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Bass stumbled back and held up his hands. “No, I like her. This isn’t love.” Panic flowed through him. It didn’t help when Lia giggled.
“Oh, you’re so far gone. It’s okay, though, you’ll make it,” Lia assured him.
“We don’t need to stand here and talk about feelings. We need to help Ella,” Bass snapped.
This time Rafe and Lia both laughed, but they quickly covered it up when he glared at them. They moved to Rafe’s vehicle and climbed inside. It was clear that Bass was too rattled to drive. Besides, Rafe was good at weaving in and out of traffic and they’d already wasted too much time. He refused to let Ella sit in a cell. If she made it past the booking room, Bass was going to bang heads into walls.
Bass phoned his attorney, who assured him he’d be at the jail within the hour and his team was on it. She wouldn’t stay inside a jail cell a single night. With the connections Bass had, he could get things done. He’d never appreciated the money in his bank more than he did right now.
By the time they arrived at the jail, her arraignment had already been scheduled in two hours. Until then, she’d be in the conference room to meet with her attorney, Rafe, Lia, and Bass. She was still in processing, so Bass paced the room while the others sat.
“Are these idiots so incompetent they can’t take fingerprints faster than this?” Bass snapped when they’d only been in the room for five minutes.
Rafe chuckled before covering it up. “She’s fine, Bass. You probably have the entire police station shaking so badly they can’t get an unsmeared print.”
“She shouldn’t be here. It’s ridiculous to even take the damn prints,” Bass thundered.
“I don’t always agree with the law, but I respect it. Our society wouldn’t be safe without an unbiased system,” Rafe said.
Bass scoffed. “Unbiased? What in the heck are you smoking?” Lia smiled.
“Okay, I realize it’s not perfect, but we can’t be such dicks that the system is derailed.”
“Why not? Politicians never pay for their crimes. If their corrupt backdoor deals get them out of trouble, our money should keep the ones we love out of trouble, as well,” Bass snapped.
Rafe gave him an indulgent smile. “Even if Ella was guilty, I’d put every dollar I have into helping her because you love her, but I don’t think criminals should be able to buy themselves out of trouble.”
Bass hung his head. “You’re right. I’m just stressed. I want her in here with me.”
“I know. You’re honest. It’s why I was such a fool to think for a second that you’d cheat with Sharron.” Rafe wouldn’t even describe her anymore as his ex. He didn’t want his name anywhere near hers.
The door finally opened and a very pale Ella stepped through it. At the sight of Bass, Rafe, Lia, and the attorney tears instantly filled her eyes. She looked at each of them before her gaze returned to Bass.
“I’m not guilty of this,” she said, her voice raw as if she’d been crying for a while. Bass rushed to her and pulled her into his arms.
“I know. Weallknow,” he said. He pulled back and looked in her eyes, wide with hope and fear. She looked beyond Bass at Rafe and Lia, who calmly gazed back at her.
“We know,” Rafe said.
At his words, Ella’s shoulders slumped and tears flowed down her cheeks. She must have thought Rafe would think the worst of her. He had every reason to with his history with her father . . . in her eyes, not in Bass’s eyes.
“Hi, Ms. Jones, I’m Marcus Breyer, Mr. Fisher’s attorney. I have the charges against you, so let’s break them down.”
“Can you just call me Ella?” she asked.
As she said the words, the thought of her taking on Fisher as a last name and never having to associate with her father again flashed through Bass’s mind. It scared the hell out of him. He’d never even considered marriage before, so why was he having that thought? He was in trouble . . . serious trouble.
“Yes, I can do that, and you can call me Marcus,” the man said. He’d been with Bass for years and was the best of the best. He took down people without them knowing he was coming for them. He was also one of California’s most sought-after bachelors.
If Bass was an insecure man, he might’ve been worried at the widening of Ella’s eyes as she truly gazed at Marcus. With the man’s flawless brown skin, broad shoulders, dark brown eyes, and easy smile, Bass had seen women flock around him every time they’d gone out. Bass was rarely overlooked, but there were times he wasn’t noticed if Marcus was with him.
He wasn’t insecure though, so he took Ella’s hand and smiled. She shook her head as she seemed to come out of her daze and then gave Bass an unsure smile of her own as she held tight to his hand.
“Tell us what we need to fight, Marcus,” Bass said.
“The main problem is we’re showing three huge deposits from Paul’s company into an offshore account with Ella’s signature. The total is two-million dollars and some change,” Marcus said.
“I didn’t sign for anything and I wouldn’t know how to even get an offshore account,” Ella said. She was shaking slightly as she went through her memories of how this could’ve possibly happened.
