Page 44 of Accidentally Mine

Brent

I looked at the calendar in my Memory Key as I strode through the kitchen to the Keurig.

I checked the time. It was after eight.

We were running late. If we wanted to get some breakfast before going downtown to the courthouse for sentencing, we needed to move.

Glancing at my watch again, I walked up the stairs and into the bathroom with a mug of coffee for Rebecca. She was leaning over the sink, naked, carefully applying makeup to her pretty turquoise eyes in the mirror.

When she pulled the wand from her eye, I squeezed her side. She jumped, which made me jump. We were both a tangle of nerves.

“Oh, sorry,” she said, taking the coffee from me and sipping it. “Thanks.”

“Nervous?”

“A little.”

That was an understatement. She was wound up like a knot, and so was I. I gave her a dubious look and started to massage the tension out of her neck. She leaned into my hand and groaned.

She set the mug of coffee down and looked back in the mirror, her eyes meeting mine, a terrified expression on her face now. “Okay, a lot. I can’t stop thinking about it. What if—”

I placed one finger over her lips, quieting her. We’d agreed not to think of the what-ifs. They could drive a person crazy. “We need to concentrate on what is . We’re together. Even if the court system tears us apart later today, we’ll be together. I’m not going anywhere, I promise.”

She turned and looked up into my eyes, giving me a kiss on the cheek. “Right. Could you go look at the outfits I’m thinking about and let me know what you think is best?”

“Yeah.” I headed out of the room and spotted the three choices laid out on the king-size bed. It was clear she’d put a lot of thought into them. There was a schoolmarm ensemble, a great-grandmother ensemble, and a bag lady ensemble. I laughed. Poor girl.

It had been almost two months since Anthony and Malcolm Markin were arrested.

It had been clear, once her dad’s construction records were gone through that Steve had been the one transferring large sums of money out of the accounts.

We’d never know for sure since he was killed, but we even thought that Steve had set up the office to appear disorganized to dissuade Rebecca from even wanting to tackle the mess, leaving him with a way to cover his tracks.

Even with the GPS enforced ankle monitor, Rebecca could go anywhere in the city, but she’d spent most of the time at my house, even though she’d decided to keep her childhood home for now.

We’d found a way to christen all the rooms, multiple times.

I liked having her here when I came home from work, seeing which room she’d decided on.

Hardened criminal that she was, we’d even joked about my cuffing her to the bed.

Surprisingly, she’d been up for it. I’d tied her there with silk ties, though, instead.

Despite the looming trial, the last two months had been the best months of my life.

Her trial had gone as we’d expected. It had been a bench trial, no jury involved.

Evidence had been laid out, witnesses had testified.

Rebecca’s lawyer had convinced her to testify in her own defense, which allowed her to explain the hell she’d gone through trying to escape Anthony’s clutches.

There hadn’t been a dry eye in the courtroom.

Also as expected, she didn’t get off scot-free. She was convicted of a misdemeanor, a less serious charge than the one the prosecutor had originally been angling for, which would have definitely required prison time. Today, we would find out exactly what, if any, prison time she’d be doing.

I never said as much, but if I were the judge, I’d have thought she’d suffered enough.

I went into the closet and pulled out a red dress that hugged every one of her gorgeous curves and held it up for her.

“That one?” She shook her head wildly. “Oh, god no. I have to look pure, Brent. Innocent. Good.”

I wrapped my arms around her from behind, molding my hands over her breasts. “What you need to look like is you . The woman who is good, but also a million other things. Including capable of making mistakes, like the rest of us. The woman I’m in love with.”

She leaned into my touch as her nipples hardened. I knew we were late already, but my cock didn’t care. It pressed into the small of her back.

She whirled, stood on her tiptoes, and kissed me, a smile softening her tension-filled face. “I love you too.”

Then she reached for my cock. And we held each other prisoner, just a little longer.

W e skipped breakfast, and miraculously made it to the courthouse on time.

Claudia met us outside, hugging us both as we arrived.

She’d officially recovered from her concussion, though she couldn’t remember a lot of the incident.

When she’d told me her brain must have blocked it out, I’d only shrugged. “Hey, welcome to the club.”

Brains were funny things, for sure. The things they held onto, the things they protected us from.

The things they led us to.

Claudia might have thought it was just my brain playing tricks on me, when I’d thought a woman in a coffee shop must’ve been the woman from that night.

But I’d always believe that my brain, however fucked up it was, had led me to the woman I belonged with, by holding tight to the image of those turquoise eyes.

After the Markins were arrested and I took Rebecca home with me, I’d never had that dream again. I still had insomnia, and headaches, and needed my Key more often than not, but most of the time I was smiling my fucking head off and feeling like the luckiest bastard in the world.

I took Rebecca’s hand as we walked toward the courtroom. “Ready?” I asked her.

She nodded. “As I’ll ever be.”

“Remember,” I reminded her, squeezing her hand. “Whatever happens, it’ll be okay. We’ll make it through.”

Inside, Claudia took a seat next to Ernest and Marie.

Rebecca and I waved at them. I hadn’t seen Ernest in two weeks, ever since he’d tendered his resignation letter.

