Fighting History (Fighting For Love Book 4) (6 page)

Chapter Ten

The first day of Simon Yates’ trial was blue and sunny and gorgeous. A perfect late-June day. Reena barely saw it, though. She felt physically sick as she and Mitch entered the courthouse and she spotted Charlotte and her friends waiting for her.

“How are you?” Charlotte asked, knowing damn good and well that the answer was, “Awful”. Reena’s face was drawn and deathly pale; her eyes stunned and almost afraid.

“Fine,” Reena said, clearly lying.

“We’re all going to be sitting right there,” Katie told her. “If things get rough, just look at us, OK?”

Reena nodded.

“Let’s go,” Mia said. “Nick’s saving us seats right in the front.” She hugged Reena, hard. “Deep breaths, sweetie. You can do this.”

“I can,” Reena said, trying to sound convinced.

They all went in to the courtroom and Reena and Mitch sat outside, waiting for her to be called. He was holding her tiny hand in his large one, gazing at her face. He was worried and scared for her, and he was doing a fucking lousy job of hiding it.

“Sugar?” he said quietly.

Reena glanced up at him.

“I love you, and I think what you’re doing is amazing. No matter what happens, how this all shakes out, you’re a strong woman. And you’re doing the right thing.”

She bit her lip. “I hope it’s not too bad.”

Mitch pulled her close, not answering. He knew with every cell of his body that it was going to be terrible, and that there was nothing in the world he could do about it. He closed his eyes, reminded himself to stay calm for her.

Killing Yates and his lawyers – while very satisfying – will not help anything. Take it down a notch, Corrigan.

The door opened and they both looked up at the bailiff. He nodded at them and escorted Reena down the aisle. Mitch squeezed her hand and let her go, then sat down, feeling a sickening combination of rage and pride.

Reena was sworn-in, then Charlotte slowly led her through what had happened the night that Simon Yates had attacked her. Reena explained to the court that she had been living with Mitch for a few months – just as friends – but she’d fallen in love with him. She thought this was unfair to Simon, and she decided to break it off with him. She invited Simon over for a talk.

Yes, they were alone. Yes, there was wine. Yes, she had had some, but not much. She drank maybe half-a-glass before it ended up shattered on the floor when Simon backhanded her in to the coffee table.

In painstaking detail, Charlotte walked her through the attack, step by step. The punches; Simon beating the back of her head on the floor; him strangling her. Then, how Reena fought back and somehow – by some miracle – managed to get him away, off her.

He left, his head bleeding profusely, and Mitch came home to find Reena in bad shape. He took her to the hospital, where the staff took copious notes about her injuries. The police were called, and they took photos, took Reena’s statement.

Charlotte nodded at Reena, astounded at her calm and composure. She had no more questions, and she took a deep breath before telling Yates’ lawyers that Reena was now their witness.

The lawyer got to his feet now, did up his four-thousand-dollar suit jacket. He approached Reena slowly, gave her a smile and wished her a good morning.

And everything immediately went straight to hell.

**

Maggie launched herself off the bus, and almost sprinted to her studio. She was running seriously late for meeting Joe, but she just hadn’t been able to leave Reena after what had happened in court that day.

Reena had been beyond devastated: she’d been left shattered and shocked after more than three hours of cross-examination, and although Mitch had clearly wanted to be there for her, he was still absolutely enraged, and it showed.

She hadn’t even been able to stay to listen to the testimony from the hospital staff who had treated Reena, or the police who’d taken her statement. Her friends and the guys just got her the hell out of there and back home, where she fell apart completely.

Maggie ran around the corner of the building and saw Joe lounging on the bench outside. He glanced up at her as she approached, then stood to greet her.

“I’m sorry,” she panted. “Thanks for waiting.”

“It’s OK. We could have rescheduled.”

“No. I’m busy tomorrow, so this was the last chance this week.” She bent over, clutching her knees. “Just give me a minute.”

“Sure.” Joe watched as her long hair fell over her shoulders, exposing the back of her neck. The urge to kiss it overwhelmed him, and he shut his eyes, waiting for the temptation to pass.

