Chapter 57

"So Leech is really dead?" asked Brendan.

"Yeah." Hope bit her lip. He was driving too fast. He always drove too fast.

"Can you slow down? The drugs have made my stomach woozy, and I don't want to vomit all over your manly muscle car."

He took his foot off the accelerator. "Your intern drugged you?"

"Yeah, to get me out of the courthouse."

"That fucking little prick." Brendan shifted and looked at her. "I never trusted him."

"Oh, come on. You barely knew him."

He laughed. "I didn't trust the sleaze ball."

She snorted. "Well, you are the only one. Most of the ADAs wanted to poach him off me. I should have suspected something was off when he volunteered to work with me."

"You aren't that bad."

She laughed and looked out of the window. "I am." But she felt different now. Despite the terrible betrayal by someone she'd thought of as a trusted colleague within the justice system, she felt lighter somehow.

"So, you and the asshole bodyguard, huh?" His knuckles stood out as his fists curled around the steering wheel.

She turned away to stare at the snowy horizon as the lightness faded. She didn't want to talk about Aaron with Brendan. What they had was special, and she wanted to guard it the same way Eloisa Fairchild had guarded the news about her son.

"It probably won't last." She squeezed her hands into fists. But she hoped it did.

Brendan grunted.

"I've spent all these years trying to atone for what happened to Danny and Paige." And she'd never gotten close. "I always thought that if I had the opportunity to confront Leech one-on-one that he'd tell me the truth." She shook her head. "He admitted to the other murders." Her eyelid twitched. "The ones where I defended him."

"Yeah, well, we all knew he was guilty." Brendan shot her a look that as plain as words blamed her for Danny's and Paige's deaths.

She swallowed.

"He's probably only after sex, you know." Brendan's gaze flicked over her form. "The Fed."

"Ha. Thank you, Brendan. I am aware of male foibles. However, as we've already had sex on multiple occasions, I don't think it's quite that simple."

Even though she'd tried to make it that simple.

The car swerved slightly.

"Slow down." She grabbed her stomach. She hadn't felt this kind of nausea since she'd been pregnant with Paige. She clutched herself. Jesus. The thought of having another child hit her like a sledgehammer.

The desire was so visceral she could almost taste it.

Would Aaron be interested in kids? She had no idea. She'd never imagined she'd reach a place where she'd even contemplate having another baby.

"Leech say anything else?"

She shook her head. "Not really. Cracked a few jokes that I'm sure he thought were witty. Colin was Richard Prince's illegitimate son."

"Jesus." Brendan shot her a look. "That was a brutal crime scene. You think the kid checked out the case file?"

She swallowed, thinking of all the files she'd kept in her office that he'd had access to. All the crime scene photos and autopsy reports. Richard Prince had died a slow, painful death. "I suspect he did." She shivered. "I need to call the DA and update him about Colin and check up on Judge Penton, but right now I don't have the energy." They were speeding toward the city limits. "Hey, can we grab a coffee or a hot chocolate? I haven't had a drink since this morning, and I skipped breakfast."

"Sure. Want food too?"

"Maybe some fries." It might help settle her stomach.

They pulled up to a fast-food joint, and he put in the order. She pulled out her wallet to pay but he insisted. She wondered where her cell phone was and felt strangely disconnected from the world without it.

They drove away again, and she nibbled on the fries and tentatively sipped the volcanically hot drink.

She put the cup into the cupholder.

"You're not serious about the guy, are you? I mean, I thought you were still stuck on Danny?"

She blinked repeatedly to clear the emotion that blurred her vision. God. He was so blunt. She should be used to it by now, but he always knew how to hurt her the most.

"I loved your brother with all my heart." But she'd finally found the strength, the courage, to feel, to live, to love again. "I think I might be ready to take a chance."

"It won't last, Hope."

Christ, if she was half as miserable as Brendan, it was no wonder no one had even asked her on a date in all these years.

She realized then how bad they'd been for one another. Each encouraging the other to wallow in failure and grief.

"Wanna go by the grave before I drop you home?" He looked hopeful at the idea.

She shook her head. "It's been a long day."

