Ryker, page 14
He maybe should have aimed less lethally, but the man was fighting him. What did Marcus have to do with the DNA test woman? He couldn’t even remember her name and he’d already proven the child wasn’t his.
Five minutes after the detective left, Ryker’s lawyers were walking in, making demands as they did. He needed to give them all a raise to deal with this.
“If you aren’t charging our client, then you need to let him go. He’s done with this interrogation.” Charles was his lead lawyer on his cases and was quickly putting on a display as to why he was good at his job.
“Charges for the murder are pending. In the meantime, charges for rape have already been approved and your client is under arrest.” The detective smirked at the lawyer like he’d won a battle.
“Where is the basis of that?” Charles demanded. “We have not been notified of an investigation and have already submitted DNA tests to the court.”
“That part’s not my call and you know it. You’ll have to wait for a hearing to have that argument with the judge,” the detective explained. “Stand up,” he told Ryker.
In quick order, the detective read Ryker his rights, cuffed him, and led him to a waiting cell. His lawyers argued the entire time before telling Ryker they would see him in the morning.
Ryker was shoved into the cell, uncuffed and ignored. He didn’t know what time it was or when he’d get let back out.
He did his best to lay back and pretend to be unbothered but it didn’t work. All hope of sleep was gone. He worried for Catherine and what they must be telling her was going on and what she might believe.
“If you want to talk, you let me know,” the detective said as he walked by Ryker’s cell.
Ryker didn’t say a word as he stared the man down. He’d been arrested before and knew already that trying to talk your way out of things wasn’t something that usually worked. That and they would spin everything against him.
For the first time in his life, he was fully taking his lawyer’s advice and keeping his mouth shut. He was worried about doing it, but he couldn’t see how talking earlier had helped. The detective had already decided on his guilt and that was unlikely to change.
“Your lawyers are sending over evidence from tonight’s crimes that we can pretend will help you. We both know it won’t,” he rambled on. “In the meantime, welcome home. Even if you get yourself off this murder charges, we both know you can’t get yourself off the other ones. Perverts like you deserve to be here.”
The detective then spit at Ryker before finally walking away. Of all the places he imagined he might end up at, back in jail wasn’t one of them.
This wasn’t a simple petty larceny charge or a fight like the other times, either. No, this was more than that and he was starting to question how we would prove his innocence.
As was normal for him lately, his thoughts drifted back to Catherine. This sort of thing against him was exactly the like what he wanted to shield her from. He never should have let things go as far as the did with her. Now that he had, he didn’t know what he was going to do without her.
He wouldn’t blame her for going to her own home and staying away from him after this. He had killed someone and there was no taking that back.
“Ryker?” Catherine’s soft voice said from the other side of the cell doors.
“Catherine?” He jumped up.
It was like his thoughts of her had conjured her because she was really standing there.
“You should be here,” he bit out.
“Ryker,” she started. “Don’t do this. Don’t be that guy.”
“What guy?”
“The one that pushes the girl away while he’s in trouble. We aren’t going to do that. This isn’t going away because it will all end soon.” Catherine gripped the bars of the cell.
“Maybe it’s because I need you to be safe and has little to with me. Get out of here because it’s certainly not safe here.”
“No. I’m not leaving yet. I came to check on you.” She leaned forward and squinted. “Is your lip bleeding?”
He didn’t know or care. “It doesn’t matter. Go home and get your brother and get things sorted. You shouldn’t be in here for any reason at all, least of all me.”
Like he was drawn to her through a magnetic pull, Ryker still rose and went to her. His hands covered hers and he took in her tear-stained face and pajamas.
“Please, go home,” he pleaded.
“This is going to be okay. We are going to do everything we can to make sure that you are home soon,” she promised. “I needed to see that you were okay. I was so scared when the gun went off that you were hurt.” Fresh tears streamed down her cheeks.
“I’m unharmed,” he told her. He was far from okay. Confused, pissed, but not okay.
“You will be out soon. All of this is made up and I don’t know what Marcus had to do with it and Hacker Guy is digging into this angle now.”
He nodded and dropped his hands from hers. “Go home, please?”
Catherine nodded and walked away. She looked back at him twice on her way out and Ryker nearly told her he loved her. He did love her, he realized.
The realization shook him to the core, and he fell back onto the makeshift bed he had in this cell. He would get out, he vowed, and then he would tell her. Here wasn’t the place, anyway. The last thing he wanted was to have this place be somewhere he remembered forever because of that. He’d prefer to forget that he was ever here.
He thought over everything that had happened and wondered when this woman had started accusing him of forcing himself on her. He hadn’t. He didn’t know her and he would never do that to anyone. Everything was such a fucking mess.
