Page 121 of Defend Me

For the better.

And I can’t wait to see what this new chapter of my life brings, with the woman I love by my side.

EPILOGUE

VON

Four Months Later

I stand in my new office and breathe in the scent of fresh paint and window cleaner.

It’s smaller than my old office, and the view is different. The building is only three floors, right on Magnolia Bay. My desk hosts a sleek laptop, a modern style lamp, and a handful of framed photographs of friends and family. I look out the window, at the bay glittering before me.

There’s a light knock on the door and then it cracks open. Noah’s beaming face pokes through.

“Morning” I say, as he comes up to kiss me lightly.

“First day jitters?” Noah says, holding out my green juice. He still makes it for me every morning.

I crook an eyebrow at him. “Do I look like the kind ofgirl who gets jitters?”

He chuckles and runs his palm over my hip. “Not even a little.”

Marion’s Justice came together faster than I could have imagined. I understand the infrastructure of a nonprofit and Noah took care of handling the lease and anything related to Magnolia Bay. I take a sip of juice and flip open my laptop.

“Do we have any cases yet?” I ask.

Noah checks his watch. “Seeing as we’ve been open for…one and a half minutes, no, sadly, no one has come needing our services yet.”

My lips pucker and he laughs. “I’m positive by the end of the day, your calendar will be full.”

I’m itching to get to work.

“In the meantime,” Noah says, settling himself on the tan leather loveseat in one corner of the room, “I’ve been doing more digging on the sheriff.”

I perk up and put the juice down on the desk. In the craziness to get Marion’s Justice opened, I’d let Mom’s case fall on the back burner. But neither Noah nor I are about to let this go—her killer is still out there.

“Anything useful?” I ask.

“Not yet. But I want to check out these Catholic charities that he and the judge donated to.”

“You think this was some religious conspiracy?” I say wryly. “Mom wasn’t Catholic.”

“No, but…” Noah shrugs. “It’s an avenue worth exploring.”

“Well,” I say, walking around to settle in my chair, “you know I trust your instincts.”

“Oh, I know,” he says, waggling his eyebrows.

I shoot him a rueful grin. These past few months with him have infused me with a sense of rightness, in every aspect of my life. I’m excited about this new career path. I’m looking for a new place to live—for Noah and I to live. Our own home in Magnolia Bay. In the meantime, he’s still living with Pop and I’m staying atthe Estate. But we take the chopper to New York and stay at my place on the weekends. We make a good team. I’d wondered if that would translate after the trial was over. The pragmatist and the optimist. Turns out, opposites do attract.

“In the meantime,” I begin, but I’m interrupted by a knock on the door. “Come in,” I call.

Maria Perez cracks the door and pokes her head in. I hired Charlotte’s sister as my assistant—she’s a bright young woman and friends with Daisy. It was Daisy who told me Maria was looking to become a paralegal.

“Good morning, Ms. Everton,” she says breathlessly.

“Maria, I’ve told you, call me Von,” I say. I don’t want to stand on ceremony here. My goal is to make whoever walks through my door to feel as comfortable as possible. Another thing Noah has helped me with. I’m learning how to be softer, but it doesn’t come naturally.

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