Taken by Tuesday (Weekday Brides Series) (20 page)

“How is it you’re going to find this guy?”

Judy stared at her brother. “I’m not. He’s going to find me.”

“The hell!”

“Oh, don’t go there. I’m not going to try to attract him. I’m not stupid. I just know he’ll be back. Last night I remembered his last words before he knocked me out. ‘Next time’ . . . he said ‘next time.’ Only
next time
I won’t be so alone or unprepared for him.”

Zach rested a hand over hers. “Judy . . . you’re a girl from a small town who plans on drawing for a living. You’re not some superwoman who can take out anyone.”

She patted Zach’s hand. “I’m married to a Marine, Zach. And he
can
take out anyone.”

His pixie wore red. The low-cut dress was skintight and stopped just above her knees. Rick managed a peek at the black hose she wore with two thin ropes up the back of each leg. To add to the allure, she topped her head with a hat that matched the dress. Damn he’d missed her. Her smile lit the room when their gazes met and held.

Judy sat among Neil, Gwen, Zach, Karen, and Meg. Every one of them dressed like royalty . . . well, except Neil, he just filled up his seat with bulk and attitude. He probably felt naked without his guns. Lord knew Rick did.

Since this was an arraignment and not a trial, Rick was forced to wear the blue jumpsuit every incarcerated man wore while inside.

Some media personnel had a presence in the back row of the courtroom. But they kept to themselves and wrote notes.

Everyone stood when the judge walked into the courtroom.

Rick was asked to stay standing and Joe stood along with him.

“How do you plead?” the judge asked as if it were a simple exercise.

“Not guilty.”

The DA stood and started to ask the judge to consider holding him without bail when Joe stopped the prosecution. “Can we approach the bench, Your Honor?”

Rick turned and winked at Judy, who offered a little wave.

The attorneys stood at the bench, talking in heated tones.

“Married?” the DA said loud enough for everyone in the courtroom to hear.

There was more
not so hushed
talking, but catching every other word didn’t do the argument justice.

Several seats in front of Judy and her entourage sat Detectives Raskin and Perozo. The confusion on their faces was priceless.
Idiots.

The attorneys walked away from the bench, the DA tossing his papers on the desk while Joe wore a grin.

“Mr. Evans?” the judge said, looking Rick in the eye.

“Yes, Your Honor?” Rick stood.

“In light of the new situation, you’re free to go without bail.”

A sigh came from the back of the room.

“Mr. Perkinson?” the judge addressed the DA. “I’m setting the court date in two months. I suggest you not waste my time.”

The DA glared at Joe and Rick. “Yes, Your Honor.”

The judge smacked his gavel and called in the next case.

Rick shook Joe’s hand and let the police guide him away so he could go through the process of getting his life back.

Chapter Twenty-One

The media attention spread from the courtroom and into the foyer. Outside the building, cameras were set up and ready for action.

“Can you believe this?” Meg asked, pointing to the chaos outside.

“Slow news day.”

“I don’t know about that. I overheard a reporter saying that Michael Wolfe’s family’s drama is more entertaining than his.”

“They wouldn’t even be watching me if not for Mike,” Judy reminded her friend.

Gwen stood beside Karen and lifted her regal chin. “I wouldn’t bet money on that. The camera loves you and the media has been known for making people famous just for being. Small-town girl roughed up in the big city . . . the police go after her bodyguard boyfriend. Small-town girl marries the bodyguard to protect him? The media will catch hold of that and ask for the movie rights. Cameras will be everywhere for quite some time.”

Karen agreed with a nod. “I’m afraid Gwen’s right.”

Judy tilted her head far enough to shield her face from the cameras outside the building. “Having all these cameras on us might not be such a bad thing.”

“How’s that?” Meg asked.

“I’m sure I’ve read somewhere that criminals like to gloat . . . that they stand in the crowd and watch the attention from the outside for some kind of pleasure.”

The four of them all took that moment to look out the windows in silence.

Neil walked up with Zach at his side. “Rick will be out in less than five minutes,” Neil said.

When none of them responded to his comment, he followed their stare. “What?”

“Darling?” Gwen said. “What are the chances the man responsible for all of this is out in that crowd . . . watching?”

Now all six of them were staring.

Neil broke away first, tilted his head toward the mic in his ear, and started giving orders. Judy didn’t hear them, but she could guess they were about her observation.

The media behind the cameras came to attention, and the buzz in the room changed.

