Nothing But the Truth (32 page)

Ryan knew the officers weren’t likely to defer to a mere declaration of her authority, dressed as she was, so she flashed her badge. “Sergeant Jimenez, thanks for your quick response. I know your men want to get a statement from Ms. Logan about the accident, but she’s a material witness in a very important case. I need her first. She’ll give you a statement when we’re done. I’ll give you a call when she’s ready.” Ryan grasped Brett’s arm. “Ms. Logan, are you ready to come with me?” She hoped her confidence wasn’t misplaced.

Brett mustered a trace of a smile. “Absolutely, Ms. Foster.”

*

Ryan drove Brett directly to her apartment. While Brett called Tony to report in and have him cancel her afternoon appointments, Ryan called Jeff Oates and braced herself for his resistance.

“Jeff, it’s Ryan. I’m at Brett Logan’s apartment.” She read off the address. “We have a break in the Edwards case.” She listened to his rant about how the Edwards case was over thanks to her. “Hey, Jeff, focus. Remember Edwards’s accomplice? Brett knows who she is. We’ll need to draft some warrants, fast. Get over here quick, and bring an investigator from the office. Someone you trust. And most importantly, don’t tell Harwell or Paulson. I mean it. I’ll explain when you get here.”

Brett changed into loose fitting sweats, and Ryan fussed over her until Jeff arrived. She asked a lot of questions about what Brett had witnessed at Kenneth’s house. A quick search on the Internet revealed the house was owned by none other than Ross Edwards himself. Brett’s theory, that the woman who claimed to be Kenneth’s mother was actually Ross Edwards’s missing partner in crime, seemed more and more likely. Paulson’s involvement was inexplicable, but Ryan hoped a search of the house would reveal answers.

A few hours later, Jeff and an investigator from the DA’s office left Brett’s apartment with enough information to get a search warrant for the house Brett had visited earlier that day, as well as an arrest warrant for Paulson. Ryan had instructed them to use the charge of failure to stop and render aid to draft the warrant for Paulson’s arrest, based on the fact she’d left the scene after crashing into Brett’s vehicle. They could amend it to include charges relating to her involvement in the Edwards case once they had more information to go on.

“Don’t you want to go with them?” Brett asked.

Ryan shook her head. “No. This isn’t my case anymore.” Before Brett could ask more questions, she posed one of her own. “Are you sure you don’t need to go to the hospital?”

“I’m sure. I’m worn out and I’m sure I’ll be sore tomorrow, but nothing some more Advil and a good night’s sleep won’t cure.”

Ryan decided Brett’s words were a hint. “Well, if you don’t need anything else, I’ll head out. I’ll arrange for a unit to watch your place until we have Paulson in custody.”

Brett reached out to grasp Ryan’s hand. With the simple touch, her suspicions and doubts ebbed away. Ryan’s mistakes made her human. She hadn’t acted out of a desire to be devious, but a desire to be loved. Ryan’s words echoed:
“You represent some of the most reprehensible scum on earth. How can you forgive them their indiscretions, but not mine?”
Brett knew her initial response was lame. Her desire for Ryan should equate to compassion, not rejection. She turned Ryan’s hand in hers and placed her lips against Ryan’s palm. She kissed her gently at first, then traced her long, prominent lifeline with her tongue, pressing hard. She sucked the skin between Ryan’s fingers, enjoying the arousal reflected in Ryan’s shallow breaths. Each time she touched Ryan, she wanted more. She lifted her head and pointed toward her bedroom. “I’d like you to take me to bed.”

Ryan didn’t hesitate. She helped Brett up from the couch and followed her to the bedroom. She was surprised to find a stark room, very much like her own bedroom. It looked as if Brett had purchased the entire model on the showroom floor and added no personal touches to the tableau. She eased Brett down on the pillows and sat gingerly on the edge of the bed.

“Come closer.” Brett tugged at the strings of her hoodie. Ryan hesitated. This day had delivered clarity about so many things, her love for Brett the most prominent. She had made love only once before, though she’d had sex countless times. It was essential to mark the difference with a declaration, but she was frightened. Her earlier interrupted profession of feeling had been fueled by the adrenaline at the thought of losing Brett. The adrenaline was gone now, replaced by arousal. She still felt the same, but the fear of rejection was no longer masked by the fear of a lost opportunity.
Say it. Say it now.

