Jules, page 26
“No, I can’t.”
Noise broke out in the courtroom and the judge had to silence the courtroom so they could continue. I knew this was bad. The jury was never going to say she was innocent.
✯✯✯✯✯
“We’ll keep digging,” Cap said as we sat around the conference table with everyone else. Some of the guys had stopped off for beer, so we were all drinking. I was drowning my sorrows and trying to figure out what my next step was.
“It won’t matter. The judge isn’t going to accept anything unless it absolutely proves that she’s innocent. We’ll never find that before tomorrow morning. They’re going to convict her and send her to jail for the rest of her life, if they don’t give her the death penalty,” I said glumly.
“Jules, don’t give up hope yet. Even if she’s convicted, we can still appeal if we find new evidence.”
I stood and slammed my hand on the table, the anger taking over my body. “There’s no fucking way she’s going to jail. Not for one second will I allow the mother of my child to go to prison, where she could be attacked. She doesn’t deserve that and I won’t let it happen!”
“Jules,” Cap said calmly. “You need to take a breath. We’ll figure this out. Don’t do anything stupid.”
“The only stupid thing I ever did was not fight hard enough for her.”
I walked out of the room and left my teammates behind. I had let Ivy down for months, but I wouldn’t let her down ever again. She was my life and the mother of my child. There was no fucking way I wouldn’t stand by her when she needed me most.
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
Reed Security
ICE
Fuck, Jules was flying off the rails. He was going to do something crazy tomorrow. I just knew it. He felt he had let Ivy down, and I didn’t blame him. I knew what guilt did to a person. I had felt guilty as hell since I walked away and left Jules behind in that building. I couldn’t do that to him again.
I drove home and sat outside in my truck, trying to decide what I was going to do tomorrow. How the hell would I help Jules when I didn’t know what he was planning? And how would Lindsey ever forgive me for doing something that could get me taken away from her and our child for the rest of my life? But could I live with myself if I did nothing?
I walked into the house and saw Lindsey playing with Zoe on the floor. If something happened to me, Zoe wouldn’t remember me, but the same could happen on any job I went on. Lindsey would be taken care of. I had plenty of money in savings and I knew that Cap and the rest of the guys would never let anything happen to her. They would look out for her and my child no matter what.
“Hey, how was court today?” Lindsey stood up and put Zoe on her hip, walked over to me, and gave me a kiss. It was the way she greeted me every night.
“It was bad. Things aren’t going to go in Ivy’s favor tomorrow.”
“Are you sure? Is there any chance at all?”
“I doubt it. The prosecution had some last minute evidence. It didn’t strengthen Ivy’s case at all.”
“I feel so bad for Jules. This has to be so hard on him.”
“He’s not gonna take it well. I have a bad feeling about tomorrow.”
“What do you mean?” she asked warily.
“I mean, I think he’s gonna try something.”
“At the courthouse? He can’t. There are people everywhere. He would never get out of there alive.”
“He’s been highly trained by the US military to be a killer. Jules can hold his own.”
“But there are guards and police officers that will be there. They’ll shoot first and ask questions later.”
“I know,” I said quietly. She took a step back. She closed her eyes briefly and when she opened them, tears were in her eyes.
“I won’t see you after today, will I?”
“Baby, I need you to understand. I already let him down once. He almost gave up his life for me, because he wanted me to come back to you and Zoe. I can’t leave him again. He needs me, even if he won’t ask.”
“You’re willing to walk away from us?”
The hurt in her voice and the tears that she refused to shed almost killed me, but if I did nothing, it would kill me. I wouldn’t be the man that she needed and I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if I abandoned Jules when he needed me most.
“Lindsey,” I choked out. “I love you more than anything in this world. You and Zoe are everything to me. But he already gave everything for me and I can’t just let him walk away. He’s my family. I go out on jobs every day, risking my life for people I don’t know. It’s about time I did that for someone that actually means something to me.”
I slid my hand across her cheek, wiping the tears from her beautiful face and then pulling her closer to me. I kissed her sweet lips and then rested my forehead against hers, hoping that she understood and would eventually forgive me.
“You do what you have to do, but you come back to me, John.”
“I’ll do everything I can.”
“No, you’ll come back to me or I swear to God, I’ll fill your prison cot with bed bugs.”
I chuckled and then kissed her hard. My woman was fierce and no matter what happened, she’d be fine.
“I have no intention of ever leaving you.”
✯✯✯✯✯
Chris
I was standing on Ice’s porch, waiting for him to come outside. He was putting Zoe down for the night, and given what we assumed would happen tomorrow, he was probably saying his goodbyes. I hadn’t talked to Ali about anything yet. I didn’t want to upset her before we knew what was going to happen.
“Sorry about that,” Ice said as he stepped outside into the cold.
“No problem. So, what’s the plan for tomorrow?”
“What do you mean?”
“You know damn well what I mean,” I glared at him. “Don’t think that I don’t know what’s running through your mind right now, because the same fucking thing is running through mine.”
He shook his head as he leaned back against the house. “I don’t have a plan. Get them out is as far as I’ve gotten. I know he’s gonna pull some shit tomorrow, but I have no fucking idea what he’s thinking. It wouldn’t do any good to ask either. You know he’s not going to want us involved.”
“Then we make sure we don’t give him a choice.”
“This is a fucking disaster. I don’t even know how the hell he’s going to get her out of the courtroom. Short of shooting up the courtroom and holding hostages, I don’t have a fucking clue how he’s going to pull this off.”
“He’s going to need a distraction,” I surmised.
“Yeah, but he’s also going to need us for his escape. There’s no fucking way he can do it on his own. