Page 13 of Hunter's Trial

Nikolai’s face comes to mind, unbidden.

I can only imagine the shape that he’s going to be in when I see him next.

“I do. I think that the best chance for getting Nikolai released of all charges is to have Henry testify. Getting the victim himself to negate the claims of abduction will to be the best possible way to convince the judge.”

“No.” Alek says instantly. He doesn’t even bother looking up from the sandwiches that he was making. “He’s not going to be involved in this. Nikolai might have convinced me to help him in the first place by hiring you, but that’s crossing a line.”

My mouth goes dry. I wasn’t expecting for him to get so angry over such a simple suggestion. I flounder for a moment, just a moment before I catch my composure.

“It would be the fastest way to get him out. I can come up with other options, but they will take more time. I will have to deep dive into the past and I don’t truly think that Nikolai has the luxury of time in there.”

Alek stabs his knife into the cutting board, and I flinch. I just hope that he didn’t see it. I swallow back my knee jerk reactions and force myself to stand tall.

Mercifully, Anya comes jogging back down the stairs. “Henry says that he wants a snack, so I thought I could bring him something while he studies. Is that finished?”

Anya points to the sandwich that Alek was making. He slaps it on a plate and slides it across the counter toward her.

“Whoa, what did I miss here?” Anya asks, and Alek tells her my plan. She pales a little but doesn’t outright refuse in the way that Alek did.

“He will want to help.”

“He’s not going to be involved.” Alek repeats firmly.

“That’s not how this works. You don’t just get to make a choice and then expect everybody to blindly go with it. You promised.” Anya says the last part smaller than the other words. Something meant only for Alek, and I don’t bother questioning it.

“It will simply expedite things. There are plenty of precautions that we can put into place to ensure that Henry doesn’t have to be alone with him at all. They don’t even have to be in the same room apart from the testimony itself. It will be safe. But, for my plan to work, the judge will have to think that everybody is exactly on the same page.” I speak with a calmness that I don’t really feel. I wish that I did. Fake it till you make it.

Anya turns to me and her hands drop down to her stomach. Alek starts gathering other things to add to the snack for Henry - cookies from the panty and some sliced pickle from the fridge. He moves with erratic, jumpy movements that have me on edge. But Anya doesn’t seem to fear him whatsoever. Which helps me relax a little bit.

I hope I’m not jumpy like this my whole life. Every time I have a reaction that I can’t stop, it feels like Billy is still winning. I don’t want to live my life like that.

Anya holds a hand up to Alek as if telling him to calm down. He does, mostly.

“If he does this... If this actually happens and Henry agrees to do this… will it be over?” Anya holds my gaze as she asks and I can see that there’s something we have in common. We both need to let go of our pasts. We both desperately need to be free from our ex’s so that we can move forward. There’s a sadness there in her gaze that I can’t bring myself to question.

“Yes. This will work.” I repeat, confident in my decision.

Anya turns to her fiancé and places a hand on his chest. He grabs hold of her wrist and starts to pull it away, but she stops him. I almost want to look away from the silent conversation that they are having together. Finally, Alek allows Anya to touch his chest and she taps her fingers against his stern four times in the mimic of a heartbeat. I wonder what that must mean for them. But, whatever it means, it’s enough to have Alek’s shoulders drooping. Some of the lines of tension in his body starts to fade.

“This could be it.” Anya says softly. “You chose her for a reason. You said that Kate is the best at what she does and if this is what it takes to be free of that monster, then we need to do it. We owe it to Henry and ourselves.”

I try not to flinch when she says ‘monster’.

Just a few hours ago that same monster had had his tongue in my mouth. I had been very seriously considering fucking him right there in the visitation room. He hasn’t exactly been a gentleman, but he hasn’t been a monster to me. I wonder if their opinion of him would change at all if they saw him in the state that he is in. Perhaps not. Either way, they have a much longer history with him than I do. I want to know more.

Anya lowers her hand from Alek’s chest, but she doesn’t pull her eyes from him for a long moment. “We’ll do it.”

Alek’s fists ball at his side and I can hear his knuckles crack. But he gives in. “Anything to finally be rid of him.”

CHAPTER EIGHT

KATE

Ican’t help but wonder what true freedom would feel like.

Even after all these months, I still can’t help but worry that somehow, someday, Billy is going to come back into my life. The divorce was easy because of the surplus of evidence against him. But men like Billy? The letter of the law means very little to them. A restraining order, to him, is just a silly little piece of paper. I can wave pieces of paper at him all day long but that’s not going to stop his fist from finding me. It’s not going to stop him spending the rest of his miserable excuse of a life hunting us down. He thinks that I’ve stolen his property from him. People are not property. My daughter and I deserve to live a life free of fear.

My knuckles tighten against the steering wheel of my car so hard I swear I can hear the leather starting to crack. Again, the long drive back to Houston from Fort Worth gives my mind entirely too much time to wander. My music is already turned up so damned loud that I can feel the pulse of the bass rattling my bones but it’s still not good enough. It’s not loud enough. I can still think.

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