within the hour.” The Judge stood, and, out of sheer habit, all three men stood as well. “There is one last thing I’d like to say to the three of you. This is a clean slate, Mr. Donavan, not a free pass. There is a difference. I will not be privy to where you have settled. This is both for your protection and my own, but these two men,” she said pointing to Bobby and Michael, “will be informed. If you or your brother step one toe out of line I will personally have you dragged back here and deliver you to whoever is offering the highest bounty for your head. You haven’t made good choices up until this point, but that doesn’t mean you aren’t capable. I won’t be around to give your brother the same warning, so I hope you will convey this to him. When people are seeking revenge for this, I’m sure your brother will make a suitable substitute for you. You don’t want him shipped back here because he can’t keep his hands to himself.” The judge moved toward the conference room door and flagged down two large men and waved them over. “Michael and Bobby, it was a pleasure meeting with you this evening. We have it all under control from here. I’d tune in to the morning news tomorrow, I plan to send them one hell of a story to run.” She shook both of their hands and smiled widely at them.
“Bobby,” Christian said, reaching his hand out. “Thank you for stopping me tonight. If you ever need anything don’t hesitate to ask.” Bobby nodded his head and shook Christian’s hand, amazed how this night had turned out.
The elevator ride was silent as Michael and Bobby attempted to process what had happened—what they had just accomplished. As the elevator doors opened and they stepped out, Michael finally found his voice through the thoughts swimming in his head.
“We’ve got quite the story to go tell the girls, don’t we?” Even though everything had come together, there was still one thing that terrified Michael. “Bobby, I’m really sorry for not telling you about that case. I should have trusted you enough to tell you, I should have believed you’d understand. If you want me to head home and not come back to Betty’s with you, let me know.”
Michael held his breath, not wanting to hop in his car and drive to his cold loft apartment and sit alone on a night like tonight, but he would if it was what Bobby wanted.
“I wish you had told me, but there’s no rulebook for things like this. Even if I was still mad at you I wouldn’t be crazy enough to keep you from Jules tonight. I had one near-death experience already, I don’t need another.” Bobby slapped Michael on the shoulder. It wouldn’t have been so long ago that an infraction like Michael’s would have been enough for Bobby to lose all respect and cut all ties with him. The last few months had taught him the only thing that mattered was surrounding himself with people who cared—friends who cared about each other, about the world around them, and doing the right thing. No one was perfect, but people can be perfect for each other.
“You think she’d miss me if I wasn’t there tonight? I thought maybe it was all this commotion and when this settled down she’d toss me aside,” Michael said, relieved at the forgiveness and the invitation.
“She still might, but I doubt it. She really seems to like you. I know your reputation though. Don’t confuse my ability to get over the withholding of a part of your past with how I might act if you hurt her. You won’t survive that.” Bobby raised his eyebrows and wiped any sign of humor away from his face, he was serious.
“I like her Bobby, she’s special. I don’t know where it’s going to lead but I can assure you my reputation is grossly exaggerated, and I won’t hurt her. I guess I should give you the same speech about Piper. I’m the closest thing she has to family as far as I can tell, and I don’t want to see her hurt either.” Michael pushed through the front door and stepped out onto the sidewalk pressing the button to unlock his car.
“I don’t intend to hurt her. You might not be sure where things with you and Jules are going, but I have no doubts