This chapter is dedicated to crygal - hope everything is going well for you XD.

This chapter has undergone some rework from Draft I.

24 – Deception

Charlotte's POV

When I regain consciousness, the disinfectant smell reminding me of my latex gloves at home mocks my nostrils. It could only mean one thing – I'm in a hospital bed. My throat is raw and I swallow for some relief. Scared to open my eyes and find Ryan by my bedside, I try to move but a stabbing pain to my ribcage convinces me to still. I wiggle my toes and my legs throb slightly. Next come my fingers and I realize that the heavy pressure on my arm is a cast.

With a sigh, I open my eyes and turn towards the light source radiating from the window. My head is about to explode but a soothing feeling washes over me when I notice the figure which stands rigid with his back turned to me.

"Hey." My voice sounds more like the squeak of a mouse.

Tivon spins around, his dark eyes softening. "Hey, you're awake. How're you feeling?"

I snort. "Like I was hit by a bus."

A shadow crosses his handsome face. "Yeah. Ryan has really outdone himself." The bitterness in his voice is balm for my soul. "When are you finally going to leave him?" With a sigh, he runs his fingers through his hair which is not like him. A neat appearance is of utmost importance to him and messy hair could damage his image. He must really be worried.

"Just a few more weeks." I watch how his shoulders slump. "As soon as I have full custody of Noah, things will be different. Especially if Rena goes to jail."

He walks over to the bed and plops in the chair next to the nightstand. "I'm just scared he'll kill you one of these days." His fingers gently stroke the back of my hand.

The concern in his voice stirs a warm tingle inside my belly. "Don't worry, everything will be fine. I survived this long and can tough it out."

His pained eyes pierce my heart. "You should see yourself, Charlotte, and you'd know what I mean. This time, there is not one spot on your body he hasn't bruised."

I give him an astute smile. "I'm sure you haven't seen every part of me since I got admitted to the hospital."

He can't help but laugh before burying his face in his hands. "How can you make jokes about this? He is committing a crime and you are just letting him get away with it."

"I still need him." My fingers reach out, ruffling through his hair. "You know I can't get custody without him, you said so yourself."

"I know." The words are muffled by his tears. "I just wish there was another way."

"Hey, Tivon, look at me."

He peeks at me through the gaps between his fingers when he raises his head.

"Can you tell me what's wrong with this picture?" I ask.

There is a small groan.

"I mean, I'm the one in the hospital bed all bandaged up and you're the one crying. Shouldn't you be the bad ass lawyer trying to cheer me up?"

He lowers his head again. "I'm not crying."

My giggle is a big mistake. My whole side aches like someone just slammed into it with a bulldozer. "If you don't stop, I'll tell all your clients that you are just a little softy at heart."

A low chuckle breaks through his silent sobs. "That could ruin my reputation. Everyone thinks I'm a shark."

"And you are." I try to make him laugh again. "You're my little shark when you bite my earlobe."

He squints at me, wiping away the tears with his backhand. "You mean like a cat shark? They don't cause any damage and I really want to cause damage to your husband at the moment. I hate him."

"Don't talk like this," I scold. "You know I don't like violence. Makes me think that you'll beat me one day, too."

He clicks his tongue. "You know I would never hurt you. I love you."

I grin from ear to ear despite the throbs in my cheeks. "Say it again."

He plays along. "What? That I love you?"

The twinkle in his eyes makes my heart beat faster. "Yes."

He bends forward, his lips next to my ear. "I love you, Charlotte Constantia soon to be ex-Parks." His breath tickles my skin. "I love you more than life itself and I swear I will make you happy until the day I die."

A tear trickles down my cheek and drops on his nose. "I love you, too, Tivon."

"Tell me again."

I snicker, cringing when pain tears through my ribcage. "You know, I feel like we are in some kind of cheesy teenage romance flick."

His thumb traces along my cheekbone. "I wish we were, Charlotte. The villains in those movies are just backstabbing little bitches or rebels without a cause. In our story, we are dealing with a highly manipulative, sadistic psychopath without a conscience. That scares me."

"Why do you love me?" This question has lingered on my mind ever since we started dating. "I mean, why burden yourself with all my baggage? You could have anybody."

He crooks his head. "For starters, you are a beautiful woman and an amazing lover. You also happen to be smart, funny, witty, and strong, and your blueberry pancakes are better than those of my mother which means something."

I giggle again before a hiss from the pain causes his forehead to wrinkle. "Admit that you only like me because I'm a good cook."

Despair flares in his eyes. "Oh Charlotte, what am I going to do with you? It hurts me every single day, knowing you're with this monster."

"Speaking of the devil, you are mighty relaxed considering that Ryan could burst in here any second and find you by my bedside."

Mischief is written all over his face. "Don't you think I made sure he wasn't around before coming here? He and Marcus Forrester are cooking something up to get Rena to talk, so he went back to Chicago an hour after he checked you into the hospital. The minute Barney confirmed that he indeed boarded the plane, I fueled up the Gulfstream and here I am." In that moment, he reminds me of a little boy who just successfully stole a cookie from the secret jar.

"So they still have no clue where Noah is?"

He shakes his head. "None. Pam Fallon has good contacts through the shelter and I'm sure they're hiding him somewhere. Since the judge put Rena in jail for contempt, he wants to move the case along. I expect a full hearing in the next ten days. If we win, that's it. The custody order will become permanent."

That thought doesn't make me feel any better. "That still doesn't guarantee that Rena will hand him over."

