Page 108 of Strictly Forbidden

“Get them out of here,” the judge barked at the deputies.

The three men stepped forward, but Saldono gave them a hard look. “Unless you want another injustice done, you will hear me out.”

“What is going on?” Zoe whispered.

“I have no idea.” And I didn’t.

When Saldono held up his iPhone, I was as confused as everyone else.

The crowd was going nuts, pictures being taken from all sides.

“Order in this court. I will have order.” The judge continuously slammed the gavel down. “You are not authorized to be in the court.”

“This makes me authorized. The man you are trying to take back to prison did not commit the crime for which he was convicted and I have proof.” Without waiting to be allowed, Saldono started what ended up being a recording on his phone.

In the first few seconds, the entire courtroom began to calm down. I recognized Saldono’s voice and another man.

The fact Gio had been killed inside his house hadn’t been high on the agendas of the detectives. But I had heard no one had been arrested and likely would never be.

But I knew Saldono had killed his own son. I’d only heard part of the story about his conversation with the man prior to my attack but it was easy to read the writing on the wall.

Kage turned around to face me again. There were no words to be said, no gestures that could be made.

But there was also no need to. We could speak with our eyes and nothing more.

In those next few minutes, I was once again allowed hope.

Maybe, just maybe the man I loved would finally have his name cleared.

Maybe.

CHAPTER 28

Two months later

Kage

“Are you trying to make a girl swoon?” Noel asked as she spun around in a circle, throwing out her arms.

“I don’t know. Is that happening?”

There was something about the very pointed looks she gave me that had always allowed me to smile. More so now. Of course, there were about a dozen reasons why we were both able to breathe a sigh of relief, namely because the fifteen minutes of unwanted spotlight we’d both been under had finally started to fade into nothing.

With my name cleared, a huge weight had been lifted, the anchor I’d felt for so long disappearing. The trials for James Jones and Joel Baxter had magically been escalated, both soon to be given the maximum penalty.

My lovely and desirable woman had been allowed to return to writing, now almost finished with her eleventh book. And our relationship had grown stronger than ever.

We’d both made some tough decisions but, in the end, it was days like this that made living so worthwhile. “Do you like it?”

“Like it? Are you kidding me? This gorgeous house is the perfect representation of the mountains and nature. I love it.” She sauntered closer, teasing me with her fine brand of seduction techniques, brushing her long fingers down the side of my face. As soon as she rose onto her tiptoes, pressing her stained lips against mine, I jerked her off the floor completely, spinning her around again.

Max did his usual, wanting nothing more than to be a part of the festivities, jumping on our legs as he barked and woofed. I couldn’t help myself, capturing her mouth. There was little I enjoyed more than the taste of her. All over.

When she pushed away, she batted her long eyelashes. “I do get to be in charge of decorating. Right?”

“You don’t like my style, baby?”

“Not in the least.”

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