“Not true, otherwise I wouldn’t be a lawyer.” He has a point but we both know that’s not what I meant. “Over the course of the weekend I’m going to get them to try and drop these charges. In the meantime you need to keep your mouth shut.”
“Meaning I really do have to spend the weekend here.”
“Unfortunately yes. If the charges are kept a judge won’t do a bail hearing until Monday. Then we go from there.”
“I trust you.”
“Well, it would be a fucking pain in my ass if you didn’t. From here on I expect full cooperation. No doing shit without talking to me first.” He lays down the law.
“Understood.”
He nods his head. “Anything you need from me?”
“Yeah, I need a favor.”
“That is?”
“I need to make a phone call.”
Gracie Mae
My phone vibrates in my lap and I break my conversation with Alice to see who is calling.
Nico Santiago’s name lights up my screen.
And as a million and one questions flick through my mind like a catalogue I answer the phone instantly. "Please tell me everything is going okay."
"More than fucking okay now that I hear your voice, baby." Hearing Oak's voice through the phone causes such a visceral reaction. My eyes brim with tears. The strings on my heart pull. The blood in my veins sing. And I make an unintelligible sound as I choke on a sob of relief.
"Oak." I pour my very heart and soul in the whimper of his name.
"How you holding up, baby?"
My fingers clutch around my phone like a lifeline. Because I'm so afraid once I let this phone go I'll never hear his voice again.
It's an insane reaction, I know this, but I feel it all the same.
I breathe out, disbelief coloring my tone. "You're asking me how I'm doing?"
His voice is low but there's strong conviction one can't argue with. "You're my priority, Grace. Everything else can fucking wait."
"I've never known a man like you, Oak." It's the first thing that comes to mind and I can't help it spilling from my lips.
He chuckles. A deep chuckle that pulls from his chest. One that is rare. One I wish I heard more often. And I would kill to experience it in person. "You'll never know a man again, Grace."
"So possessive," I comment with a lightness I haven't felt since he's left.
"Don't pretend you don't love it, baby. There's only me for you and there's only you for me."
My lips twist with amusement. Because I can't help but tease him I say, "Is that so?"
"You know if I was there I would silence that smart mouth of yours after taking you over my knee."
Heat lights up my core as I squirm in my seat. I cross my legs to ease the ache he's easily created. "Promise?" I ask in a breathy voice that I use during sex.
A string of curses comes from him followed by a strangled groan. "Fuck, baby. You can't say shit like that."
I point out, "You're the one who started it."
