Swept Away (25 page)

Two weeks later, Josie had her preliminary hearing. It was the first time she had to be in a room with Jeb Stone. Her legal team had grown to include three more lawyers. A total of five now shielded her from Jeb’s charges. But even a team didn’t stop her body from trembling when she made eye contact with Stone.

In a glance, Tucker measured the man. If he’d passed him on the street, he’d never know Jeb was a monster. He appeared on the surface like a typical, middle age man. Thick brown hair, a firm jaw line. He was technically a handsome guy. It wasn’t until Tucker made eye contact with him that he understood. Tucker took a seat behind Josie. When he leaned forward and kissed her, he glanced at Stone. The face he turned to Tucker—the narrowed eyes and clenched jaw—was akin to the look a husband would offer his wife’s lover. It was far from the paternal look of concern he’d been sporting for reporters.

The bailiff entered the courtroom and called for all to rise. Judge Smith entered the chamber, tripping over the door jam and lurching forward. The man’s disheveled hair and mint green bow tie sticking out of his collar didn’t inspire confidence. Tucker cracked his knuckles and prayed to God that He’d replaced all the man lacked in coordination and fashion sense with a damn keen mind. Once seated, Judge Smith asked them to take their seats. He adjusted his glasses and looked to Matthew. “Counselor, I see here you have requested a change of venue?”

“Yes, your honor,” Matthew said. “Considering the many alliances and friendships Jeb Stone has in this area, it would seem my client would be better served in a neutral district.”

The judge perused the paperwork, then turned to Josie. “Ms. Morgan?”

As Shae had advised her to do, Josie stood. She gripped the edge of the table as if she needed the physical support to speak with the judge.

“Ms. Morgan, did you know you were presumed dead?”

Jeb Stone cleared his throat, catching Josie’s attention. She glanced his way. He leaned forward, nodded at her. All the color drained from Josie’s face, and she said nothing. Tucker sucked in air.

“Ms. Morgan, did you or did you not know the world thought you were dead?” Judge Smith repeated the question.

“I…uh,” Josie turned to Shae. The attorney gave her a nod, but her perfectly sculptured brows pulled together with worry.

“It’s a simple question. Did you know you were presumed dead?”

Tucker was trying to send her a mental message as a sweat broke out over his body.
Just say no. Please God Josie, just say no.

Josie mumbled, “I don’t think I feel very well.” Her knees buckled, and she collapsed. Matthew was quick to step up and grab her before her face smacked the table. The room was instantly abuzz.

Tucker leaped over the railing to get to her, but her attorneys and the bailiff were in the way. Josie woke, red-faced. She wiped at her forehead. “I’m okay. Tucker?”

Tucker shoved his way through. She wrapped her arm around him, nuzzling her face in his neck. “I don’t want to see him, Tucker.”

“I know, sweetie. I know.” Squeezing his eyes closed, he held her tighter, wishing he could make all this stop.

Matthew stood and faced the judge. “Your Honor. Ms. Morgan is expecting, and the last few weeks have been quite traumatic. From the kidnapping, to her own mother’s attempt at murder, an arrest, and now the stress of being in the same room as her abuser. It’s a lot to absorb.”

“Would counsel prefer a postponement?”

“I think it wise. I think my client should see a doctor.”

Judge Smith nodded. “You will keep the court apprised of her condition. Court is hereby adjourned until further notice.”

“I object, Your Honor. I think Ms. Morgan should have to answer the question. Feeling light-headed shouldn’t get her off the hook.”

“Excuse me, Mr. Rogers? Are you telling me how to run my court?” Judge Smith asked.

“Not at all, Your Honor. I’m just suggesting the dizziness could be a ruse.”

“You’re suggesting I’m so gullible as to be deceived by a swooning female?”

Mr. Rogers turned red, but said nothing else. The Judge stood and left.

It was over for the moment, but Josie was still shaking. Tucker held her icy hands in his. “Come on. Let me take you home.”

