Page 26 of Dead Sure
“I’m not finished, Dad.” Everly smiled at her father. “She’snotgonna win. You and Daddy and Reagan are gonna make sure of that. You’re not going back to jail either. You’re going to fight and you’re going to win!”
“Everly, I-” Ten had never felt so low in his life. His daughter knew he’d been in prison.
She held up a hand to stop whatever Ten had been about to say. “I’m not ashamed or embarrassed that you spent the night in jail, Dad.”
“You’re not?” Ten felt his spirits start to rise.
Everly shook her head. “You’re my hero. This woman is angry at her crappy life and she’s taking it out on you. You’re the one trying to stop her and saying what she’s doing is wrong. You’re not just my hero because you’re my dad, but because you’re standing up for all of us with psychic gifts. She’s not gonna silence any of us! You won’t let her.”
“That’s quite a speech, little miss,” Ronan said, applauding from the kitchen door. “Time to put on your shoes and coat. You too, Ten. We’ve got a big day ahead of us.”
Ten finished his tepid cup of tea and set the empty mug in the sink. As he got ready to leave the house, Ten took a look around the living room. It was filled with pictures of his life with Ronan and their kids. He would be damned if he was going to allow this woman to take away everything he’d spent the last ten years building. Grabbing his coat, Ten walked out the door.
Fitz and Jude were waiting with the kids as the bus pulled up. Ten waved to Everly as she gave him two thumbs up.
“You ready to kick ass and take names today?” Jude asked, walking toward Fitzgibbon’s SUV.
“I am. Everly gave me a little pep talk this morning and I’m ready to go.” Ten climbed into the car.
“What we all need to remember today is to stay calm and not react with emotion,” Fitzgibbon cautioned, eyeing Ronan in the rearview mirror.
“Have you ever heard of a meeting like this before, Fitz?” Ronan asked. “Where an alleged victim met with the defendant in order to negotiate terms to drop criminal charges?”
“Victims of domestic violence drop charges all the time, but this is different.” Fitz paused, as if he were gathering his thoughts. “This is Autumn Miller saying she’s willing to let Ten off the hook in exchange for something she wants. We have to beverycareful today. Depending on what she wants, we could all be brought up on charges of bribery, witness tampering, and obstruction of justice. Reagan Pryce knows this, so we all need to follow the lead he sets.”
Ten took a deep breath. So much was at stake today. It was going to be difficult to sit back and watch Reagan Pryce use legal maneuvers to get him out of trouble. For the life of him, Ten couldn’t see what the hell Autumn Miller could possibly want from him. He watched Salem pass by out the window as Fitz drove to West Side Magick. Carson was going to sit in on the meeting.
When Fitz parked in his usual spot across the street, Ten got out of the SUV and stared at the building. It was the source of his greatest triumphs. He met Ronan in this building, reunified hundreds of families with his gift, and crossed over countless souls. Now, West Side Magick was also the source of his greatest humiliation. He’d been brutalized by the police, unjustly arrested, and perp walked out of the building in front of customers and his business partners. Ten wasn’t so sure he could cross the street, never mind walk into the shop.
“Don’t let these people take one more thing from you, Tennyson,” Ronan said, appearing at Ten’s side. “You walk in there with your head held high and do everything in your power to get Autumn Miller the hell out of our lives.”
Ronan was right. He’d lost enough already. “Let’s do this.” Taking Ronan’s hand, he crossed the street and walked into the shop. Carson was waiting for him.
“Hey, Ten,” Carson hugged Ten. Both men held on tight. “Are you okay?”
Ten nodded. “I’ll be much better when the meeting is over and this woman is gone.”
“We’re all behind you, Ten. You’ll be back in your reading room on Monday, I promise. In the meantime, feel free to do phone or Zoom readings. That’s what Cole and Cope are doing today. Not only are you a part of this place, you’re family. I won’t let you down.”
“I should be saying those words to you.” Ten felt immense relief at Carson being so solidly on his side. After the arrest, Ten was afraid he was going to be fired from the shop.
“How could I possibly fire you?” Carson said, obviously reading Ten’s mind. “This could have happened to any one of us. What we need to do now is make sure no other client can come for us again for a prediction that failed to come true.”
“Thanks, Carson.” Tennyson headed into the office where the door to his reading room sat open. All of the chairs were pushed in. Unlike the last time he’d been there with Elijah Logan. He smelled sage, which meant Cope had done what he could to clean the space. Fresh paint covered the wall where Dutch Vance shoved him, bloodying his nose and the wall.
“Are you okay?” Ronan wrapped an arm around Ten.
“Yeah, just walking down memory lane.”
“I’m not going to allow anyone to walk in here and hurt you ever again.” Ronan pulled Ten close and wrapped his arms around him.
Ten appreciated Ronan’s promise, but he hadn’t been in the office the morning that Vance showed up. They weren’t together 24/7. Even if Ronan had been at the shop that morning, there’s nothing he could have done to keep Vance from arresting Ten. He likely would have ended up in jail himself.
Walking into the conference room, Ten saw Reagan Pryce was already there. Two video cameras pointed toward both ends of the table, able to record the people who sat on both sides. Reagan had taken the seat at the center of the far side. Stacks of papers sat in an arc around him. “I’m so glad you’re here.”
“Everything’s going to be okay,” Reagan said. “I want you to sit here next to me. Ronan, Jude, and Fitz, I want you to my right.” He watched silently as the detectives obeyed. “I know the three of you are here to help and protect Tennyson. The best way to do that is not to be drawn into an argument with Miss Miller or her attorney. Understood?”
All three detectives nodded. “What do you know about Dorothy Planter, Miss Miller’s attorney?” Fitz asked.
