Page 129 of Stolen for Keeps
“In my defense,” I said, holding up a finger, “TwoByTwo was just getting off the ground, I hadn’t slept in thirty-six hours, and I thought courtrooms had snacks.”
“They don’t,” Dom added helpfully.
“I was also wearingjeans, Dom. Not even proper ones. They had holes in the knees.”
“Embarrassing,” Maya said sweetly.
“Thank you,” I said. “Glad this is the story we’re telling while hiding from corrupt law enforcement.”
Maya slid the last corner off her plate and nudged a slice of carrot cake toward me. I didn’t hesitate. Smiling, she said, “That was the best story I’ve heard all day.”
I looked around the table at my lawyer friend who’d dropped everything to help, at the woman who was somehow both the storm and the calm, and at the dog who had no idea what he was protecting but would do it anyway.
And for a moment, despite everything, it almost felt like peace.
“Noah always said you’re a damn good lawyer,” Maya said, leaning back with her mug in hand.
Dom smirked. “He sold me good then, huh?”
“What’s the toughest case you ever won?” Maya asked.
I let out a low laugh and slapped his shoulder. “Ah, he’s about to tell you his favorite war story.”
Dom cleared his throat as if he’d been waiting for the question. “L.A. A woman killed her wealthy, well-connected husband.”
Maya straightened. “Okay, that’s intense.”
“The prosecution painted her as cold and calculated. Her husband’s family hired a full army of lawyers to bury her. And honestly? They would’ve if I hadn’t dug into the history.” He paused, his voice dropping a notch. “There were years of abuse. Private hospital records. Bruises she never documented. I had to destroy the victim’s image to save her. He was dead, but the truth still nearly broke her.”
“And she walked?” Maya asked.
“She walked. But never forgave me.”
“Why?”
He rubbed his chin, saying, “Because I exposed the one thing she never wanted to share. She’d been having an affair…with her husband’s sister.”
Maya gaped. “Hissister?”
“Yeah. And that sister? She used to sneak the woman into the ER after every time he snapped. She testified, gave the court proof, and that was it. The wife walked free.”
Maya let out a breath. “So the wife was willing to go to prison to protect the woman who loved her.”
Dom sipped his coffee, quiet now. “I guess that’s love.”
I looked at Maya then, her eyes locked on him, reading both pain and strength in the story.
And I’d stake my soul on it. I’d do the same for her.
37
NOAH
Dom showed up the next day with half a sandwich in one hand and the look of a man who hadn’t slept.
“Eating this just for show,” he said, holding it up. “So much for me being the one who’s calm under pressure.”
I gave him a look. “But Logan’s got the necklace, right?”
