“If she gets lucky, the DA will throw it out before even presenting it. That’s the best hope. The second step if they don’t is presenting it and hoping the jury is largely men who find it disgusting that men who hurt women even exist.”
“And if it doesn’t go that way?”
“If she’s indicted, she’ll be arrested and will face trial.”
“So we’re hoping for option one.”
“Yep.”
“But you’re not going to arrest her now?”
“I won’t arrest her unless I’m forced to. I’ll even give her a heads-up to get an attorney if I think it’s going to head in that direction.”
“I appreciate that.”
“This isn’t a favor to you or the club. Cerberus does a million wonderful things for this community, but I’d do the very same for any woman who was in the same situation.”
I nod in understanding. I misjudged him, and thank fuck I did, but I won’t apologize for being a defensive dick back at the hospital, and I know he doesn’t expect me to. We both know Simone needs someone supportive in her corner.
“How long before you clear the apartment?” I ask instead of digging deeper into the subject. We could spend the rest of our lives bonding over our mutual hatred for men who hurt women, but it won’t get us anywhere.
“You want to bring her back here? Figured you’d move her into the clubhouse.”
“It’s not like that—we aren’t together.” I look away from him, feeling like an asshole. She deserves better than what she’s gotten from me. Her past doesn’t make that more evident because I never should’ve treated her like a plaything to begin with, no matter if she approached me first with the idea of friends with benefits. We failed right out of the gate because we’ve never really been friends.
“I want to schedule a team of forensic cleaners,” I tell him. I bite my damn lip when I hear what I said, but Matthews doesn’t seem to think I have ulterior motives. “I know enough about Simone to know that she’s going to want to get right back to her normal life.”
“We’ve cleared most electronics out. I’m required to make sure the death wasn’t premeditated. I have a warrant for her cell phone, but we didn’t find it in her car when we towed it from Cerberus property.” His eyes drill into me, and it would take a fool not to understand his next words. “If there was anything incriminating on it, maybe us not finding it is a good thing.”
“It wasn’t premeditated,” I assure him.
“We should be done by sunset,” he offers. “But you may want to talk with her first. I don’t know many people who wouldn’t struggle after killing someone. Even those that did it in self-defense or by accident. Guilt isn’t something humans can always control. She seriously may not want to come back here.”
“I’ll talk to her about it.”
We shake hands before splitting up, him heading back into the crime scene and me heading back to the SUV. I don’t have to talk with Simone. I know she won’t be comfortable coming back here, plus the place is way too small for her and a child. I make an executive decision and call to lease her an apartment in the same complex Griffin and Lawson moved to. At least there she’s close to people who could help her quickly if something went wrong.
Chapter 8
Simone
Closing my eyes, I release a long, slow breath of air, repeating it over and over and over, but my nerves don’t seem to settle.
“If you tell me what’s wrong, I can help solve the problem and you won’t have to keep breathing like that.” Rocker looks over the top of his phone, eyebrows raised in a mocking challenge.
I open my eyes slowly, trying to convince myself that tossing a cold cup of water on him wouldn’t solve my problems. It would make me feel better, but now isn’t the time for immaturity.
“Three days,” I grumble. “I’ve been cooped up in here for three days.”
“You’re being discharged today,” he counters.
“Three days and not one single ounce of privacy.”
“The nurses are required to check on you all the time. It’s literally in their protocol.”
We both know this for a fact because one snippy male nurse brought the procedure book when Rocker snapped at him for waking us up last night.
“And either you or Jinx have been here the entire time.”