Scared of Beautiful (Scared #1)(57)
Chapter 32
Jackson
When Jade walks in and delivers the news that Maia will be arriving in the morning, my heart soars. Hell, my heart practically doubles on the stupid machine I’m hooked up to. Even the knowledge of my impending jail sentence is not enough to darken my mood. I replay over and over what to say to her in my mind while Jade holds a vigil with a magazine on the couch in my room. I’ll tell her how sorry I am, how lost I am whenever I am away from her. I’ll promise that there will never be a day that goes by where she will ever feel unloved. Hell, that’s a promise I make to myself, as well. I plan on spending every second of the rest of our lives proving that I am a better person than I have been up until now.
The dark cloud of destructive thought that has been hovering over me descends as I realize that she may not want to wait around for a prisoner to be freed. If she knew the horror of what took place last night, she might hate me. More so than she already does. But I have to believe that what we had is strong enough to get past that. I have to. It’s the only thing I have left.
“Why so quiet?” Jade asks eventually.
“Just thinking,” I say, wincing as I move my left arm and the handcuff grates against my wrist.
“About Maia?” she asks. “Oh wait, stupid question.” Jade winks at me, and I would have thrown my pillow at her had I the ability to use either of my arms.
“Go home and get some sleep Jade,” I say.
“No, I’m waiting here till Maia arrives,” she replies defiantly. “She’ll never forgive me if you die or abscond before she gets here.” Jade’s eyes glint with amusement.
“How?” I reply sarcastically gesturing down at my cuffed arm.
“I said no,” she returns flatly, and I sigh and smile. There was never a better and more infuriating friend on this planet. “You just want to check out the hot nurses,” I tease.
“Guilty,” she grins, “and speaking of which, another roaming of the halls is in order.” Jade winks as she slides out the door.
A few minutes later, a nurse comes in to deliver my Valium. I guess they figure criminals are prone to violent outbursts, so sedation is a good idea. I have no idea how Jade convinced them that she needs to stay with me. Not that it makes a difference, considering there are two policemen outside my door 24/7. I drift off to sleep smiling, knowing that come morning, I will see the most beautiful sight in the world.
* * *
That dream is short lived. I awake instead to see a small, stocky man in a very expensive suit holding a briefcase, perched on a chair next to my bed.
“Who are you?” I ask groggily.
“Phillip Mercer,” he says holding out his hand.
I glance down at my useless upper appendages and glare at him.
“Oh sorry,” he says, only slightly amused. “I am your attorney. I’m being paid an absurd amount of money to make sure that you stay out jail. So let’s get to work.”
“Did Maia hire you? Is she here?” I ask anxiously, trying to sit up. I notice Jade isn’t in the room, either.
“I was hired by a phone call. I don’t know a Maia,” he answers shortly. Flipping through a notepad, he starts what I presume to be building my defense. “So the charges are accessory to murder and robbery. Pretty serious for a kid who’s enrolled at Brown University and has no major priors. Want to tell me what really happened?”
I consider selling out Emmanuel. The f*cker was planning on killing me, after all. But there’s a code in my neighborhood, and I’m not sure I want to break it just yet.
I tell Phillip about the plan to rob the truck, how the second guard was in on it. I’m deliberately brief in my answers, careful not to implicate anyone.
“Here’s the thing, kid,” Phillip says, leaning forward on his chair and clasping his hands together. “I have no time for this bullshit. I am one of the highest paid criminal lawyers in the country. So what I don’t do is sit in front of clients who want to withhold the truth. That guy, Emmanuel, who will live, by the way, after he slammed the getaway car into a pylon, will never leave you alone. In jail or when he gets out. Now, I need something to offer the DA, and with any luck, we may even be able to get out of court altogether if they come back with a decent plea bargain.”
I look at the clock on the opposite wall. 11:45am. Maia should have been here by now. What the f-uck is the point of even trying to be free? What’s waiting out there for me if she isn’t?
I sigh. “Okay, I’ll tell you exactly what happened.”
Phillip is right; Emmanuel will kill me either way. At least if he gets a long sentence and I get the f-uck out of dodge, I have some chance at staying alive. I’m as good as dead in a prison with him. I sell Emmanuel out. Phillip arranges for my phone to be analyzed to retrieve whatever we can in the form of conversations between the two of us, to gather evidence to make my case.
A lawyer for the prosecutor comes in awhile later, and I sign a statement attesting to my story. I wait anxiously for Phillip to come back from the DA’s office to learn my fate. What I really want to do is get up and find Maia.
After several hours, Phillip comes back with a satisfied, smug smile on his face. “Well kid, you’re free.” A policeman follows him in and unshackles me from the bed rail.
“What? Wait, really?” I am truly astonished by this news. I did not expect that.