Page 165 of Prey for You

Even if Jeremy didn’t lose his job, he would be put on admin leave, or something. No way were they letting him keep going after these guys, with or without me. Because there would be a question about every case he was involved in—or any informants or witnesses he handled.

No one was walking away from this looking good.

Could I handle it? Could I sit there, year after year, and face theonslaughtevery time a new woman got used, or perjured herself or… whatever?

I wanted to say yes. But I also had to admit, I hadn’t done great with that kind of attention on a much smaller scale before now.

I wanted to say having Sam next to me, I could faceanything.But was it true?

We were both exhausted. We were both paranoid. And everyone else was suspicious of us.

I still thought Jeremy didn’t deserve to have his career ruined—at least, not over this. But then… was it true that he was on a vendetta? Was it true that he wasjealous?That’s what Sam thought. That’s what his lawyers would argue.

What if it was true?

I looked at Jeremy until he turned to face me and our eyes locked. His jaw flexed.

“You know what the really fucked up thing is, Jer?” I said quietly.

“What?” he muttered.

“I’m the one who gets it,” I said. “What you do and why. And I’m the one you’re determined to destroy.”

He shook his head. “If you think that, then you don’t get meat all.”

I looked back to Derek. “Yes, I’ll testify,” I said. “I’ll answer the questions yes or no. I’ll tell the truth. I won’t perjure myself. Put me on the list,” I said.

Then I told Sam the same thing.

ME: For you. Yes. I’ll tell any of them anything.

SAM NOTPRIEST: It could get really ugly if they don’t let me plead out. My lawyers are going to push for no jailtime at all.

ME: I know. I thought about it this time. I’ll do it. For you. I’ll do anything.

55. Motion to Dismiss

~ SAM ~

I was a mess when we walked into Court for the arguing of motions. Especially when Bridget wasn’t there by the time we all stood up for the judge.

But she hurried in while everyone found their seats and the judge flipped through papers. My wife was wide-eyed and pale, but she looked for me the second she stepped in the door and took a visible breath when our eyes locked.

So did I. I had to turn back to face the court, but the relief made my head spin.

As everyone settled themselves and gathered their papers, the tension in the room ticked up. Unlike other days, there was little murmuring from the gallery. Even the journalists were poised. Stephen sat next to me on the edge of his seat.

I hadn’t found Jeremy when I scanned the seating, but I hoped wherever he was, he felt all eyes on him.

“Counsel, I see we have several motions filed. Our circus continues. But since we have a motion to dismiss, I’m going to hear arguments for that first because if it’s granted, the rest don’t matter. Unless one of you has objection tothat?”

I wasn’t sure if she was being sarcastic. But everyone seemed to be getting ready. Stephen flipped through his folders, pulled one out, then leaned into my ear without turning.

“Now’s the time for you to ask the higher power to get involved.”

I nodded as Stephen rose to his feet, but before he’d even walked to the podium, the pompous prick of a Prosecutor stood up.

“Your Honor, the defense's motion to dismiss relies heavily on a statement from Mrs. Priestley, but we believe we have already established that the credibility of her testimonymustbe questioned, whether the witness is aware of it or not. The witness holds a clear biastowardsthe accused, which calls her motives into question. The State argues that this court should give little to no weight to her statement in considering the motion. If you agree, I’d move to deny the motion, as without her testimony, there is no basis on which to call other witnesses.”

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