “Too bad.” She yanked her arm from his grasp.

  Quickly he moved to block her path.

  “Get out of my way,” growled Emily. Why couldn’t someone walk by to see this altercation going on? At least she’d have some proof to his craziness.

  “Not until you talk to me.”

  Emily crossed her arms. He wasn’t going to leave her alone until he told her what he wanted to say. “About what?”

  “I want you back.” He smiled.

  She took a deep breath as her stomach rolled. She couldn’t believe him. “Why would you want a slut?”

  “I’m sorry, Emily. I lost my temper.” He didn’t look remorseful at all.

  “You seemed perfectly calm to me when you said it.”

  “Things haven’t been going right for me since I lost my job. Losing you was the last straw. I promise, Em, if you take me back I’ll change. I’ll give you the car back, and I’ll stop drinking. I swear Emily. Please.”

  Could Evan change? She wasn’t sure if she cared if he did. He’d gone too far and done too much damage. She’d never trust him again. Her watch beeped. She sighed. “Evan, I can’t talk now. If I don’t get in that building right now, we’ll both be out of jobs.”

  “Then you’ll talk to me later?”

  “I’ve got to go,” she said firmly. She tried to maneuver around Evan, but he wouldn’t budge. “Please, Evan.”

  “Give me a kiss.” He pressed his lips together and closed his eyes...

  “What?” she screeched. “Get out of my way right now!”

  Evan grabbed her arm again, and she twisted, trying to get away from him.

  “Is there a problem here?” The building’s security guard strode toward them.

 
Evan instantly let go of her arm. “No problem,” he said quickly. “I’ll call you later, Em.” He got into his car and peeled out of the driveway.

  “Are you okay, Miss?” asked the guard.

  “I’ve told him to leave me alone. And he just won’t.” Her shaking hands returned.

  “Yeah. Assholes don’t seem to remember that,” said the guard. He shook his head. “I’ll walk you in.”

  “You don’t have to,” she said but appreciated his gesture.

  “It’s my job. Don’t take it personally.” He winked at her. He was an older man, dressed in a white uniform shirt and black pants. The guard gazed at her with a fatherly expression on his face.

  “Sure. Is it okay if you don’t walk in my office with me, please? I don’t want the people there talking.”

  “Okay. I can do that.”

  Emily found her knees unsteady and thought she was going to lose her breakfast. Only, she realized, she was so upset she hadn’t had breakfast this morning.

  “This is turning out to be a stellar morning,” she mumbled under her breath when the guard left her at the elevator. She managed to make it to her desk in one piece without falling apart.

  “Emily!”

  Before she could sink her nerve-wracked body in her chair, her boss, Eric Hobson, motioned for her to come into his office.

  Swallowing, she entered his office where he sat behind his broad desk. Hobson was in his mid-thirties, an up and comer in the financial side of their company’s business. He seemed to work in the office twenty-four seven. At least, he was always in before she arrived and when she left each day.

  “Don’t shut the door. Please sit down, Emily,” he said seriously.

  Emily took the chair in front of his desk, her heart racing.

  “You’re late again, Emily. Is there a reason?”

  Emily wanted to cry. She should have had the guard walk her in. “The traffic was bad,” she said weakly.

  “Bad traffic is not news here, Emily. You should plan your morning better.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “You’ve been late an unacceptable number of days this month, Emily, and you’ve missed others. This can’t continue.”

  “I understand, Mr. Hobson.” Emily stared down at her hands, blinking to hold back the tears. It was like a nightmare just getting worse and worse. She slowly looked up when he didn’t say anything else.

  He seemed to have relaxed and leaned back in his chair. “Are there problems of which I should be aware?”

  “No, sir.” She knew better than to discuss her personal problems with her boss.

  “You’ve been a very good employee up to now, Emily, which is why I’ve been lenient with you. But the other employees are beginning to talk, and I can’t have that.”

  “Talk?” said Emily, confused.

  “Favoritism,” he said. “They think I show you favoritism and are coming up with creative reasons as to why.”

  Emily’s mouth dropped open. “They don’t think—” Her face burned red as she couldn’t finish her sentence.

  He nodded. “Yes, they do. And it’s bad when employees think that. Considering your recent attendance record, I’ve no choice but to issue you a written warning.”

  Tears stung Emily’s eyes, which she fought back furiously. She’d have been at her desk on time if it weren’t for Evan. Damn it! This wasn’t her fault! Morons talking around the water cooler was the problem here. “I understand, Mr. Hobson,” said Emily as bile rose in her stomach.

  He pulled out a piece of paper and placed it in front of her. “Please read it now. Out loud.”

  Seriously? She looked at him to see if he was joking. He wasn’t.

  So Emily read the document,

  “Emily Dougherty

  Junior Account

  RE: Written Warning for Attendance

  Miss Emily Dougherty,

  This letter is to serve as an official written reprimand for an incident that happened on this date. As per policy, you were not at your desk and ready to work at 9:00 AM.

