“No, he came up with that himself. Get your ass over here anyway.”
“Because the idiot loves and needs me?”
“Yes! God, you two are driving me crazy.”
She fought it but lost and a smile spread across her face. “Sorry,” she whispered. “I’m coming. Text me the address. I…just need to make a quick stop.”
The Vernon police station was probably not normally visited by many people, but when Hazel arrived an hour and a half later, four people were standing in the entryway. Penny was talking to the officer, who apparently couldn’t reach a judge who could officially release Gareth from custody on a Saturday. Mr. Clark was standing stoically behind her, frequently mentioning howoutrageousthe whole thing was. Cian was sitting on an orange plastic chair by the door, studying a folder that looked disturbingly familiar to Hazel…and Billy Kosianos was leaning against the wall and giving Cian spiteful glances. The glances would have been more impressive if his nose weren’t so bloody and he didn’t have a gash on his chin.
“Man, did you finally get that plastic surgery everyone’s been telling you to get for a decade?” she greeted the lawyer sweetly. “Looks good! You should wear blood more often.”
Kosianos whirled around angrily. Cian glanced up with a smile, and Penny gave a small wave before continuing to grill the officer.
“You two deserve each other!” Kosianos snarled. “The bitch and the asshole, that’s a perfect fit.”
“Okay…” Cian rose with a dark look, but she just waved him off.
“No, no. It’s fine, Cian. One Harvard graduate in custody is enough for today,” she said, smiling. “It’s so good to see you, Kosianos. I heard you’re suing my mother and filing charges against my boyfriend?”
Billy smiled smarmily. “Oh yeah. I know you like to use Clark as your personal shield, but it didn’t work this time.”
“Mm hm. I think your nose tells a different story.”
He bared his teeth. “It was worth it. He’ll pay for this! And your clients will certainly be interested to know that you’re only able to negotiate such good contracts for them because you’re screwing the contractual parties.”
“Oh, it was just the one,” she replied lightly, even though her stomach fluttered. But she’d better get used to ignoring the taunting of assholes regarding her relationship with Gareth, right? She’d have to live with them. As long as Fox and Moreau and all the other people who mattered to her knew better…she didn’t care. What did she care about the opinion of the man who had deliberately scared her mother — and forced her to take a slightly more sleazy route than legal action? “Well, I have to disappoint you, but I don’t think Gareth will have topay.”
Kosianos snorted. “I have the upper hand.”
“And I’m here to chop it off,” she said cheerfully, because the guy who put Gareth in his holding cell didn’t deserve to be treated kindly. “You know, I was looking at your client list…and one of your biggest clients is Blue Lemonade. You know what else Blue Lemonade is? One of the Hawks’ biggest sponsors! Funny coincidence, isn’t it? And the CEO has become Penny’s really good friend. Isn’t that so, Penny?”
“I adore Mrs. Malborne!” Penny exclaimed from the reception desk.
Hazel grinned. “See? And Penny is Gareth’s sister. That just happens to be the guy who loves me so much he threw away his sacred control just to take you down. You remember.” She scratched her nose. “I bet he could convince his sister to tell Blue Lemonade what a bad choice your firm is.”
“I’m sure!” Penny replied directly.
“So if you don’t drop the charges against my mother – and the complaint against Gareth – she’ll call her right now!”
“Cian, will you give me back my phone?” Penny asked innocently.
Kosianos turned chalk white. “You wouldn’t. That would be…that would be…”
“Not fair?” she whispered, her interest piqued as she moved closer to him. “Life isn’t fair, Kosianos. But if you drop thecharges and the complaint, at least yours will be a little better. So, think about it and talk it over with Penny. I have other plans at the moment.” She waved to him and then hurried into the hallway that, according to the sign, led to the holding cells — only one of which was occupied.
Gareth lay on the concrete bench against the back wall. He had his arms folded behind his head, his eyes closed, and his legs propped up, as if he was taking a nap in the Caribbean, not a smelly police station. Still, he didn’t seem out of place. That may have been due to his bloody knuckles.
Or perhaps he was always in exactly the right place, as long as she could just look at him.
She smiled as she strolled closer. She felt as if she’d been working toward this exact spot for ten years.
“You know,” she said, “I kind of like this. At least you can’t run away while I’m telling you what I want to say.”
Scrambling to his feet so quickly, Gareth almost fell off the bench. He blinked a little too much, as if he was unsure if he was asleep.
“So, you thought a fistfight with Kosianos was a good idea?”
“It wasn’t a fight,” he stated, hesitantly stepping forward. “He just fell to the ground. You might almost say he fainted.”