That was about the same time that Marie got out of rehab, once her doctors discovered that high blood pressure was the cause of her strokes, which could be easily maintained with the right medication, diet, and exercise… and a lot of sex.

Well, that was Marie’s addition, and when Rebecca had told me about it, she’d been mortified.

Ernest had moved into Marie’s home in South Boston, and from what I’d heard from Rebecca, they were deliriously happy.

They looked good together too, holding each other’s hands, leaning in to whisper in each other’s ears, like lovebirds.

I squeezed in beside Claudia and the couple as Rebecca met up with her lawyer and sat at the defendant’s table. Marie and Ernest whispered for another minute before Ernest leaned toward me. “How’s she doing?”

“Nervous. Really nervous.”

I watched her take a deep breath and clasp her hands in front of her. The judge entered from his chambers, and we all stood.

After everyone in the courtroom had taken a seat, the judge’s hard eyes fell on Rebecca. “Will the defendant please stand?”

She did, wobbling against the table.

“Rebecca Reece,” he said, his voice authoritative as he peered over the top of his glasses, “you’ve been found guilty of a serious misdemeanor.

What you did in leaving the scene of the crime is a very serious crime, under which you have been found guilty.

However, due to the circumstances which caused the accident and put you under tremendous stress, I believe that you had a good reason for fleeing.

So, under the authority given me by the state of Massachusetts, I hereby sentence you to two hundred and fifty hours of community service, and a $5,000 fine.

You will also have your driver’s license revoked for a period of six months. ”

I pumped my fist in my lap. No prison.

She looked back at me, astonished, like she couldn’t believe what was happening. It took a good ten seconds before a real smile broke out on her face. “Yes, Your Honor,” she said, her voice wavering. “Thank you.”

When the judge swung his gavel, Rebecca jumped from her place behind the table, hugged her attorney, then ran to us and hugged as all. Tears streamed down her face.

“I can’t believe it,” she said, her voice breaking. “I’m free.”

The relief that filled me had me blinking back tears. The nightmare was fully behind us.

Grinning, Claudia said, “So what are you going to do now, since you don’t have to worry about sticking around Boston?”

I suggested maybe going on a vacation or even just a long drive, but we didn’t talk seriously about it because Rebecca was led away to speak with her lawyer. Once the paperwork was finished, she’d have the ankle monitor removed.

An hour later, Rebecca emerged from the courthouse next to me, a free woman. There were a few members of the press there, and she answered their questions cautiously and graciously, smiling for the cameras.

But she was quiet as we got into the car and I started to drive home. “What’s bothering you?” I asked her, reaching for her hand, which was warm and clammy.

“I should just be happy, but I’m thinking about the Markins. Do you think they’ll ever get out?”

“No,” I said, squeezing her hand tight. “They’re in a world of trouble, and even the police or judges they bought can’t help them now. Kyle says they’ll never get out.”

“But if they do? If by some crazy stroke of luck, they’re freed, and they come after me? Because you know they will. They hate me. More than ever now.”

“If they did, which they won’t, I’ll keep you safe. And if we have to run, Rebecca, we’ll run together.”

She smiled at me. “I want to run, right now.” She pointed at her ankle, for the first time in weeks, free of the monitor. “Just for a little while. Have an adventure. Do you realize we’ve never been outside the city limits together?”

“An adventure, huh?” I thought for a minute, then navigated to the middle lane and took a U-turn. “I have an idea.”

It was a half-hour drive outside of the city.

Maybe not a relaxing island vacation, but a good start.

We could take baby steps, and this would work for our first foray out of the city together.

I got a little lost, trying to remember which highway led north—my fucked-up brain still called the shots sometimes—but as usual, Rebecca was there to gently help me find the way until I knew where I was.

There could be no better copilot. She was always patient when it came to my TBI.

Even if I did forget things, now and then, it wasn’t the end of the world.

The future was what mattered. And everything there looked bright.

As I drove into the parking lot of what looked from the outside like a giant warehouse, she raised her eyebrows. “What is this place?”

“Combat archery,” I said, pulling into a spot and cutting the engine. “An adventure, as you requested, Rebel. Have you ever shot a bow?”

She shook her head. “Never. Have you?”

I shrugged. “A few times.”

“Wait.” Realization dawned, lighting her eyes. “Liar. You went to MIT on an archery scholarship. Didn’t you?”

I smiled at her. “I might have. Possibly.”

“You did!” She smacked me on the shoulder, then gave me a doubtful look. “So…we’re going to celebrate my not going to prison by shooting each other with arrows?”

I shook my head. “First of all, the arrows are soft-tipped, so you won’t get hurt.

Secondly, we’re not going to shoot each other.

I want you on my team. Because all I’m ever going to do for the rest of your life is protect you.

I don’t need to flip a coin. You come first, Rebecca. Always, every day. Got it?”

She was sitting riveted, her eyes misting over with tears. Then she smiled, nodded, and reached for the door. “Then all right. Let’s kick some ass.”

I came around the front of the car, took her hand, and we went inside together.

It felt damn good to be free, with just the adventure of an ordinary life waiting for us. In my mind, nothing in this world could be better.