“No,” replied John. “This is bad. Your reputation and public image will undermine Sarah’s defense. Remember, they’re accusing her of demanding sexual favors in exchange for leniency.”
“But we only had sex once, and I initiated it.”
“That one time is still enough, and you have no credibility. They’ll spin what you say to make the jury believe you’re lying. I know I don’t have to point this out, but you’re Colt Young.”
“And?”
“And why would a world-famous musician with millions of dollars, who’s known for dating the hottest women on the planet, pursue a woman like Judge Alma?”
Colt didn’t like the sound of that. “What are you trying to say, John?” he growled.
“She’s nice looking, but she’s no size zero blonde with extra-large breasts.”
Christ. Colt understood. Sarah was real and incredibly beautiful, but people would have a hard time believing that he’d pursued her and wanted to sleep with her—he still did—simply because she wasn’t flashy or trashy enough. Those were the sorts of women his PR people set him up with. It was all about the image. A complete fake, chauvinistic image.
“And if I told them the truth? That I didn’t know who she was when I propositioned her at the club?”
“Colt, you’ve told me that your doctors would not be able to validate your condition with hard evidence, and I don’t see what it would gain her. She knew who you were, and it wouldn’t prove she didn’t offer you a lighter sentence in exchange for sex. And if the jury believed you were chasing after her, then it will put you in hot water. It will look like you were trying to bribe a judge with sexual favors, and, of course, that she accepted and reduced your sentence.”
So, basically, they’d both be screwed. If he testified, he wouldn’t make anything better for Sarah. And because of his reputation, the jury wouldn’t likely believe anything he said anyway. He’d only make her look guiltier.
“Fuck.” Colt ran his hand over the top of his head. Sarah had been right when she’d said that she’d looked at every possible angle. “I wish there was a way to convince everyone that I wasn’t with her for any other reason than I wanted her. It had nothing to do with my sentencing.”
“Actually, there is a way to convince them your actions were an act of passion and nothing more.”
“What?”
“It’s a risk. The jury could still find her guilty, but it would drastically reduce the chances of that happening.”
“What?” Colt repeated.
“Marry her.”
Colt felt like a giant dump truck had parked on his chest. “Could you repeat that?”
“Want to convince the jury that you truly have feelings for Sarah and that was why you were with her that night? Then marry the woman. Make sure the world sees photos of you two madly in love with rings on your fingers. Show them an unlikely, but totally committed couple who happened to meet under very inconvenient circumstances. It wouldn’t negate the fact that she should’ve excused herself from sentencing you and should’ve reported the relationship to Wright—but that would be a code of ethics violation, not a crime.”
“So she wouldn’t go to jail,” Colt concluded.
“Not likely. I think a jury would be much more sympathetic to Sarah if they see her as a woman who’s being punished for falling in love on the job. Throw in the fact she was shot by a jealous fan—another punishment for loving you—and her spotless track record, the jury would see her as a woman who’s being victimized for her desire to be with you. She’d still lose her bench and possibly be disbarred, but that’s all. And there’s the benefit of your not having to take the stand since she’d be your wife. That could only help her case because it would leave you and your not-so-squeaky-clean image out of this.”
Maybe John was right. Colt looked at Sarah through the window, her long brown and pink hair cascading down her back, catching the twinkling lights of the patio as she gazed up at the stars. She was lovely. Absolutely breathtaking. But did he love her? Truly, truly love her?
He closed his eyes for a moment, trying to sort out the jumbled feelings swimming in his chest. When he thought of her, it was like a light switching on inside him. And when he thought of losing her, he felt sick to his stomach. It was no different than the day Mary mowed them down. He recalled every moment, every emotion, and every horrible image when he lay there with Sarah, watching her die. He remembered thinking that if he could, he would’ve traded his life for hers. She was everything a woman should be, and her passion for making the world a better place was exactly what it needed. He’d forgotten about all that. The memories had been clouded by his anger for Mike, but now that he really thought about it, he did love her. Maybe he had from the moment he saw her in that nightclub, her smile, her wide blue eyes, the way she lit up for him.
