Can You Save Me - Chapter 6
Click here for Chapter 5 and previous chapters.
Title: Can You Save Me
Author: fallinangelz21
Fandom: 90210
Pairing: Liam/Annie
Rating: PG (I think, I few in a few grown up words, though. LOL)
Word Count: 4,565 (holy shit, seriously?)
Author's Note: Damn. Clearly this chapter got wordy. I knew it got talky, but I guess I didn't realize how wordy. Eh. Oh well, hopefully it's worth it. Thanks for the feedback and enjoy!
ETA: Thank you isisizabel for pointing out that I need to pay more attention to my character's last names. LOL
Chapter 6
With only a few minutes to spare, Liam turned off the busy street into the shade of a covered parking enclosure. The tires on the Cadillac Escalade squealed in protest at the tight corner and he cursed his step dad once again for leaving the state with his keys. He might have been on time if he hadn’t been forced to wait for his mom to return from a late lunch with friends so he could borrow her stupid car.
As he looked for a parking spot in the row closest to the building he spotted Annie. Clad in a bright red summer dress that hit just above her knee and left her arms bare, she stood out amidst the monotone suits of the business people speed walking up and down the sidewalk. A spot opened up close to the main doors and he grabbed it, throwing the huge SUV into park and killing the engine.
Annie was on her phone and he caught part of her conversation as he climbed out of the vehicle. “Yes, mom, I promise. I’m at the lawyer’s office right now,” she spotted him as he approached and waved, frowning at his current mode of transportation for a minute before rolling her eyes at something Debbie said. “Okay, I get that you don’t trust me right now, but you Googled the mileage. You can check up on me when I get home…No, mom, it’s fine. Liam’s here. I’ve gotta go…Hi.”
“Hey,” he nodded. With effort he managed to keep his gaze from wandering over her and lingering in a very non ‘just friends’ way. “You’re mom still not thrilled about you being here?”
“It’s not here that’s the problem,” Annie sighed. “She’s actually impressed that I’m being so ‘civic minded’ as she put it. It’s the possible shirking of her duties as warden that’s giving her problems. She has a meeting so she had to let me drive. Did you get a new car?”
“What that? Not a chance,” he declared and shot a disgusted look over his shoulder at the ostentatious black Escalade. “It’s my mom’s. I hate that thing. It corners like a tank.”
“I figured,” she agreed with a smile. “That’s not really you.”
“Really,” he raised a brow, surprised and more than a little flattered that she’d formed an opinion. “So what is me?”
“Oh…I haven’t really given it much thought,” she blushed, and tried to play aloof as she turned on her heel to enter the building. Liam used his long stride to beat her to the door and held it open for her.
“Why don’t I believe you?” he wondered as she ducked under his arm and slipped inside.
“Because apparently I’m a really bad liar,” she shook her head ruefully. The lobby of the building was much darker and it took a moment for his eyes to adjust. When they did, he found Annie, arms crossed, appraising him from head to toe. “Fine. I don’t know anything about cars, but your GTO is just…you. A classic, jeans and t-shirt James Dean kinda car. That…what is that, an Escalade? It’s all high maintenance, movie star wannabe. It’s very Beverly Hills. And you’re so not L.A.”
“Says the girl who’s lived hear for two years.”
“Yeah, well that‘s a whole year longer than you,” she argued, blushing prettily once again. She was adorable when she was flustered. “You’re just more like the guys back in Kansas. And before you even make some Wizard of Oz joke, I meant that as a compliment.”
“Alright,” he laughed, letting her off the hook for the moment. “You’re right, though. I feel like a tool driving that, but I thought taking my car when mom knows I don’t have the keys would be like revealing state secrets or something.”
“Smart boy,” she agreed, her smile freezing slowly as the small talk ran its course, leaving them with nothing to discuss but the reason they were both standing in the lobby of a high powered law firm on a sunny summer afternoon. “So, I guess we should probably head upstairs, huh.”
“Right,” he nodded, keenly observing the obvious hesitance in the rigid set of her shoulders. “Look, Annie it’s not too late. I’ll understand if you want to back out of this.”
A spark of fire burst through the apprehension in her eyes. “Liam, I swear. If you try to talk me out of this one more time…I’m gonna think you want to get sent away from me.”
Now it was his turn to grow uneasy. Leaving her was the last thing he wanted to do, but rather than betray the lies he was letting her believe, he raised an eyebrow and deliberately pushed the button to call the elevator. When the door opened, he held out his hand to usher her in first. As she tossed him look and just as deliberately flounced in, he caught himself reaching out to touch her. A simple gesture, his hand on her lower back, something he’d probably done before without a second thought. Now, however, he closed his hand into a fist and swallowed. Just friends, he thought.
Liam’s lawyer - or rather a lawyer employed by the firm who represented his step dad’s business - had an office on the 10th floor. Although he hadn‘t made it to nearly enough meetings to satisfy his attorney, the receptionist knew him by sight and insisted on addressing him formally. The unobtrusive chime of the elevator announced their arrival and the middle aged woman behind the front desk zeroed in on him like an eagle on its prey.
“You’re late, Mr. Court," she admonished before returning her attention to the computer screen in front of her.
“Yeah, I know,” he admitted, eyeing the brass finished clock above her desk. “Sorry.”
“Ms. Simmons has a very full plate these days. You’d do well to respect her time.”
“I know, Mrs. Adams,” he agreed with a subservient nod a the older woman as she turned away and addressed a phone, tapping a white speed dial button with a perfectly manicured finger. Leaning his forearms on the high edge of the desk, he dipped his head and murmured to Annie. “I get the same lecture every time I come in.”
