Page 88 of Charity's Redemption

Nico followed me into the kitchen as I rinsed off the dishes and placed them in the dishwasher.

“Next time you decide to drop some heavy news on her like that, make sure she’s not in public.”

He sighed, his shoulders sagging ever so slightly. “I didn’t think about that. I just wanted her to know before she saw it on the news.”

“Well, she’s fine. Thankfully, Max was with her.”

“Where are they now?”

“On their way.”

“Be prepared. You know how she is when her plans get blown to bits.”

I dropped the bowl in the dishwasher with a clatter, then placed my palm on the counter. “You think about this now, brother? Not when you told her that her plan went to shit while she was sitting down for dinner?”

“Again, it was time-sensitive.”

“Everything in law is time-sensitive until it matters.”

“I’m not sure what you mean by that.”

“It’s a hurry and wait sort of thing. Hurry and gather the evidence before the statute of limitations runs out or before the witnesses forget what they saw. But if you’re on death row, it takes your entire lifetime to be executed.”

“There isn’t a statute of limitations on murder.”

“You know what I mean.”

“It costs the state a lot of money to execute them.”

I laughed as I readjusted the bowl, then put the spoons in the container. “It costs me a dollar a bullet.”

“How did we get on this topic?”

I shook my head and closed up the dishwasher. “I don’t know.”

“Honey, I’m home.”

I ground my teeth. “How many times have I told you to stop saying that? It’s weird.”

Max rounded the corner with Charity in tow and a couple of bags. “No sense of humor, that one,” he said, glancing back at her.

She seemed okay—walking in with a smile on her face, her hand in his, not as though she just received news that veered her off course.

Nico strode towards her and engulfed her in his arms as he apologized.

He should be apologizing. Who knows how she would’ve reacted without Max there. I can only assume it would’ve been catastrophic. Or maybe I should give her credit. Before us, she handled these things in stride, never needing one of us to hold her hand in order to adapt.

“Let’s have a sit down. Yeah?” I said.

She looked around Nico’s shoulder and nodded. Then everyone followed me into the den.

“Nico, you first,” I said, taking my seat along with everyone else.

“Nothing that I haven’t said already. I’m working on getting him released, but it’s just the same as when they arrested Charity. They can hold him for twenty-four hours. They want to question Zoe before he can get back to her and influence her testimony.”

“Who called it in?”

Nico shook his head. “They won’t release that information even if they knew. It was anonymous.”

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