“Brett, I love you.”

Brett tugged the strings, pulling Ryan closer. She gazed deeply into her eyes and knew Ryan had just bared her soul. She admired her bravery and rewarded it with a declaration of her own, which she knew, without a doubt, was true.

“I love you too, Ryan. I always will.”

Brett sealed her vow by kissing Ryan’s lips, hard and fast. She wanted Ryan to be sure of her feelings, her commitment. She would not let the events of the last few weeks thwart the passion she’d felt from the moment of their first connection. She would battle anything, anyone who threatened her chance at a relationship with Ryan.

Brett was surprised by the strength of her desire. She was used to fighting for others, not herself. No other lover had inspired such ferocious fidelity to personal rather than professional pursuits. But this day, when her life had hung in the balance and with it, the risk of a chance to reconcile with Ryan, her priorities found a new order. For the first time, she knew true love was worth fighting for. The more she considered what she could have lost, the more intense was her desire to claim her place in Ryan’s heart.

Ryan sensed a shift. Brett’s touch was fiercely possessive, and Ryan willingly submitted. Her mouth fell open against Brett’s probing tongue, and she surrendered to her commanding strokes. Ryan’s breaths were jagged, and she could no longer hold herself upright. She broke the kiss just long enough to slide her body along Brett’s length, taking enormous pleasure from the easy way they fit together.
She loves me.
Ryan cherished the words and the feeling flowing from them. Brett turned into her embrace, and Ryan returned her kiss with slow, gentle strokes.

Brett tugged on the strings she still held and pulled the hoodie over her head. Ryan sucked in her breath when Brett touched her naked breasts. She’d bared her chest innumerable times before, for a seemingly endless parade of dispassionate encounters, such that the act had become rote, a well-known step on a well-worn path toward physical release. Only once in her life had the act of removing her clothes been a prelude to making love. Until now. The memory of her fumbling teenage frenzy hardly resembled the fiery passion she felt this day.

Brett took one of Ryan’s nipples into her mouth, and rolled it across her tongue. With one hand she teased Ryan’s other nipple to a fine point, while using her other hand to slide her hand into Ryan’s loose shorts. Her fingers traced Ryan’s throbbing lips before dipping into her dripping wet, silken folds. Ryan arched her back as she rose to meet the triangle of touch. She urged Brett to touch her harder, deeper.

Her previous encounters had always been about her own paid-for pleasure, but even when she played the role of submissive, Ryan always firmly grasped the reins of control. The familiar grip slipped as every sense point in her throbbing body ached for Brett’s touch. With every stroke, Ryan was certain Brett’s desire to please her was strong, and she knew a complete exposure of her own vulnerabilities was the most worthy gift she could give in return. For love, for Brett, she relinquished all command.

Ryan reluctantly padded her way across Brett’s apartment searching for her phone before its persistent rings could wake Brett.

“Foster here.”

“Ryan, it’s Jeff. Boy, do I have news for you. Where are you? Can you come downtown?” Ryan glanced back toward the bedroom where Brett lay sleeping. Her old self would have jumped at the opportunity to be in the thick of an investigation. She was a different person now. She wanted nothing more than to crawl back under the covers, curl up next to Brett’s naked body, and revel in the warmth after the hours of lovemaking they had just shared. She noted it was just after midnight, and she remembered she had a letter of resignation with today’s date on it, ready to be delivered. She wanted whatever information Jeff had, but as for the exhilaration of the quest? She would leave it for him to enjoy on his own.

“I can’t come in. Can you give me a rundown now? Do you have Paulson?”

“Not yet, but we have the next best thing.” Jeff paused, and Ryan knew he did it for effect. “We have her sister.”