“Hmmm. Maybe you should try to be on time once in awhile,” she whispered back with a wink.
“Ooo, touché,” he grimaced, holding a hand to his heart for a moment, then shaking his head.
“Ms. Simmons is ready for you,” Mrs. Adams announced, dismissing them with a gesture down a long hallway to the left of her desk.
“You ready?” he asked, studying her for signs of second guessing and willing to give her every opportunity to change her mind. Annie smiled brightly and even though he could tell it was forced, he nodded and this time led the way.
~*~
Amy Simmons was a junior attorney at the firm, but she took her job seriously. Liam studied her as she listened carefully to Annie’s story. California blond hair pulled back in a severe bun at the nape of her neck, boring black business suit that screamed Take Me Seriously and reading glasses she normally wore at the tip of her nose. They camouflaged her age, but if he had to guess he’d put her in her early thirties. If he hadn’t seen her in action already he would have suspected his step father of somehow trying to sabotage him by making the firm assign a rookie, but Amy knew what she was doing.
Eventually, he ran out of keen observations regarding his attorney. The conference room itself was sparsely furnished, so he had little option but to return his focus to Annie. Bracing himself, he tried to sit still as she reached the part in the story where Jasper started to blackmail her. Hearing it once was bad enough, twice made him wish for another shot at the guy. So far, she hadn’t given away how nervous she was, but Liam knew the signs. The way she continuously tucked her hair behind her ear and bit her lip. If Amy hadn’t been so concerned with taking notes, she probably would have noticed the way Annie’s hands shook as she reached for the water glass.
Just as Annie was about to dive in to the stalking and subsequent suicide attempt, Amy stopped her. “Before you continue, I have a few questions.”
“Um…okay,” Annie nodded, clearly caught off guard, but trying not to show it. Liam shifted in his chair.
“You stated that Jasper was a drug dealer and pushed a friend of yours down a flight of stairs to protect that secret,” Amy read from her notes and looked at her sharply over the rims of her glasses. “Did you witness this?”
“No…not personally.”
She made a note on the yellow legal pad. “You said Jasper blackmailed you to keep you from breaking up with him. What did he have on you?”
“Oh, I-I thought I explained…Sorry,” Annie stammered and wrapped both hands around the water glass. “He said if I didn’t stay with him he’d tell everybody about the hit and run I was involved in last spring.”
“The hit and run that left a man in a coma for three days before he died,” Amy supplied formally and businesslike, taking a few more notes. Annie flinched and nodded, dropping her gaze to the table. Liam shifted in his seat, his jaw clenched. “Now, what led you to put a stop to the blackmail?”
Annie glanced at him and he offered her a small nod of encouragement. “I told you. I didn’t want to pretend anymore.”
The lawyer looked up expectantly and Annie’s squirmed under the scrutinizing gaze. When she didn’t offer anything else, Amy sighed and dropped her pen on the yellow legal pad. “That’s it?”
Liam tensed and eyed the lawyer warily. Annie swallowed. “What do you mean?”
“You couldn’t pretend anymore,” she quoted with obvious skepticism. “After months of keeping secrets and agreeing to blackmail you just one day woke up and couldn’t take it anymore? I don’t buy that.”
“It’s what happened,” Annie insisted in a small voice, staring at her hands.
“This is a waste of time,” Amy decided, reaching to gather her things.
Annie lifted head, stricken. “What?”
“I need to devote my energy to building a case for my client, not wading through a bunch of half truths from a witness who claims she wants to help him, but not at the expense of her secrets,” she explained matter-of-factly, but the crestfallen expression on Annie’s face set Liam off.
“Hey, why don’t you give her a break. Annie doesn’t have to be here.”
“And she shouldn’t be until she’s ready to give me full disclosure.”
“What the hell are you even talking about?” he demanded, clenching his fists and leaning toward his attorney. With effort he managed to keep his voice down. “She told you why she ended things with Jasper.”
“And I think there’s more to it.”
“He wanted me to have sex with him,” Annie stated quietly, her cheeks flaming as red as her dress. Liam’s jaw dropped as he turned to stare at her. For a moment he was at a loss for words, but eventually he managed to sputter one single syllable.
“What?”
“You heard me,” she said quietly, wrapping her arms tightly around her torso.
“Jasper tried to blackmail you for sex?” he asked, shocked beyond tact. Now he really wanted another shot at the bastard. This time he’d break more than his nose.
“Did you?” the lawyer inquired.
“Seriously, Amy, what the hell!” Liam cried.
“No, I didn’t,” Annie promised through clenched teeth. Liam’s hands were curled into fists so tight he could feel his fingernails digging into his palm. His pulse was racing, but the defiance in her voice kept him in check. Amy was getting to her, but she wouldn’t crack. “Once I found out the truth about him I never slept with him again.”
“That, I believe,” Amy stated with a grim smile and resumed her note taking. Annie held her head high, but she refused to look at him. “Now, did the stalking start immediately after that?”
“Not right away,” Annie continued after a shaky breath. Without interruption, she retold the story of Jasper’s stalking her, the suicide attempt and the truce she thought they’d reached. Liam had heard the story before, but now with the unbelievable truth he’d just learned, he could barely keep tabs on his temper. Beneath him the chair was about as comfortable as a pile of rocks and he couldn’t sit still. For a minute he pictured her in the courtroom, completely dwarfed by the oversized witness stand and judge’s bench. That glorified ambulance chaser passing as Jasper‘s attorney would get off on dragging her through the sordid details of the blackmail. Again, he shifted, this time propping his elbows on his knees and fought the urge to bring the interview to a stop. At the trial, she’d be in the same room with Jasper. The idea made his skin crawl.
