Lucky This Isn't Real: MacBride Brothers Series St. Patrick's Day Fake Fiance Romance by Jamie Knight (digital e reader .TXT) 📕

“No, I’m good. I just want to get down there.”

“Don’t forget to grab your bag on the way. You need to get that footage before you show the police.”

“Thank you.” I kissed Nicole on the forehead before running from her office.

Downloading the footage from the camera onto my tablet and phone in my car as I drove, I headed for the police station. I wanted to go home and change my ruined shirt but was even more driven to get Sean out as soon as possible. Doing up the buttons on my jacket to cover my boobs, I redid my hair and make-up to look a bit less of a fright and marched into the police station.

“May I help you?” inquired the desk sergeant.

“I need to talk to someone about bail.”

It took some doing, but the desk sergeant, who was a lot more helpful than the patrol officers back at the office, contacted the proper authorities.

When he found me two detectives to talk to—a male and a female—I showed them the footage that showed Chau stalking me, attacking me, and swinging first at Sean. The footage was a bit blurry, so I also reluctantly opened my jacket to show it was really me getting assaulted. Then there was the sound—it was staticky and hard to understand.

“Please go out to the waiting room,” the female detective instructed. “We’ll contact you when bail is set.”

I sank back against the wall, my jacket almost falling open again. Quickly doing it up, I got ready to wait for as long as it took.

It was a game. At least that was what my addled mind told me. The cops didn’t like that I’d disproved their stupid theory with solid evidence and were punishing me. Making me wait for hours to bail Sean out. Refusing to give me any information. I tried to ask. First, the desk sergeant who just said it wasn’t his department, which was fair enough. It soon got to the point where I asked any passing uniformed cop about Sean MacBride’s status.

“Oh, honey. There you are.” I nearly cried as Maggie embraced me. It felt like the cavalry had come, and everything was going to be okay.

“How long have you been here?” Gavin asked.

“I don’t even know anymore.”

“I’ll go see what’s going on. Since I’m his brother, they have to tell me, right?”

He went up to the desk with the strut of the righteous, actually making me believe he might have more luck.

“Sorry, we’re late. I haven’t been feeling well,” Maggie said.

“Are you sick?”

“No, noting like that…” she hesitated. “Now isn’t probably the best time to tell you, but I’m pregnant.”

“Now is a perfect time.” I hugged her tight, happiness radiating off both of us. Our small celebration ended when Gavin returned about twenty minutes later, his stride not one of abject triumph.

“Apparently, they don’t have to tell me anything.”

“What did your lawyer say?” I asked.

“He found us someone. He’s superb but not cheap. It looks like Sean won’t be extradited, especially if it can be demonstrated that he was intervening.”

“I have footage,” I blurted. “I showed the detectives when I came in. It shows everything. There was a camera in my bag,” I elaborated, trying to keep my voice down. “The police have my tablet, but I downloaded the video on my phone too. The angle is a bit wonky, but it is clear what was going on. What Chau was doing to me, and that he swung first before Sean hit him.”

“There should be no problem then,” Gavin said with a comforting grin.

I wished I could share his confidence. Sean was supposed to leave in two days, and I wanted to spend every spare second with him, but that wouldn’t happen if he was in jail. My main concern was getting him back with me where he belonged. The rest we could work out after.

“Miss me?” came the voice I’d grown to love.

I threw myself at Sean taking him in an iron embrace, never planning to let him go again.

“How much?” Gavin asked.

“Nothing. All the charges were dropped,” Sean said.

As if on cue, my phone rang, Nicole’s number displayed on the screen.

“Want the good news?” she asked.

“Of course.”

“Emil was persuaded to drop the charges. The police weren’t quite as useless as they seemed. They told him they had the footage in evidence, and then I got a call from Maggie saying they had secured a lawyer the likes of whom could make the opposition shit themselves at the mere mention of his name.”

“What’s the bad news?”

“It’s likely you’ll lose your job. I tried, I swear I did, but there just wasn’t enough evidence from the video alone, without audio or a clear shot of Emil’s face for me to have him fired, let alone charged. I had no leverage to bargain.”

My stomach plummeted. “Will you be fired too?”

She sighed. “Dunno, probably. Chau can really hold grudges. I’d like to try and practice something other than corporate law anyway. Maybe I’ll go to Ireland and see if I can snag a sexy Irishman like you and Maggie.”

“Thank you so much. I’ll never be able to make it up to you.”

“What are friends for, right?”

Everything settled for the moment, Gavin took Maggie back to their place, and I took Sean’s hand, still not ready to let go yet.

“I think we need to get you into the shower,” I said.

“I’m not the only one.”

It was the longest drive I’d ever been on, despite the fact it couldn’t have been more than fifteen minutes in real-time. I had to let go of Sean’s hand to hold the wheel, but he kept a hand on my thigh. For the first while after what happened in the office, I wasn’t sure