I sat up with a growl, the bottle of tequila beside me on the bed. I lifted it and threw it against the wall. I let Lyric in, goddammit. What the fuck was wrong with me? I needed to shut this down. I would never allow myself to go through anything like that again.
Ever.
Lyric
Two weeks later…
I’D HAD ANOTHER date with Wes, but Doom had been busy, so I’d been denied some much needed relief. He’d texted and kept me updated this time, though, so he’d kept his promise.
I knew I was going to need to make a decision about next steps with Wes once the boot was off, he’d said as much, but until that happened, he was happy to enjoy my company without sex.
The more I got to know him, the more I liked him, but I honestly didn’t know if he’d be around long-term. He probably wanted a family and I was not the woman to give him one, so I should really cut my losses and move on, but I decided I’d wait until the subject came up.
This was what I was stewing on when my cell phone rang at four o’clock Friday afternoon. “Lyric Morgan.”
“This is an automated courtesy call from Coastal State Prison to inform you that prisoner, 24961, Garrett Smalls has been released…”
I didn’t hear the rest, mostly because I’d dropped my cell phone in shock.
Oh, God. No.
Knowing I couldn’t really put coherent sentences together, I retrieved my phone from the floor and called my sister.
“Hi, LiLi.”
“Garrett,” I panted into the phone.
“Garrett Smalls?”
“Is out.”
“Shit, okay, where are you?”
“At the office.”
“Stay there until I call you back.”
“Okay,” I whispered.
“Let Leo know what’s going on, but donotleave.”
“I won’t,” I promised. I hung up and headed down to my boss’s office. His door was open, but I still knocked before walking in.
Leo Walker’s father had started the firm back in the sixties and Leo had taken it over and built it up to be one of the top firms in Savannah.
“Lyric? You look like you’ve seen a ghost. Sit down,” Leo directed, and I lowered myself into chair across from his desk.
“Garrett Smalls has been released,” I said. “I just got the call.”
“Wow. Do you know why? He was supposed to be in for life.” He leaned against his desk and crossed his arms.
I shook my head. “No clue.”
“I know this is bad timing, but you should probably hand everything on your plate off to Georgia and get out of town for a few days. At least until you can figure out what’s going on.”
“I have a feeling that’s exactly what my sister’s going to say. She’s looking into it now.”
“Right, well, whatever you need, Lyric. You can work remotely, or not. You’re in no risk of losing your partnership here.”
