Loaded (21 page)

“I know that, but
—
”

“No, you don’t know. If you
did, you wouldn’t be sitting behind this goddamn desk right now. You’d be in
Arkansas trying to help the woman you supposedly love.”

Jake and Tucker had known
each other most of their lives, and no one knew how to push his buttons like
his best friend. “I do love her, but she lied to me. How the hell am I supposed
to get past that?”

“Let me ask you a question.
If you and Rachel ended up together, got married, had a couple of kids,
wouldn’t you want to know that she’d be the kind of mother who would do
anything for your kids?”

Tucker thought about his own
mother. She could be tough as nails when she had to be. There was nothing she
wouldn’t do to protect her family. Like Rachel. “Yeah, but
—
”

“How can you blame her for
going on the run to protect her kid? I don’t get it.”

When he put it that way,
Tucker was having a difficult time understanding it himself. “What about all
the lies? How am I supposed to trust her?”

Jake sighed. “Put yourself in
her position for a minute, Tucker. She was in an abusive relationship with an
asshole that tore her down at every opportunity. She comes to a new town, is
bullied by the top cop within weeks of trying to start a new life, and you
expect her to let her guard down and let you in right away?”

“I don’t know what the hell
to think anymore.” He closed his eyes. “What a fuckin’ mess.”

“Jesus Christ, Tucker, think
about it. You tried to run her out of town. She knows there’s a warrant for her
arrest in Arkansas. How was she supposed to know that you weren’t trying to set
her up?”

Tucker slammed his fist down
on the desk. “She let me fall in love with her, knowing the whole goddamn time
that we were living a lie.”

“Was it a lie? Was the way
you felt about her a lie?”

No, the way he felt about her
was the only thing that still felt real. “No.”

“Do you think the way she
felt about you was a lie?”

He thought about the way she
acted when they were in bed together. There was no way she could have faked
that. When she told him she loved him, that was real. “No, I don’t think so.”

Jake smirked. “You’re a cop.
You read people for a living. You’re telling me you couldn’t tell if a chick
was faking an orgasm?”

Tucker tossed a pencil at
him. “Fuck off. This isn’t about the sex and you know it.”

Jake chuckled. “I know. I was
just trying to lighten the mood. So I have a couple of questions for you and I
want the truth.”

Tucker was wary, but he knew
he had no choice but to comply. He didn’t want to go on feeling this way and if
his friend could see things more objectively, he had to be willing to listen. “Okay.”

“Are you in love with her?”

“Yes.” Tucker was surprised
his response was automatic. He didn’t even have to think about it. He loved
her.

Jake smiled. “Could you
imagine yourself spending the rest of your life with this woman?”

“Yes.” Tucker laughed. This
felt like
Twenty Questions
, and when he wasn’t stopping to censor his
thoughts or feelings, he found the truth coming to the surface.

“Do you want to be a father
figure to her little girl? ‘cause you gotta know they’re a package deal.”

“Yes.”

Jake smiled. “Okay. One more
question. Are you ready to forgive her?”

Tucker stared at his friend
in awe. He’d been sitting around feeling sorry for himself, angry at the world,
and Jake managed to help him see things clearly in less than five minutes.
“Yes.”

“Then what the hell are you
still doing sitting here? Go to Arkansas, and tell that woman you love her. You
just better hope she’s willing to forgive you for abandoning her when she
needed you most.” Jake got to his feet. “Good luck with that.”

Tucker frowned. Damn it, he
hadn’t considered the possibility that he would be the one begging forgiveness
this time.

Chapter Fourteen

Rachel was trembling as she
stepped into the courtroom to face the judge. She didn’t know what to expect.
She’d never even gotten a parking ticket before, and now here she was, waiting
to find out whether she’d be behind bars for her daughter’s next birthday.

She sat behind the long table
with her public defender at her side, going through the motions on auto-pilot.
She stood when told to, spoke when asked to, but the entire time, she was just
trying to breathe as she tried to convince herself that everything would be
okay. She would survive this.

Even if the judge decided the
charges had merit and she had to face a sentencing hearing, she should be out
in less than two years, with good behavior. She would do what she was told,
pray for her safety, and do her best to fly under the radar of other inmates.
At least she would get out without a cloud of fear darkening every day. She
would be able to go home to her mother and daughter, knowing they would all be
able to start a new life, free of Glen’s shadow.

Just as the judge was getting
ready to speak again, the door at the rear of the courtroom opened and Tucker
walked through.

Her lawyer frowned and whispered,
“Do you know him?”

Rachel was speechless as
their eyes met. Was he here to help her or hurt her? “He’s the chief of police
from Brant County.”

The lawyer checked her notes.
“That’s where your ex was arrested, wasn’t it?”

“Yes.”

Tucker walked to the front of
the courtroom and looked at the judge. “Your Honor, may I have a moment to
address the court?”

The judge frowned. “And you
would be?”

He cleared his throat. “My
name’s Tucker Carlton. I’m the chief of police in Brant County. I believe I
have something of value to contribute to this case, if your Honor would grant
me the opportunity to speak?”

She peered at Tucker over the
top of her silver-rimmed glasses. “Very well, Chief Carlton. You must be sworn
in.”

Rachel watched the process
unfold, afraid to breathe or speak. She could almost feel the tension radiating
from her mother, who sat behind her.

A dozen questions rattled
around in her head. What was Tucker going to say to the judge? Was this a ploy
to get even with her for lying to him? Could a man who made love to her with
such tenderness, a man she’d given her heart to, set out to destroy her, taking
her away from her daughter because he was hurt and angry? Could he really be
that vindictive?