“So, you didn’t actually see Jasper the night Liam’s boat was set on fire,” Amy said, the question implied.
“No,” Annie shook her head, calm and collected once again after being able to tell the second half of her story without interruption. “He must have stayed out of sight until we docked the boat and Liam drove me home.”
“Assuming that he started the fire during the half hour or so it took to drive from the marina to your residence?”
“Right.”
Something in the lawyer’s tone raised a red flag. Liam watched her warily and wasn’t at all shocked when she began poking holes in Annie’s theory. “Let me see if I have these details straight. You and Jasper came to an agreement after his suicide attempt and the stalking stopped. You haven’t actually heard from him since, nor have you any proof he was even in the marina while you were there, let alone stewing in a jealous rage. Is that correct?”
“I…guess so,” Annie faltered and finally glanced Liam’s way again. “But it makes sense that -.”
“A simple yes or no is all that’s required.”
Annie sighed and admitted reluctantly. “Yes.”
“So your claims are actually unfounded accusations based on personal bias rather than proof.”
“No,” she challenged with steel in her eyes. “My claims are based on the fact that I know Jasper did this. I know what he’s capable of, I don’t have to see it.”
“Actually, you do. It’s called evidence. Something this defense is sorely lacking,” Amy sighed and took off her glasses, tossing them on the yellow legal pad. “Okay, let me tell you what I know. I know the law. I know that despite Liam thinking I’m a cold-hearted bitch who’s grilling his friend too hard, I’ve actually gone easy on you. I know that on cross-examination, Jasper’s attorney would eat you alive. I know that although I believe your story, without proof to back it up opposing counsel could just use it to bury Liam even deeper.”
Annie visibly paled and Liam looked incredulously at his attorney. “What does that mean?”
“Jasper’s attorney is as sleazy as they come, but he’s smart,” she explained, turning her intimidating attention on him. “You’ve got a record filled with fights, delinquent behavior, disrupting the peace, drugs…need I go on?”
He glared at her.
“I thought so,” she replied and pointed to Annie. “Your star character witness recently confessed to drunk driving and a hit and run that killed a man. Pair that with the fact that you haven’t been able to sit still since this interview started and every time I asked her something marginally uncomfortable you jumped down my throat and you‘re giving Jasper‘s attorney the perfect opportunity. He‘ll lay into Annie until you can‘t control your temper any more and you‘ll end up in contempt of court. By the end of cross, he’ll paint you two as Beverly Hills’ answer to Bonnie and Clyde, maligning his client just to deflect attention from your own actions. Speaking of which, are you two sleeping together?”
Speechless, Liam could only slump back in the chair and shake his head. Annie blushed two shades redder than her dress this time. “No. What does that have to do with anything?”
“Absolutely nothing, but I can guarantee Jasper’s attorney will bring it up, so you better figure out a way to answer the question without looking like you’ve been caught cheating on the SAT’s.”
Annie nodded, biting her lip and staring at the ceiling. Liam saw how her eyes sparkled, she was fighting tears. Silently, he cursed Amy as well as himself. He never would have guessed that Annie’s testimony could be so damning, but he should have trusted his instinct and fought harder to talk her out of it. There was absolutely no reason she should be going through this. Amy had pushed her right back into the self-loathing and guilt she’d only recently shaken off. All because she wanted to help him.
“I, um…I need to go to the ladies’ room,” she murmured, her eyes downcast as she pushed the chair back from the table and made a hasty exit. Liam kept the urge to follow in check and waited until the door clicked shut behind her to turn on his attorney.
“What the hell was that?”
“Why in the world did I take this case?” Amy rolled her eyes and massaged her temples. “Liam, that was a reality check. I don’t think your little friend understands just how much trouble you’re in here.”
“So you thought the best way to make a point was humiliating her?” he demanded, standing so abruptly his chair rolled into the wall with a dull thud. In two long strides he was around the table and at the door.
“Where do you think you’re going?” Amy demanded, rising much more gracefully than he had. “We have more work to do.”
“No, we don’t,” he declared, pausing in the doorway. “I need to go find my friend and make sure she’s okay.”
“That’s very noble, but you should really focus on your own problems,” Amy remarked. Crossing her arms, she eyed him quizzically. “Do you have the slightest concept of how serious this is?”
“Oh, trust me. I do.”
“You know the judge isn’t going to give these past nine months of good behavior much credit,” she continued as if he hadn’t spoken. “Not when you blew your umpteenth chance to prove you don’t belong in a juvenile detention center. This isn’t some school yard fight, Liam. This is a kid with a broken nose and a concussion who spent three days in the hospital while you got off with a few bruised knuckles. A kid on crutches with a record as pure as the driven snow which, I don’t think I have to remind you, makes yours look that much dirtier.”
“You don’t have to and yet you insist,” he murmured, leaning against the doorframe with a nonchalance that belied the effect her words were actually having on him. At the moment he hated her, but he hated how right she was even more. “You can save the speech, okay? I know what my record looks like. I know how much trouble I’m in.”
“Then why don’t you act like it?” she cried, throwing her hands in the air and letting them fall to her sides with a slap. “Seriously, I understand Annie is your friend, but a good friend would understand that sometimes friendship has to come second to self preservation. What good are you to her if you’re sent away?”
Liam didn’t respond, picking at an imaginary flaw in the pristine oak doorframe. What could he say? That if he thought it would make any difference he would come in every day to build an unbreakable defense? That he’d give anything for this trial to be something other than a pointless stay of execution? Juvie or military school…what difference did it make, when win or lose, he was going to lose Annie anyway.
