Page 125 of Billionaire Lumberjack's Bride

Between Silas staring me down and telling me to make the call and my nerves about Joey, I couldn’t have put it off another minute without driving myself mad. “What news do you have?”

“Potentially good. I filed a motion to reduce your brother’s bail that will be heard next week. Silas insisted that I list him and you as co-signers.”

Co-signers?

Attorney Fields is throwing around terms I don’t understand, and I look to Silas, who leans against the fence, looking more comfortable in his own skin than I’ve ever seen him.

He’s apparently already had this conversation with the man on the other end of the line.

“Co-sign? What does that mean?”

“Essentially, that you’ll agree to make sure your brother complies with the terms placed on his bail. Ensuring he doesn’t miss court and stays out of trouble while the case is pending.”

“Okay.” I nod vigorously. “I can definitely do that.”

Joey hasneverbeen a troublemaker, and if it hadn’t been for what happened, he would have likely never had contact with the police his entire life, save for maybe a speeding ticket or two.

Attorney Fields continues, “It also makes it far more likely for the court to actually grant it. The name Bolton goes a long way around here.”

Don’t I know it.

Our time in Pittsburgh demonstrated that daily.

People bent over backward for Silas—from the hotel manager, who insisted we stay in the penthouse suite, to the tailor who arrived to bring Silas another suit before the second board meeting, and just about anyone else he spoke with to get what we needed done almost instantly. And he’s willing to sign and take responsibility for Joey when he’s never even met him, knowing full well that the Bolton name could be the thing that makes a judge actually release him from lockup.

Papers rustle on Attorney Field’s end of the line. “I also filed what’s called an Other Acts Motion relating to the alleged victim in this case.”

I pace along the edge of the pen, Whiskey falling in next to me, cutting his own path through the dirt while staying at my side. “What does that mean?”

“Remember I told you I was doing some digging?”

“Yeah.”

It feels like that conversation happened so long ago, but it’s only been a few weeks since I was angry enough with Silas to threaten to leave.

How fast things change…

Attorney Fields releases a sigh. “Well, my private investigator discovered some pretty interesting things about the man who died. Like this wasn’t the first time he had done something like that to someone.”

I freeze mid-step, and my eyes meet Silas’. Given the sympathetic look there, I can tell he’s already heard all this from Attorney Fields.

“He found three friends of the guy willing to testify that he’s gotten rough with women in front of them before, and my P.I. connected him to one woman who claims he raped her at a party in college several years back.”

“Oh, my God.”

My head spins, the events of that fateful night still so fresh that I can feel the effects of whatever he slipped into my drink as much now as I did then.

“I have affidavits from all four of them that I’m attaching to the motion. Hopefully, the DA is going to take a look at the evidence I’m trying to present at trial and decide he doesn’t want to put a seventeen-year-old on trial for murder when the alleged victim was more than likely trying to sexually assault you when Joey stopped him. We have a strong defense of others case, and this makes everything even stronger.”

That flicker of hope that’s taunted me so many times over the last several weeks lights again, and I squeeze my eyes closed and inhale deeply, taking in the fresh mountain air as my entire body starts to tremble. “So, he might dismiss the charges?”

“If the DA has any common sense, he’s not going to want to take this to trial in front of twelve jurors. All we need isoneto believe it was done to defend and protect you,oneperson to believe our story, and they lose.”

Silas’ strong arms wrap around me, holding me tightly. The smell of freshly cut oak soaks into my lungs, and his hard body pressed to mine helps stop the trembling as he supports my weight and gives me his own strength.

“Lyla, are you still there?”

“Yeah”—I open my eyes but keep my cheek pressed to Silas’ warm chest—“I’m here.”

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