Page 37 of Axel (Reed Hawthorne Security #6)

Axel

Three months later

“Thank you for coming in, Mr. Charles.”

I take a seat in the DA’s office. I was called in to corroborate some evidence.

There’s a knock on the door. I turn and spot Stacy’s attorney.

“Oh, I thought we were meeting,” she says.

“We are,” DA Winters says. “Please have a seat.”

She sits and eyes me suspiciously.

“Ms. Tanner, this is Mr. Charles.”

I reach out and offer my hand. She shakes it.

“Now, Ms. Tanner sent in a copy of a motion to vacate Stacy Hawthorne’s murder conviction. Instead of responding to it, which would then make it part of the public record, I called you in here as a courtesy.”

“A courtesy?” Ms. Tanner asks, confused.

“Yes, we have your client on record admitting she was responsible for Mr. Hawthorne’s death. Furthermore, she’s also confessed to more to Mr. Charles here. I think you’ll want to listen to this.”

Winters then plays the recorded conversation between Stacy and me from the day I visited her at the prison. Apparently, she was unaware that conversations were recorded. Or she was so convinced she’d get out, she didn’t care.

After it finishes, I glance over at Ms. Tanner. All color has drained from her face.

Winters clasps his hands. “Now, if my office responds to some of your more colorful claims, we will be forced to reference this conversation and likely make it public. You and I both know, you won’t win your motion.”

Ms. Tanner runs her hand along her leg, smoothing her pants. “I’ll need to confer with my client, but I’ll likely file to have the motion dismissed.”

Winters smiles. “Yes, I believe that is what you will do. Please notify me once you have done so. You have three days before I respond to the motion.”

After Ms. Tanner leaves, Winters smiles.

“Thank you for getting her to say all of that. I knew she was guilty and that the podcast was bullshit.”

“Will your office put out a statement about this?”

“I don’t see why we need to. Once the defense dismisses its own motion, that should speak for itself. Unless, of course, that podcast guy continues to lie.”

“I don’t think he will. He has his own issues to deal with.”

The video of Peter and Savvy from the café went viral, and public opinion turned against Peter. Not to mention, the cartel is likely waiting for him to resurface.

Winters stands up. “Good.” He reaches out, and I shake his hand.

Instead of going home, I head toward Savvy’s office building. I need to see her. A block away, my phone rings. I don’t recognize the number.

“Hello?”

“Mr. Charles, don’t hang up.”

“Peter?”

“Yeah, I need your help.”

I can’t help it. I laugh.

“I’m serious,” he says. “The cartel is still after me, and I need protection.”

“I thought you were with Myers.”

Myers and Peter both disappeared around the same time.

Agents went to Myer’s apartment to arrest him and discovered his closet was empty, and his phone and passport were gone.

He also emptied his savings account. The FBI was able to track him to Spain, but then, they lost him.

Stevens thought Peter was with him. I wasn’t as sure, but it did seem possible.

“No, I’ve been hiding at a friend’s place. But I think they figured out where I am.”

“Huh, that sucks.”

“Come on, man. You provide protection, and I need it. You gotta help me.”

“If you need protection from the cartel, call up Mr. Anonymous. He’ll know what to do. ”

Peter groans. “I made him up. It was me with an altered voice.”

“Of course it was.”

“So, you’re gonna help me, right?”

“Nope. You want protection, call the police.” I end the call.

I guess Peter wasn’t with Myers. Which means Myers is still out there somewhere, free. If he ever returns to the United States, he’ll be arrested. I can only hope he comes back.

I pick up my pace and head into the building. Normally, I wouldn’t surprise Savvy at work like this, but it’s near the end of the day, and I really need to see her after everything that happened.

When the elevator doors open to her floor, I step off and spot her. She is smiling and finishing off a glass of champagne. That must mean the deal closed. She had been working on the largest commercial sale of her career.

She spots me and hands her glass to someone next to her. Then she runs toward me.

“I did it!” She jumps into my arms.

I catch her and swing her around.

“Congratulations! We need to celebrate!”

“Just what I was thinking. Wait, did someone call you? Is that why you’re here? You already knew?”

I shake my head. “No, I wanted to see you.” I want to tell her about Stacy, but not now.

“Okay, let me grab my things, and then we can head out. ”

Once we’re outside, I take her hand in mine. “What would you like to do?”

She grins. “I want to get a cake and a slice of pizza to go.”

“To go? You don’t want to go out to dinner?”

She shakes her head. “Nope. I want to celebrate with you at home.”

Home. I love how that sounds. Last month, she asked me to move into her place, and I agreed. It’s closer to work, although not by much. We decided to make my place a rental, and I have tenants moving in next week. My sister has been a bit skeptical, but fortunately, she keeps that to herself.

“What kind of cake?” I ask.

She turns and walks backward so she can face me. “A really big one!”

I laugh. She leads us to a cake shop that I’m surprised is still open. The smell inside is heavenly.

“They have my favorite here. It’s called a Brooklyn Blackout cake. It’s all chocolate. You’ll love it.”

She requests the cake, and I pay for it, despite her protests.

“I’ll probably eat the majority of it anyway,” I explain.

Her eyes widen. “You will not!”

I bend down and give her a quick kiss. “I almost forgot. Don’t get between Savvy and chocolate.”

She smiles. “That’s right.”

We grab pizza slices and head home. She tells me all about her day.

While it was stressful because the deal almost didn’t go through, it was invigorating, knowing she has come back.

There was a time she was worried she’d never get a client again.

Everyone seemed to be familiar with Peter’s podcast and what he said about her.

Fortunately, once the public heard Peter admit he’d do anything for money, public opinion toward Savvy and Reed shifted for the better.

“What’s wrong?” she asks as she touches the furrow of my brow.

“Nothing’s wrong. Actually, I have good news. Stacy’s attorney is going to have the motion to vacate dismissed. Everything Stacy said to me during the prison visit was recorded, and the DA played it for Stacy’s attorney. She’s going to rot in prison.”

I smile, but she isn’t smiling. “I know that sounds bad.”

“No, it sounds like relief. Hopefully, you’ll never have to hear from her again.”

“Hopefully. It doesn’t bring Hawthorne back, but at least now, she can’t continue to hurt everyone.” I pull her close. “Peter called me.”

“Peter? The podcaster?”

I nod.

“Is he with Myers?”

“No. He said he’s been hiding at a friend’s house. But the cartel found him. He asked me for protection.”

“And what did you say?”

“I told him to call the police if he wanted protection.”

She laughs. “You did not.”

“I did.”

Then her smile fades. “Do you think he’ll do more podcasts? ”

“No. I suspect he will be on the run for a while. The cartel doesn’t give up.”

Bad for him, but good for us. I hope to never see that man again.

“What are we doing tomorrow?” Savvy asks as she takes a bite of pizza.

“Whatever you want.”

“Anything?”

“You bought the cake. That makes you the boss for at least twenty-four hours.”

She laughs, kicks her feet up, and rests them on my lap. “Except you bought the cake, remember?”

“You picked it out. Are you really going to argue out of getting to choose what we do all day?”

“You’re right. I am the boss and I say we sleep in, binge bad TV, and finish that cake for breakfast.”

“Deal.”

And for the first time in what feels like forever, it finally feels like we’re free.