Free Now and Forever by Brenda Rothert Page A

trying not to assume the worst.
    Cole burst through the door to the lobby and saw Ben seated in a row of chairs, elbows resting on his knees.
    “What’s going on?” Cole asked, breathing heavily.
    “Outside,” Ben said, rising and leading the way. Aggravation and tension were coursing through Cole’s veins by the time Ben turned to face him on the sidewalk, having found a semi-private space up against the stone of the office building.
    “Is Emma okay?” Cole asked.
    “This isn’t about her.”
    Cole sighed and looked skyward, blowing out a relieved breath. “I’m about to miss a really important meeting, so tell me what the fuck is up.”
    Ben met his eyes, his expression serious. “I have to arrest you.”
    Cole took a deep breath and steadied himself with a hand on the wall. “Arrest me? For what? I do nothing – literally nothing – but come here, go home and sleep. There has to be a mistake.”
    Tension lined Ben’s forehead as he leaned in to Cole and spoke in a low tone. “Embezzlement. Calcotte.”
    Cole’s stomach dropped to the sidewalk. He wanted to repeat the word out of disbelief, but he couldn’t bring himself to, even outside the firm’s walls. “What? No. There’s some mistake here, man.”
    “Let’s go to the station and you can talk to the guys who investigated.”
    “You’re seriously arresting me?” Cole asked in a low tone.
    Ben nodded slightly. “I have to. I told the guys I’d do it ‘cause I didn’t want you taken out of here in handcuffs. Just come with me, alright?”
    Realization set in and Cole nodded. “I’m not answering questions without an attorney. Not because I did anything wrong, but . . . shit. I don’t even know who to call to represent me.”
    Ben led the way to his unmarked car. “One thing at a time, man. Call Emma and have her meet you at the station. Once you post, you can find an attorney.”
    “Shit,” Cole said, shaking his head. “She’s mad at me and I don’t want to upset her with this.”
    “Did you fuck up the proposal again?” Ben’s accusatory tone made Cole want to shove him into his sedan and fight out the tension knotted in his gut.
    “No, I didn’t fuck it up,” he snapped. “I did what you said and she still said no.”
    Ben lowered his brows with disbelief. “She’ll still bail you out.”
    “Yeah, but . . .”
    “Everyone makes mistakes, man.”
    Cole shot Ben a disgusted look. “I didn’t fucking do it. Whatever this is, I didn’t do it. I’m not even on Calcotte anymore.”
    “Alright, man. Just get in the car,” Ben said. Cole walked to the passenger side, disbelief weighing down his limbs as he got in the car. He’d thought things couldn’t get worse, but he hadn’t even fathomed something like this. Innocent or not, he stood to lose the job he’d worked his ass off to get and keep. If Emma hadn’t wanted him before, she sure as hell wouldn’t now.
    ***
    There was a moment of silence as Emma let Cole’s words sink in.
    “You . . . are you serious? You got arrested?”
    “I’m on the way to the station now. I don’t have a clue how this happened but I promise you I didn’t do anything wrong. Since this isn’t in the scope of my job, I’ll have to pay my own bail and hire my own attorney. I’m probably gonna lose my job.”
    “Okay.” Emma let out a deep breath. She was not falling apart. Not now. She had to keep it together. “So the first thing is the money, or an attorney?”
    “Probably the money. I’ll have to post ten percent to get out. It’ll be substantial.”
    “We don’t have a lot of money because of my construction loan payments. But we have that $10,000 in your savings.”
    The pause on the other end of the line made her heart pound. “I spent that on the engagement ring.”
    “Cole! Are you crazy?” She forced her lips closed and took in a calming breath. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean that. I can borrow money from my parents.”
    “No. Not for this.”
    “I won’t