Blurred (Connections, #3.5)(32)

“Right!” My pulse thuds as I turn and walk out the door and down the same f*cking hallway for what I hope is the last time.

***

Lingering on the threshold of sanity, I swerve to the right. My hands grip the bars and my heart pounds. Horns honk, but I keep going. I skid to a stop at a traffic light, wishing I had just run it. I’m not sure why I feel such an overwhelming urge to see that son of a bitch get what is due to him. I swerve to the right and turn on La Cienega. The courthouse is only five blocks away but even that seems too far. I park as close as I can. I flash my press pass and surprisingly it works. For once, I’m grateful for my f*cking job. I feel a tightness in my chest as I race up the stairs to the courtroom. I file in quietly and have a seat. All I see is his back, but I recognize him immediately—the slick dark hair gives him away.

Glancing around the room, I see Jason sitting in the front row. Confusion descends on me. What the hell is he doing here? How is he connected to all of this? I try a million different ways to put the pieces of the puzzle together but they just don’t fit. Thirty minutes pass and Jason sits there, waiting, like me. Time seems to move so slowly. I wait for the * to turn around but he never does. Finally, the judge enters the courtroom. As the jurors file in, the bailiff asks everyone to rise. The jurors all take their seats in the jury box and we follow.

The judge addresses the jury. “Has the jury reached a verdict?”

The foreperson responds, “Yes, we have, your Honor.”

The bailiff hands the verdict form to the judge as he reads aloud, “As to Count 1, the jury finds the Defendant guilty . . .”

I tune out the rest. Guilty was all I needed to hear. I stand to leave just as he turns. He looks the same—a spray of black bangs over dark round eyes, a slight mustache covering his lip, and a stance like he could never be defeated. I notice the eye contact between him and Jason and know there is something going on. I tense even further at the thought. With my eyes locked on Josh’s, I stay where I am. Fury overtakes his humbled face when he recognizes me. In that instant, he flies into a rage—his eyes turn wild.

He points to me. “You, you did this to me! You took my family from me, you took everything from me!”

Looking around I see an old man and a young, rail-thin woman with long dark hair quietly begging him to be silent. But their pleas go unheard as two armed court officers grab him and drag him out of the room.

But his last words ring in my ears even after he’s left the room, and a shiver rides down my spine.

“You’ll get yours! An eye for eye. Don’t forget it,” he spat at me.

Horror had paralyzed me as I watched him being escorted kicking and screaming out of the courtroom, thankful he was being put away. Jason must have passed by me without my noticing. I flee the courtroom and spot him in the hall.

“Jason, hold up!” I yell, but he keeps moving and disappears into a door marked PRIVATE.

“Fuck, what is going on?”

As I exit the building I call Caleb. I get his f*cking voice mail again. “Call me. I want to know where you found Josh Hart!”





Chapter 10


Leave the Lights On

The sky has begun to cloud over as I maneuver through the stop and go traffic on Melrose. Cars are parked haphazardly lining the street and I squeeze into a space between an SUV and an Escort. I already decided going back to work was not happening. One turn of the key and the roar of my engine ceases; I stand here with the heavy metal between my legs. I don’t want to go back to that shithole of a room right now. Fuck, I have nowhere else to go. I hop off and just start walking. I stop in at Four & Twenty Blackbirds, but Ruby isn’t working today. I head to Beck’s but he’s not behind the bar. The bartender’s face flashes recognition as I walk up to her.

“Hey. Is Beck around?”

“No, he took a few days off. He told me that if you stopped by to tell you he’d be in touch.”

“That’s mysterious. What’s going on?”

She shrugs. “No idea. Just passing on the message. You drinking?”

“No, not this early. I was just looking for Beck. I’ll see you around.”

I go outside to get some air and clear my head. While I’m walking aimlessly down the crowded street, my cell rings. I pull it from my pocket. Fuck, it’s not Caleb. It’s Bass. “Yeah,” I answer, anything but thrilled that she’s calling me so soon after I left her office.

“I looked into Jason Holt. He’s not involved in the case but when I crossed his name with Josh Hart’s I found that Hart was one of his informants years ago. Did you know that?”

My head spins. Has Jason been involved the whole time? “No, I didn’t. But thanks for letting me know.”

I leave another message for Caleb. Fuck, I need someone to talk to. I want to call my sister but she took Trent to Hawaii a few days ago. Having no place else to go, I end up outside of S’belle’s place.

I smile when I see her car parked out front—maybe my luck is finally changing. At the metal gate that leads into the courtyard, I debate ringing the bell but I don’t have to hesitate for long. She emerges with that dick of a boss following her. She’s carrying a basket of flowers and he holds the gate open for her. They look pretty cozy. I guess there was more going on between them—just not what I thought it was.