Someone either staying at the motel or someone close by heard an argument that night and called the police. When they arrived, they found Jolene standing over her mother’s body with blood all over her. Jolene swore she received a distressed phone call from her mother asking her to come to the motel, and that was the only reason she was there. Allegedly her mother was dead when she arrived. When they inspected her car, the police found rope that matched the rope used to tie her mother’s hands together.
The police insisted they looked further afield for suspects, but Marion’s notes detail that as far as she could work out, Jolene was their only real suspect. All clues pointed to her. Except for the old man who lived next door to Luke and Jolene at the time. He swore he saw Jolene get into her car that night at the time the coroner declared the murder took place. He was emphatic about this, but the prosecution ripped his testimony apart on the stand, showing that his eyesight was atrocious and there was no way he could be sure it was actually Jolene.
I lean back into my seat as I close the file again. Squeezing my eyes shut, I try to push the thoughts swarming in my head to the side. But I can’t.
What if Luke’s wife really is innocent?
What if Sean’s mother really should be home with him rather than rotting in that prison for a crime she didn’t commit?
What if a woman, whose only crime was bitchiness, is sitting alone in a prison cell because the world believes in her non-existent guilt?
I drop my head into my hands. The last thing I want to do is stir things up for Luke, but I know I can’t walk away from this. I need to at least research it some more.
If I were innocent of a crime I’d been convicted of, I’d want someone fighting for me.
28
Callie
“How the fuck did you pull this off?” Luke asks as he moves behind me and wraps his arms around my waist. Dropping a kiss on my collarbone, he adds, “And how did you know Sean would love a pirate party? I didn’t even know he was into pirates.”
I grin as I survey Sean and his friends walking the plank I set up with a round kiddie swimming pool filled with water and a sturdy piece of wood that we set up across the pool, balanced on each end with buckets. I woke up early and hit the shops to round up all the supplies I needed to make decorations and food for a perfect pirate themed party that any five-year-old boy would love. Thank goodness for Pinterest and all the printable files I found, because there’s no way I could have pulled any of this off without those.
Luckily, the party was scheduled for three o’clock, which meant I had most of the day to get everything ready. We made it just in time.
I place my hands over Luke’s. “I’ve got the skills, dude. I’ve got you and your kid covered.”
He nuzzles my neck and I suck in a breath. Luke’s scent is my favourite in the whole world, and right now, it’s causing all sorts of dirty thoughts in my mind. His lips on my skin are also causing havoc with my senses. This is totally not the right place for me to rip his clothes off, so I move out of his embrace and turn to face him. “You should not do that.”
His lips curl up at the ends. “That’s not what you’re usually begging for.”
I fix a mock glare on him. “Trust me, it’s not what I want to be begging for. You came home so exhausted this morning that I didn’t want to beg for anything then, so you owe me a raincheck for that.”
An expression moves across his face that I can’t quite pick. He reaches out to grip the bottom of my T-shirt and gently pulls it. His eyes hold mine. And he utters words that screw with any ability I have left to process things like a sane human. “I want you to move in with me and Sean.”
My heart speeds up and my body hums with happiness. But no words come because I’m all kinds of flustered and can’t form a sentence, let alone open my mouth and say it.
His voice deepens. “Callie.” So demanding. So freaking hot. Luke’s need for me turns me on so damn much. I practically live at his house already and spend most of my time in a turned-on, mind-scrambled state of bliss. Luke likes to have me close at all times and never hesitates with displays of affection. He’s always got his eyes, hands or lips on me. I’m fairly sure if he didn’t have a child in the house, I’d never escape him. Not that I want to escape him. Ever.
“I’d like that,” I say quietly.
He raises a brow. “Only like?”
My happiness bubbles up and I grin. Leaning close, I whisper so no one else can hear, “I’d fucking love to move in. Then I can have your cock whenever I want.”
As I lean away, his hand locks around my neck and he pulls me back. “Baby, that part of me is always available to you,” he whisper-growls.
Oh, good God.
He is too much.
I take a deep breath and press against his chest to give us some much-needed space. “Right, you need to go hang out with your child and I need to go inside and fix a vodka. Or two.”
He chuckles and jerks his chin towards the house. “Go. I’ll take this from here although Glenda seems to have these kids under control.”
Ugh.
She’s been a pain in my ass since she got here. But I’ve held my tongue and I can manage to hold it for a few more hours.