All right. So he loved her. But there wasn’t a chance in hell she would marry him. Hell, he’d barely been able to convince her to come and have a final nightcap.
Colt took a deep breath and opened his eyes. “Thank you, John. If you think of anything else, let me know. I want every possible angle looked at so she can keep her job.”
“Shy of a miracle, that’s not going to happen. The best she can hope for is staying out of prison.”
“Thank you. I understand.” Colt ended the call and whooshed out a breath. What the hell am I going to do?
“Here you go, Mr. Young.” The bartender, a young guy with black hair and wearing a tux, placed two tall tequila mojitos on the bar.
Colt looked down at the drinks and then at the bartender. Drinks. Bartender. Drinks. Bartender.
No. I can’t do that. But what choice did he have? Drastic measures for a drastic situation.
“Sir, is something wrong?” the bartender asked.
“How much tequila can you put in these cocktails without them tasting strong?”
The bartender quirked a brow. “Those have two shots. I can add two more and bump up the sugar.”
“Great. Make me one of those and keep them coming.”
Hopefully she’s not going to hate my guts for this. But this was the only option, and now it was his turn to save her.
CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
“Buenos días, Joseph.” At seven o’clock in the morning, Ms. Luci strutted into Judge Wright’s office, cane in one hand and her oversized purse in the other. She knew this wasn’t going to be easy, so she’d called in some serious muscle, who waited outside. A woman must always be prepared.
Sitting behind his disk, Joseph flashed a welcoming smile. “Luci! What a wonderful surprise to see you, my little cupcake.”
She hated that nickname. He’d always thought it was a cute reference to her love of baking. My baking is serious business, cabrón!
Luci extended her hand over the desk, and Joseph bent down to kiss the top.
Vile, Luci thought as his slimy lips quivered over her delicate flesh with a pucker.
“Please, have a seat and tell me to what do I owe this pleasure,” he said.
So polite. So gentlemanly. Such an underhanded snake in the grass!
Luci clung to her charming smile like a dark secret and took a seat. “I have come to discuss Sarah Alma and her unfortunate situation.”
Luci noticed a flicker of irritation in his brown eyes. “Yes. Very unfortunate. And I know what you are going to say, Luci. But I did everything you asked. I made sure Colt Young was assigned to her court. I made sure she did not walk away. I even kept my mouth shut when Judge Alma accidentally sent Colt to your Ranch for his community service.” He smiled.
Oh, this bastard. How had she misjudged him? In all her forty years of helping people find their one true love, she’d never made a mistake like this one. She’d trusted this man. I only have myself to blame. She was getting too old. In her younger days, this never would’ve happened.
“Joseph, cut the mierda, sí? I know everything. I now know that you hate Sarah. I know that you wanted to ruin this nice lady??
?s life. I know about the video and how you used it to blackmail her. I know you never wanted to help her or me. The only thing I do not know is why. Why, Joseph? We’ve been friends for fifty years. You were like a brother to my Jeffrey and an uncle to my children. Why hurt this good woman?”
Joseph stared down at his desk for a moment, and then there it was: his true despicable self.
Darkness flickered in his eyes. “I did it to hurt you.”
Hijodeputa! “Me? Why me?”
“I think we both know why.”
Yes. She did. But she simply couldn’t believe it. Luci had known Joseph for most of her adult life. After her husband, Jeffrey, died, there was a time when she thought she and Joseph might end up together. He was kind, intelligent, and cared for her children. But then one night, seven years after her Jeffrey passed, Joseph finally proposed. “I will take care of you. You and the children.” She had been tempted, especially when facing a future alone with three children. But by then, her business was doing well and, unbeknownst to anyone, she had money. A lot of money. Jeffrey had made sure they’d be taken care of when he’d died, and she thanked God for that. It meant she’d had choices. And when Joseph asked her to be his, she realized that what she really wanted was Jeffrey. She would always want him, and to pretend that another man could come close to filling his shoes or his side of the bed was ridiculous. Jeffrey’s passion and kindness were one in a million, and they’d inspired her to do something special with her life: dedicate it to love. The sort of love that changed her life. She would help others find their special someone, too. The café, the cookies, the annual fiesta, and her special “projects” were in honor of him.