Instead of raging like he wanted to, Ryker sat back on the bed in his cell. Bed wasn’t the right word for it. It was closer to a cot, but either way it was uncomfortable. There was nothing he could do now but wait and hope that everyone was able to figure this out. Between his friends and his lawyers, he at least had hope.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Catherine
Catherine had stayed with Cade and April, again, until Ryker’s house was no longer a crime scene and was cleaned. It had been a few days already and Ryker had still been in jail.
She was in touch with his lawyers constantly and they were working hard, with Matt, to prove that all these charges were fake. She knew without a doubt that her father was behind this. There was no other reason for it.
“Any news?” April asked.
“Nothing.” Catherine stared at her phone, willing it to give her something, good news of any kind would be welcome.
“He’ll get out of this.” April hugged her.
Catherine just nodded and swallowed back the tears that were threatening to spill over again. It seemed all she had done since Ryker’s arrest was cry.
“I’m going to run pick us up some dinner and I’ll be back, okay?” April grabbed her keys.
“You know we could just order delivery,” Catherine reminded her.
“Believe me when I say I mean no offense to you, but if I don’t get out of this house for at least five freaking minutes, I will lose my mind,” she groaned.
Catherine laughed. “Better do it now, soon that baby will be here.”
“That’s another reason,” she laughed. “Though I imagine that when that time comes it will feel a little different.”
“Be careful,” Catherine told her friend.
April nodded and left. She wouldn’t be gone long but Catherine understood the need to leave. She also understood that she wasn’t the problem, yet for the second time in a year she was living with them again.
She could have gone back to her house, next door to Ryker, but she hadn’t yet. It didn’t feel like home anymore. She’d spent more time at Ryker’s since she bought that house and she wanted to go back there.
Settling down at the bar, Catherine casually munching on some popcorn as she scrolled her email. One particular email had come through about an hour ago and had her clicking on it.
Catherine-
I heard about your recent troubles and I wanted to extend my sincerest condolences on your poor choice in men. You never were good at that.
There is still an option of making everything right with me which might even help Ryker. I understand that Marcus is no longer with us but I do have another friend with a son who would be willing to merge with our family despite the mess you’ve put us in.
I cannot begin to imagine what you must be going through with knowing the man you have chosen to shack up with is really the lowest of the low, forcing himself on women. I can assume that may be what happened with you, and perhaps with some therapy, you will realize that.
The offer stands if you wish to take advantage of it and I will help with your friend’s problems. Do let me know at your earliest convenience.
-Your loving father
Catherine screamed in sheer frustration. It was a good thing that no one was here but her. She called Cade immediately.
“Everything okay?” he answered.
“No, but I’m not hurt. Father sent me an email.” She shook her fist and for the first time understood why some men would punch inanimate objects because if she was sure she wouldn’t damage her hand, she’d happily hit a wall now.
“What the fuck? What does it say?”
“He all but admits he is the reason that Ryker is in trouble. Told me that I can create a merger with another person he knows and he will help with the legal troubles.” She went back to the email and forwarded it to Cade and Matt. “I sent it to you.”
“Give me a second.” He was quiet for a moment. “Are you kidding me right now? How is he even emailing you, much less pulling all these strings? As soon as we get Ryker out of jail, I’m putting all the legal teams on Father.”
“How do we prove it?” Catherine asked. She was ready to march up to the jail now and demand Ryker’s release over it.
“We don’t. The email doesn’t claim responsibility. We know him, so we see it.”
“Now what?”
“Nothing really changes. Send it over to his lawyers in case they can do anything with it.”
She quickly did. “Should I reply?”
“Absolutely not. You won’t be agreeing to do what he wants so there’s nothing to say.”
“Okay. I’ll let you go. If I hear anything else, I’ll let you know.”
“I’ll be home in the next few hours. I’ve got to catch up on things since I’ve missed so much and I want to take some time off when April has the baby.”
“I love that you guys are so cute together.” She ended the call and went back to her emails.
There was one other email that caught her attention. The sender was Danielle Wadson, the woman at the heart of all the allegations against Ryker.
Catherine-
You don’t know me, but you should know of me. I have information for you and would like to meet asap. Please let me know when and where.
-Danielle
Before doing anything with the message, she scrolled the rest of her emails, making sure no more surprises were waiting for her. Satisfied that this was the only one, she forwarded it to Matt, Cade, and the lawyers.
Cade: Don’t meet her.
Catherine: I’m calling the lawyers to see if we can all meet there.
Cade: That better be the only way you meet her.
Catherine: I’ll keep you posted.
She dialed Charles’s number and waited for him answer.
“Catherine,” he answered. “How can I help you?”
“I sent you an email.”
