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“If they ask, tell them I forced you.” Shannon smirked, not caring if it was cruel to mock her just then. “After all, isn’t that your defense for everything?”
Surprisingly, MaryAnn straightened at that, and her eyes lost some of the wounded bird look. “What do you want to talk about?”
“Can I come in, please?”
“Um. Sure.” Stepping aside, MaryAnn held the door open.
The apartment was small, but more cozy than cramped. And not just tastefully decorated, but artfully so. Vintage pieces blended seamlessly with more plush, modern furniture, and several paintings graced the walls in strategic places so it seemed like everywhere you looked there was a stunning visual to study. It shouldn’t have worked, but somehow it did, to the point Shannon nearly lost herself in the simple, creative beauty of the space.
And then her hostess spoke again, breaking the spell and reminding Shannon of why she was there in the first place. “Would you like something to drink? I have water and maybe some apple juice?”
“No coffee?” It was a stupid, silly question, but it gave her system time to settle as she lowered herself onto the comfortable couch.
“I don’t drink caffeine. It makes me jittery.”
Seeing as how she was practically shaking already, the no caffeine rule was probably a good one. More to give her hands something to do than out of any desire to actually drink it, Shannon gave a quick, sharp nod. “Water, then. Thank you.”
An awkward, stilted silence fell, broken only by the sounds of MaryAnn moving about the kitchen before she finally returned with two glasses of water in colorful glasses. More vintage pieces, and handcrafted by the looks of it. It was clear MaryAnn wasn’t the type to simply buy things for the sake of having them, but rather someone who took the time to lovingly select pieces she could truly enjoy.
If she hadn’t been an accomplice to her best friend’s kidnapping and god only knew what else, they could have been friends. They nearly had been, before the truth about her had come out.
But shewasan accomplice, and this wasn’t a friendly visit. Of course, now that she was here, face to face with this woman she so badly wanted to confront, Shannon found herself at a complete loss for words.
It was MaryAnn who finally broke the silence. “You, um, wanted to talk? About the—about my case, I’m guessing?”
“Bryant Monroe is representing you.”
“Yes.” A tentative, almost shy smile tugged at the corners of MaryAnn’s mouth. “He’s been so sweet to me. More so than I deserve.”
As far as openings went, it was as good as any. “What do you think you deserve?”
The smile faded, confusion filling the other woman’s eyes. “I don’t understand what you’re asking me.”
“Bryant is trying to get you a plea deal. And since Bryant Monroe is one of the top criminal defense attorneys on the East Coast, I doubt you’ll ever see the inside of a prison cell. But I want to know if you think you deserve to just walk away, a free woman, after what you’ve done.”
Twin flags of color rode high on MaryAnn’s cheeks, but to her credit, she didn’t look away. “What I did was awful. I fully admit that. The only defense I have is I didn’t know what Nate had planned when we called Olivia that day. I thought we were just going to talk to her. I never meant for anyone to be harmed.”
“And me?” Her stomach was churning so hard she thought she might be sick, but she needed to hear the answer straight from MaryAnn’s lips. It was the only way for her to be sure of the truth.
MaryAnn opened and closed her mouth a half dozen times before she finally spoke. “I can’t even begin to understand what you went through, Ms. Wright. And in hindsight, I suppose there were clues I should have picked up on. That’s what the media says, anyway. That I should have known. That I should have at least suspected something. But I didn’t. All I saw when I looked at him was a charming man who showered me with compliments and gifts and made me feel more loved, moreseen,than I’ve ever felt in my entire life.”
Her voice broke and she took a sip of water, the glass shaking in her hands. “I know it isn’t good enough. And I’m sure a woman like you looks at me and just sees a weak, foolish woman. But I swear to you, Ms. Wright, I had no idea what he was. I wish to god I had seen the monster underneath, but I didn’t, and I will have to carry that with me for the rest of my life.”
* * *
By the timeShannon climbed back into her car, she was even more conflicted than she’d been that morning. But there was one thing she was absolutely, one hundred percent sure of: MaryAnn was telling the truth.
Whatever else she might be, she wasn’t a cunning accomplice to a murder. And while she certainly deserved to be punished for terrorizing Olivia, she didn’t deserve to rot in prison for years on end.
And the one person who could ensure that didn’t happen was Bryant Monroe.
Fuck.
So, where did that leave her and Bryant? Regardless of whether or not he’d been right to take MaryAnn’s case, he’d still lied to her about it. Or at least, deliberately kept it from her, which amounted to the same sin in her eyes. Could she simply forgive and forget when it came to something so monumental?
Unfortunately for Shannon, she didn’t have much time to think about it. For the second day in a row, she found someone perched on her front steps when she pulled into her driveway.
God, she needed a cigarette. But Liv had convinced her to quit, and she’d thrown out her last pack while she’d been staying with the Monroes. It was tempting to simply back the car up and drive down to the gas station on the corner and buy another carton.
