Page 118 of With Wine Comes War

I put my hands on my face, doubled over and screamed into my hands to muffle the noise I really wanted to make. When I came back up, the girls had gained their composure, and all the anxiety seemed to be out of my system for the moment. I turned back to the sink and patted some cold water on my face then dried it. I calmly fixed my hair taking a deep breath and motioned the girls back to the hall.

Matt asked, “All good?”Not yet, I thought, but it will be.

I nodded and snarled, “Yep, let’s go send this asshole to jail.” I smiled contemptuously as walked in front. I was going to use this adrenaline to my advantage now. Abby and Maggie hurried up to keep up.

At the door to the courtroom my dad, brother and Roman’s parents were already there. Matt and Jack said they would be inside andto meet them at the table with the DA. I gave dad and Edward a hug and waved to the Kings. Roman ushered his parents and Harrison over to meet my dad and my brother.

He introduced our families, “Hank. Edward. These are my parents Lisette and Fitz. This is my brother Harrison.” My family shook hands with everyone, and I suggested they sit together. They agreed and out of the corner of my eye I saw Grant, Shay, and the Santoros. I started to get an uneasy feeling about all these people hearing these horrible things said about me.

Roman turned around and said, “Shit.” Why does that bother him? He should be happy I have so much support even though I’m a little agitated with all these people here.

I looked at him questioningly. “What?” He looked nervous and agitated himself. I reached out, taking hold of his hand and his palm was sweating.

“Nothing, it’s fine.” It didn’t seem fine, and his vibe was just as complicated as his words.

As soon as they came over, we started the introductions but apparently Roman’s dad already knew Grant and the Santoros. I don’t have time for this new revelation. I need to get in the courtroom and get ready for war. Mrs. Santoro hugged me and told me everything was going to be fine just before I grabbed the handle of the door. I thanked her then Abby, Maggie and I walked into the courtroom.

Abby whispered, “Who were they?” I ignored her, scanning the room zoning in on the defendant's seat for Tanner. I spotted him staring at me, creepily, from his seat with a shit eating grin on his face. I immediately looked for Jack and Matt who were ushering me forth keeping my focus on them.

Unspoken words “Don’t look at him just look at us.”The girls sat in the seats right behind us saving a spot for Roman. I took my seat in between Jack and the DA.

The DA instructed me, “Alex, I don’t want you to look at the defendant at all during this unless someone asks you to point him out.” The rest was kind of a blur of telling me what I should and shouldn’t say or do to the point I tuned them all out. I knew what I was going to do; common sense told me that it was going to be a disaster.

***

ROMAN

Oh my god. What the hell are the Santoros doing here? Why would Grant bring them here? Jesus, do they know the Ellington’s too? This is going to be a fucking circus. I guessed introducing everyone and pretending it was no big deal was the best decision. I introduced Alex’s dad and brother first. Edward quickly ushered his father into the courtroom seemingly not trying to overwhelm his father. I was about to introduce my parents, but my dad was already deep in hugs and conversation with Grant and the Santoros. Mom was the only one who needed to be introduced, it seemed as she stood there with her hands tightly clenched looking more nervous than willing to meet new people. Harrison eyed me suspiciously and I shrugged my shoulders because I had no idea what was happening. I felt at this point it was time to exit this conversation and head into the courtroom. I’ll talk to dad later and find out what was going on.

I spotted Tanner up front in his seat staring at Alex. Thankfully she wasn’t looking in his direction. Abby and Maggie were waving meup to the seat behind her and that’s when Tanner whipped his head around to look in my direction. He had such an evil expression on his face. I glared at him as I scooted into the bench with Abby and Maggie. Alex was whispering with her attorneys, so I didn’t get a chance to say anything else to her before the judge came and everyone was instructed to rise. The courtroom was full of support for Alex. There seemed to be only a few people there to support Tanner. His brother Marcus was there scrutinizing the room before detecting me staring at him. I kept his seriously wicked gaze trying to figure out what his game was before he flicked his eyes to the back of the room. I glanced back to see the who he might be looking at. His line of sight seemed to be on Grant and the Santoros which doesn't surprise me since they seem to stand out in the crowd— but is there more to it than that?Do they all know each other?

Maggie leaned over and whispered, “What are you thinking about? You’re starting to look like Alex.”

I smirked bringing myself back to my side of the room. I’m sure I was behaving just like her, since I could feel all that energy coming off her. Glad I couldn’t feel anyone else's.

When the hearing started, they called all the witnesses first, then we took a break. That part was over quickly. For whatever reason, Tanner’s lawyer didn’t do much to cross examine the witnesses and he didn’t rattle any of them. We had planned to go across the street for lunch, but the vultures were still circling, so we didn’t end up staying put. They had vending machines, so we had vending machine lunch, and went into a conference room to talk strategy, is what Jack and the DA mentioned.

Matt was very diplomatic. “It’s going well in there. They haven’t done anything out of the ordinary.” His demeanor seemed to be more settled now.

Then Alex muttered quietly, “They’re just waiting for me.” Her face was like stone, and she was staring blindly at the table.

Jack mildly agreed, “Maybe, but according to the witness list they don’t have anyone else so they’re going to have to put Tanner on the stand if they decide he’s a credible witness. But anything he has to say about you is hearsay as far as character goes. If he brings up the assault, then he’s going to have to tell everyone in there what you did to him. I really don’t think he wants to tell the story of thelittlegirl who made him scream on his knees.”

Everyone laughed except me and Alex. She was staring at me apologetically.What the hell is going on in your head?

***

ALEX

Tanner’s lawyer was waiting to get me on the stand, and I’m looking forward to it. They didn’t care about cross examining anyone in there. I could hear what Matt and Jack were talking about, but I only listened in case they said anything I needed to hear. I was too focused on my plan.

Whatever Tanner’s lawyers were doing with the witnesses made me think they’ve got something already in place to get him out of this. I’ve got to make sure he gets something if they do. I know that asshole isn’t taking the stand. He would never let my team go after him— they would shred him. All their hope is in discrediting me and making it look like some kind of mutual thing. When everyone started laughing about Tanner having to testify, I looked over at Roman to see if he was laughing. I hoped that he was, but he definitely wasn’t. In fact, he was looking right at me, and I knew he could see right through meand was piecing all of this together. It’s too late to stop it now, though. I had to follow through on this plan. Bruce was in the courtroom in case I needed a ride home. I guessed if I did, I’d be going back to my apartment. I never did get rid of it or get anything else out of it. In the back of my mind, I must have known.

When it was time to go back into the courtroom, I pulled Roman aside, making sure everyone left the room before I reassured him and wasted a little time.

I put my hands on his cheeks and professed, “I love you. I want you to know that.” He smiled but it was completely forced and the worry in his eyes was ripping through my chest.

“I do know that. I love you too. Do you want to tell me what’s going on? A little honesty would be good about now.”

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