AllFreeNovel
Share Us
She took a sip of her coffee, unsure of how to answer. When she spoke, her voice trembled. “Not exactly. About a year ago, Justin was stabbed by an MS-13 member. They were trying to kill him, and almost succeeded. He was in the hospital again for a long time. I approached Ayden then. I offered him my half of the business for much less than it was worth and told him I would do my best to catch any cases involving the Brotherhood, if he would make sure that Justin was protected for the last year-and-a-half or so of his incarceration.”
Corbett stared at her with that intense gaze of his. She didn’t know what he was thinking, but she could guess. She never should have called him. She must have been out of her mind. There was no way she could convince him now that she hadn’t taken the cocaine—that Ayden hadn’t somehow told her to, using Justin as leverage. Corbett would never believe she was innocent.
“Do you think Ayden had the cocaine taken to set you up?”
Naomi was astonished. It meant a lot to hear him suggest what she had also been thinking. Still, she wasn’t completely sure she could trust him. He did, after all, work for the DEA.
“I don’t know. Anyone could have taken it, Corbett. I was the last one there, but really, no one had seen it since Monday morning. There was a whole day of people going in and out in between.”
“Did they watch all the tapes?”
“I don’t know. My attorney said she was going to find out.”
“What about the disappearance of the witness?”
“Now him, I would bet money Ayden did something to. Either he paid him to go far away, or he had him sent somewhere, probably to the morgue, against his will. These are scary dudes.”
“I just spent a weekend in a cell with the guy. Trust me, I know.”
As the one who pretended to get him out on bail, she’d known he had been locked-up as part of some sort of investigation, but she’d forgotten it involved Ayden. “Corbett, I owe you an apology.”
“For what?”
She laughed. “A lot of mean things that I’ve said—and thought—about you. Mostly, though, for that trial where I chewed you up and spit you out. That kid… He just…”
“Reminded you of your brother?”
She nodded.
“It makes sense now, at least.” He finished his coffee and looked at his watch. “I have to get over to Corpus Christi, but I’ll be back this afternoon, if I can. Will you be okay in the meantime?”
She smiled. “I’ll be fine. This all gives me some time to unpack, finally. Hey, Corbett...”
“Yeah?”
“I didn’t take those drugs.”
He smiled at her, and she realized that when he was smiling at her genuinely, and not sarcastically, he was really handsome.
“I know,” he affirmed. He grabbed his keys and his phone and added, “Stay home today. The media are all over this crap. And whatever you do, do not talk to Ayden or anyone connected to him. That goes for your brother as well.”
“Okay.” Then again, she said, “Hey, Corbett...”
“Yes?” he replied with a tolerant smile.
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
She closed and locked the door behind him. Taking a deep breath, she surveyed the mess in front of her. For the first times since moving in, she was happy there was still a lot of organizing to be had. It would give her something to do while keeping her mind off her troubles.
CHAPTERFIFTEEN
SOMEONE TO TALK TO
Pendale, Texas
Wednesday Afternoon
