Page 46 of Protecting Christina

“Two hundred, huh?”

“Yes.”

“Make it three and you’ve got a deal.”

Yup. Gotta love’em.

“Done.” I pulled the cash out of my wallet and handed it to him. “I’ll wait and watch you deliver it. So, you better not steal the phone.”

He smiled and winked at me.

I went back inside my car and watched him deliver the pizza box to Simon’s house. Simon didn’t even tip the guy, but I didn’t feel too bad for the driver. I just gave him his tip for the week.

Once the door closed, I put my earpiece back in and listened. I couldn’t hear much inside of the house and I dropped my head back against the headrest in frustration. I could only pray that Donna had found the phone before Simon did.

A couple of minutes later, angry shouts echoed out of the windows and my muscles tensed up. Simon opened the front door and shouted, “Where is he?” Tossing his head from side to side looking for someone. “Where the fuck is that driver?” I slouched down in my seat, away from his prying eyes.

“How do you know this guy, Donna?” He shouted. “Why is he sending you a phone?”

“A phone?” Donna’s voice was further away, but thankfully, I could still hear her. “What are you talking about?”

“If I find out you’ve been talking to delivery guys…” A loud crackling sound made the rest of Simon’s sentence muffled. It didn’t matter. I could imagine the type of threat he had issued.

Then, he stepped out of the house with the phone in his hand and threw it away in the trash bin outside.

I closed my eyes and blew out my breath. Fuck. I was counting on that phone. Now I had to think of another way to speak to Donna without Simon finding out or putting Donna in any unnecessary danger.

I was worried that the longer this took, the more danger she would be in.

And I also didn’t know how much longer Christina would stay away before she tried to tear down his door.

Knowing Christina, I didn’t have much time.

11

Christina

There was hardly anyone inside the Family Court. There was Faye and me, her husband, his lawyer, and Faye’s sister, who held the baby in her arms while the other two children sat next to her.

I had called this emergency custody hearing the day after Faye left her husband. I knew the sooner we started the process, the better the outcome would be for Faye and the kids.

I presented my case to the judge and the opposing attorney objected unnecessarily several times. “Mr. Rhodes, you will have your opportunity to rebut. Please sit down,” said the judge.

I finished my arguments and sat down next to Faye, folding my hands across my middle. While the posture was relaxed, my heart raced inside my chest. I’d been working night and day on this case and I rarely lost, but losing wasn’t an option in this case.

There was one piece of evidence that I couldn’t present because the judge had suppressed anything that didn’t have to do with the children. Will had found it through one of his background checks. I’d asked the police for one, but they said I wouldn’t have it in time. But Will had come through for me.

I listened as the opposing attorney presented his case. It was weak, and he knew it, so he tried to undermine my client’s ability to support the children financially on her own. I raised my hand to object, but the judge waved for me to sit down. “I know what you’re going to say, Ms. Polito, and yes, your client is not asking her husband to be absolved of any financial obligations. He will still have to pay for his children.”

“That’s bullshit. I can’t have them, but she wants me to pay for them,” Faye’s husband shouted.

I fought back my smile at his callous words. I knew they would only hurt his case.

“Mr. Rhodes, please advise your client from making any further outbursts in my courtroom or I will hold him in contempt.”

“Yes, your honor,” said Rhodes.

The judge nodded. “Now, continue.”

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