Page 112 of Merciless Desires

“Talk to me.”

“Your brother was living with a woman.”

That hardly surprises me. “And?”

“She was inside the car when Cormac crashed. The car is technically hers. When they found the drugs, they arrested both of them.”

I take a deep breath, thinking of the liability. “Is she on drugs, too?”

“I got a look at her tox report. No. Cormac’s was through the roof. And his alcohol level was three times the legal limit.”

Shaking my head, I say, “And?”

“Well, there’s something else. Something…big.” He waves his hands.

“Jesus Christ, what?”

“Ana Michaels,” a court admin calls out as we get inside.

A woman with greasy, long blonde hair stands up to face the judge.

“That’s her.” Tamryn nudges me.

My stomach drops seeing hers. She’s pregnant. Very pregnant.

Fucking Cormac!

That’s assuming it’s his. Although, why would she be with him if it isn’t? Why didn’t he mention any of this to me? I’m going to kill him. Knocking up some poor woman and then getting into a car accident with her, putting his baby’s life in danger is beyond the pale.

Then again, birds of a feather. She’s with him because she’s a druggy, too, and part of his games. She’s a criminal.

Led by a court officer, Cormac enters the courtroom limping and shackled. It breaks my heart. Christ, he looks terrible. Gaunt and bald. Fuck, I can only imagine how having his head shaved pissed him off since he likes to wear his hair longer. I keep mine short these days. Cormac shoots me a weak smile. I shudder at the missing teeth and the chaos of tattoos etched into his neck.

“Talk to me real fast, T. Give me all the complaints.”

Tamryn reads from his phone, something he hacked from the court’s database, and I cringe at the details.

“Ana Michaels, how do you plead?” the judge asks.

“Not guilty.” Her voice forces my eyes on her again.

I detect a New York accent with a touch, just a touch of something I heard growing up in Astoria.

“Bail is set at ten-thousand dollars.”

“Motion to set aside bail, your honor,” her lawyer argues. “My client has been held against her will by her co-defendant. He stole all her money, her phone, and kept her a virtual prisoner. He forced her to help him commit these crimes in exchange for food and shelter. She did everything she’s accused of under duress.”

Anger fires through my veins. Deep inside, I really am ruthless like my brothers and want to put Cormac on lockdown myself to punish him. Punish him for putting us all at risk.

“Who’s her lawyer?” I whisper to Tamryn.

“Public defender, young kid, just out of law school.”

I roll my eyes. She’s toast.

“She’s also eight months pregnant, your honor,” her lawyer continues. “I’ve arranged for her to go to a shelter for battered women. She has no passport and will wear an ankle monitor.”

I think about when Ginnifer was that pregnant. Christ, she was miserable, and this woman has to go live in a shelter wearing an ankle monitor.

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