“I’ll set up another appointment with Mrs. Adams before I leave,” he promised and took off down the hall without a second glance.
The reception area was empty and silent, save for the constant clacking of Mrs. Adams’ keyboard. Liam barely slowed down as he passed her desk. “Is my friend still in the bathroom?”
The clacking paused. “I believe so, yes.”
“Thanks,” he replied, making a beeline for the ladies room.
“Wait. What are you doing?” the receptionist actually rose from her cushy leather chair and leaned on her desk. “You can’t go in there.”
“What? Go in where? I’m sorry, I can’t hear you,” Liam gestured in mock helplessness as he backed into the ladies room, holding her gaze and daring her to do anything about it. Immediately inside the heavy swinging door was a small and empty waiting area. To his left, a doorway presumably lead to the actually bathroom. Ornately decorated chairs and even a small couch flanked the biggest mirror he’d ever seen. Toiletries were arranged neatly on graceful wood table polished to such a high sheen he actually flinched at the glare. His confidence faltered slightly. Cautiously, he moved toward the doorway. The last thing he wanted to deal with was some uppity Beverly Hills divorcee screaming at him for entering the holy domain of the women’s restroom. The only thing he heard, however, was silence. The carpet of the waiting area gave way to expensive looking tile. Loitering near the break in the flooring he cleared his throat. “Annie? Are you, uh, still in here?”
For a moment, she didn’t respond. Then finally he heard a delicate sniff and what might be described as a laugh. To someone clinically depressed. “Did you seriously follow me into the women’s bathroom?”
“Yes. Yes, I did,” he replied, smiling a little in relief. Unconcerned now, he turned the corner and found Annie standing by the sinks looking at him in the mirror. “And I think Mrs. Adams might call security, so we probably shouldn’t hang out too long.”
“I’ll bet,” she returned his smile but her eyes were red and she was twisting a mascara smudged hand towel between her fingers.
His grin faltered. This was all his fault. “Annie…I’m so sorry. I had no idea Amy would attack you like that,” he joined her, leaning against the counter with his back to the mirror. Automatically, he reached out to touch her, but stopped himself just in time by crossing his arms. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” she waved a dismissive hand, but her voice was thick with tears recently shed. She picked at the towel. “She’s right anyway. I don’t know what I was thinking. I have no proof. Of anything. Not the drugs, the blackmail, the stalking. Nothing. I’m sorry I wasted her time.”
“I’m not. She’s billing my step dad by the hour,” he teased and nudged her gently with his elbow. Her small chuckle was more than enough reward.
“Well, then I’m sorry I wasted yours.”
“Being with you is never a waste of time,” he promised. With a glance around the room, he continued. “I mean, if nothing else I got to explore uncharted territory.”
“What, the ladies’ room?” she laughed, finally lifting her head enough to look him in the eye. He shrugged and grinned because she did. Rolling her eyes, she tossed the used towel into a small basket under the sink and looped her hand around the crook of his arm, tugging him toward the exit. “Come on. Let’s get out of here before Mrs. Adams has you arrested.”
The receptionist glared at him when they exited, so he flashed her a grin and waved. Annie elbowed him lightly in the ribs and shot him a look of disapproval, but a smile danced in her eyes. Once again being with her felt natural and normal and he was so relieved he barely noticed the prick of disappointment when she dropped her hand and put some space between them in the elevator.
“Liam…are you really as okay with all this as you seem?” she asked after a silent ride down to the ground floor.
Frowning, he used the excuse of holding the door for her again, to turn around and look at her. “Okay with what?”
“The charges against you, the trial, being sent away if you’re found guilty,” she listed the threats hanging over his head as they approached the Vue she shared with Dixon. Reaching the car, she stopped and looked at him full on for the first time since she’d run out of the conference room. “I mean, I don’t expect you to be a basket case like I was, but…your, like, really zen about this. Is that real or some kind of show you think you have to keep up?”
Liam leaned against the car, considering how honest he wanted to be. In truth the trial was more of a blessing than a curse, an inconvenience keeping him in Beverly Hills, with her. Even if it was on borrowed time and he’d purposely sabotaged any chance of a relationship with her, he considered the whole ordeal a gift.
“I‘m used to being in trouble,” he said, resisting the urge to tuck a stray lock of hair that blew across her face back behind her ear. This explanation wasn’t the truth, but it also wasn’t lie. His world was rapidly becoming little more than a series of half truths and near confessions. “I don’t know, it’s almost easier that way. I don’t have to be waiting for the other shoe to drop.”
Annie eyed him skeptically for a moment before she nodded her head in acceptance. “Well, this is gonna sound awful, but I’m kinda glad you had all the experience so you could hold my hand through this. Not just today, but the past few months. I don’t know what I would have done without you.”
“Anytime,” he said sincerely, while his heart broke knowing he wouldn’t be able to keep that promise.
Annie smiled a little shyly and started to maneuver past him to unlock the door. The car parked next to her was close, leaving little room to move. Even though Liam tried to give her enough space, she still brushed against him, the warm bare skin of her arm pressed against his chest and stomach. The scent of her perfume or shampoo filled his senses and he closed his eyes. At that moment he would have traded just about anything to have the right to wrap his arms around her and hold her. No wonder he’d so rarely done the right thing. It was too damn hard.
“Think you can get away tonight?” she asked once she’d slid into the driver’s seat.
“I’ll be there,” he promised, with a grin and watched her pull carefully out of the parking enclosure and disappear around the corner. As soon as taillights faded, his face fell. Scowling, he dug in his pocket for the keys to the Escalade and marveled at how incredibly wrong she was. He wasn’t okay with this, any of it. Not okay at all.