"True." Tivon rubs his chin. "But it'll give the authorities more leverage. There will be an international warrant for Frank's arrest and he is bound to be caught eventually. There was very little time to plan his escape. Sooner or later, he'll run out of money and make a mistake, or someone will let us right to him. Ryan put eyes out on Kade, Pam and even Noel. He can't hide forever."

Though I know Tivon is right, it doesn't ease the tense feeling in the nape of my neck. Getting the permanent custody order and finding Noah is the last part of my plan before I can get rid of Ryan.

All of a sudden, fear robs me of my breath. If Ryan ever found out about the affair, he would destroy Tivon – after beating him to a pulp and probably putting a bullet from his service revolver into the middle of my forehead.

"So what are he and Marcus up to now?"

He shrugs. "I have no clue and truthfully, I don't want to know. Ryan is already violating federal law by using FBI resources for his own personal gain and the less I know about it, the better, or I wouldn't be able to put him on the stand."

I sigh – this client-lawyer privilege concept is really an inconvenience at times. Otherwise, all this information Tivon got from Ryan could easily be used to put my husband in his place.

"Do you think their plan will work? I really want Noah with me soon."

"It's gonna be fine," he reassures me. "Rena won't even know what hit her. I hate to say it but Ryan is really good at his job and reads people like books. Admiring skill, if you really think about it."

Horrific ability is more like it. Ryan had always managed to catch Brent in a lie and my son suffered severely as a result. When he was a child, Ryan only washed out his mouth with soap but as he grew older, boiling soup was forced down his throat, scorching every part of the inside of his mouth. Lucky for me, I have always been a master of deception and one of the few people who could pull the wool over my husband's eyes.

"I hope you're right." I sink deeper into my pillow. The talking has exhausted me and every part of my body is throbbing.

He must have noticed my discomfort. "Do you want me to call the nurse and get you something else for the pain?"

"No." They will probably give me morphine which will just knock me out and always makes me sick. I am not ready to go back to sleep, enjoying his company too much. "I just need to rest for a moment. Tell me something about your cases."

"Well." His thumb strokes the back of my hand. "There was this crazy woman the other day who met this guy over the internet and packed up her four kids to move across state lines to be with him though they had never even met face to face. After I filed a petition for the husband to get them back, we found out that the new boyfriend wasn't only a convicted felon, but also a sex offender who was really after the thirteen year old daughter."

"That's sick." I never understood how grown man can be after young girls like that.

"It is," he agrees. "I have never particularly cared for sex offenders and was glad to be on the other side."

The way he defends bad guys has always bothered me. "But you still represent them from time to time, like Marcus."

The soothing strokes stop and I know I offended him.

"Patrice has never implicated Marcus and I don't even know if the allegations are true," he says, a slight coldness in his voice.

I am not intending to back down. "He's still a wife beater."

"Yeah, so is Ryan and I still represent him. That's what I do for a living, Charlotte, like it or not. It pays the bills."

I open my eyes and notice the frown on his face. "Hey, I didn't mean to upset you. I know it's just a job. It just feels odd at times, that's all."

His expression softens. "Don't get me wrong, I don't like cases like that, but I couldn't refuse Marcus. He is too connected. Blowing him off would have been professional suicide, especially with his vindictive personality."

I have to admit that I have rarely met anyone more spiteful. After he didn't secure Rena's conviction for Murder One, he totally freaked out and swore to Ryan and me that he would not rest until he put her behind bars for good. Losing against Pam Fallon of all people was a huge blow to his ego on top of that.

"Well, I'm glad he is on our side. I sure wouldn't want him against us."

I cough from the dryness in my throat, sending torture stabs of pain though my entire body. A small cry escapes my mouth and his eyes light up in alarm.

"That's it. I will call the nurse to pump you full of pain medication and let you get some rest."

I reach for him. "Will you be here when I wake up?"

"If Ryan is still in Chicago."

Crappy odds, but the best I can do under the circumstances. "OK, but then kiss me goodbye, at least."

He bends forward, halting just over my lips. "Are you sure that won't hurt you too much?"

I grumble something in response, pursing my lips for his gentle touch. The pain will be totally worth it.

He gives in and probes my mouth open with his tongue. My whole body is on fire, but this time from my aching desire for him and not my husband's beating. I indulge in the moment, knowing that his kiss will end way too soon.

He is cut short by a clearing of a throat from someone who snuck up on us.

"I hope I'm not interrupting anything."

Tivon pulls back with a low curse and my eyes find the intruder by the door. I narrow my eyes, trying to figure out where I have seen the woman before who is stepping into the room, closing the door behind her.

It finally dawns on me that she actually works in Ryan's unit. I met her a couple of times at the annual Christmas party – I believe her name is Alex or something like that. Ryan hates her guts but conceded that she is an excellent profiler. Coming from him, this is a huge compliment since he doesn't usually approve of women working for the Bureau.

"Sorry." She grimaces. "Your husband asked me to check up on you since he had to leave town. I didn't know you had" – her eyebrow arches – "company of a family friend."

I have always been amazed by her ability to raise just one brow like in Star Trek, yet her Mr. Spock abilities are the least of my worries. My nightmare scenario about my husband finding out about my lover unfolds right in front of my eyes and I have no clue how to defuse the situation.

I give her a crooked smile. "Alex, I can explain."

In response, her eyebrow raises even further while she gives Tivon a good once over. "Well, I can't wait, Mrs. Parks."

After that, there is only deadly silence.

So, Alex is back and caught our lovers in the act. I'm sure she can't wait to tell Kade and Rena and this could really work against Charlotte if they decide to blackmail her. I hope this chapter wasn't too sappy :)

Next time, we'll jump back to her at the jail to see how Rena is holding up. 

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