Page 91 of Her Protector Daddies

“Oh my god.” Aubrey immediately developed a couple more stress lines around her eyes. “They’re calling you to the dock right now; you need to get up on the stand.”

“Now? But I—.” I gestured uselessly to the unconscious man at my feet.

“I’ll deal with this,” Aubrey said, taking the tablet from my hand. “Jay needs you.”

“Good luck!” came a distant chorus from the tablet. I nodded shakily and smoothed two clammy hands down my blouse. If Jay could do this, I could do it.

The seat on the stand was one of the most uncomfortable of my life, with the leather grooves digging into the backs of my thighs. Was this intentional? Was it harder to lie when your ass was being prodded?

“Selena Hartley.” André’s lawyer was a mean-looking man with narrow eyes and nonexistent lips.

“Yes.”

After reeling off my age and address to confirm with the court, he fixed me with a cold look that sent chills down my spine.

“Let’s cut to the chase, Miss Hartley. You claim to clearly remember the man who tried to kill you. Is that correct?”

“Ye-yes, I do. I remember. That’s correct, yes.” My nerves nearly got the better of me.

“Can you identify the man to the court?”

“Yes, I can.”

“He is in this room right now?”

“Yes.”

“Are you sure?”

My mouth turned to cotton and I nodded. “Yes.” How many times were they going to ask me the same thing? Was Andrés still hoping the lingering threat to Dae would make me turn on Jay?

“Could you point out this man to the court, please?”

“Certainly.” I looked directly at Andrés, his face dark and hateful. The man who had caused my entire life to turn upside down, who had tried to kill me and threatened the people I loved. He’d gotten away with all of that for far too long.

“It was him, the man right there dressed in orange. Andrés Dorame.”

35

SELENA

Breaking News: Drug Lord Andrés Dorame sentenced to eighteen consecutive life sentences.

A lot could happen in six months.

With a court case nearly consuming my life and constantly being questioned for days and weeks on end, there was a point where it felt never-ending. That each detail I, or others, gave to the court about the numerous crimes committed against us just wasn’t going to be enough to put someone as evil and connected as Andrés behind bars.

Countless teary nights reliving the trauma, long days of repeating the lingering PTSD effects of being shot, and longer days of listening to the pain in the voice of every man I loved as they stood on the stand and faced the same intense interrogation I suffered.

It felt like there was no end in sight for a long time.

Now, lounging on a deck chair by the pool, overlooking the ocean in our new home, the end was here.

Andrés Dorame was going to prison for a fucking long time, for every family he murdered during his psychotic raised, the death of Jay’s partner and the attempted murder of myself, never mind all the drug charges they managed to bring against him too. It wasn’t a lot, but it was enough for Bailey to feel somewhat satisfied that his sister had been avenged.

For the first time in a long time, I felt good. Proud of myself and proud of my men. Stretching out my legs, the sun warmed my skin and I caressed one hand over my heavily swollen belly. Not long now, and Little Egg would join us in a world now free from that psychotic asshole. That had been my only concern through the stress of the entire case – if it would have adverse effects on my baby.

Luck, thankfully, was so far on my side with this one.

---