Title: Can You Save Me
Author: fallinangelz21
Fandom: 90210
Pairing: Liam/Annie
Rating: PG (I think, I few in a few grown up words, though. LOL)
Word Count: 4,565 (holy shit, seriously?)
Author's Note: Damn. Clearly this chapter got wordy. I knew it got talky, but I guess I didn't realize how wordy. Eh. Oh well, hopefully it's worth it. Thanks for the feedback and enjoy!
ETA: Thank you isisizabel for pointing out that I need to pay more attention to my character's last names. LOL
Chapter 6
With only a few minutes to spare, Liam turned off the busy street into the shade of a covered parking enclosure. The tires on the Cadillac Escalade squealed in protest at the tight corner and he cursed his step dad once again for leaving the state with his keys. He might have been on time if he hadn’t been forced to wait for his mom to return from a late lunch with friends so he could borrow her stupid car.
As he looked for a parking spot in the row closest to the building he spotted Annie. Clad in a bright red summer dress that hit just above her knee and left her arms bare, she stood out amidst the monotone suits of the business people speed walking up and down the sidewalk. A spot opened up close to the main doors and he grabbed it, throwing the huge SUV into park and killing the engine.
Annie was on her phone and he caught part of her conversation as he climbed out of the vehicle. “Yes, mom, I promise. I’m at the lawyer’s office right now,” she spotted him as he approached and waved, frowning at his current mode of transportation for a minute before rolling her eyes at something Debbie said. “Okay, I get that you don’t trust me right now, but you Googled the mileage. You can check up on me when I get home…No, mom, it’s fine. Liam’s here. I’ve gotta go…Hi.”
“Hey,” he nodded. With effort he managed to keep his gaze from wandering over her and lingering in a very non ‘just friends’ way. “You’re mom still not thrilled about you being here?”
“It’s not here that’s the problem,” Annie sighed. “She’s actually impressed that I’m being so ‘civic minded’ as she put it. It’s the possible shirking of her duties as warden that’s giving her problems. She has a meeting so she had to let me drive. Did you get a new car?”
“What that? Not a chance,” he declared and shot a disgusted look over his shoulder at the ostentatious black Escalade. “It’s my mom’s. I hate that thing. It corners like a tank.”
“I figured,” she agreed with a smile. “That’s not really you.”
“Really,” he raised a brow, surprised and more than a little flattered that she’d formed an opinion. “So what is me?”
“Oh…I haven’t really given it much thought,” she blushed, and tried to play aloof as she turned on her heel to enter the building. Liam used his long stride to beat her to the door and held it open for her.
“Why don’t I believe you?” he wondered as she ducked under his arm and slipped inside.
“Because apparently I’m a really bad liar,” she shook her head ruefully. The lobby of the building was much darker and it took a moment for his eyes to adjust. When they did, he found Annie, arms crossed, appraising him from head to toe. “Fine. I don’t know anything about cars, but your GTO is just…you. A classic, jeans and t-shirt James Dean kinda car. That…what is that, an Escalade? It’s all high maintenance, movie star wannabe. It’s very Beverly Hills. And you’re so not L.A.”
“Says the girl who’s lived hear for two years.”
“Yeah, well that‘s a whole year longer than you,” she argued, blushing prettily once again. She was adorable when she was flustered. “You’re just more like the guys back in Kansas. And before you even make some Wizard of Oz joke, I meant that as a compliment.”
“Alright,” he laughed, letting her off the hook for the moment. “You’re right, though. I feel like a tool driving that, but I thought taking my car when mom knows I don’t have the keys would be like revealing state secrets or something.”
“Smart boy,” she agreed, her smile freezing slowly as the small talk ran its course, leaving them with nothing to discuss but the reason they were both standing in the lobby of a high powered law firm on a sunny summer afternoon. “So, I guess we should probably head upstairs, huh.”
“Right,” he nodded, keenly observing the obvious hesitance in the rigid set of her shoulders. “Look, Annie it’s not too late. I’ll understand if you want to back out of this.”
A spark of fire burst through the apprehension in her eyes. “Liam, I swear. If you try to talk me out of this one more time…I’m gonna think you want to get sent away from me.”
Now it was his turn to grow uneasy. Leaving her was the last thing he wanted to do, but rather than betray the lies he was letting her believe, he raised an eyebrow and deliberately pushed the button to call the elevator. When the door opened, he held out his hand to usher her in first. As she tossed him look and just as deliberately flounced in, he caught himself reaching out to touch her. A simple gesture, his hand on her lower back, something he’d probably done before without a second thought. Now, however, he closed his hand into a fist and swallowed. Just friends, he thought.
Liam’s lawyer - or rather a lawyer employed by the firm who represented his step dad’s business - had an office on the 10th floor. Although he hadn‘t made it to nearly enough meetings to satisfy his attorney, the receptionist knew him by sight and insisted on addressing him formally. The unobtrusive chime of the elevator announced their arrival and the middle aged woman behind the front desk zeroed in on him like an eagle on its prey.
“You’re late, Mr. Court," she admonished before returning her attention to the computer screen in front of her.
“Yeah, I know,” he admitted, eyeing the brass finished clock above her desk. “Sorry.”
“Ms. Simmons has a very full plate these days. You’d do well to respect her time.”
“I know, Mrs. Adams,” he agreed with a subservient nod a the older woman as she turned away and addressed a phone, tapping a white speed dial button with a perfectly manicured finger. Leaning his forearms on the high edge of the desk, he dipped his head and murmured to Annie. “I get the same lecture every time I come in.”
