Page 53 of Captivated with Them

Though I may not have been able to slip in and out of a room as easily as I would if I’d been on two legs, I was relying on the way people tended to not really see the disabled. My youth, height, and blond hair probably made me stand out more than most, so I deliberately slouched and kept my head down.

I wheeled myself into the back of the courtroom, where there was space for those in wheelchairs. I was the only one occupying that spot today.

The scene we’d caused outside the courthouse clearly hadn’t been enough to bring proceedings to a close.

I lifted my head to take in the room. I clocked the couple of security guards on the outskirts. They would most likely be armed, and keeping an eye on proceedings, especially considering who the defendant was. The judge sat behind the bench, the defense sitting to one side with the man I assumed to be Joe Nettie. The prosecution sat on the other side. The jury box contained the twelve jury members, and then there were the desks where the court clerk and court reporter sat.

But it was the gallery that caught my attention. The lines between the three gangs here were clean to see, and as much as I hated to say it, race was the thing that clearly divided them. Down one side, were what remained of Cisco King’s people. Down the middle sat, I assumed, Joe Nettie’s gang, and on the other side were the Capello brothers.

I sought the multitude of faces of the people in the gallery.

It took me a moment, but then I spotted Rue, sitting small and pensive in with the Capellos. Even Manuel Capello, who played a more backseat role than his brother, Frankie, was nearby. Rue’s face was pale, her eyes hollowed by dark shadows beneath. Even from this distance, it was easy to see she was holding back tears. If she was here and not in a holding room, she must have already testified.

What had happened when she’d taken the stand?

I stared at her, hoping she’d sense the weight of my gaze and catch my eye. Perhaps then I’d be able to motion for her to leave the courtroom. Even if Frankie sent one of his men to accompany her, I’d be able to deal with them now that I was armed. I might be in a wheelchair, but a bullet would make up for a missing leg.

Look up,I willed her. Look at me.

But Rue wasn’t looking up at anyone. She seemed to have shrunk into herself, her head bent, her shoulders curved.

She wasn’t going to see me.

I didn’t want anyone else to notice me, however, so I kept my face averted, not wanting to be recognized.

“Do you have your verdict?” the judge asked the jury.

Shit. I hadn’t thought for a second that this would have happened so fast. The jury must have made their minds up quickly. How many people did they have testifying against Joe Nettie? Had Rue been the only one? Had they managed to intimidate everyone else into not taking the stand?

One of the jury members rose to his feet. “We have, Your Honor. In the case of the State versus Joe Nettie for murder in the first degree, we find the defendant not guilty.”

A gasp of shock rose from around the courtroom.

“Mr. Nettie,” said the judge, “thank you for your time. You are free to go.”

From the gallery, I heard Rue’s cry of, “No!”

Joe Nettie would be walking free, and he’d seen Rue give evidence against him. Never mind the Capello brothers, Joe Nettie would be coming after her now.

I had to act, and I had to act fast.

But someone got there before me, only it wasn’t Rue they were after.

One of the men sitting on the side of Cisco King stood. “You killed our brother, you son of a bitch!”

It seemed I wasn’t the only one to smuggle in a weapon. The man had a gun in his hand.

An impossibly loud crack ricocheted through the courtroom.

Joe Nettie’s mouth dropped open in shock, and he glanced down at his chest where a red bloom of blood was spreading across the front of his shirt. He lifted both hands as though in confusion then folded to his knees.

Screams echoed around the courtroom.

Fuck. This wasn’t a part of our plan at all.

I needed to get Rue out of there.

But Frankie Capello was already ushering her toward the door. Shit, shit, shit. This was all going wrong. I couldn’t let him take her out of the building. The moment he got out of the courthouse, he would arm himself again, if he wasn’t already.

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