Page 145 of Stolen for Keeps
Noah raised a brow. “You sure know a lot about plastic surgery. That nose of yours real?”
Dom threw him a glare. “Watch it. Or you’ll be the one needing work done.”
“Boys,” I warned, lifting my hands.
Dom leaned back, unfazed. “All right. Fun’s over.” He looked at me. “Maya, you’re spot on. That gives us an angle. PCR.”
“English?” Noah asked.
“Post-Conviction Relief. New evidence, false testimony. It’s a Hail Mary with teeth.”
Noah’s brows tugged together. “This isn’t…legal, though. Is it?”
Dom sighed. “For a guy who dragged a man to the edge of a bluff and blackmailed him into stealing a phone, you’re awfully uptight.”
I shook my head.Edge of a bluff. It had to be Napoleon. I didn’t give a damn about that piece of trash. I cared about Noah. He couldn’t afford to get caught up in this.
“He’s right, though,” I said, “Can we use it?”
Dom put Annamaria’s phone down. “Maybe not the device itself. But theinformation? We can work with that. How did we know? The prosecutor’s gonna whine about hearsay, privacy, whatever. Let him.”
I turned to Noah. “Tell me no one saw you, however you pulled it off.”
He eased closer. “Relax. I was careful.”
Dom stopped me from picking up Annamaria’s phone. “No one touches this thing anymore,” he said. “I’ll wipe it clean before our resident cat burglar returns it.”
Noah let out a pitiful meow loud enough for Reko to decide he’d had enough of his humans and to pad off toward the back of the house.
Meanwhile, Dom pulled up a search on his own device. “The internet’s already made the case. Miss Annamaria’s nose,before and after. Clear as day. It’s not exactly side-by-side like a woman’s magazine spread, but it’s there.”
I used my own to scroll through her socials—posts from before the date in question, and then after, once she’d started showing her face again. Dom wasn’t exaggerating. Her nose, her whole profile…it was different. Subtle in some shots, blatant in others.
Dom’s grin widened. “I’ve worked cases where full-blown identities were erased with a scalpel. You think I can’t find one pamperedenfant gâtéin a sea of Botox and billing records?”
Noah rolled his eyes. “Prove it then, Counselor.”
Dom stood, already pulling his laptop closer. “Montana’s where I fish. But L.A.? That’s where I hunt.”
Just then, his phone lit up with a buzz. His expression shifted. Focused and serious.
The call didn’t last long. A few clipped words, then silence. When it ended, he turned to Noah and me. “Trial date’s been set. It’s in Bozeman.”
“What?” Noah’s eyes flared.
“So we’re not getting the judge who, you know…ruled in favor of love last time?” I tried to make it a joke, but no one cracked a smile.
“The felony warrant was issued in Gallatin County,” Dom said. “Fighting to keep it local is a waste of time, and it wouldn’t change the outcome. What we need is more evidence. Besides, remember that Hollywood client of mine who went full outlaw up here? Same judge handled that circus.”
Noah let out a breath, low and rough.
And me? I just hoped the universe hadn’t changed its mind about us.
45
MAYA
The courtroom felt smaller than it was.
