Page 119 of With Wine Comes War

“You’ll find out soon enough.” I dropped my hands to my sides hoping the lack of contact would help me bring the control and focus back to the plan.

He put both hands on my shoulders, squeezing and releasing nervously. “Alex, I have a bad feeling about what you’re going to do. Should I get Matt and Jack and talk about this first?”

I shook my head slowly from side to side. I held the tears at bay replacing the fear of hurting Roman with the mental visual of hurting Tanner.

“No one can stop me from what’s about to happen in there. No one knows what I’m doing but me. It’s for me and it’s for a lot of other women like me who don’t want to feel like victims. This is all I can tell you. I want you to stay calm and not say a word.” He wasn’t happy, I could tell that much. I seemed to be good at pissing everyone off these days. I thought about the arguments I've been in with Matt lately and used it to fuel me.

“Idon’t know if I can do that if I don’t know what you’re going to do. Just tell me so I’ll know.” I don’t need him to try and stop me or tell my legal team anything, that’s why I’m waiting so long to go back in there. Once they call me in, he won’t be able to talk to Matt and Jack.

With that, Maggie came into the room and announced, “Alex, they just called you to the stand.” I smiled painfully at Roman, hurrying out of the room so I didn't see the pain I was inflicting on him.

I’m sorry baby, I really am.

***

ROMAN

I’ve still got to tell Matt and Jack as soon as we get into the courtroom that she’s got something planned; they need to stop her. I grabbed Maggie by the arm before we got to the door.

“Maggie, she’s got something planned that no one knows about. Do you know anything about this? Has she said anything to you?” I was panicking. We hurried back inside.

Maggie shook her head. “What did she say to you?” She asked quietly as we shuffled back into our seats.

“That she wanted me to stay calm and not say anything. That she was going to make sure other women never felt like victims.”

“You don’t think she’d attack Tanner, do you?” Her eyes were wide.

Do I?

“I don’t know. It sounds exactly like that though.” I looked up. Alex had her hand on a bible and her right hand raised. Oh hell, what is this girl about to do?

“Where were you guys?” Abby whispered.

“Getting ready for the main event, apparently.” I quietly groaned.

“What the hell does that mean?” Abby whispered loudly. Maggie shushed her.

Maggie leaned in. “Alex has had something up her sleeve this whole time and we’re about to find out what it is.”

I stared intently at Alex who was completely vacant and cold.

They went through all the formalities of her name and what she did for a living. Matt and Jack were the only two from her team that questioned her, and she was very calm and did a great job. She seemed to have total control over her emotions. Maggie reached over, placing her hand on my knee because my leg was bouncing up and down. I could tell some of this nervous energy mimicked Alex, because this is what she did with her leg when she was anxious. Then Tanner’s attorney got up. I watched him like a hawk, chewing my bottom lip. He didn’t even look at her. Instead, he stared at a piece of paper he had in front of him on the podium. Then he asked his first question.

Attorney: “Ms. Kennedy. Is it true that you frequent Sebastian's Bar on a regular basis?”

Alex: “Yes.”

Attorney: “Ms. Kennedy. Is it true that you’ve met men in Sebastian’s before?”

Alex: “Yes.”

Attorney: “Ms. Kennedy. Is it true that you’ve had sex with men you’ve met at Sebastian’s before?”

Alex: “Yes.” I wasn’t sure what was going on with this guy, or what Alex’s plans were, but she was like a stone statue. Her training had totally kicked in.

Maggie whispered in my ear, “What’s she doing?”

“Telling the truth.” It’s one thing to hear rumors, it’s another to hear about it like this. I was sweating and angry now myself.

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