Thankfully, Nadia had been on the phone with a call she couldn’t cut off because it had to do with her parents’ therapy, so she didn’t get to grill her the way Danica got the feeling she wanted to. Later that evening when Orlando got home, he went on and on about all the day’s happenings at the shop. Then he spent a few hours out back, working on the car he’d brought home. There’d been no time or reason to get back to the subject of her court case. His mentioning they’d be staying this busy for a while gave Danica hope that it’d be the distraction they needed to stay off that subject until she was done with it—and Ted—completely.
Chapter 25
Orlando
It was the second time that day Felicia had texted Orlando. As usual, he’d ignored the first one, but this time she said it was very—in capital letters—important and had to do with Dani. She asked him to call her and that she’d take the call, even if she was at work. It was that important. Orlando was only glad it was Wednesday and Dani was at his house with Baby O. Only reason he was calling Felicia at all was because it was about Dani and she made it sound so crucial. But he was making it clear now why he couldn’t even be friends with her anymore. He didn’t want any problems with his now practically live-in, perfect girlfriend, Dani.
He went upstairs to make the call. As annoyed as he was that he needed to call Felicia, he had to admit he was curious about what she could possibly have to tell him about Dani. Even more curious, what could be so pressing? He just hoped it wasn’t a ploy to get him to call her, since he had been ignoring all her other texts for weeks. “What’s up, Felicia?” he said as soon as she answered.
“Sorry, didn’t mean to alarm you, but I felt obligated to share what I found out about Danica.” Orlando paced in the front room of the apartment as she went on. “I hope you don’t mind, and I wasn’t being nosey. I promise. But they recently trained me on some of the software they have here to research some of the defendants and witnesses taking the stand against our clients. You know in case they need something that might discredit them. One search of your name brings up all your criminal history and such. I remembered you saying you hadn’t done a background check on Danica, and just out of curiosity, I put her name in today, and oh my God, Orlando, the girl’s been in and out of jail a few times and—”
“I know all about it,” Orlando said, feeling a mix of satisfaction that he could say so and annoyance that Felicia would be checking on Danica.
She was quiet for a second. “You know she’s a felon?”
“Yep, felony DUI.” He stopped pacing to grab a water out of the fridge, glad this was all it was. “She told me everything. I didn’t even ask her. She offered up the information herself. Her past doesn’t make a difference to me, Felicia, especially because I have one too. Listen. Things have changed between her and me now. We’re seeing each other now, and I can’t have someone I used to date still calling and texting me. I don’t want her getting upset.”
Once again this silenced her. “You’re seeing her? What happened to her fiancé? The one I heard her on the phone with just a month ago?”
“Broke up,” he said simply, annoyed about the reminder of that call.
Hearing Dani tell the guy she loved him had been a blow to the gut. Last thing he wanted to be reminded of now that he’d proclaimed his love for her was that too recent call. “Is he an older gentleman? Well.” She paused. “Older than her, maybe forty or so.”
“Something like that.” Orlando took a swig of water from the bottle, starting back to the front room.
“Did you two just happen? Because I’m pretty sure I saw them together not too long ago.”
Orlando stopped, hating that she’d have anything on Dani he might not know about; then he remembered and exhaled, relieved. “Parking lot at the courthouse?”
“Yes.”
“Yeah, she told me about that, too.”
“I thought maybe he was formally proposing because I saw him down on his knee.”
Orlando rolled his eyes. Fucking asshole. “Yeah, she mentioned that. Guy’s an idiot. Guess he’s not over her. She’s told me everything, Felicia.”
“Did you, uh . . .” She paused as if she hesitated to go on but then continued, “Did you know she was also arrested for soliciting a few years ago? I’m only telling you because since you’re together now I—”
“Like I said, she’s told me everything.” He opened the door, ready to be done with the conversation but closed it again because he didn’t want anyone hearing Dani’s business. “She wasn’t actually doing any soliciting but got caught up in a mess where others were and was charged with it anyway. You run with the wrong crowd and that kind of shit is bound to happen. I get it. I was there once too. Being charged with crap just for being there.”
“And you believe her?”
Now he was getting pissed. “Yes, I do. Listen. What I told you before still stands. Because you helped me out when I needed it most, feel free to bring in your car if you ever need it serviced. Just give me a heads-up before you do.” So, he could be sure neither he nor Dani would be there. “But as far as staying in touch for any other reason, I can’t anymore, okay? Only reason I called you now was because you said it was about Dani and it was important.”
He hated to have to be so blunt, but he had at least stopped short of telling her he’d have to block her if she didn’t stop. If it hadn’t been for her willingness to help at a time when he’d felt so lost, he might add that she could stop being so nosey about Dani, but he didn’t want to be rude. He’d give her the benefit of the doubt that she was just looking out for him. Ending the call on that note, he hoped Felicia heeded his request. As usual, he couldn’t get home fast enough to his new little family. Turning into the driveway, he was surprised and disappointed that she wasn’t at the window with Oreo the way she usually was. He walked into the noisy kitchen where she was standing staring at her phone screen and Cri Cri was playing on the under-the-counter TV. The moment Oreo saw him he squealed, holding up his biscuit. “Dada, dada, dada!”
Dani glanced up, looking a bit startled. Clenching his teeth at the sight of the now too familiar unease in her eyes, Orlando did his damnedest not to sound too pissy. “Ted?”
She nodded, putting her phone down on the counter as she reached for a baby wipe. This wasn’t the second or even third time he’d startled her as he’d walked in on her engrossed in reading a text from the fucker. This was the fourth, and it pissed him off. Only in each instance, it’d been perfectly harmless, so there wasn’t a whole lot he could bitch about.
“Yeah,” she said, wiping the baby’s messy hands as he continued to reach out for Orlando. “The last time he texted me the article about the panaderia I told you about, he said he was going to try to get a petition going so it might be saved. He sent a group text with the link to the petition. I was just reading the petition.” She turned to the kitchen window. “I didn’t even hear your truck, and I totally lost track of time because I was making spaghetti.”