Page 39 of Entangled

Cara’s hand tightened on her bag. “Well, kind of.”

“You look tired,” he noted.

“Do I?”

“A bit.”

Cara hinted at nothing being wrong. Eight weeks after Gian’s arrest, and five weeks after finding out she was pregnant, Cara still hadn’t told anyone. Not a single soul knew her secret, and for now, she wanted to keep it that way.

She had been going through a rough patch with her early pregnancy. Exhaustion and morning sickness were taking its toll. She slept a hell of a lot more than she normally did, which said something, considering she wasn’t a morning person at all, and she still couldn’t smell meat cooking without throwing up.

It was not particularly fun.

At only eight weeks pregnant, Cara was wondering how she was supposed to make it another thirty-two weeks. The doctor had assured her that the tiredness would wane in the second trimester, as would the sickness, but she wasn’t sure that she believed the woman.

“Care to go on a drive today?” Chris asked. “There’s someone who would like to see you.”

“Isn’t today Gian’s sentencing?”

“It is.”

“Is it him who wants to see me?”

“He does.”

Cara frowned. “How, exactly? He’s always transferred directly from the jail to the courthouse, in cuffs and a cruiser with a guard.”

Chris shrugged. “Some strings may have been pulled today, that’s all I can say.”

“He hasn’t even called me.”

“His calls are monitored and he calls no one. Messages are passed back and forth during visits, and that’s how shit gets done.”

“Oh.”

“Jail isn’t a vacation, believe me.”

Cara rolled her eyes. “I never said that. A call would be nice, though.”

“You probably won’t get one. Maybe a visit, once the media fades away a bit, but not a call. He wants nothing on record other than a name and date. So, a drive?”

Cara handed over her bag when Chris offered to take it. “Fine, a drive.”

Cara was certain that the midtown alleyway Chris parked in was not anywhere close to the courthouse where Gian would have been sentenced earlier.

“What are we doing?” Cara asked.

Chris slid on a pair of sunglasses, turned the radio on low, and rested his arms behind his head. “Right now, we’re waiting.”

Given the man’s vagueness, Cara had the distinct feeling that she wouldn’t get any of her questions answered, so she didn’t ask more. She wasn’t sure how much time passed—ten minutes or maybe twenty. Then, Chris perked up, his gaze shooting to the rearview mirror. Cara glanced over her shoulder.

A police cruiser parked behind them in the alley.

Chris said nothing, simply exited the car after grabbing a large envelope from the passenger seat. Cara watched from the back window as Chris passed the envelope to the first police officer who left the cruiser. A second officer, younger than the first, headed to the back of the car to unlock and open the door.

Cara’s thoughts of the odd scene, and the obvious bribery happening, drifted away when Gian stepped out of the police cruiser. His hands were cuffed in front of him, but the younger officer quickly undid the cuffs when Gian offered his wrists out. The suit Gian wore belied the fact he had already spent eight weeks in a small jail cell, as it looked perfectly pressed and fit him handsomely.

A few words were said, the officers turned to talk between themselves, and Gian headed for Chris’s car. Cara didn’t realize she had been holding her breath until he slipped into the backseat with her.