Page 62 of Love Unbound
“Get in the car,” Shane muttered in her ear, pointing Jodi in the direction of their car. “I don’t have the bail money for both of you.”
Jodi climbed into the back of Shane and Cassie’s car while Shane went back inside to pay their tab. Josh left shortly after; his work was finished for the night.
When Shane returned, he had Free’s truck keys and his ball cap in his hand. He held them both out to Jodi, which made fresh tears sting her eyes. “Do you want me to drive you home?”
“I’m okay,” she whispered, fingering the brim of the hat. The chaos of the last half an hour had sobered her. “I just want to go home.”
“Well, let me follow you to the driveway, at least,” Shane said gently. Jodi nodded before walking to Free’s truck and climbing in behind the wheel. It was the first time she’d driven it, and it felt foreign, wrong. Free was supposed to be driving them home. The truck rumbled to life, and she drove the short way home, waving to Shane and Cassie as she pulled into the long driveway.
Parking next to the Jeep, she scrubbed her hands over her face before climbing out. She had made it up the steps and almost to the front door when she realized something was off. Reaching inside the door after unlocking it, she flipped on the exterior light switch, but nothing happened. She tried the switch again, but the light didn’t turn on. Pulling her phone out of her purse, she turned on the flashlight app and gasped.
Her exterior light fixture had been smashed to pieces. Twisted metal and severed wires hung from where it was suspended from the ceiling of the covered porch. Something crunched beneath her shoes, and when she moved the flashlight downward, she saw broken glass glittering everywhere. As she looked up, shesaw bright red spray paint marring her living room windows and siding.SlutandWhorewere amongst the slurs hastily sprayed on, the paint dripping down the siding and onto the porch.
And then Jodi smiled, despite the absolute train wreck the evening had been.
Because Josh had unwittingly given her all the proof she needed; all of it caught on cameras he clearly had no clue were there, hiding in plain sight.
Chapter 46
“They won’t let us post bail until tomorrow morning,” Shane said over the phone. “Because it’s a weekend, and it was an assault charge.”
“I’m working on that,” Jodi said, tucking the phone between her ear and shoulder. Her parents were sitting at the kitchen counter, reams of paperwork and Levi’s laptop opened to the raw footage from the night before. A compilation of everything they had taken with them to the police station earlier. “Josh will drop the charges.”
Her eyes burned from the tears and lack of sleep the night before. She had called Levi first thing that morning, and he and Serenity had come over right away. Levi had wanted to go straight to Josh’s condo when he saw the red lettering on Jodi’s house, but she had convinced him to wait. They needed to let the police handle it, needed him to cooperate. If they beat the hell out of him again, it would do them no good. If this was going to work the way Jodi needed it to, they had to do it right.
“I hope you’re right, Jo-Jo,” Shane said quietly from the other end of the line.
“He will drop the charges,” Jodi repeated, smiling. She had felt a deadweight lift off her shoulders when the officer and lawyer they’d spoken with that morning had told her they had everything they needed. Her lawyer had assured her that not only would the charges against Free be dropped, but that Josh would have to forfeit his stake in the bookshop, making it hers finally. Her lawyer had admitted that he probably wouldn’t doany jail time, but a restraining order had been filed nonetheless. She could at last see the light at the end of the tunnel. A life free of Joshua Murphy.
Now, she just needed Freeman back.
Levi and Serenity took their leave shortly after, though her mother was fretful after witnessing the damage done to the house. The yellow crime scene ribbon that the police had used blocked off the section of her porch that had been vandalized jarred her. Levi had already contacted a friend to come out and replace the windows and repaint the siding, with a promise that it would be done by midweek. A tech friend of Warren’s had been called, and the teen had promised to come by the shop and do a thorough sweep to find the wiretap. The news of the bug seemed to upset Seren the most. Her mother had pleaded with Jodi to come stay at the house, to which Levi said wasn’t a bad idea. Jodi grudgingly accepted, packing a small overnight bag.
She and Fallon stayed up later than they should have watching a soapy, sappy romcom, until Serenity had come in to remind Fallon she still had school in the morning.
Jodi tossed and turned in her old bed, the walls still the same periwinkle blue she had painted them during high school. Unable to sleep, she wandered the house, finally ending up in Levi’s den. She switched on one of the dim lamps, running her fingers along the many books on the shelves, the soft felt of the billiard table that sat in the middle of the room. Taking a crystal highball glass down from one shelf, she poured herself a finger of whisky. Taking a sip, she relished the burn as it went down.
“You okay?” Levi rumbled from the shadows of the doorway. She didn’t jump, not surprised he’d found her there. He’d always known when one of them was out of bed.
Jodi nodded, crossing her arms over her chest, the highball glass in one hand. “I’m sorry I made such a mess of things, Dad. I never meant to embarrass you and Mom like this.”
Levi grumbled something unintelligible as he shuffled into the room. He took a matching highball down and poured himself a hefty portion before turning to look at her.
“You think your mom and I are embarrassed of you?” Levi asked, his deep voice rumbling over her. Jodi nodded, swirling the contents of her glass. “Jodi, your mom and I couldn’t be prouder of who you’ve become, what you’ve accomplished.”
“Free is in jail because of me,” Jodi whispered, casting her eyes downward.
“Free is in jail because Josh is a tool,” Levi quipped dryly.
“But it’s because of me. I wouldn’t blame him if he packs his bags and leaves straight away tomorrow morning,” Jodi whispered, her throat closing on the words. Tears threatened and she blinked rapidly to dispel them. She took a drink of the whisky, grateful for the burn as it went down. She wanted to feel something other than the tears stinging her nose, her eyes. She had told Free she loved him. But what if–what if it wasn’t good enough?
Levi offered her a half grin behind his beard. He extended his hand to her and she hesitated for a moment before taking it, setting her glass down. He pulled her into his side, dropping a kiss to the crown of her curly head. “I don’t think you have anything to worry about, sweetheart.”
Jodi laughed sadly. “You’re supposed to say that; you’re my dad.”
“Any man that is going to be scared off by an overnight stay in jail isn’t worth your time anyway. I don’t think Free is that skittish. That is not, however, a suggestion to find a habitual criminal,” Levi said gruffly and Jodi huffed a wry chuckle. “He did itforyou. Not because of you. You’ve known for a long time that he would do anything to protect you. I knew it. I didn’t necessarily like it, but I knew it was there.”
Jodi sighed, inhaling deeply the scent of pine, maple, andcedar that always seemed to cling to him, a souvenir from work every day. “Like I said, you’re supposed to say that because you’re my dad.”