“I haven’t had a chance to check it. I’ll look now.” He was quiet for a moment as she assumed he pulled it up. “Well, this is interesting.”
“Something like that. I want to meet her. I was thinking that we could do it at your office with supervision?” Catherine explained she didn’t want to meet the woman alone, but thought the information she could give them could help.
“I agree. It would certainly be a useful conversation to have. If she’s willing to testify to anything, it would help a lot.”
“Is there a time I should tell her?” she asked.
“Whenever you’re both available. I will work around her schedule.”
“Thank you. I’ll let you know what she says.”
“Please do. And call me, I will answer and I may not see an email right away.”
“Thanks,” Catherine answered before they ended the call.
Danielle-
I do know of you, though I don’t think we’ve ever met. I would be happy to meet if you think you have something that will help Ryker. We can meet tonight at his lawyer’s office.
-Catherine
She hit send and walked away from her laptop before she ended up in a vicious cycle of refreshing and waiting. The cycle was pacing and looking at the laptop, moving the cursor so it didn’t go to sleep, and then doing it again.
April got home, and she explained everything that had happened in the short time she was gone while they unpacked takeout.
“I wasn’t gone long,” April said. “I’m sorry you were home alone, sweetie.” April had taken to calling her that since she started staying here. It was probably the hormones, but Catherine wondered if it would stick past her having the baby.
Catherine checked her email again and held her breath as she looked at the reply. “She wrote me back,” she told April.
“Open it,” April scooted next to her so they could both look at the screen.
Catherine-
I can meet you there in the morning at 9. I’m done playing these games and I will tell you everything. I have to bring my child with me, sorry about that. Please know that I was doing what I thought was best here, but it’s gone too far.
-Danielle
“This is it!” April squealed. “This will be the thing we need to get Ryker to come home.”
Catherine prayed it was as she called Charles to tell him about tomorrow. He agreed with the time and let her know he would be there. It felt like the end of this was close, but she was scared to hope.
The only good thing so far was that the media hadn’t picked up on it and with any luck at all they wouldn’t. She could do damage control, but she didn’t want to have to.
“I told Cade,” April said.
“Thank you. He said he would be a few more hours.”
“Yeah, he told me too. He might want to go with you tomorrow.”
“He’s welcome to since it involves our father in one way or another.”
“I think I’ll sit this one out.”
They carried their takeout to the living room and got comfortable. April put on a movie and they sat quietly. Catherine couldn’t focus on the TV but she did her best. Although she didn’t want to get too excited about tomorrow, her heart felt light, hope was blooming.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Ryker
Ryker was given clothes to wear to court by his lawyer and was allowed to change. After, he was quickly handcuffed again and led out into the courtroom. It killed him for Catherine to see him this way.
She smiled at him, looking excited, and he hoped that meant they had a way out of this for him. He couldn’t wait to see and talk to her again.
The judge called his case, and the lawyers began their arguing. Ryker focused on it as much as he could but there was a lot of legal speak that made it hard to keep up.
“Your honor, the accuser would like to speak today,” Charles said.
There was arguing from the other lawyer but eventually, a woman was led to the stand and sworn in. After all the basic questions like her name, Charles asked her if she had ever met Ryker.
“No, I have not.”
“Have you ever willingly or unwillingly had sex with the accused?”
“No, I have not.”
“Can you explain to the court why you accused him of forcing himself on you?”
“I was bribed by the child’s father.”
“The child’s father is not the accused?”
“He is not the father, that’s correct.”
“Who is the child’s father?”
“Marcus Brockenson.”
“And how did Marcus bribe you?”
“After I got pregnant, Marcus wanted nothing to do with me or the child. A month ago he showed up at my house and threatened to take me to court for custody of our child if I didn’t do what he wanted. I couldn’t afford to go to court with him so I did not feel like I had a choice.”
“And what did he ask you to do in exchange for not taking you to court for custody?” Charles pressed.
“He wanted to me to accuse Ryker of being my child’s father. I tried to explain to him that it wouldn’t work. A DNA test would be all it took to prove he wasn’t. He argued that this needed to be done so other things would work.”
“What other things?”
“He never said.”
“Why tell the truth now?”
“I was already planning to and then Marcus died. I no longer have to worry about what he will do.”
“Do you have any proof of these requests?”
“I have text messages, yes.”
“Is there anything else you would like to tell the court?”
“I’m sorry for all of this. I didn’t feel like I had a choice. I was scared.”
“Thank you. That is all.”
The prosecution lawyer stood. “In light of this new information, your honor, the state would like to withdraw all charges against the defendant.”
“I think that’s the best course of action,” she agreed. “Young lady, I suggest you think more on the choices you make and how you could have ruined someone else’s life before doing anything else.”