“Hmmm. Maybe you should try to be on time once in awhile,” she whispered back with a wink.
“Ooo, touché,” he grimaced, holding a hand to his heart for a moment, then shaking his head.
“Ms. Simmons is ready for you,” Mrs. Adams announced, dismissing them with a gesture down a long hallway to the left of her desk.
“You ready?” he asked, studying her for signs of second guessing and willing to give her every opportunity to change her mind. Annie smiled brightly and even though he could tell it was forced, he nodded and this time led the way.
~*~
Amy Simmons was a junior attorney at the firm, but she took her job seriously. Liam studied her as she listened carefully to Annie’s story. California blond hair pulled back in a severe bun at the nape of her neck, boring black business suit that screamed Take Me Seriously and reading glasses she normally wore at the tip of her nose. They camouflaged her age, but if he had to guess he’d put her in her early thirties. If he hadn’t seen her in action already he would have suspected his step father of somehow trying to sabotage him by making the firm assign a rookie, but Amy knew what she was doing.
Eventually, he ran out of keen observations regarding his attorney. The conference room itself was sparsely furnished, so he had little option but to return his focus to Annie. Bracing himself, he tried to sit still as she reached the part in the story where Jasper started to blackmail her. Hearing it once was bad enough, twice made him wish for another shot at the guy. So far, she hadn’t given away how nervous she was, but Liam knew the signs. The way she continuously tucked her hair behind her ear and bit her lip. If Amy hadn’t been so concerned with taking notes, she probably would have noticed the way Annie’s hands shook as she reached for the water glass.
Just as Annie was about to dive in to the stalking and subsequent suicide attempt, Amy stopped her. “Before you continue, I have a few questions.”
“Um…okay,” Annie nodded, clearly caught off guard, but trying not to show it. Liam shifted in his chair.
“You stated that Jasper was a drug dealer and pushed a friend of yours down a flight of stairs to protect that secret,” Amy read from her notes and looked at her sharply over the rims of her glasses. “Did you witness this?”
“No…not personally.”
She made a note on the yellow legal pad. “You said Jasper blackmailed you to keep you from breaking up with him. What did he have on you?”
“Oh, I-I thought I explained…Sorry,” Annie stammered and wrapped both hands around the water glass. “He said if I didn’t stay with him he’d tell everybody about the hit and run I was involved in last spring.”
“The hit and run that left a man in a coma for three days before he died,” Amy supplied formally and businesslike, taking a few more notes. Annie flinched and nodded, dropping her gaze to the table. Liam shifted in his seat, his jaw clenched. “Now, what led you to put a stop to the blackmail?”
Annie glanced at him and he offered her a small nod of encouragement. “I told you. I didn’t want to pretend anymore.”
The lawyer looked up expectantly and Annie’s squirmed under the scrutinizing gaze. When she didn’t offer anything else, Amy sighed and dropped her pen on the yellow legal pad. “That’s it?”
Liam tensed and eyed the lawyer warily. Annie swallowed. “What do you mean?”
“You couldn’t pretend anymore,” she quoted with obvious skepticism. “After months of keeping secrets and agreeing to blackmail you just one day woke up and couldn’t take it anymore? I don’t buy that.”
“It’s what happened,” Annie insisted in a small voice, staring at her hands.
“This is a waste of time,” Amy decided, reaching to gather her things.
Annie lifted head, stricken. “What?”
“I need to devote my energy to building a case for my client, not wading through a bunch of half truths from a witness who claims she wants to help him, but not at the expense of her secrets,” she explained matter-of-factly, but the crestfallen expression on Annie’s face set Liam off.
“Hey, why don’t you give her a break. Annie doesn’t have to be here.”
“And she shouldn’t be until she’s ready to give me full disclosure.”
“What the hell are you even talking about?” he demanded, clenching his fists and leaning toward his attorney. With effort he managed to keep his voice down. “She told you why she ended things with Jasper.”
“And I think there’s more to it.”
“He wanted me to have sex with him,” Annie stated quietly, her cheeks flaming as red as her dress. Liam’s jaw dropped as he turned to stare at her. For a moment he was at a loss for words, but eventually he managed to sputter one single syllable.
“What?”
“You heard me,” she said quietly, wrapping her arms tightly around her torso.
“Jasper tried to blackmail you for sex?” he asked, shocked beyond tact. Now he really wanted another shot at the bastard. This time he’d break more than his nose.
“Did you?” the lawyer inquired.
“Seriously, Amy, what the hell!” Liam cried.
“No, I didn’t,” Annie promised through clenched teeth. Liam’s hands were curled into fists so tight he could feel his fingernails digging into his palm. His pulse was racing, but the defiance in her voice kept him in check. Amy was getting to her, but she wouldn’t crack. “Once I found out the truth about him I never slept with him again.”
“That, I believe,” Amy stated with a grim smile and resumed her note taking. Annie held her head high, but she refused to look at him. “Now, did the stalking start immediately after that?”
“Not right away,” Annie continued after a shaky breath. Without interruption, she retold the story of Jasper’s stalking her, the suicide attempt and the truce she thought they’d reached. Liam had heard the story before, but now with the unbelievable truth he’d just learned, he could barely keep tabs on his temper. Beneath him the chair was about as comfortable as a pile of rocks and he couldn’t sit still. For a minute he pictured her in the courtroom, completely dwarfed by the oversized witness stand and judge’s bench. That glorified ambulance chaser passing as Jasper‘s attorney would get off on dragging her through the sordid details of the blackmail. Again, he shifted, this time propping his elbows on his knees and fought the urge to bring the interview to a stop. At the trial, she’d be in the same room with Jasper. The idea made his skin crawl.
