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He kept his attention on his son. “I’m so sorry, Allison. I never wanted this to happen.” He paused as a guard walked by. Once they were (relatively) alone, he looked at her. “It’s not what you think.”
She stared at him. “I think you’re in jail. I think I have no money and I’m about to lose my home. Peter, I’m over six months pregnant. Bethany is due in ten weeks. You have to get out of here so you can be with me.”
“I know. I’m sorry.” He swallowed. “I never wanted to hurt you.”
“You haven’t hurt me, you’ve terrified me. I can’t handle this. I can’t.”
“It’s going to be okay.” He paused as another plane flew over. “There have been a few misunderstandings, but—”
“Misunderstandings,” she shrieked, interrupting him. “This isn’t a misunderstanding. You’ve been charged with serious crimes. You shot at police. We don’t own a gun.”
He stared at the ground. “I kept one at the office for self-protection.”
What? He’d owned a gun?
She thought about the money in his jacket and the search warrant and the gun. “Do I even know you?”
He flinched as if he’d been struck. “Please, Allison. Don’t say that. I love you with my entire heart. The things I did, the chances I took, they were for us. I wanted you to have a good life.”
“I did until this happened. We were fine. We were happy.”
He leaned toward her, his expression intense. “You were living in some crap rental. I wanted to give you the world, or at least buy you a house. That’s what I was doing. There was going to be an inheritance. I nearly had that worked out. Then there was some trouble with a client and the feds showed up. You know the rest.”
“I don’t know anything. You’re not making sense. Peter, what happened? What did you do?”
“Nothing bad. I give you my word.”
But he wasn’t looking at her as he spoke and while she knew innocent people could be arrested, she had a bad feeling that there was so much more she didn’t know.
“Do you have a lawyer?”
“I’m working on it. I’ve been interviewing them.”
She nearly came to her feet. “Interviewing? What does that mean? Shouldn’t you take the first one you can get?”
“No. I need the right sort. Someone who understands what’s happening and can help me. I’m getting close.”
He sounded so casual, she thought bitterly.
“I don’t understand. Why aren’t you doing everything in your power to be home with your family?”
His gaze shifted, as if he were trying to see who was nearby, then he leaned close and lowered his voice.
“I’m cooperating. I don’t want to go into details, but I have information they want. That’s part of why I need the right lawyer. It’s all a negotiation. I need to stay here until the details are worked out. If I just walk out of here without a good deal, there could be real problems.”
She tried to make sense of what he’d just told her. “If you’re cooperating, then that means you have information about a crime that the authorities want. You said it was a misunderstanding.”
“It was.” He held her gaze. “Just because I know something doesn’t mean I was doing it myself. I have information that’s useful. You have to believe me, Allison. You’re the reason I get up in the morning. I love you. I’ll figure this out and things will be better than before.”
How could they be better? If he was cooperating, then he’d obviously been involved in some serious crimes.
“When are you getting out on bail?”
His gaze slid away. “I don’t know.”
“Before I have the baby?”
“I want to be there.”
