Bailed Out (The Anna Albertini Files #2) - Rebecca Zanetti Page 0,93

time ago that people didn’t change, but how could Aiden go from being my hero at ten to breaking my heart at twenty-four? I wanted Pucci to be lying, but he seemed truthful. “What’s the tattoo all about? The one both you and Danny have?”

He looked down at his arm. “It’s the symbol of my company. Of the men involved in my entire business.”

“And BGC?” I held my breath.

“Brotherhood, God, Country,” Pucci said. “In that order.” He shifted his weight on the wooden chair. “We’re as tight as the Lordes are with each other, but we stay under the radar of the law much better than a motorcycle club does. It’s a smarter way to go with the same benefits. No big and flashy leather jackets that act like neon signs.”

“What’s this deal you have with Aiden?” I asked, my stomach cramping.

Pucci shook his head. “We don’t share info with our women. It keeps us safe and it keeps you safe.”

“Aiden lied to me,” I said, mostly to myself, still not quite believing it. The claw marks down Pucci’s neck stood out, and I felt how dumb I’d been.

Pucci nodded. “I’m sure he did. You can’t exactly tell a lawyer or frankly, a woman, that you’re brokering illegal gun deals.” He jerked. “Shit. We’re covered by privilege. Don’t tell Aiden I said that.” He sat back and his lips pressed together.

Gun deals? They’d been talking about modifying handguns at the campfire, hadn’t they? I knew that was illegal but needed to brush up on the actual statute. The sense of betrayal almost had me falling off the chair. Here I’d been lecturing Krissy about getting out, and I was facing almost incontrovertible truth that Aiden wasn’t who I thought he was. Who I wanted him to be.

The bailiff entered along with the judge, and we all stood as the jury was brought back in. I called Pucci’s other friend to the stand first and ran him through the night in question. He claimed there wasn’t a gun, and he was pretty unflappable on cross-examination. It still took an hour or so longer than I’d expected. We were going to need another day for trial, but at least it’d be finished this week. Tomorrow was Friday. When Pucci’s friend was finished, I turned to Pucci. “He did a good job.”

Pucci looked calmer. “Yeah. Gram is solid.”

I breathed deeply. “It’s all up to Krissy. You picked the exact wrong night to beat her up.”

Pucci rubbed the scratches down his neck. “She picked the night.”

What an ass. I bit my tongue and called Krissy to the stand. The officer at the rear of the courtroom let her in, and she strode up the aisle wearing a pretty white sundress and strappy sandals. Her dark hair was around her shoulders, and her eyes were clear. The makeup job was phenomenal.

I could see bruises because I knew they were there. Otherwise, I don’t think I would’ve noticed and would’ve thought the angles on her face were from shadows and light and not makeup. “You owe her better after this,” I muttered.

Pucci just stared at her.

“Look loving,” I hissed under my breath.

His gaze softened.

At the moment, I disliked myself more than I hated him. I stood and ran Krissy through the initial questions of her name, occupation, and relationship to the defendant.

“So, tell us what happened on the night in question,” I said.

Krissy plucked at her skirt. “We were drinking at Dunphey’s, and this guy grabbed my butt really hard. It, um, it freaked me out, and I, um, I told Rich.” She looked toward him and then seemed to relax.

I kept my smile in place. “I know it’s nerve-wracking to give testimony in any case. You’re doing great.” I needed the jury to know she was nervous and not lying.

She clasped her hands together. “Okay.” Her small laugh was nervous but authentic.

“What happened after you told Rich that you’d been assaulted?” I asked.

She exhaled. “Rich went to confront the guy, and they started pushing each other around, and we all ended up outside. The guy hit Rich and Rich hit him back. Then we left.” She settled back and looked like she relaxed.

“Good.” I ran her through more questions to make sure her testimony was solid and then I tendered the witness. The jury was looking at her with sympathy, and so long as she stayed solid through cross-examination, we had a good chance of winning this thing.

Alice stood and scrutinized Krissy’s face before questioning