Judy felt his stare, twisted slowly, and mimicked Rick’s smile.

Hollywood movies held nothing on real-life reunions. Her heart tripped over itself with the sight of him . . . uncuffed and free. She pushed around her friends and ran as quickly as she could without breaking an ankle, into Rick’s arms.

He was thick, warm, and perfect. He captured her lips and refused to let go. “We’re married,” he said, his lips still moving over hers.

She laughed, felt him laughing with her. “We are.”

Judy felt her legs leave the ground and he spun around like a child with a new toy.

She held her hat on with one hand and clasped on to him with the other. Rick stopped spinning her long enough to kiss her again. On a sigh, she felt his tongue slide along hers for a brief promise of more. He pulled away and just took her in. When his eyes traveled to her hat, his smile offered a second set of dimples. “I knew you were ballsy, Utah . . . but hot damn.”

“I felt rebellious.”

“Love the red.”

Red was quickly becoming her favorite color. He kept a protective hand on her waist and turned toward his friends.

After shaking hands and thanking everyone for being there, Neil coordinated their exit. Joe Rodden left first, drawing the media’s attention and explaining that there would be no comment at this time. A press conference would be held at a later date.

Uniformed officers met them at the doors. Neil and Zach pushed through first, Gwen and Karen right behind them. Rick held on to her and Meg looped an arm through hers and walked tall beside her.

The media clamored for attention. “Mr. Evans? Rick? Is it true . . .” Microphones were shoved past the police, everyone looking for a sound bite. Judy kept hold of her husband and her friend and kept walking forward.

“Miss Gardner, is it true you’re sleeping with the enemy?” Judy wasn’t even sure which reporter asked the question, but she knew Rick heard it because his grip became harder, his pace faster.

The limo was in sight, the door to the back open, and Karen was slipping inside right behind Gwen. Someone gave her head a slight nudge as she climbed in the car. Neil was the last to get in, and the driver pulled away from the curb the moment the door shut.

“What a zoo,” Karen stated for all of them.

Rick laced his fingers with Judy’s.

Neil lifted his cell to his ear. “Collect as many shots as you can.”

“What’s that about?” Rick asked once Neil disconnected the call.

“The ladies pointed out something we might have overlooked.”

“Oh, yeah . . . what’s that?”

“This guy might be watching all this from close by. Blending in the crowd to catch a glimpse of Judy . . . of the circus he created.”

Judy ignored the chill running up her arms. Rick released her fingers and pulled her closer.

“I have Russell and Dennis taking pictures. See if anyone sticks out.”

“We can collect pictures off the Internet of the media coverage, see if there are any familiar faces,” Meg suggested.

“Perhaps hold a press conference in a public place, observe the crowd?” This suggestion came from Gwen.

“No more press today, please,” Judy pleaded.

“As much as you might hate their presence,” Karen said, “the more you draw their attention the more likely this guy will keep his distance.”

Rick agreed. “They’ll act as virtual bodyguards. They’ll watch us, and we’ll be looking for who is watching them.”

“Eventually the media will bore and move on,” Karen reminded them.

“If they do, and we haven’t found this guy yet, I’ll call Mike.” Zach winked at Judy. “If anyone can create some media attention, it’s him.”

They returned to the Beverly Hills home with nearly as much media outside the gates there as were outside the courthouse.

A catering truck sat in the drive, a few servers rushed around to unload food and bring it into the house.

“We’re having a party?” Rick leaned over and asked Judy once they stepped out of the limo.

“Samantha’s idea. Says appearances are more important now than ever. I don’t get it, not really . . . but I’m not afraid to say I’m out of my element with everything that’s been going on.”

They held hands walking into the house. A deep sigh left Rick’s lungs as he looked around the familiar walls.

“Neil brought over some of your things,” Judy told him. “Everything is in my room if you wanted to go clean up.” She removed her hat and shook out her dark hair.

“I do need a decent shower.” His eyes ran down her frame. “But don’t change,” he said close to her ear so only she could hear.

A slow, sexy smile lit her face and he turned and walked down the hall.

The large walk-in closet housed many of his clothes, his shoes sat on the floor. Inside the bathroom, his toiletries sat beside Judy’s as if they’d always been there. He should be freaking out . . . completely beside himself, but no. He was out of jail, thanks to his pixie and her quick thinking. And he was married. Yeah, it was a piece of paper with no guarantee it would ever be anything else, but for now he could go with the title of husband and enjoy the ride.