“So, you didn’t actually see Jasper the night Liam’s boat was set on fire,” Amy said, the question implied.
“No,” Annie shook her head, calm and collected once again after being able to tell the second half of her story without interruption. “He must have stayed out of sight until we docked the boat and Liam drove me home.”
“Assuming that he started the fire during the half hour or so it took to drive from the marina to your residence?”
“Right.”
Something in the lawyer’s tone raised a red flag. Liam watched her warily and wasn’t at all shocked when she began poking holes in Annie’s theory. “Let me see if I have these details straight. You and Jasper came to an agreement after his suicide attempt and the stalking stopped. You haven’t actually heard from him since, nor have you any proof he was even in the marina while you were there, let alone stewing in a jealous rage. Is that correct?”
“I…guess so,” Annie faltered and finally glanced Liam’s way again. “But it makes sense that -.”
“A simple yes or no is all that’s required.”
Annie sighed and admitted reluctantly. “Yes.”
“So your claims are actually unfounded accusations based on personal bias rather than proof.”
“No,” she challenged with steel in her eyes. “My claims are based on the fact that I know Jasper did this. I know what he’s capable of, I don’t have to see it.”
“Actually, you do. It’s called evidence. Something this defense is sorely lacking,” Amy sighed and took off her glasses, tossing them on the yellow legal pad. “Okay, let me tell you what I know. I know the law. I know that despite Liam thinking I’m a cold-hearted bitch who’s grilling his friend too hard, I’ve actually gone easy on you. I know that on cross-examination, Jasper’s attorney would eat you alive. I know that although I believe your story, without proof to back it up opposing counsel could just use it to bury Liam even deeper.”
Annie visibly paled and Liam looked incredulously at his attorney. “What does that mean?”
“Jasper’s attorney is as sleazy as they come, but he’s smart,” she explained, turning her intimidating attention on him. “You’ve got a record filled with fights, delinquent behavior, disrupting the peace, drugs…need I go on?”
He glared at her.
“I thought so,” she replied and pointed to Annie. “Your star character witness recently confessed to drunk driving and a hit and run that killed a man. Pair that with the fact that you haven’t been able to sit still since this interview started and every time I asked her something marginally uncomfortable you jumped down my throat and you‘re giving Jasper‘s attorney the perfect opportunity. He‘ll lay into Annie until you can‘t control your temper any more and you‘ll end up in contempt of court. By the end of cross, he’ll paint you two as Beverly Hills’ answer to Bonnie and Clyde, maligning his client just to deflect attention from your own actions. Speaking of which, are you two sleeping together?”
Speechless, Liam could only slump back in the chair and shake his head. Annie blushed two shades redder than her dress this time. “No. What does that have to do with anything?”
“Absolutely nothing, but I can guarantee Jasper’s attorney will bring it up, so you better figure out a way to answer the question without looking like you’ve been caught cheating on the SAT’s.”
Annie nodded, biting her lip and staring at the ceiling. Liam saw how her eyes sparkled, she was fighting tears. Silently, he cursed Amy as well as himself. He never would have guessed that Annie’s testimony could be so damning, but he should have trusted his instinct and fought harder to talk her out of it. There was absolutely no reason she should be going through this. Amy had pushed her right back into the self-loathing and guilt she’d only recently shaken off. All because she wanted to help him.
“I, um…I need to go to the ladies’ room,” she murmured, her eyes downcast as she pushed the chair back from the table and made a hasty exit. Liam kept the urge to follow in check and waited until the door clicked shut behind her to turn on his attorney.
“What the hell was that?”
“Why in the world did I take this case?” Amy rolled her eyes and massaged her temples. “Liam, that was a reality check. I don’t think your little friend understands just how much trouble you’re in here.”
“So you thought the best way to make a point was humiliating her?” he demanded, standing so abruptly his chair rolled into the wall with a dull thud. In two long strides he was around the table and at the door.
“Where do you think you’re going?” Amy demanded, rising much more gracefully than he had. “We have more work to do.”
“No, we don’t,” he declared, pausing in the doorway. “I need to go find my friend and make sure she’s okay.”
“That’s very noble, but you should really focus on your own problems,” Amy remarked. Crossing her arms, she eyed him quizzically. “Do you have the slightest concept of how serious this is?”
“Oh, trust me. I do.”
“You know the judge isn’t going to give these past nine months of good behavior much credit,” she continued as if he hadn’t spoken. “Not when you blew your umpteenth chance to prove you don’t belong in a juvenile detention center. This isn’t some school yard fight, Liam. This is a kid with a broken nose and a concussion who spent three days in the hospital while you got off with a few bruised knuckles. A kid on crutches with a record as pure as the driven snow which, I don’t think I have to remind you, makes yours look that much dirtier.”
“You don’t have to and yet you insist,” he murmured, leaning against the doorframe with a nonchalance that belied the effect her words were actually having on him. At the moment he hated her, but he hated how right she was even more. “You can save the speech, okay? I know what my record looks like. I know how much trouble I’m in.”
“Then why don’t you act like it?” she cried, throwing her hands in the air and letting them fall to her sides with a slap. “Seriously, I understand Annie is your friend, but a good friend would understand that sometimes friendship has to come second to self preservation. What good are you to her if you’re sent away?”
Liam didn’t respond, picking at an imaginary flaw in the pristine oak doorframe. What could he say? That if he thought it would make any difference he would come in every day to build an unbreakable defense? That he’d give anything for this trial to be something other than a pointless stay of execution? Juvie or military school…what difference did it make, when win or lose, he was going to lose Annie anyway.
