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“I think I’m a Maxwell in this moment, because yes, do it. They’re doing it to us. Make it end.” That need to end this builds again, taking root. “You’re trying to save me the pain of the bad press and don’t, you need to know that what I want is to not be held captive. I want this over. Give her the million dollars. I’ll write a couple extra books.” I try to duck under his arms.
He catches me. “What just happened?”
“I just want us to be us again.”
“We never stopped being us.”
“We can’t have this kind of thing hanging over our heads.”
“If we pay her off we will have this hanging over our heads until that baby is born.”
“Not if we sign an agreement,” I argue.
“Give me a week to work with Royce and end this another way.”
“What if she goes to the press first?”
“I’ll start negotiating a deal to buy time. Okay?”
“Okay,” I agree. “A week. Make it end in a week.” I think of the baby and wanting this over with before I tell Reese, and most definitely before he or she is born. “And if we can’t negotiate or bribe ourselves out of this, I need to out her in my column, and we need to just deal with the press and questions. With this trial, her gossip will be filed away secondary to it, and if you win, no one cares about her claims.”
“Cat, what happened? You were okay, but I don’t think you are now. Did Dana say something that triggered this?”
“I’m okay. I’m actually good. I was wallowing and feeling sorry for myself but now I’m back to fighting.”
“You didn’t answer me. Did Dana say something that triggered your change of mood?”
“Just that you’re perfect. And basically that we’re perfect, in not so many words.”
“I don’t understand.”
“You will. On your birthday that will be very special, if you make this end.” I kiss him. “Go get the door.”
He snags my waist and pulls me close. “What is this gift?”
“Perfect, like us, but we need Debbie to go away, not me. I’m not leaving. I’m not wilting or running. She doesn’t get that power over us. I will out her which was my first instinct. We can handle it. We’re strong enough. You’re well-respected enough. You know it. You’re afraid of how it affects me and us. It doesn’t. So let’s do what we need to and handle it. One week. Let’s deal with this and end this.”
“All right then. We end this in one week.”
Chapter seventy-two
Cat
Betrayal.
Defined as: someone you trust, stabbing you in the back.
As I sat in the courtroom yesterday that word stayed in my mind. The prosecutor painted a picture that was based on no facts but as a prosecutor the jury automatically trusts him. I watched Reese Summer, cross-examine the medical examiner, and get to the facts and it became clear to me that the prosecutor is going to spend this entire trial betraying the jury’s trust, and even that of the public he defends. But then why would the DA do his job and look for the real killer? He has Mr. Summer to do that for him. So I leave you with this: Deception is a lie and a lie is a betrayal. As you watch this trial on television, watch for the deception and you will find the lies. Until next time, Cat.
I finish my column while Reese works with his team and then I sit in on their game planning session over Dana’s boyfriend and his betrayal. We go to bed at two in the morning, and I wake up at four in the morning feeling like my stomach has rocks in it that are trying to kill me. Reese is finally knocked out next to me after working with his team on every surprise the DA might offer them with Dana’s boyfriend’s betrayal, and I cautiously, despite how sick I am, slip out from under his arm and tiptoe to the bathroom, shutting the door behind me. I’m on my knees in front of the toilet the minute I get there and it’s horrible. I want it to just be over. Finally, I lay back on the floor and shut my eyes.
“Cat. My God. Cat.”
Reese is suddenly on the floor with me and pulling me into his arms. “I’m going to take you to the ER.”
“No. No, I went to the doctor. I’m okay. I didn’t take my medicine before bed. I didn’t think I needed it. I’m better. I guess I just fell asleep.”
“On the floor, Cat. You’re not good.”
