Manhunt (28 page)

The judge nodded, then looked to the bailiff pointedly, tilting his head in Nikki’s direction.

The bailiff approached Nikki cautiously. “I’m sorry, ma’am, but I’m going to need to handcuff you,” he said, waiting for her to stand.

She nodded, her body and brain going numb as she stood and held her hands out for him. Gasps and crying rose from the observer’s seats, but Nikki didn’t even raise her head to see who it was as she was led away.

Chapter 24

Michael paced the floor of his holding cell, going absolutely mad. Nikki had been led out of the courtroom ahead of him and placed in a separate room, so he hadn’t even been afforded the opportunity to speak to her. She must be so scared and upset, having all those memories come flooding in the way they did.

How long had he been stuck in here? He looked at the clock on the wall and decided it must be broken. There was no way it had only been an hour.

Wes walked in the door along with the bailiff and the assistant district attorney. They were all three smiling as Michael eyed them warily. It likely meant they thought they were about to bring him glad tidings, but unless Nikki was walking out the door with him, he wouldn’t be anywhere near happy. He began contemplating ways to undermine the credibility of Nikki’s statement and trying to form a confession that would fit the evidence.

“Good afternoon, Michael,” Assistant D.A. Thomas said as he motioned for Michael to sit across from them at the table in the center of the room.

“Mr. Thomas,” Michael replied curtly.

“Good news,” Wes said. “The judge has dismissed all the charges against you except for the one for interfering with a criminal investigation. The D.A. and I have struck a deal. You plead guilty to that count and get off with six months community service. It’s a misdemeanor, Michael. Not much worse than a parking ticket. You’ve got your life back.”

“The fuck I do!” Michael bellowed, slamming both palms on the metal table as he stood angrily, sliding himself forcefully away. He ignored the stinging in his hands as he started pacing. He pointed at the wall adjacent to the room he had seen them take Nikki into. “My life is on the other side of this wall, likely going to prison for a very long time, thanks to you.”

As soon as he said it, he regretted it. As usual, his anger had gotten the better of him. The chance of success in confessing dwindled in his mind as he realized he had just given them a little more ammo to use against her.

“Actually, the D.A. has decided not to press charges against Nikki,” Wes stated, looking as smug as Michael had ever seen him.

Michael stopped pacing and stared at him, mouth agape.

“As I told you they would, they believe it to be a clear cut case of self-defense. Dorothy is with her now. Nikki is giving a formal statement and that’ll be the end of it. By the time they’re done with all your paperwork, you’ll both be able to walk out of here, hand in hand.” Wes smiled when Michael was too stunned to respond. “Don’t worry, you can thank me later. Nikki promised me a fresh batch of peach muffins in honor of my greatness.”

Michael rolled his eyes and laughed at Wes, charging him and wrapping his arms around him, pinning his arms to his sides while he gave him a big bear hug. He felt rather than heard Wes chuckling and futilely trying to pat Michael on the back in response.

Michael simply could not believe his ears. They were free. They were both free! He let go of Wes and suddenly felt lightheaded, his hands shaking.

“Breathe, Mr. Brennan,” Mr. Thomas chided with a laugh. “You’re starting to hyperventilate.” He put a hand on the middle of his back and guided him back to the chair.

“Thank you, Mr. Thomas. D.A. Singer, too. I... There’s no way I can ever thank you enough.”

“Mark, please. And you’re welcome.”

Michael extended a shaky hand. “Michael, then. Pleased to make your acquaintance,” he joked, and Mark shook it jovially.

“Nice to meet you. I just wanted to explain what will happen next. Judge Stone will reconvene in about five minutes, at which time he will officially dismiss the charges and release the jury. After that, you will be asked to change your plea to guilty for the misdemeanor count, and Judge Stone will sentence you to the community service we already discussed. The bailiff will then bring you to the front desk to sign some papers. I would expect Ms. Wright to have completed her statement by then and she’ll probably meet you there.”

Wes picked up from there. “There are some other things you need to know. Mr. Cross’s family has been forcefully removed from the building. His father cornered District Attorney Singer in the hallway as she was on her way to meet with Nikki, wanting to know what was going on. When she informed him that they were not pressing charges, he went crazy. I recommended that Nikki file a restraining order against him and anyone else in his family who might want to cause her harm. The police have assigned her a detail for at least the next month to make sure history doesn’t repeat itself.

“Also, they are already talking to the media. If you thought it was a circus outside the courthouse before, you’ve got another thing coming. It’s bordering on a mob scene now, and the Crosses gave them just the juicy sound bites they were looking for. They’ve indicated to the press that since they aren’t going to get retribution in criminal court, they’re going to seek it in civil court. Nikki should expect a lawsuit to be filed against her in the near future. They have an iceberg’s chance in hell of winning. It’s just some more red tape we need to sort through before you can both put this mess behind you entirely.”

Michael just nodded, trying to let it all sink in. Deputy Slader knocked on the door before entering. Michael stood, and the officer gave him a manly hug.

“Michael, man, I’m so happy for you both! Now that this is all behind us, you and Nikki have to come over to the house sometime. Jeremy, too. Meet the wife and kids, have a barbeque or something. Nikki’ll be in charge of dessert.”

Michael laughed from deep in his chest as reality started setting in. “Absolutely! We’d love to!”

Todd held out the handcuffs apologetically. “This’ll be the last time you ever have to wear these,” he said. “Just procedure until the judge makes it official.”

The handcuffs felt lighter than before, now that the invisible burden was no longer attached to them.

Michael beamed at his family, who were all smiles as they sat in the courtroom, wanting to hear the judge’s decree for themselves. Judge Stone smiled at Michael as he entered the courtroom.