She nodded and stood. As they made their way out of the courtroom, Jeb stepped in front of them. Josie dropped behind Tucker, holding onto his waist. “Josie,” Jeb said, “this is ridiculous. Come home, and we’ll forget about this. No more courts, no more fighting.”

Tucker was overwhelmed with how good it would feel to smash Stone in the face. It wasn’t until he felt Matthew pull on his arm that he realized it was raised in a fist.

“It’s not worth it,” Matthew assured him.

Tucker took a breath. He wasn’t sure it wouldn’t be worth it. He looked to Josie; she shook her head. “Please Tucker, no.” Taking a deep breath, he wrapped his arm around her shoulder. Only for her would he walk away.  He didn’t let go until they were in the car. Getting through the press was less stressful each time. They were nothing more than a blathering crowd of nibshits yelling the same questions Josie refused to answer a hundred times already. All Tucker had to do was get to the car and let the lawyers do the talking.

Tucker suggested taking her to a doctor.

“No, I’m fine. We’d probably have to get through the press again, and I just want to go home. I hate this. Why does he still scare me?”

Taking her hand, he squeezed it. “Post-traumatic stress. I’ve seen a lot of it. Certain things trigger the old feelings, and it’s not exactly something you just rationally make yourself get over.”

Josie nodded and took a shaky breath.

“I want you go to the doctor. For me. It would make me feel better.”

“I’ll go. I feel like it’s a waste of time, but you’re right. I have to think of the baby, and I suppose his dad’s peace of mind.”

They stopped at the local ER. Her blood pressure was high, but the baby’s heartrate was steady. The doctor assumed it was stress and gave her orders to rest.

Once Tucker got her back to his mother’s, he made her a comfy spot on the couch. Handing her the remote, he said, “We’ll watch a movie. Mom might have something old enough to entice you.”

“Tucker,” Josie said quietly.

“What, sweetie?”

“What if I can never face Jeb?  How will I get justice for Maddy if I can’t even open my mouth and speak?” Josie’s chin quivered as tears pooled in her eyes and spilled down her cheeks. 

Tucker lay down beside her, holding her.

“Right now, the only thing that matters is you. We need to get you through this and then we’ll think about Maddy,” he said.

She shook her head. “No one cares. You don’t even care. You wanted me to let him off, to say I was lying.”

He took a slow breath. “It’s not that I don’t care. It’s just that I love you so much. I’d do anything to keep you from having to go through all of this. And I’m worried about the peanut.”

She moved in closer, her cheek resting on his chest. “I know you love us. And to you, Maddy is just an idea. You didn’t know her like I did.”

“Just rest for now, okay? I’ll talk to Shae, see if she has a suggestion. Maybe you could meet one on one with the judge. I think I’ve seen on TV where judges will talk with victims. It’s worth asking. If it’s possible, I think he’d do it. He seemed nice. And he sure as hell didn’t take Rogers’ crap.”

Josie nodded.

“I’m going to go make you something to eat, and you’re going to eat it all.” Giving her three quick kisses and one big one, he didn’t leave until she flashed him a weak smile.

In the kitchen, he grabbed a leftover casserole, dipped some out on a plate, and popped it in the microwave. He could always count on his mom to have food. As he was putting the lid back on the casserole pan, his mother and Ed came in. “Hey there, movie star,” his mom said.

“What?” Tucker asked.

“You’re all over the news. Looks like you were about to take a swing at Jeb Stone,” his mother said.

“I can understand why you’d want to sock him, but keep your temper. It’s what he wants,” Ed said quietly.

“You should listen to Ed,” Marlene said.

“I didn’t realize it was on TV, or looked that bad.”

“You looked like your father. All emotion and fury. I doubt there was a rational thought going through your head. Amazing how much you’re like him.”

“No thanks to his influence though, right?”

“Nice jab,” Marlene said. “I’ve said my piece over it. I’ve apologized to him. I’ve apologized to you.”

“You apologized to him?”

