Page 106 of Defend Me

NOAH

The next morning, I’m in the kitchen with Daisy, Caden, and Isla having coffee before court.

“How are we all feeling?” Daisy asks, her gaze flitting from me to her brother. “Von’s pretty great, right?”

“She really nailed Mike Cochran to the wall,” Isla observes.

I crack a small grin. “Yeah, she did.” I hope she can do the same to the sheriff today.

At that moment, Von hurries in, a strange look on her face.

She whispers so quietly in my ear I almost don’t hear her. “Dad knows.” Before I have a chance to ask what she’s talking about, Russell himself appears in the doorway.

“Noah,” he says, beckoning me out into the hall. I stand, confused, and walk out of the kitchen.

Russell looms in front of me, his black eyes flashing. “So,” he says. “You and Siobhan.”

I stare at him in shock. “I…how…”

“Security cameras, Noah. I know she disarmed the alarm system last night.”

I gape at him, dumbfounded. My first instinct is to feel like an utter idiot—of course there are cameras at all the entrances to the mansion. My next instinct is to protect Von, but protect her from what? What’s the right move here? I don’t want to deny my relationship with her.

But Russell doesn’t seem to need any explanation from me.

He grips my shoulder in an iron grasp. “If you hurt her, I will destroy you.”

“Right,” I say, my knees going weak.

He gives me a sharp pat on the arm. “Good luck today.”

He stalks off down the hall and Von comes scurrying out. “You okay?” she asks.

“Yeah,” I say, bemused.

“What did he say?”

“Oh, you know. Threatened my life if I ever hurt you. Typical dad stuff.”

Von’s mouth curves up on one side. “Seriously?”

“Don’t look so happy about it,” I say, and she laughs.

Caden and Isla come out into the hall.

“What did Dad want?” Caden asks.

“Just wishing me luck,” I say.

“We better get going,” Von says. I feel a strange sense of buoyancy as we head to the courthouse that not even the reporters’ shouted questions can dampen.

Russell approves of me and Von being together. Someone from the family knows about us. And today, Von is going to take on the sheriff. There’s a natural lightness in my step as I enter the courtroom, and Grayson notices.

“Don’t you look like the cat who ate the canary,” he says before the bailiff calls the room to order.

The second day of my trial begins with Wilbur calling Sheriff Briggs to the stand. My pulse kicks up a notch as I watch himtake the oath. I expect him to look different somehow—as if his guilt would cling to his clothes or color the lines of his face. But he’s still the same paunchy, weathered man with graying hair who trained me, who mentored me. I feel revulsion creep up my throat like bile. He betrayed me and everything the badge stands for.

Wilbur stands. “Please state your name for the jury.”

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