The district attorney stood and said her piece; Wes said his. The charges were dismissed, then Michael stood and pleaded guilty to the misdemeanor. It was all sort of a blur until Judge Stone addressed him for the last time.

“Son, while the court cannot condone your actions, I can admit to admiring your intentions. I feel almost as if I’m a player in a Shakespearean play, with you and Ms. Wright as the tragic romantic leads. Except you two have a second chance at a happy ending. Make the most of it.”

“Yes, sir, Your Honor. I don’t intend to waste another minute.”

Judge Stone smiled and nodded. “Case dismissed.” He brought down the gavel and left the courtroom without another word.

Todd was waiting at the door to walk Michael and Wes out and show them where they needed to go. As the last set of doors opened, Michael’s eyes searched for Nikki. He didn’t need to search for long, though, because Nikki saw him first, and tackled him. He stumbled backwards a few steps into the wall and wrapped his arms around her. They both started to cry before laughing a little at themselves for all the happy tears. Michael bent her backwards into a slight dip and kissed her deeply.

“Come on, Sunshine. Let’s get out of here.” He held her hand the entire time, somehow managing to sign his paperwork without ever once letting her go for a second.

The second they stepped outside onto the courthouse steps, reporters screamed while cameras flashed wildly, temporarily blinding them. Wes stood protectively in front of them, holding his hands up in a motion indicating they needed to quiet down so he could be heard. After a few moments, the noise died down enough that Wes could speak.

“I am going to make a brief statement, but my client and Ms. Wright will not be available for questions. We are, of course, quite pleased that justice has been served today and that the courts and the state performed their duties honorably and admirably. That being said, my client and Ms. Wright have both suffered a terrible ordeal these past several months and would appreciate if you would respect their privacy in the days ahead.”

The reporters were obviously used to ignoring statements such as these, and resumed yelling questions and shoving microphones into Michael and Nikki’s faces as they walked down the stairs and got into the backseat of Aaron’s car.

Wes closed the door on them and waved as Aaron drove away. They leaned into one another, and Michael’s body started to feel like gelatin as the stress slowly began lifting, letting him feel for the first time in months how truly exhausted he was.

“Would you two be interested in joining everybody in a celebration dinner tonight? Everyone is so anxious to see you, but I told them if you needed to just be... alone, they’d have to understand. It’s completely up to you.”

Michael was utterly torn. Part of him wanted to have a glass of wine, eat some real food, and celebrate with everyone he loved, to thank them for everything they’d done for him. But a much larger part of him just wanted to curl up in bed with Nikki, preferably somewhere with room service and not come out again for at least three days. Minimum. But after all their support throughout this nightmare, how could he turn them down?

“Sure!” he said with false enthusiasm, which Aaron either didn’t catch or ignored.

Michael looked over at Nikki for confirmation that it was all right. As he took in her blank expression, the slight trembling, the way her arms were wrapped tightly around her middle, he realized it was the first time he’d really taken a close look at her since they were in the courtroom that morning. And he didn’t like what he saw.

“Nikki?” Michael asked. She just shook her head violently. “You know, Dad, maybe it’d be better...”

“No!” Nikki yelled, interrupting him. “It’s fine,” she said in a much quieter tone.

Unconvinced, Michael pried the arm closest to him away from her waist and forced his fingers between hers. She went from clenching her hand in a fist to squeezing his to the point of pain. He bit the inside of his cheek and nodded silently. He rubbed his thumb over her knuckles back and forth, trying to soothe her. Michael looked up and saw Aaron eyeing them warily in the rear view mirror.

“It’s fine,” he reassured his dad. “Food sounds great.”

The rest of the ride was silent. Michael was jubilant inside, feeling truly free and happy for the first time in months. Years, actually, if he was being honest with himself, because there was nothing holding him back from creating the future he hadn’t even dared to dream about since high school. He and Nikki were together and in love. So why did Nikki look so miserable? He fought to keep his joy tamped down, not knowing how Nikki would respond.

No one else, except perhaps Christian, seemed to notice Nikki’s distress at dinner, where the champagne flowed freely, as did the conversation. The relief was evident from the group and Michael would frequently feel himself getting caught up in the celebration, only to pull back again when he looked at Nikki. She was smiling now, actively participating in the conversation. She gave every indication she was just as ecstatic as everyone else, but her eyes told a different story. Whenever Nikki would catch Michael eyeing her, she would shake her head minutely, straighten her posture and widen her smile before turning back to the conversation.

By the time dessert and coffee had been served, Michael was a nervous wreck.

“You guys coming home with us tonight?” Christian asked expectantly.

It hadn’t even occurred to Michael where they would go. It would be nice to be alone with Nikki, but where? And how would they get there? It’s not as though he had a car anymore, and it seemed ridiculous to take a cab all the way to his apartment in Philly. Going to Nikki’s house was out of the question. He was just about to suggest checking into The Hershey Hotel when Nikki answered for them.

“We need to stop by your house first so I can pack a bag, but I’ve been in your hair long enough.”

Christian looked as though he was going to argue with her, but Sophie put her hand on his forearm and he immediately closed his mouth.

After many warm goodbyes and a mad dash past the paparazzi to their cars, Christian, Sophie, Michael and Nikki headed back to Christian’s house. Nikki and Sophie marched straight upstairs to pack, leaving Michael and Christian in the kitchen. Michael spied a plate of white chocolate macadamia nut cookies on the counter which he hoped beyond hope that Nikki made. Completely disregarding how full he was from dinner, he snatched one up. He closed his eyes and moaned in appreciation as the buttery cookie dissolved in his mouth.