Maggie stood up again. “So let’s go.” She tapped in the building code, then found her studio keys in her backpack. She unlocked the door, threw her bag on the floor. She wished hard for a bottle of whiskey, but none magically appeared and she sighed.

Joe walked in behind her, watching her closely. He took in her tension, her exhaustion, and thought that she looked near tears.

“How did it go today?” he said tentatively. “In court?”

Maggie stopped dead. “It was a fucking nightmare.”

Joe was taken aback at the raw anger in her voice. “Why? What happened?”

“Reena was totally humiliated. Grilled and attacked. That asshole’s lawyers took it in turns and they made it sound like she
loved
being in relationships with abusive guys… the one lawyer even asked her if she liked anything
other than
rough sex.”

“What?” Joe stared at Maggie in horror.

“Yeah. The implication was that what happened with Simon was just consensual sex that maybe –
maybe
– got out of hand. Or worse: sex that
didn’t
get out of hand at all. That she actually
loved
it at the time and it was totally what she wanted and needed to get off, and she changed her mind later. Pressed charges just to get a pay day.”

“Oh, my God.”

“I know, right? And
another
implication was that she’s with Mitch because he’s a violent brute who makes his living beating people up, and she really loves that.” Maggie ran her hand over her face, feeling wiped out. “The D.A. objected and the judge agreed, but it’s out there now, you know? The press will have a field day. I’m terrified to see the headlines tomorrow.”

“Oh, Maggie. I’m so sorry.”

“You know the worst part of this whole thing?”

“What?”

“That douchecanoe Simon Yates doesn’t have to do anything. He doesn’t have to testify or even say one goddamned
word
in his defense. He just sits there and watches his lawyers go after this woman that he beat up and tried to rape.” Maggie took a shuddering breath, struggling to stay calm. “But Reena? She
has
to get up on the stand and testify. She
has
to open this terrifying and traumatic experience in her life to scrutiny and questions and it all goes on the public record. And if she doesn’t? No witness, no evidence, no trial. Everything’s on her.”

“I know.”

“It’s so – so fucking
unfair
. Everything is riding on Reena’s credibility, and on how convincing she is. Like, what she was wearing when Yates tried to rape her is actually up for discussion. She has to defend the
wardrobe
that was almost ripped right off her body, for fuck sake!”

Joe nodded.

“And if Reena
isn’t
convincing to anyone because she’s living with a big guy who kickboxes? Then obviously Simon never laid a hand on her. You know? As if one thing has anything to do with the other.”

Maggie looked at Joe, and suddenly realized that she was venting to a guy she disliked and mistrusted. She sighed again.

“Oh, God. I didn’t mean to unload on you… you’re here to see a sculpture and I’m rambling on like an insane woman.” She walked across the room. “Over here.”

“Maggie, it’s OK. I don’t mind…”

“Forget it. It’s not your concern. It’s just that I came straight from Reena’s, and I guess I need some time to shake it off a bit.” She ran her hands through her hair, weary and stressed. “I’ll go wash my face and get myself together. You can check out the apsara, OK? Just let me uncover it for you.”

Gently, she pulled the clean white sheet off the base of the sandstone slab.

“Here you go. I’ll be back in a few minutes. I’ll just take a breath.”

“You sure you’re OK?” Joe said.

“Fine.” The fire and flame of a few minutes ago were gone now, and the cold and distant Maggie was back. Those green eyes regarded him without interest or emotion. “I’ll be back soon.”

“Maggie?”

She turned to look at him, said nothing.

“You want to talk some more?” Joe hoped hard that she’d say yes. He was surprised how much he wanted to be there for her right now.

She blinked in shock. “Uh, no, thanks. I have people who actually care about me who can do that.” She nodded at the apsara. “I’ll look forward to your feedback on your commission.”

Joe watched her go in to the bathroom, and heard the water running behind the closed door. He exhaled, disappointed that she’d shut him down and out again. He would have been overjoyed to offer her some comfort, even for a few minutes.

In the bathroom, Maggie rinsed her face and took a few deep breaths, gazing at her tired eyes in the mirror. She’d been taken aback by Joe’s genuinely sweet offer; more so by her genuine desire to take it. Despite her anger at him, she’d never forgotten how supportive he’d always been of her.

