EVIL VILLAIN (The Royal Court #3) - Rebel Hart Page 0,40

the locator activated on my car.”

“Sorry,” I replied. “I got out of prison last July, and then I went on the run again in October. I was bouncing from place to place until Connor’s guys snatched me in like March or April. I don’t even fucking remember. I haven’t been able to just…” I took a breath in and then let one out. “Sit. When I came to stay with you, I finally was eating good food, sleeping in a comfortable bed but—”

“It still feels like prison?” Felicity finished.

“I love living with you,” I said. “But I don’t remember the last time I was able to just sit and not feel like I was running. Even after I got out of prison, I saw Nathan and Connor almost right away, and then it felt like I was dodging them again. I haven’t had a normal life since the 8th grade.”

“I hate that,” Felicity said. “We’re gonna get you back to a normal life, but when you just disappear…”

“I know,” I cut her off. “I’m sorry for scaring you.”

Felicity put her hand on my back and started to rub it. “You’re safest at home. I know it sucks, but all it takes is for one wrong person to see you. I just need you to hang on a little bit longer. We’re gonna get you back home, back to your family, back to your woman. We’re close, probably closer than it feels like. Just be a little more patient.”

I nodded, knowing she was right. “Yeah.”

“How did the meeting go?” she asked.

“Good. I told Nico everything I knew. Nathan probably would have been more helpful, but I’m glad he’s not this deeply mixed up in all this shit. Nico was pleased with the information I was able to provide. He seemed confident that he’d be able to dig something up.”

Felicity let out a sigh of relief. “Excellent. I’ll be sure to brief Garrett when I see him next week.”

“You’re seeing Venom next week?” I asked.

“Yeah, to go over his appeal,” Felicity said. “It’s been filed, but I keep filing extensions on the court date because I want to make sure we have everything we need to be successful in the case. We only get one shot locally, then we’d have to take it federal, and that’s gonna be much harder with judges who don’t understand the influence Connor has. I think I’m going to set the court date for later this month. If we can file while Connor isn’t around to testify, then the main thing that caused the violation of Garrett’s parole won’t be there. We stand a good chance.”

“But what if Connor does show up?” I said.

“Well, it wouldn’t look good for Garrett, but then we’d have him at least,” Felicity said.

“I’m not willing to wager Garrett’s freedom like that,” I said. “We have to wait.”

That seemed to suck all the air out of Felicity. “I don’t want to wait. This is so important. This might be the only shot we get.”

“It’s too risky. It will be better if we can get rid of Connor for good and ensure that Garret gets out. We can’t rush it,” I said. “It’s like you just said, we have to be a little more patient. If we can sort Connor out, there’s more than one problem we’re going to be able to solve.”

A smile came across Felicity’s face. “Okay,” she said. “We’re in it together, so we wait it out together?” Felicity said.

I nodded. “Exactly.”

“Okay. I’ll file for another extension. The judge respects me a lot, but hopefully we can bring this to an end soon. Their patience with me has got to be running out.”

“Nico’s on the case now, and if I know my brother at all, and oddly enough, I think I do, he’s not just sitting around either. The other shoe is going to drop, we just have to wait.”

Felicity started to laugh. “Wait, when did it flip from me convincing you to you convincing me?”

I joined her, chuckling myself. “I think we may both be much better at giving advice than we are at receiving it.”

“You know, that’s not the first time I’ve heard that,” Felicity said, then she stood up. “Come on, let’s get home. I’m sure Concrete is chomping at the bit to see you.”

“Yeah, let’s go.”

Over the course of the next few days, Felicity made an intentional effort to make me feel more comfortable and less locked up. She frequently suggested I run errands with her,