Page 58 of Trail to Trouble
Twin Cities– Three weeks later
Hannah sat in the witness stand for over two hours answering questions as her ex-boyfriend sat behind the defendant’s table with his attorney. Sebastián remained emotionless except for that slight eye tic. She’d seen it before and concluded it occurred when he was angry, which later in their relationship was frequent.
His dark brown gaze felt so heated she feared it would burn her skin. His lawyer worked to trip her up, but hers had coached her well. Numerous times, she’d told her to only answer what was asked. Offer nothing else. Think before you speak.
Sweat moistened her skin. She wasn’t sure how much more she could take. Why did it feel as though she was the guilty party having to defend herself when she was who’d been beaten and left for dead? Yet, here she was under fire.
Beyond Sebastián and his slick-looking and poised attorney, sat Sebastián’s parents. Lucia wore a flamboyant hat like one would wear to the Kentucky Derby. It matched her maroon dress with large polka dots. The woman was always well put together. Never a hair out of place. Makeup applied just right. She was thin but curvaceous. The perfect specimen for Sebastián’s father, who was a bit older than her. Marco was a nice-looking man and always dressed in the best of suits or golf attire.
Sebastián was the spitting image of his father. Handsome and smooth-talking.
How did she ever get mixed up with these people? They had nothing in common. For starters, the Garcias were rich and walked in a completely different circle than her middle-class family did. She and Sebastián shared very few similar interests. She liked the outdoors. Him not so much. She liked quiet and surrounded herself with just a few good friends. He liked parties and being the center of attention. She never fit the mold of what he wanted in a girlfriend. She’d figured that out quickly, but he was insistent they give their relationship more time. Why he was so adamant about this, she wasn’t sure. His family’s money and power could garner him a chance with any woman. Why her? Now, here they sat, in a courtroom. Maybe he was so adamant they stay together because he wasn’t used to being told no and not getting what he wanted. It had to be that, because they weren’t together long enough for him to really fall in love with her.
Long enough to fall in love...that word made her think of Hunter. The man she’d thought about every waking moment since she’d met him. The man she’d cut loose three weeks ago. Her heart squeezed. It was for his own safety to not be near her. She swallowed hard. In her heart, she was one hundred percent sure that Alyssa had been murdered because of her. Her parents had been murdered because of her. If Hunter stayed near her, he surely would be in danger.
Rumors had surfaced recently that Sebastián’s father was the head of a drug cartel. Recalling comments and actions by him and his family, she believed the rumors. She quivered and her throat closed. She felt anxious. If Sebastián’s family was really from a drug cartel, and the outcome of this trial didn’t suit them, would she and her brothers have to go into hiding…or witness protection? As discussed with her lawyer, they didn’t qualify for formal witness protection. This trial was related to Sebastián having kidnapped and beaten her within an inch of her life. It had nothing to do with the Garcias allegedly being the head of a cartel. She supposed she and her brothers could do their own sort of hiding, change their names, and move. It wouldn’t be too hard to disappear, since they had little family remaining. They wouldn’t leave many inquiring relatives behind. Their grandparents had died some time ago. Tears burned her eyes at the thought of her parents’ untimely death only three weeks ago. Maybe a fresh start was what she needed, but she’d be dragging her brothers along with her. They had a couple of aunts and uncles and a few cousins, but they’d certainly understand if she and her brothers simply walked away. She wanted to cry at the thought of starting over and leaving them and her friends behind.
“Hannah.”
The sound of her name jerked her out of her horrible thoughts, and she turned her head to look at the judge.
“You need to answer the question,” Judge Herman said.
Compassion laced the woman’s dark eyes.
“Sorry. What was the question?”
Sebastián’s attorney repeated his question.
The courtroom door slammed shut and all gazes flew to the back of the room. The old, bearded man with his arm in a sling took a seat in the back row as he’d done every day during this trial. Only today, he was late. The man’s empathic gaze comforted her. Every day, they’d shared a glance. She didn’t know the man, and she wondered why he showed up every day. He didn’t wear a press badge, and he wasn’t well-dressed like Sebastián’s family members. Yet, he was in the courtroom every day.
Hannah took a breath and then focused on Sebastián’s attorney and answered his questions. She took some relief in knowing this trial was almost over. Sebastián would likely not testify, so she should be the last person on the stand.
“No more questions, the defense rests,” Sebastián’s high-priced attorney stated.
Hannah felt relieved that it would soon be over, even if the verdict ended up being not guilty.
“Court is adjourned for lunch. We’ll proceed with closing arguments at one,” Judge Herman said as she tapped the gavel against the wooden puck.
Hannah sat with her brothers and the prosecutor at a long wooden table in the conference room near the prosecutor’s office on the second floor of the courthouse. The prosecutor’s administrative assistant entered the room with four Styrofoam boxes filled with pot roast, the daily special from the diner across the street. The prosecutor and her brothers dug in. She tried, but her swirling stomach played havoc with her ability to keep the food from threatening to come back up, so she closed the lid and pushed the box forward.
“Hannah, please eat something,” Kane urged.
“I can’t,” she replied.
“Try. You can’t lose any more weight. It’s not healthy,” her brother Lance added.
She knew that, but she couldn’t help it. Maybe when the trial was over, she’d be able to eat again like she used to, without the threat of vomiting. Would she, though? The investigation into who murdered her parents and Alyssa was still ongoing. The district attorney had no one to charge. In her heart, she knew who to charge. She’d been staring at him for several days during this trial, but Sebastián had a rock-solid alibi. However, that didn’t mean he or his dad hadn’t contracted someone for the murders. That’s what cartel people did, right? During the weeks between the horrible trip to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and now, no further attempts on her or her brother’s lives occurred. Lance would probably be safe when he returned to his Army base in Germany, but she and Kane would be here in Minnesota, in the wide open.
Thinking about the angry man from the gas station who’d chewed her out over coffee, she supposed there was still a chance he was the one who’d tried to kill her atop Lover’s Leap Falls, but he certainly wouldn’t have been the person to run her parents off the road. He’d no reason to. Plus, he would have had to hurry out of the woods and drive to Minnesota. That didn’t seem likely. Who would go that far over coffee? Someone unhinged, she supposed. Nope, it was Sebastián, or someone his dad hired. Unless the gas station guy was who they hired.
Hannah closed her eyes and drew in a long breath. This whole thing was just exhausting.
When she opened her eyes, Kane slid her lunch closer to her and handed her a plastic fork.
“Eat.”
She took the fork from her brother and picked at the pot roast.
