Raiden (The Kent Brothers #2) - A.M. Hargrove Page 0,93
be. They did their best to piss off Drex, but he never lost his cool, even when they accused him of abducting Sinead and Aisling.
“I’ll repeat for maybe the seventh or is it the eighth time now? Sinead reached out to Wolfe Investigations for help. Had she not done that, I wouldn’t be sitting here today.”
He was perjuring himself. We all would be for this part of the questioning, but we’d decided it was worth it to nail Aiden. We’d made that promise to Sinead, and we’d all keep it.
The week dragged on, although sitting in court watching this unfold had us sitting on pins and needles. I couldn’t imagine what Sinead was experiencing. The CBD oil helped, but she had stress lines around her eyes that hadn’t been there before, and she’d aged at least ten years.
My testimony was simple. They asked, and I responded. I’d given up my true identity, but it didn’t matter. Scottie Sullivan had a target on her back.
When that story came out, the defense moved to strike, but the judge allowed it. It was a true win for the prosecution.
On Friday, the jury went into deliberation. That meant we’d have to spend the weekend without knowing.
We were tense and didn’t want to leave the house. Cruze reminded me of a caged panther as he paced the floors.
“Dude, you’ll wear out the floors if you don’t stop.”
He peeked up at Raiden, as though he didn’t get what Raiden was talking about.
“Huh?”
“You haven’t sat down in over two hours. All you’re doing is going back and forth and it’s giving me a headache.”
“Sorry. I’m nervous.”
“Have a drink to cool those heels. I thought I saw smoke coming off them earlier.”
“Wanna go for a run?”
I intervened. “Guys, do you think that’s a good idea?”
“What do you mean?” Cruze asked.
“An element of danger might still exist out there.”
“Everyone’s in jail.”
“Right, but let’s wait until they’re convicted. Then we can ease our vigilance,” Scottie replied.
“Get on the treadmill. You can burn energy there,” Raiden suggested.
“Good idea.”
Cruze left and Raiden said, “I think he has it bad for Sinead, but I don’t want to say anything.”
“Same here. He’s screwed too because when this is over, she goes into WITSEC and that’s it.”
Raiden didn’t answer but only nodded.
That scene with Cruze made me realize how fortunate I was to have Raiden with me. We spent most of the weekend in each other’s arms, making love in our cozy room. It was great to be back in Denver and living at Raiden’s new house. Since his old one had been destroyed, he bought a new one nearby. Mine still wasn’t finished, but as soon as it was, I would sell it.
He took a chunk of my hair and twirled it around his fingers. “After the trials end and we’re free to do as we please, let’s go away.”
“What about our wedding?” The date had been burning a hole in my mind.
“We can elope. Name the place and we’ll do it.”
“Your family won’t mind?”
“After what we’ve been through, I’m sure they’ll be fine. It’s time to step off this roller coaster ride. What do you say?”
“I’m game if you are.”
I was instantly in his arms as he kissed me. Then he pulled me to my feet, and we hopped around the room like kids.
“Let’s plan. Where do you want to go?”
“Since Gem and I did the South Pacific, why don’t you surprise me?”
“Fine. I’ll take you to one of my favorite places. But I have a question. Would you prefer a beach or otherwise?”
“Not saying. You plan this.”
My excitement grew. I hadn’t looked forward to anything in ages. Going away with Raiden would be spectacular.
Monday arrived, and we prepared to put this behind us. The jury had finished deliberating over the weekend and was ready to give their verdict. They’d found Aiden O’Brien guilty, as we expected. Sinead’s testimony was the key to putting him away.
She sagged in her seat and silently wept. As the officer escorted him out of the courtroom, he aimed his finger at her and said, “You’ll pay for this. You and that brat of yours.”
It took two long months to obtain convictions on the others. It was a tedious process, but it was worth our time. Ensuring that no one else would die at the hands of those monsters had been our goal, and we’d seen it through.
We celebrated on the night that they read the final guilty verdict. Sinead accompanied us to a restaurant after some pleading