“Yeah?”
“You know when Blake first mentioned you?Years ago?” Her words were slurring. “I looked you up online. You know … research.”
I raised an eyebrow, even though her eyes were closed. “Research.”
“Mmhmm. And you know what I thought?”
“What?”
“That you were hottttt.” She drew out the word. “Like, stupidly hot. I told Blake his friends weren’t allowed to look like that.”
I couldn’t help but smile. “Liquor. The ultimate truth serum.”
“Best truth serum ever,” she mumbled, a sleepy giggle escaping. Then she went quiet for a moment, her fingers tracing absent patterns on the comforter. When she spoke again, her voice had lost its playful edge. “Want another truth?”
Something in her tone made me pause.
“I wouldn’t have killed him,” she said suddenly, her eyes opening to meet mine. Glassy with tears but somehow clearer than I’d ever seen them. “Not on purpose. I know that. I’m not that kind of person.” Her voice cracked. “I threatened him, but I was just trying to scare him away. Just wanted him to leave me alone. To leave the kids alone. I just … I wanted him gone, but not like that. Never like that.”
The raw honesty in her voice, the desperation, made me realize this wasn’t manipulation. This was truth, unfiltered and devastating.
“I believe you.” And I realized I meant it.
The doubt that had been choking me suddenly loosened its grip. Like I’d been holding my breath since Knox asked that question, and I could finally exhale. This was Faith. MY Faith. The woman who shared wine with a stranger with a black eye. Who inspired loyalty so fierce that a woman she’d just met would assault a man with a lamp to defend her honor.
How could I have doubted her?
The relief was overwhelming, followed immediately bysomething else. Something that terrified me more than any case ever had.
I was falling for her.
No, that was wrong. I’d already fallen. Past tense. Completely, irrevocably done. The doubt had just been keeping me from admitting it.
Her eyes searched mine, looking for doubt, for judgment. “Really? You believe me?”
“Really.” I brushed a strand of hair from her face. “Now get some sleep.”
She caught my hand before I could pull away. She held it for a moment. “Thank you for believing me. No one ever … no one’s ever just believed me before.”
My throat tightened. She’d spent her whole life having to prove herself worthy of trust, of love. Having to earn what should have been freely given.
Not anymore. Not with me.
“Ryker?”
“Yeah?”
“I’m really glad you’re here.” Her voice was soft, vulnerable. “Even if you are a grumpy almost-maybe boyfriend with an angry face.”
Despite everything, I smiled. “Get some sleep.”
Her breathing evened out within seconds, and I stood there, watching her for longer than I should have. Memorizing the curve of her cheek, the way her lashes cast shadows in the dim light, the peaceful expression that made her look like she didn’t have a care in the world.
Tomorrow, reality would come crashing back. The case. The trial. The impossible odds stacked against us.
But tonight, I could pretend that she was just a woman I was falling for. Had fallen for. Currently in the middle of falling. Whatever.
Not a client. Not a case. Not someone accused of murder.