“I’ll set up another appointment with Mrs. Adams before I leave,” he promised and took off down the hall without a second glance.
The reception area was empty and silent, save for the constant clacking of Mrs. Adams’ keyboard. Liam barely slowed down as he passed her desk. “Is my friend still in the bathroom?”
The clacking paused. “I believe so, yes.”
“Thanks,” he replied, making a beeline for the ladies room.
“Wait. What are you doing?” the receptionist actually rose from her cushy leather chair and leaned on her desk. “You can’t go in there.”
“What? Go in where? I’m sorry, I can’t hear you,” Liam gestured in mock helplessness as he backed into the ladies room, holding her gaze and daring her to do anything about it. Immediately inside the heavy swinging door was a small and empty waiting area. To his left, a doorway presumably lead to the actually bathroom. Ornately decorated chairs and even a small couch flanked the biggest mirror he’d ever seen. Toiletries were arranged neatly on graceful wood table polished to such a high sheen he actually flinched at the glare. His confidence faltered slightly. Cautiously, he moved toward the doorway. The last thing he wanted to deal with was some uppity Beverly Hills divorcee screaming at him for entering the holy domain of the women’s restroom. The only thing he heard, however, was silence. The carpet of the waiting area gave way to expensive looking tile. Loitering near the break in the flooring he cleared his throat. “Annie? Are you, uh, still in here?”
For a moment, she didn’t respond. Then finally he heard a delicate sniff and what might be described as a laugh. To someone clinically depressed. “Did you seriously follow me into the women’s bathroom?”
“Yes. Yes, I did,” he replied, smiling a little in relief. Unconcerned now, he turned the corner and found Annie standing by the sinks looking at him in the mirror. “And I think Mrs. Adams might call security, so we probably shouldn’t hang out too long.”
“I’ll bet,” she returned his smile but her eyes were red and she was twisting a mascara smudged hand towel between her fingers.
His grin faltered. This was all his fault. “Annie…I’m so sorry. I had no idea Amy would attack you like that,” he joined her, leaning against the counter with his back to the mirror. Automatically, he reached out to touch her, but stopped himself just in time by crossing his arms. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” she waved a dismissive hand, but her voice was thick with tears recently shed. She picked at the towel. “She’s right anyway. I don’t know what I was thinking. I have no proof. Of anything. Not the drugs, the blackmail, the stalking. Nothing. I’m sorry I wasted her time.”
“I’m not. She’s billing my step dad by the hour,” he teased and nudged her gently with his elbow. Her small chuckle was more than enough reward.
“Well, then I’m sorry I wasted yours.”
“Being with you is never a waste of time,” he promised. With a glance around the room, he continued. “I mean, if nothing else I got to explore uncharted territory.”
“What, the ladies’ room?” she laughed, finally lifting her head enough to look him in the eye. He shrugged and grinned because she did. Rolling her eyes, she tossed the used towel into a small basket under the sink and looped her hand around the crook of his arm, tugging him toward the exit. “Come on. Let’s get out of here before Mrs. Adams has you arrested.”
The receptionist glared at him when they exited, so he flashed her a grin and waved. Annie elbowed him lightly in the ribs and shot him a look of disapproval, but a smile danced in her eyes. Once again being with her felt natural and normal and he was so relieved he barely noticed the prick of disappointment when she dropped her hand and put some space between them in the elevator.
“Liam…are you really as okay with all this as you seem?” she asked after a silent ride down to the ground floor.
Frowning, he used the excuse of holding the door for her again, to turn around and look at her. “Okay with what?”
“The charges against you, the trial, being sent away if you’re found guilty,” she listed the threats hanging over his head as they approached the Vue she shared with Dixon. Reaching the car, she stopped and looked at him full on for the first time since she’d run out of the conference room. “I mean, I don’t expect you to be a basket case like I was, but…your, like, really zen about this. Is that real or some kind of show you think you have to keep up?”
Liam leaned against the car, considering how honest he wanted to be. In truth the trial was more of a blessing than a curse, an inconvenience keeping him in Beverly Hills, with her. Even if it was on borrowed time and he’d purposely sabotaged any chance of a relationship with her, he considered the whole ordeal a gift.
“I‘m used to being in trouble,” he said, resisting the urge to tuck a stray lock of hair that blew across her face back behind her ear. This explanation wasn’t the truth, but it also wasn’t lie. His world was rapidly becoming little more than a series of half truths and near confessions. “I don’t know, it’s almost easier that way. I don’t have to be waiting for the other shoe to drop.”
Annie eyed him skeptically for a moment before she nodded her head in acceptance. “Well, this is gonna sound awful, but I’m kinda glad you had all the experience so you could hold my hand through this. Not just today, but the past few months. I don’t know what I would have done without you.”
“Anytime,” he said sincerely, while his heart broke knowing he wouldn’t be able to keep that promise.
Annie smiled a little shyly and started to maneuver past him to unlock the door. The car parked next to her was close, leaving little room to move. Even though Liam tried to give her enough space, she still brushed against him, the warm bare skin of her arm pressed against his chest and stomach. The scent of her perfume or shampoo filled his senses and he closed his eyes. At that moment he would have traded just about anything to have the right to wrap his arms around her and hold her. No wonder he’d so rarely done the right thing. It was too damn hard.
“Think you can get away tonight?” she asked once she’d slid into the driver’s seat.
“I’ll be there,” he promised, with a grin and watched her pull carefully out of the parking enclosure and disappear around the corner. As soon as taillights faded, his face fell. Scowling, he dug in his pocket for the keys to the Escalade and marveled at how incredibly wrong she was. He wasn’t okay with this, any of it. Not okay at all.