Luci reached across the desk and squeezed Joseph’s hand. “Then you have won, Joseph. You have hurt me. More deeply than you’ll ever know. But you should understand that I turned you down because I believed you deserved better. You deserved a woman whose heart wasn’t already taken.” She withdrew her hand and straightened her back. “And now that you know this, I want you to be the man I know you are. Tell them what you did, Joseph. Tell them that you used the video to force Sarah into this mess. Tell them that Sarah tried to resign before she sentenced Colt. Tell the truth, Joseph, I am begging you. Because you and I will be dead soon, and Sarah’s only mistake was allowing you to manipulate her.”
Joseph stared at Luci, pure hatred in his dull brown eyes. “And miss watching her go to prison? Miss watching your face when you realize that you meddled in one more person’s life and this time it cost them everything?” He shook his head no. “I’ve waited over forty years for this, Luci. You will die knowing that your stupid little business, your ridiculous piece-of-shit cookies, and your entire life were nothing but a fucking joke.”
Luci swallowed back her rage and disgust. How had this man she’d once cared for so very much ended up like this? She would never take credit for that. He’d dug his own hole.
“As you like, Joseph. But please remember: I gave you a chance to do the right thing.” She stood, reached into her giant purse, and pulled out her recorder. “And now, everyone will know that you are a sick, evil man, and what you did to Sarah was nothing more than a pathetic attempt to vindicate being rejected from my bed.” She shook her head. “So pathetic.”
Joseph sprang up from his chair and rushed around his desk. Luci smacked him in the head with her wooden cane, and he stumbled back.
He came at her again, and she pushed him back with the rubber tip of the cane.
“You bitch,” he growled. “Give me that thing, or I’ll kill you.”
“You think you scare me, silly little man? I am Mexican. We eat fear for breakfast and shit piñatas.” Luci grinned. “Bennett!”
Bennett Wade appeared in the doorway, wearing his black power suit and signature scowl. Bennett was a tall man and very fit, but that wasn’t what made him frightening. It was how his blue eyes turned ice cold when something displeased him. It provoked a chill right down to the bones. And it’s why I secretly adore him. Though, she’d never confess it. The man’s ego rivaled history’s greatest—Julius Caesar, Muhammad Ali, El Santo.
Bennett crossed the room and stood inches from Joseph’s face. “I’m going to pretend you did not just tell this sweet old lady you want to kill her.” Bennett leaned down a bit, looming over the skinny pecker of a man. “Because if there’s one thing in this world I cannot tolerate, it’s assholes who hurt women.” Pure menace flickered in his eyes. “Watch your back, Judge Wright. Justice is coming for you.”
Still holding the live device, Luci sighed with contentment. Joseph looked like he might wet himself.
“Well, this was fun. Let’s go, mijo. I have everything I need.” She turned with a smile and headed out. She would never forget this moment, or the fact that she’d put her trust into someone so unworthy, but at the very least, she could save Sarah from a matchmaking attempt that had gone very, very wrong.
CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
The annoying sound of a phone ringing in Sarah’s ear jarred her from a very deep sleep and brought to light her pounding headache.
Sarah reached for her cell on the nightstand and squinted at the blinding light pouring in through the room’s huge window.
Where am I? She looked at the device, noting the ID said “Taylor.” Wait. It’s two in the afternoon?
“Hello?” she said, putting the phone to her ear.
“Sarah? Why haven’t you been answering?” Taylor sounded worried.
Oh no. “Is the baby okay?” she grumbled.
