Page 23 of Theirs to Take

“That’s fantastic,” she said. “Does that mean that I’m going to get Jack back for good?” she asked.

“I’m guessing that’s the case,” he said. “If your ex is in prison, the court will have no choice but to give him back to you.”

“What do we do next?” she asked.

“Next, I need you to trust me,” he breathed, pulling her into his arms. “Can you do that?” he asked.

“Already done,” she promised.

“Good,” he said. “I have a plan. I’m going to set up an appointment with the judge from your custody case. I think that I’ll be able to convince him to give me an arrest warrant for Simon. Then, I’ll show him the evidence I have for him accepting a bribe, and hopefully, he’ll reverse his decision in your case.”

“It’s that easy?” Nova asked.

“It can be,” he said. “Just depends on how the judge takes the news that he’s been caught with his pants down. If this works, Jack will be back home tonight,” he said.

“I don’t want to get my hopes up,” Nova said. “I’ve been disappointed before and I can’t take that again. Just get my son back, Alex,” he said, “and put my scumbag ex away for a damn long time.” He nodded and grabbed his car keys. He was going to do his damn best to bring Jack back to her tonight, just as he promised, but first, he was going to need a meeting with the judge. He’d head over to the courthouse and demand to see him. If his secretary refused, he’d just sit in his office until he showed up. One way or another, he’d get his meeting tonight.

Judge Reinhold was avoiding him, he knew it, but sooner or later he’d have to come back to his chambers to grab his stuff to head home for the night. He sat across from the judge’s secretary, staring her down, and he could tell that he wasn’t phasing the woman at all. This probably wasn’t the first time she had anangry lawyer staring her down, and she handled the pressure like a champ.

“I’d really love to tell you that he’ll be back, but you staring me down isn’t going to make that happen, Mr. McTavish. How about you leave your information and I’ll give him the message,” she promised.

“I’d rather hang out and wait for him,” he said. “I’m betting he’ll need to change out of his robes before heading home for the night and what I need to discuss with him can’t wait,” he said.

“Suit yourself,” she said.

“You know, if you ever find yourself in need of a job, please stop by my office,” he said.

“Thanks, but I’m happy here,” she said. He decided against telling her that she might not have a job to be happy at for much longer. Once he got the judge to sign off on Nova’s custody case, he planned on turning in the evidence he had incriminating all of the judges that Simon and his firm paid off. He’d clean out the whole damn courthouse if he had to.

“Noted,” he said. He sat back in his seat as the door flew open to Judge Reinhold’s chambers. Alex stood and the guy looked about ready to turn around to leave. Smart man, but Alex wouldn’t allow him to do that.

“I think you’re going to want to talk to me, Judge,” he said. “It’s about Simon Meyers and his financial issues. I think that you’ll want to hear my proposition before I head next door to the precinct.”

“Hold my calls,” he said to his secretary. “In fact, you should just head home for the night. It’s almost quitting time.” She nodded, stood, and gathered her stuff.

“Thank you,” she said, leaving the room through the big double doors.

“What’s this all about McTavish?” he asked.

“Well, it’s actually about the Meyers custody case,” he admitted. “I’m here on Nova Ray’s behalf. You see, I’ve found evidence that you might have received a monetary benefit to rule in Simon Meyer’s favor. I also have evidence that he paid off Ms. Ray’s lawyer to do a bad job representing her. Furthermore, I have found evidence that Mr. Meyers and his firm have been paying off judges for a long time now.”

“What do you want from me, McTavish?” Judge Reinhold asked.

“I’d like for you to do the right thing and issue a warrant for Mr. Meyer’s arrest. I’d also like for you to reopen the custody case and grant full custody to Ms. Ray since her ex-husband will be spending a very long time in prison for bribing a federal officer of the law.”

The judge nodded, “And what will happen to me?” he asked.

“I have no idea, Your Honor,” he lied. He honestly couldn’t tell the man his future, but he planned on turning over the thumb drive and letting the local authorities decide what to do with him. “I have no plans on doing anything to you.” That part was true. Whatever happened to the judge from here on out was on the arresting officer and court who issued his verdict.

“All right,” he said. “I’m assuming that you’ve brought all of the paperwork with you.” Alex handed him the two documents that he needed to be signed. Once he was done, Alex would head over to the police station to give them the warrant for arrest and ask for backup when he picked up Jack. He had a feeling that the little guy would be pretty upset if he had to watch his father being arrested. Alex would have to get him out of the house before that happened and he was sure that Simon would put up quite a fight.

Judge Reinhold signed the papers and handed them back to Alex. “Thank you,” he said.

“What happens now?” he asked.

“Now, I head over to the police station and give them these. Then, I’m going to take Nova Ray’s son back to her. You tore apart a good woman from her little boy and that’s something that you’ll have to live with, judge. For now, I’m going to enjoy making sure that no dishonest judge sits on the bench again,” he said.

“But you said that you didn’t have plans for me,” the judge said. He could see the panic in the man’s eyes, and he almost felt bad for the guy.

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