She listened as he detailed the events that had occurred since he left Brett’s apartment. They had searched the house Kenneth Phillips had listed as his. The occupants were gone, but Jeff and his team found scads of evidence left behind: wigs, fake IDs, lots of high tech equipment capable of rerouting phone calls, even a voice-changing device. Jeff’s excitement caused his words to tumble over one another. “Brett may not have even talked to Ross Edwards at all. One of them may have been calling her instead.”

“Slow down. Who do you mean?”

“Sorry, I forgot to tell you we caught Kenneth’s mother. I mean the woman who claimed to be Kenneth’s mother, anyway. We found an online trail that led us to an airline booking. We picked her up at DFW. She spilled her guts when we told her she could get the same deal Ross got if she talked.” He stopped suddenly, and his tone changed from excited to meek. “I hope you don’t mind. I just thought since you offered Edwards forty years, you—“

Ryan cut him off. “Don’t worry about it. You did the right thing. So who is she?”

“You’re not going to believe this. Her name is Marian Paulson. And get this, she’s Kim Paulson’s sister.”

Ryan sank into the nearest chair and listened to the rest of Jeff’s recap. Hiring Kenneth to make a false confession had indeed been Ross Edwards’s idea. Marian agreed to handle the details. Their goal was to cast reasonable doubt onto the case against Ross, but Marian saw an additional opportunity. If she could set Ross up in the process, she could ensure he would get the death penalty and she would walk free. All she had to do was convince Ross she had done everything she could to enact his plan and then blame Kenneth’s poor acting abilities for the scheme falling apart. She had amassed enough evidence to prove Ross was involved in the setup from the beginning. She was sure he would never rat her out if it meant risking his own hide. Plus, he really did love her, and she trusted his feelings to keep him quiet. Her ace in the hole was her sister, Kim Paulson, the cop. Kim, out of a strong sense of family loyalty and a large chunk of money, had agreed to help her sister. She’d maneuvered herself onto the case and located a former confidential informant, Kenneth, to play the role of false confessor.

Ryan listened while Jeff wrapped up the rest of the tale. Bottom line, Paulson was still on the loose. She told Jeff to make sure every effort was exerted to find her, and then Ryan clicked off the line.

Brett was awake when she returned to bed. Looking sleepy, yet stunning.

“Hey, baby, who was on the phone?”

“Jeff. They picked up Kenneth’s mom.” Ryan slipped back under the covers and relayed the highlights.

“Wow, what a night. Do you need to go?”

Ryan tensed. Did Brett want her to leave? “Go?”

“Things are hopping. I figured you would want to take the lead.”

Ryan relaxed and pulled Brett into her arms. “I think I’ll stay right here.” She smiled. “Maybe you’ll let me take the lead now and then.”

“Absolutely.”

“I want to be here with you more than anything I have ever wanted.”

Brett felt the weight of unspoken words. “I feel a ‘but’ coming.”

“But even if I wanted to join them downtown, I can’t. I’m resigning the office, effective today. I’ve already written a letter I plan to deliver today.”

Brett nodded. She sensed Ryan had more to say and her silence was meant to give Ryan the space to get the words out.

“Obviously, I’m not going to run for office. I’m still considering what to do about Leonard, whether to report him and to whom. If I start talking, I could be opening myself up to suspension, disbarment, maybe even criminal charges. I probably need to consult with a lawyer. I want to do the right thing, tell the truth and nothing but. I’ll understand if you don’t want to go down this road with me.”

Brett recognized Ryan’s declaration as especially painful for someone who had spent her whole life living up to the expectations of others. Brett wanted Ryan to know, with absolute certainty, her only expectation had been fulfilled. She wanted Ryan to expose herself, not with the whole world, but with Brett, her lover. In return, she would embrace Ryan’s vulnerabilities and love her completely. In that moment, she realized she wasn’t much different from Ryan. She defined her success by the work she did, not the relationships she cultivated. Her love for Ryan shifted her focus, and she could see a clear path to balance. Now it was up to her to stand by Ryan while she found a balance of her own. Brett hugged her close and spoke her own truth, soft and sure. “Darling, I’m here for you. Always. We’ll get through whatever we need to. Together.”

Ryan snuggled into Brett’s embrace and closed her eyes. “I dreamed this once.”

“Good dream?”