“Yes, little Colt is fine. Where the hell are you?”
Sarah looked around the room, her head feeling like it might split wide open. “I’m not sure,” she mumbled, noting the unfamiliar decorum and tri-folded card on the nightstand with breakfast menu options. “I’m in a hotel room.”
“Is it true? Did you marry Colt Young last night?”
“What are you talking about?” Sarah sat up, realizing nothing separated her skin from the sheets. Oh shit.
“The pictures you texted us last night? Of you and him kissing in front of one of those cheesy little chapels?”
Huh? Sarah’s gaze flickered to her ring finger. “Oh shit! I’m wearing a wedding ring. And a really, really big diamond solitaire.”
Taylor made a loud squeal, forcing Sarah to pull the phone from her ear. “Ohmygod! Ohmygod! I don’t believe it.”
Sarah took a breath, feeling the bile crawl up her throat. This can’t be happening. And where the hell was Colt?
“I want to see all of the pictures immediately!” Taylor said.
Sarah heard the door handle jiggle. Colt appeared wearing his outfit from last night, carrying a cardboard tray filled with coffee, orange juice, and some other items in a white paper bag.
“Hey, you’re,” his cheery smile melted away, “up. And you’re looking very angry.”
“Tay, I’ll call you back.” Sarah ended the call, feeling so sick and so angry she didn’t know if she wanted to vomit first or jump from the bed, strangle him, and then vomit. “Please tell me we did not get married last night.”
Colt shut the door and set the tray down on the nightstand next to the bed. “Would you like coffee? Or perhaps some orange juice?”
“Please,” she growled, “tell me. That we. Did not. Get Married.”
“Bagel?”
“Colt,” she snapped.
“I know you’re upset, but let me explain.”
“No.” She shook her head. “No. No. No.”
He held out his hands. “Just take a moment and listen.”
“Listen? Listen?” Her eyes scanned the room. “Where are my clothes?”
“Hidden. And you’re not getting them back until you hear me out.”
Vague memories of last night danced around in her throbbing head. Drinking at his bar. Making out in his limo. Colt saying something about taking his plane to Vegas for some real fun. The rest was a blank.
Like hell she would listen! “You got me drunk, di
dn’t you? It was all planned.”
“Yes. I planned it. And my PR people are breaking the story as we speak. We wanted to make sure only the non-drunk-looking pictures get released. But the world is about to know how incredibly in love we are.”
“What! Why? Why would you do this?”
Colt sat down on the bed, his hazel eyes filled with hard emotion. He reached for her face and brushed the hair from her eyes. “This was the only way to keep you from going to prison.”
“What are you talking about?”
“I spoke to my lawyer last night, and he explained that this would help prove we did not sleep together for any other reason than we’re attracted to each other and couldn’t resist. There was no criminal intent. Trust me, Sarah. I didn’t take doing this lightly, but it was for your own good.”
Oh, God. My head hurts. “For my own good? You…you got me drunk, convinced me to marry you, and then slept with me!”
“I’m not a low-life scumbag, Sarah. I would never take advantage of you while you were drunk.” He paused and looked up at the ceiling for a moment. “Unless you were kind of happy, sexy drunk, and still able to stand straight and form complete sentences, which was not the case last night.”
“What about my clothes?”
“I had them dry-cleaned. They’re in the closet. I didn’t think you’d mind me seeing you naked since we’re married now and I’ve already seen your—”
She shot “stop right there” arrows at him with her eyes.
“Or maybe you would mind.” He bit down on one side of his lower lip.
You guessed that right. But this was not the moment to debate his faulty reasoning. She had much, much bigger problems. Yeah! Like being married! A wave of nausea washed over her as she tried to work out what this all meant for her legally. “Oh God, I can’t think straight.”
“Sarah, I did this because I love you.”
“But…but…” She blinked. “You love me?” She remembered the song he’d wanted to sing last night, but she thought it was more about a strong attraction that could lead to love.