“Yes. I went to the nursing home and saw him. Ed went with me.”

Ed nodded as he took cookies out of a cookie jar.

Tucker figured if his dad was going to throw things at anyone, it would be his mother. “How did it go?”

“Well, he can’t really talk, but I think he understood. He sort of nodded.”

Tucker got the plate out of the microwave, and grabbed a fork and a napkin.

“Tucker, I’ll have dinner ready in an hour,” Marlene complained.

“It’s not for me; it’s for—“

A scream from the living room made him drop the plate. It smashed on the floor.

“Tucker! Tucker!” Josie yelled.

He was across the room in seconds.

“The baby, Tucker, the baby.”

She stood, her legs soaked in blood.

“Oh Jesus, oh Josie.” He lifted her off her feet and was heading to his car. “It’s all right. I’ll get you to the doctor.”

“I’m losing it. I don’t want to lose my baby.”

His mother held the door open, and then ran ahead and unlocked the car door. Tucker set Josie in the seat then hurried to the driver’s side. His mom handed him his keys with shaking hands. Ed placed a blanket over Josie, then wrapped an arm around his wife as they watched them drive away.

Burrowing into the blanket, she cried. Tucker felt like crying too, but he couldn’t. He rubbed her leg. “It will be all right, Josie. It’s all going to work out.”

“When? It will never end.”

“We’ll get through it all. Together.”

Shielding her face with the blanket, she cried. Her body shook with each fresh wave of tears. Tucker cursed every red light and rolled through every stop sign. He got her to the ER as quickly as he could without tossing her back and forth in a speeding car. He pulled into the ambulance bay and barely had the car in park before leaping from his seat. He ran to her, scooping her up. Hospital staff met him at the door, quickly bringing gurneys, taking her from him, and hustling her away. An orderly offered to park his car so he could go with Josie. Nodding, Tucker followed behind the team working on her. He stood in the corner of the room, watching. Josie lay there, her eyes squeezed closed.

“Call in the OB on call and let’s get her to surgery,” the doctor said, stepping back. Within seconds, Josie was gone.

An ER doctor, a short man with a shadow of hair around the crown of his head, approached Tucker. “You the dad?”

I was,
Tucker thought, instantly regretting giving up hope so easily. “Yes,” he said.

“We’re calling in an obstetrician, just to be on the safe side.  Any precipitating factors? A fall, any sort of impact?”

“She passed out today, but uh…” Tucker tried to remember when she fell in court. He didn’t remember her hitting anything. Matthew caught her before she made impact with the table. “I don’t think she hit anything. She’s under a lot of stress.” Tucker took a deep breath.

The doctor nodded. The look on his face said he knew who Josie was. Most people in the area did. Her picture was in every newspaper, every morning. Placing a hand on Tucker’s elbow, he said, “We’ll take good care of her.”

“I heard you say you wanted her in surgery? Is she going to be all right?”

“That’s just a precaution. We have a mobile team waiting on her in pre-op. They’ll be able to do an ultrasound and other tests the OB will need for a diagnosis and plan of action. If it is surgery, they’ll be prepped and ready to go.”

Tucker knew the answer in his gut, but had to ask, “And the baby?”

The doctor rubbed his ear as he said, “Let’s see what the OB says, okay? Come, I’ll show you to the surgical waiting room.”

Seated in the small room with low lighting he assumed was meant to reduce stress, he called his mother and Murray to let them know what was going on. His mother assured him she was on her way. He almost told her it wasn’t necessary, but it was. He may as well have been six again and afraid of the dark. He wanted someone, anyone to tell him everything would be okay.

“Tucker?”

It was Shae. Dressed in jeans with her hair in a ponytail, she looked less like an attorney and more like a friend.

“Hey.” Tucker stood and gave her a hug. Then they sat.

“So, is Josie going to be all right?”

“The ER doctor said she would be. But the baby…” Tucker’s words wedged in his throat. He shook his head and looked at the floor.

Shae took his hand and squeezed it.