Tucker turned toward the
judge, looking handsome and composed in a dark suit, crisp white shirt, and
grey silk tie. “Your Honor, in my line of work I’ve had the misfortune of dealing
with too many domestic abuse cases. Ms. Walsh’s case certainly fits that
profile. It’s my belief that she fled to protect her daughter, not to thumb her
nose at the court.” He glanced at Rachel. “I had the opportunity to get to know
Ms. Walsh personally while she was a resident of my jurisdiction, and I can
tell you that during that time, she was an upstanding citizen. She owned her
own business, and she was an asset to our community.”

Tears lodged in Rachel’s
throat as she listened to Tucker speak. He was here to help her, to protect
her, even after she’d lied to him; he was still on her side.

The judge looked at Rachel
before turning her attention back to Tucker. “While I respect your opinion,
Chief Carlton, there is no evidence that Ms. Walsh was a victim of domestic
abuse. There are no police reports, photographs, statements, or restraining
orders in place. All I have is your word and hers, and while I certainly respect
your position of authority in Brant County, it doesn’t hold the same weight
here.”

Tucker took a deep breath.
“Your Honor, I can prove to you that Ms. Walsh was a victim of domestic
violence. May I ask that she have the opportunity to return to your chambers to
reveal the scars inflicted at the hands of her abuser, the father of her child?”

Rachel’s mother tapped her on
the shoulder and handed her a cell phone. Rachel looked at the screen. Her
mother had captured the images of Madison on the day her father struck her with
a belt. The raised, red welts were painfully obvious and it took Rachel back to
the horror and helplessness she’d felt when she saw the damage he inflicted on
the tender skin of her innocent baby. It was one thing to hurt her, but she
would die before she let him do that to Madison again.

“The court will be in recess for
fifteen minutes. Ms. Walsh, Chief Carlton, I’d like to see both of you in my
chambers.”

Rachel quickly followed
Tucker and the judge into her chambers.

“Please, sit down,” the judge
said, pointing to the two chairs on the opposite side of her desk. She looked
at Tucker. “You said you developed a personal relationship with Ms. Walsh while
she lived in Brant County. Could you define that relationship, sir?”

Tucker looked her in the eye.
“It was a romantic relationship, your Honor.”

She sighed as she claimed the
seat behind her desk. “You do realize that colors my opinion of your testimony,
Mr. Carlton? How can you be objective when you were romantically involved with
the defendant?”

“I realize how this may
appear, but I can assure you that I wouldn’t put my career or professional
reputation on the line by committing perjury in your court. I know for a fact
that Ms. Walsh was a victim of domestic violence. I saw the scars, your Honor.”
 

The judge turned her
attention to Rachel, fixing her with a cold stare. “I’d like to see these
alleged scars, Ms. Walsh.”

Rachel stole a brief glance
at Tucker before she stood. She slipped her black blazer off, pulled her silk
tank top up, and unzipped her skirt before revealing the scars she had only
shown to one other person: Tucker.

The judge said nothing as she
leaned in to take a closer look at the scars. “How did he inflict those
injuries?”

“With a whip,” Rachel said
quietly. She felt the heat of shame flooding her cheeks. She could only imagine
what the judge must think of her.

“Please be seated.” The judge
sighed. “I understand that some people choose to engage in consensual sexual
acts involving whips, but I don’t believe that anyone in their right mind would
consent to the kind of violence he perpetrated against you.”

“Your Honor, I have something
else I’d like to show you, if I may?” Rachel asked, gripping the cell phone.
“The reason I fled was because my daughter returned home after a brief visit
with her father bearing the marks of a leather belt. She told me he whipped her
with it.”

Tucker’s mouth fell open and she
knew it was taking everything in him not to interject.

“I assume you have evidence
of this claim, Ms. Walsh?” the judge asked.

“Yes, ma’am.” She handed the
phone to the judge. “You’ll notice that the image is date stamped. That was a
few days before the warrant was issued for my arrest.”

“This is highly
inappropriate. If you had these images, you should have given them to your
lawyer so she could have presented them to the court.” The judge pushed her
glasses up on her nose as she looked at the image.

“While I have no proof that
the child’s father inflicted these injuries, I do believe that you’re telling
me the truth. Chief Carlton’s word…” She held up a piece of paper. “A statement
from our own chief of police, outlining his knowledge of this case, combined
with the evidence you’ve shown me, and the fact that your former husband went
to Brant County with the intent to inflict bodily harm on you suggests to me
that you were wise to fear for your safety and that of your child when you
fled.”

Rachel held her breath as she
waited to hear the judge’s next words.

“I’d like to return to the
courtroom to render my verdict in this case.” She stood, as did Tucker and
Rachel.

Rachel was afraid her legs
would buckle until she felt Tucker’s hand on the small of her back, guiding
her, giving her strength and courage. She resumed her place beside her lawyer
as Tucker claimed the seat beside her mother.

Everyone in the courtroom
rose as the judge re-claimed her seat behind the bench. “In the case of
Arkansas vs. Constance Rachel Walsh, I do not find evidence to support the
claim of kidnapping. All charges against the defendant are hereby dismissed
without prejudice.”

Rachel could hear her
mother’s gentle sobs as her lawyer took her hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. “Congratulations,
Rachel,” she whispered. “In this case, I’m happy to say that justice
prevailed.” She winked as she nodded her head toward Tucker. “I think you have
your friend there to thank for the outcome. It could have gone either way, had
it not been for him.”

Rachel felt her mother’s
hands on her shoulders, shaking her. She turned into her arms, mouthing “thank you”
to Tucker as she held her mother in a fierce grip.