  This is not the first time that we have had this issue with you being tardy. Absenteeism and lateness have been a problem in the recent past and it appears verbal counseling has not been effective.

  On April 6 and again on April 13 you did not report for work, and you were late on three other occasions this month. On April 21 we discussed these issues, at which time I issued a verbal warning to you regarding your attendance.

  We value attendance and consider it to be a significant factor in your position. It is essential to the efficient operation of our office that every employee be ready to perform their duties in a timely manner. Repeated lateness and absences have a corrosive effect on office morale as it often forces other employees to do the work assigned to you. This is a disservice to the employees who are covering for you. Proper attendance and being on time is necessary for the overall functioning of our company.

  We value your contributions to the enterprise. Consequently, we see this as a step to inform you of the seriousness with which we consider this matter and give you an opportunity to correct your performance.

  Failure to arrive on time at work or further unapproved absences may result in further disciplinary procedures up to and including termination.

  Please refer to the Progressive Discipline section of your Employee Handbook for more information on disciplinary procedures or contact Human Resources if you have questions. Otherwise, my door is always open to discuss particular problems that may impede your ability to arrive on time or attend when you are scheduled.

  Please sign and date below. A copy will be placed in your personnel file. Signing does not indicate that you agree with this warning, only that we discussed it.

  Sincerely,

  Eric Hobson

  Manager, Accounting Department.”

  Emily quickly signed the letter with shaking hands even as her stomach turned cold. She handed it to him, not even sure she remembered a word of what she had just read. Her head spun. “Is there anything else, Mr. Hobson?”

  “No, Emily.” His phone rang and he turned in his swivel chair after picking up the handset.

  Emily made it to her desk but didn’t know how. She put her face in her hands. If she didn’t get this nonsense under control, she was going to lose her job and everything she had worked for.

  Chapter Four

  Felonies

  A bunch of misdemeanor cases came and went first. These had lawyers who wanted to do their business and get out of the courthouse. Luke half listened to the nonsense about people picked up on minor theft charges, domestic violence cases, and similar things. His leg grew more painful as the minutes ticked by. The room was packed so he couldn’t put his leg up and people walking by jostled it if he stuck it out.

  By the time they called out the prisoners, Luke was in intense pain and ticked off. Gibs glanced around the room as he shuffled in shackles. He caught Luke’s eye and Luke did his best to smile. Except now Luke was incensed. Gibs wouldn’t hurt anyone and seeing him chained made him angry.

  The charges were read against Gibs.

  “Do you have an attorney, Mr. Gibson?” said the Judge.

  “No.”

  “I suggest you get one. If you cannot, the court will appoint one for you. The charges against you carry significant jail time. In the meantime, I’ll enter a plea of not guilty until we can come back to court. Are you employed, Mr. Gibson?”

  “Yes.”

  “For how long?”

  “Five years.”

  “I see. And you don’t have a prior record. However, due to the severity of the charges against you, I’m ordering a fifty-thousand-dollar bond. Your family or friends can pay the entire amount at the clerk of court, or you can employ a bondsman who’ll handle the transaction. In the meantime, Mr. Gibson, stay out of trouble. Be back in court on,” he looked at his clerk who mouthed a date, “May Sixteenth. Next case.”

  Gibs, whose face blanched to a sickly white, glan
ced at Luke as the sheriff led him away. Luke nodded, hoping Gibs understood it to mean that he’d take care of things.

  It took him a couple hours to arrange for a bail bondsman. In the end, he had to put up the title for all three of his bikes plus his SUV and hand over five thousand dollars to secure the bond.

  The bail bondsman, Ronaldo, was a tall, heavily built man who looked like he could stop a Mack truck by yanking on it. He was amiable and patient with Luke’s questions. Luke thought the bail was very high for a first offense.

  “Yeah,” agreed Ronaldo. “With almost everything else, except violent crime, you can get released on a promise to appear. But with drug cases the courts are hardcore. I’m not a lawyer, but if he had one at the hearing the lawyer could have argued to lower the bond. The best thing for your friend to do is get a lawyer and get the bond reduced. That way I can release the titles on some of your property.”

  “It’s not like I’m going to sell any of them.”

  “I hear ya. Nice bikes. I’d like one of them myself. Okay, I’ll go to the courthouse now and get that set for you. You should be able to pick up your friend in a couple hours. He’s probably still in the holding cells in the courthouse, so you’ll have to wait until they take him back to the police department. I’ll call over to Westfield and let them know the bond is put up so they don’t transfer him to a state facility.”

  “They’d do that?” Luke shook his head, shock numbing his pain a moment.

  “They don’t hold people long-term in the local jails.”

  Luke sucked in a sharp breath. They would move Gibs? The guy wouldn’t last a day in a state facility. The pain in his leg returned, along with a headache born of tension. After dealing with the bail bondsman, Luke was in a bad mood when he picked Gibs up from the Westfield Police Department. It was nearly five o’clock and Helen had called a couple times looking for Gibs. He was too furious to talk or even ask Gibs what the hell was going on. He knew if he said anything, he’d blow his top.