Rick opted for black slacks and a black silk shirt after his shower. Music spilled from the living room and mixed with the sound of familiar voices. He paused at the edge of the great room and leaned against the massive beam framing the space.

Judy was laughing at something her brother had said, a glass of wine in her hand.

He’d just spent three nights in jail with cold walls and inhospitable company . . . he should be thinking about how he was going to stay out of prison.

All he could think of was a different kind of confinement. The kind one voluntarily agreed to. The marriage kind.

For two nights he’d been married . . . sitting in a jail cell without a warm woman . . . but married. Knowing when he managed to get out he’d have a woman waiting for him filled him with something money couldn’t buy. Someone was out there waiting for him . . . wanting him. He drew in a breath now, watching his wife without her knowing, and tried to remember that she married him to keep him out of jail and not for now and forever. Yet it was her suggestion . . . a solution to an immediate problem that plagued them both. Not many women would do that. Maybe if they were in their forties and had signed their name to a marriage certificate more than once, but not a twenty-four-year-old woman who grew up in a small town where marriage was the pinnacle of life.

Utah married him . . . signed her name long before he had.

He knew the moment she sensed him. Zach was talking and Karen stood beside him waving her hands, finishing her husband’s sentences. Judy tilted her head to the side and then slowly leveled her gaze to his.

Zach spoke to the back of her head; at some point Karen nudged him and directed his attention across the room.

Judy glanced back at her brother for less than a second and then moved across the crowded room to him.

If being married meant owning this feeling his entire life, he was in. All-in. This he could get used to.

“Feel better?” Judy asked when she walked to his side.

He laughed. “Prison showers . . .”

She cocked her head. “You didn’t drop the soap, did you?”

Laughter exploded from his lips, catching the attention of everyone around them. “I thought you were from a small town. What do you know about prison soap dropping?”

“Hey! I watch TV.”

He pulled her close, dropped his lips to hers as if he had the right.

When the kiss went for longer than socially necessary, Meg shoved in. “Save it for later, kids. You have company.”

Rick growled.

Judy broke their kiss and slid her arm around his waist.

Neil placed a beer in his hand and someone handed him a plate of food and drew him away from Judy’s side.

“So why are we having a party?” he asked Blake and Neil, who sat with him on the living room sofa.

“According to my wife,” Blake started, “appearances are important and letting the media know we expected you to get out of jail today by hosting a party is the perfect distraction.”

Rick’s head spun. “Parties for distraction?”

“It won’t take long for the media to find out that you married while in jail. If it appears that you married only to get out of jail, there’s no telling what can happen.”

Rick shook his head. “It doesn’t matter what anyone thinks. Judy and I married and public opinion doesn’t hold court.”

Blake waved his drink in Rick’s direction. “Except if the media and public deem you innocent, it will be much harder for a trial of your peers to ever convict you. Therefore, a seemingly happy celebration between you and your new bride will go over well with the adoring viewers of the evening news and magazines. It’s brilliant, really.”

Rick had known Blake for a couple of years and seldom heard the British accent from his lips . . . tonight he did.

“The only way to really clear my name is to find the guy who attacked Judy.” Rick looked at Neil. “Are we any closer to finding him?”

His friend shook his head. “I called Dean earlier.” Dean was a friend in the police department. “All eyes were directed at Judy. If you were with her those eyes were on you as well.”

“If Raskin and Perozo think I’m the bad guy, why wouldn’t they have been watching me? How is it they didn’t know I wasn’t near the woman in the second attack?”

“Eliza,” Blake answered.

“Excuse me?” Rick had met Eliza and Carter, the first lady and governor of the state of California, on many occasions, but their names weren’t ones he expected to hear in this conversation.

“Eliza asked that if extra eyes were following this case, they be on Judy. She has a huge soft spot for the victims. Feels the attention needs to be on people like Judy and not on
not yet convicted
felons.”

Neil picked up where Blake let off in the explanation. “The police department hardly has the funds to keep detectives on cases . . . making sure any extra help watched Judy and not you was an easy request.”

“Easy for the governor’s wife to request,” Rick said.

“Only now we need to follow your path on the day the woman was murdered.”

All this play-by-play of his life was a huge pain in the ass. “I grabbed a cup of coffee from the café outside Judy’s office and left. I went home and caught up on some sleep.”