Page 26 of Twisted Attraction

“I loved you. I’ll never understand what I did or why you didn’t just talk to me instead of running off and secretly burying your cock inside of a fucking teenager—”

I sucked in a painful breath and shook my head, apologizing to Judge Carter when she grabbed her gavel and slammed it down three consecutive times.

“When it comes to the terms of the restraining order,” Peter piped up, clearing his throat. “We ask that Karl Greene not be allowed within a hundred-foot radius of Charlotte Greene in any indoor and outdoor setting. We ask for all contact in any verbal or nonverbal form to be denied.”

“And if I may, Your Honor,” I stubbornly and unprofessionally interrupted. “I ask to please approach my ex-husband.”

“Now Ms. Greene…”

“Please, Your Honor.”

She hesitated for a moment, sighing as she frowned. “Fine. Permission granted. But if you attack him, I cannot help you, Ms. Greene. You will be detained.”

“Charlotte,” Peter called out in warning, but I waved him off, keeping my eyes locked on Karl.

“We promised each other forever, but I guess somewhere along the way you must have gotten lost.”

“Charlotte—”

“Just shut up and listen to me, Karl. That restraining order goes into effect just as soon as I walk out of this courtroom.”

His bottom lip wobbled, but he remained mute, letting me speak.

“It’s not my fault your mistress died, and it’s not fair that you’ve been taking all of your frustrations out on me because of it. You’re a good man, and the last thing I want to do is throw your ass in jail, but if you ever come near me or so much as dare raise a hand to me again, I will. I may be dropping the assault charges but please listen to me when I say with the last bit of intolerable patience I have left, that you have got to stop this shit, Karl. I’m tired of suffering over your mistakes and from this point forward, I’m not going to allow you to do this shit to me anymore. I’m sorry it’s come down to this, but you left me with no other choice.” I paused to take a breath and nodded toward Judge Carter, signaling I was finished. “Thank you, Your Honor, for letting me speak.”

“Very well then.” The judge blew out a relieved breath and then gave Ben another subtle smile. “Given what I just witnessed, I can only assume your client is pleading guilty on the stalking charges?”

“He is, Your Honor,” Ben replied.

She nodded and then leveled her stern sights on Karl. “After walking out of this courtroom, you are no longer allowed to be within a hundred-foot radius of Charlotte Greene in any public setting. Verbal and nonverbal contact is forbidden and to ensure you abide by these orders, all phone calls will be monitored until further notice. Should you decide to disregard these orders and get caught, you will be in direct violation of the restraining order and a warrant will be issued for your immediate arrest. Do you understand, Mr. Greene?”

“Yes,” Karl nodded, his voice shaking. “Thank you, Your Honor.”

“Great. I’ll get the paperwork going and have it distributed to your lawyers soon.”

“Excuse me, Judge Carter,” Chief said from the doorway, stepping forward with his hand raised. “Permission to approach the bench?”

Karl looked like he was about to shit a brick, but instead of offering him any speckle of comfort, I just smiled sweetly at Chief as he passed by me and then made my way over to where Detectives Rhodes and Hutch were casually leaning against the wall. Embarrassment burned fatally hot against my cheeks as I realized they had heard my whole fucked-up pity spiel.

“What are you two doing here? Did you catch a break in the case?”

“Afraid not,” Detective Rhodes replied. “I hate to be so blunt, but things aren’t looking too hot.”

“But to answer your first question,” said Detective Hutch, who had his large arms folded tightly to his chest as he glared at Karl like he was a roach he wanted to stomp with his black sneaker. “Captain Burgess told us about Karl’s arraignment. He thought it was a good idea for us to be here for emotional support.”

“You didn’t have to do that. Really, it’s okay. I just hate that I had to do this shit to begin with. What’s up with Chief though? Why is he here?”

Rhodes let out a dark chuckle, and my eyes couldn’t help but widen in horror as I watched Karl kick his seat and furiously pound his clenched fists atop the desk. He tried to make a play for Chief, but thankfully reconsidered when Ben grabbed ahold of his shoulders. Judge Carter ordered Karl’s immediate removal and just like that he and Ben were accompanied out of the room by the bailiff.

Fuck, fuck, TRIPLE FUCK.

“What the fuck is going on now?” I groaned.

“Chief requested Karl wear an ankle monitor,” was Detective Hutch’s fast retort, his lips curled in a satisfied smirk. “And judging by Karl’s reaction, I’d say The Honorable Judge Carter agreed.”

“But I don’t understand,” I said, gaping between them in utter confusion. “Karl’s been suspended. They took his badge, gun, and the cruiser.”

“Yes,” Rhodes did not hesitate to agree, “they did. However, Chief isn’t fucking around and is taking Karl’s abuse of power very seriously, perhaps personally if I’m being frank—but you didn’t hear that from me.”

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