Page 19 of Redemption in the Dark (The Righteous 5)
Maeve walked away, and he was happy for the space, but it was short-lived as she brought over a chair and stood on it so she could sit on the counter. Her feet swung, and he couldn’t help staring at her out of the corner of his eye.
Maeve was this unusual combination that made her look sweet and innocent but sexy as a devil all at the same time. His ancestors would have called her soul agaluga. She had a jaguar spirit, and it was easy to get caught up in the whirlwind of her personality.
He let her take her time to tell him what he’d asked.
“I can tell you what I know, but it’s not much,” she began.
He continued to mush the peas into a paste as she spoke.
“I was doing some work in Cali and decided to party at this bar. It kinda was similar to my time in Vegas. I apparently had too much to drink, and the next thing I know, I’m waking up in an alley on the other side of town. The detective they say I killed was dead beside me, and I was covered in his blood. That’s all I remember, and even though I asked for a drug test, no one would perform one. I had my trial and was convicted. I managed to escape before they could take me to prison and ended up in Vegas, where you caught up with me.”
He looked over at her, and she shrugged.
“That’s it?” he said.
“That’s it. I remember dancing with a few different guys, nothing as wild as Vegas, just normal dancing, and the next thing I know, I’m being framed for murder.”
“But why you?”
“You don’t think I’ve asked myself that very same question like a million times?” She rubbed at her face. The flickering light enhanced the dark circles around her eyes. “If I had the answer to that question, then maybe I wouldn’t have ended up convicted for murder. All I know is that whoever it is, has money.”
He placed the pot on the burner and lit it to heat before leaning against the counter to stare at Maeve. “What makes you say that?”
“Think about it. Not only did someone have to drug me or, at the very least, get me way beyond drunk, which I had no intention of doing that night. But I wasn’t in the same clothes as I had been at the bar. I was wearing this outfit that made me look like I worked the streets. They used a gun to kill the guy and left the weapon in my hand, but I don’t even own a gun, and yet my prints and gunshot residue were all over my hand. Plus, the police flat out refused to do a rape kit or take a sample of my blood.”
She continued and held up her fingers.
“I wasn’t allowed to make a call, but I did end up with a top lawyer, and even he couldn’t get me off. It was totally sketchy from start to finish. The jury deliberated for a long time, and I thought maybe I would end up with someone that actually believed me but nope, and here we are. I still think they were paid off, but I have no proof of that. No one can do a job that good without using large sums of money. I mean to pay off a police precinct? Come on.”
She crossed her arms over her chest, and her face turned dark like she was picturing killing someone.
“This leads me back to my other question, why you? I find it strange that someone would go to all this trouble and expense for someone they didn’t know or hate.”
“Are you saying you don’t believe me?”
He gave the soup a stir and then fixed her with a smile. “You jump to a lot of conclusions.”
“Is that a no then?”
“No, I don’t think you did it. I just don’t understand why you. I mean, no offense, but I can think of a dozen people without trying that, if framed, would benefit all sorts of shady individuals. I think the key to getting you off the hook for this and having your verdict overturned is figuring out why you.”
Wolf pulled the boiling soup off the burner, put it into two bowls, tore open the package of fake bread, and put it on the burner to toast.
“And what if we can’t figure that out? What if I’m stuck running from people like you forever,” Maeve asked. She looked so beaten down that he walked over and pulled her into a hug without even thinking about it. She stiffened in his arms like she didn’t even know what to do with the gesture.
“Hugging is usually a prelude to fucking,” she said softly as her arms slowly slid around his waist.
“Tonight, a hug is just a hug.” He held her a little tighter until she finally relaxed in his hold. “I want you to know, Maeve, that I truly believe you. I’m going to do everything in my power to help you.” He realized as he said the words that he meant it.
He believed her.
He’d dreamt of her eyes before he met her. He was sure of it. He’d also seen similar shadows to those that slithered like snakes around her ankles. Something dark wanted her, and if he were a wise man, he would leave her here and go. But he’d never had anyone claim that he was a smart man, so why start now?
Wolf was up first and made another strange food combination from assorted cans he found in the cupboards. Once Maeve was awake, he watched her wince with every step she took. Wanting to ease her pain, he applied more of the salve his grandmother had taught him to make, then he made her drink a tea that would help her sleep. She needed the deep sleep to heal, which also gave him time to think about their next move.
He was tempted to call Marcus. They’d been partners for a few years, and he trusted him, but he didn’t think even Marcus would understand this situation. He could call Kes or Trev, but the less contact they had, the better.
Pulling out his phone, he called his father to check in on his property. He’d been away far longer than he’d intended. Once he was satisfied that everything was fine at home, he called Margarita who was his contact for finding homes and transportation home for the girls that Kes was sending faster than Wolf could keep up with.