Joe had been Maggie’s biggest fan, and his belief in her artistic talent had been unrelenting and real. He’d also listened for hours as she talked about her Mom’s health, and her money worries. Yeah, he may have lied about lots of things in their relationship, but not about his concern for her in those ways. That had all been the real deal.

And if she were being honest, he’d been fully behind the girls, too. He’d offered Katie some great ideas on some of her photos which had improved the aesthetics; he’d found Mia some writing work; he’d asked a friend of his to commission some paintings from Reena. Joe was a chef and a creative soul, and he
got
that about Maggie and her friends, and he’d really liked the girls. If Reena was hurting now, then Joe hurt for her, too. Maggie knew he’d listen to her talk now, if she asked him to.

But I’m not going to ask him to do that. He was amazing in that way when we were together, but that’s not his job anymore.

When Maggie emerged, Joe was standing in front of the apsara. He was still and silent, and she paused. She recognized that posture: he was fiercely concentrating on something, thinking hard, and she didn’t want to interrupt him.

She leaned against the wall, crossed her arms loosely. She gazed at Joe’s broad back, and admired the muscles which were clearly visible even through his loose white t-shirt. His ass looked amazing in those jeans, too, she was irritated to see.

He was a gym enthusiast – or he had been when she’d known him – and from the looks of his body, not much had changed that way. Her sculptor’s eye took in every curve, every plane, every part of his toned definition. Joe Carlisle was an attractive man, still. It annoyed her, and it made her more determined than ever to
not
be attracted to him.

He turned suddenly, caught her staring at him. A second too late, she dropped her gaze and blushed, hoping that he hadn’t seen the heat in her eyes.

“So,” she said, trying to sound normal. “What do you think?”

Joe felt a half-grin twitching on his lips, and he suppressed it. If she thought he was laughing at her, she’d kill him. But that look he’d caught on her face? God, he recognized it: pure want, deep need, hot desire.

She still finds you physically attractive. Too bad she finds you personally repugnant.

“She’s amazing, Maggie,” he said. “I love the details… the delicate anklet, the folds in the material wrapped around her waist.” He ran his long finger over the length of one leg. “What I’ve always loved about apsaras is their curves… they’re not skinny little goddesses, you know? They have hips and thighs and breasts.” His eyes met hers. “My idea of a perfect woman.”

She swallowed hard.

Joe looked back at the sculpture. “So when will you get to the top half?”

“I figure it’ll be totally finished in about two weeks.”

“Fast.”

“Yeah, well. I have one hell of a deadline.”

“I know.” He smiled at her. “Thank you, Maggie.”

That startled her. “For what?”

“For this amazing work… it’s beautiful. I knew you’d give me something stunning, but you’ve surprised me. She’s – she’s gorgeous.”

“You’re welcome,” Maggie said, taken aback at how soothing she found his words. How much she’d needed that encouragement and belief in her. “It’s actually been a pleasure working on her.” As she said it, she realized that despite everything going on in her life, all the craziness and stress, it was absolutely true.

“You’re enjoying it?” Joe asked.

She smiled, a real smile. “I am.”

“I’m glad.”

She stared over at him, and she suddenly wanted to give him something too; a small offering, a little gift. “Can I tell you something without you getting angry?”

“Sure.”

“I lied to you. About not eating carbs.”

He hadn’t been expecting
that
, and confusion furrowed his brow. “You
what
now?”

“I lied, that day you brought me the croissants. I – I still eat croissants. Most mornings, actually.”

“So why’d you tell me you didn’t?”

“Because you were being really nice and it pissed me off and I didn’t want to accept your stupid croissants.”

He blinked, astonished, then he burst in to laughter. She joined him, and the tension in the room disappeared completely.

“Oh, Maggie.” He shook his head. “You kill me, I swear.”

“I’m sorry… it was dumb and childish and I was being a brat. But if it makes you feel any better, I was totally
starving
that day, and the smell of the fresh-baked pastry was torture.”

“Well, good,” he said. “Serves you right.”