“She, meaning Gina, your mistress?” Schwartz raised his eyebrows, thinking the case had crime of passion written all over it.
“Yeah, but she wasn't my mistress,” Logan muttered, holding his head.
“They have all the evidence, including Gina's gun. Just wanted to make sure we were on the same page. We can talk more tomorrow. See you in court in the morning.”
Logan's jaw dropped in shock, a crazed look in his eyes. “In the morning? You said soon! I can’t stay here overnight! Someone already tried to fuck me up!”
He looked like he was about to cry. Schwartz had seen it a million times before and it didn't faze him. “That's why they moved you. By the way, did Nick talk to you about my fee?”
Logan's head still spun from the horrible prospect of spending the night in jail. The money hadn't even crossed his mind. Up until then, Nick had handled all of that.
“No. This is between us now. Whatever it is, I'll pay it. Just give me the contract and get me outta here.” He pushed his hair frantically out of his reddened face, his eyes pleading.
Schwartz nodded in agreement. Micky said he had money. At least that was a plus. He was too old to be running around after his clients trying to get paid.
“Okay, I'll have it ready in the morning and we can get started. Hang in there, you'll be fine.” Letting out a loud grunt, he hoisted his body up.
“Wait! Can you call my wife and tell her to arrange the bail then?” Logan’s eyes looked like they would pop out of his head. “She may have to pay you too. And what about that other New York guy?”
“Wait, slow down, Logan. I'll call your wife about the bail and Mr. Sedakis will talk to you or Kristen about his fee. Okay? Just try to stay out of trouble.” He attempted a smile but it came off as more of an exhausted smirk. Through the corner of his eye, he saw Logan drop his head into his hands in despair. Disregarding it, he pulled the door open as soon as the buzzer went off. He couldn't wait to get out of there, and could already taste the beer and the many more to come once Micky arrived. Maybe it was time for him to retire. Putting criminals back on the street was really getting to him.
KRISTEN/JAKE
Kristen was in the shower when Jake heard her phone ringing. Curious to see who it was, he picked it up. Schwartz, Attorney appeared on the screen. Not wanting to wake up the baby, he answered, told him to hold on and went to tell her.
She almost slipped and fell in her rush to get out to talk to him. It would've been comical if he wasn't so damn furious about the whole ordeal.
“Now what?” Jake rolled his eyes, hoping to appear disinterested.
“I need to contact the bail people for him. He's not going to court until the morning.” She didn't know if she should look him in the eye and try to plead, or avoid him.
“Whatever.” He shrugged, wandering back to the bed. “I don't understand why you have to be involved. And why is that other attorney coming down if this guy is representing him?”
It was too late for an answer since Kristen was already on the phone with the bail office referred by Richard Schwartz. When the call ended, she bit her lip, worried about how Jake would take the news. She sat next to him, gently pushing some wavy strands of hair out of his face. He turned to her, his eyes soft but filled with suspicion.
“I have to go into their office after they update the system with the bail amount. Schwartz is covering for Micky until he gets here, but he doesn't want the case. He hates Nick.”
Jake’s body stiffened, a warning that she shouldn't tell him about her involvement in paying the retainer fee, especially since she was hopeful she could work out a lower amount with Micky. She had enough to stress without dealing with Jake’s repressed jealousy of Micky.
“They're across from the police station and we still have to give those statements. We can do it all at once and bring Alex with us. Is that okay with you baby?”
He gave her a frustrated shrug. “What do you have to do with the bail again?”
“We still have a joint account and the condo. I have to sign off.” She continued walking to the bathroom, unwilling to deal with an eruptive reaction.
Enraged, he bit his tongue and jumped up from the bed to storm out of the house. Instead, he found himself at the bathroom door.
“When are you planning to file for that divorce?” His eyes narrowed.
If this is going to work, I need to know. And now that I have to play nice with that jerk-off lawyer from New York, it’ll help.
“As soon as I know I'm not in trouble. I don't want to mess it up. Please Jake, we discussed this.” A glimmer of encouragement shone in her eyes. “Maybe Steven can still do the divorce for me, since Micky has a license to practice here.”
Unless it would be a conflict of interest. Then I’ll have to start searching out here. That will be a royal pain in the ass!
Noticing the sudden brightening of his face, she rushed forward to grab his arms. The towel she had tied around her loosened, slipping down to reveal her breasts.
He opened his mouth to respond, then immediately closed it. The anger in his eyes dissolved as they swept over her. Without a word, he yanked the towel away, crushing her body against his with an unexpected ferocious urgency.
TUESDAY
KRISTEN/JAKE
Everything was getting very complicated. Kristen never realized how much money and preparation were involved in a criminal case, since that had been Marty's department. Although Micky’s handling of Logan's case took a heavy weight off of her shoulders, she well aware of the issues it would cause with Jake, and the terrible nightmare it could become.
When Jake’s nagging convinced her it wasn't good for a newborn to be exposed to all the germs that inhibited police precincts and bail bond offices, she arranged for Cassandra to take care of him. It felt awful leaving the baby behind and the only way to console Jake was promising to return as fast as possible. Since Alex loved sleeping as much as he did, he probably wouldn’t even notice they were gone. And with a little extra luck, he’d continue sleeping through the night, because she had more than enough stress keeping her awake.
Quick Response Bail Bonds was on the ground floor of a ten-story office building two blocks from the Miami Beach Police Department. They sat in the small waiting room while the flustered receptionist juggled the constantly ringing telephone.
As Kristen surveyed the room, a nervous, very distraught woman sitting across from them, made her reflect on what a horror story it would’ve been for her if Logan hadn't taken the blame.
Leaving Alex, jail, trial and worst of all, prison. There’s no way I would survive. I’d kill myself first.
After several harsh shudders rocked her body, she pushed the depressing images out of her mind and glanced at Jake.
Jake’s jitters and irritability wouldn’t allow him to stay seated. As soon as Jim, the high strung bail bondsman started his spiel, he couldn’t take it anymore, mumbled something about needing air and fled outside.
Emotional outbursts went hand and hand with arrests and bail procedure. Jim took it in stride and the meeting proceeded without any issues. Kristen co-signed the agreement and gave him the account information. Now all they needed to process the payment was a firm bail amount.