Today wasn't about the past. Not now that Leech was dead. Today was about the possibility of a future. And Aaron might not even be able to stay the night if the team were needed for another operation. At least he'd promised they could talk. Hopefully, he'd forgive her for pushing him away, and they could figure something out.

They pulled up outside her home. and it felt as if she'd been gone for days rather than hours.

"Are we still on for Sunday lunch tomorrow?"

Hope stared at Brendan in shock. After everything she'd been through this week, the fact he thought he and his mother's meal plans would rank as a high priority in her life was baffling.

"It's going to depend on how I feel in the morning." After either having sex all night or in the aftermath of the sorrow she was going to feel if Aaron had left.

"Ma is expecting?—"

"I know, Brendan." She clutched her forehead at the leaden weight of obligation hung around her neck. "I know. Give me a little breathing space here, okay? It's been a hell of a day."

She got out and took her cup and fries. Leaned down. "I'll call you in the morning."

She slammed the door before he could answer and headed up the steps to her front door. She searched her pocket for a key, but the door opened, and she found herself dragged inside by Aaron.

"How did you beat me home?"

Rather than saying anything, he took her cup and food from her hands and then led her into her neighbors' room that faced the street. He parted the curtains, and she saw Lewis Janelli dragging Brendan out of the vehicle and pushing him over the hood of the Charger before slapping cuffs on his wrists.

She whirled. "I don't understand?"

He led her back outside in time for her to hear Janelli reading Brendan his rights.

She strode toward him. "What's going on?"

"It's not what you think." Brendan shot her a look of anguish and her heart sank.

"What have you done, Brendan?"

"Have you got the balls to tell her, asshole?" Aaron asked from over her shoulder. "Or are you going to lie to her for the rest of your worthless life?"

"What do you mean?" Dread began to fill her. She'd thought it was all over.

"It was an accident." Brendan's expression was pleading.

"What was an accident?" She found herself taking a step back.

"Danny." He sobbed then. "Paige."

Every muscle in her body froze. "What are you talking about?"

Brendan hunched over. "He figured it out. Danny figured it out. Monroe…"

She frowned. "Pauly Monroe? What did Monroe do?"

Tears streamed down Brendan's face. "Monroe was going to confess to his priest what we did."

She covered her mouth and her voice got low. "What did you do, Brendan?"

He pursed his lips, but it was too late.

"You killed Monroe and sent me that email because you thought everyone was going to find out it was you that planted that evidence? So you set Monroe up to take the fall, didn't you?"

Brendan looked like a wounded animal.

She took a step forward as another unthinkable truth crashed into her. "Danny figured it out."

We have to talk.

Those four little words had haunted her for years. The thought that Danny had been angry with her when he'd died had nearly broken her. And he'd known. Brendan had known all along.

"It was an accident. I swear. I went over to talk to him because he said you two had had a big fight and the news reported the trial was over. Leech was released. We started talking about Pauly and the evidence and…he knew." Brendan started sobbing. "He always knew when I was lying. We started fighting, and I saw the letter opener on his desk and…it just happened. It just happened."

She started to crumple. Aaron put his arm around her waist to hold her up. Brendan's eyes narrowed.

"Paige?" Her voice broke. "What did you do to Paige!"

He flinched. "She came running in and saw everything. I thought she was at a playdate. She was supposed to be at a playdate!"

His anguish bounced off Hope like hail.

"She started screaming and I picked her up and tried to stop her from making all that noise while I figured out what to do about Danny, who was bleeding." He met her gaze then, beseeching her to understand. "And then, then, I realized I could pin it all on Leech or a copycat or someone who hated you for setting a serial killer free. And that's what you did, Hope?—"

"No." She shook with ice-cold fury. "You don't get to blame me for this. Not anymore. Don't you see? You did it. You did it all. You're the reason the case was tossed out and Leech was released. You're the reason Danny and Paige are dead." She sobbed. "All these years, I blamed myself, and you let me. You watched me. I tried to atone for Leech targeting them because I'd defended him, but it was always you. I never want to see you ever again, Brendan. I hope you finally understand that you murdered a detective you'd been friends with for years. You killed your brother who you claimed to love, and you killed a child who idolized you. I hope you rot in hell."

She stumbled, and Aaron swept her up in his arms and swung her away.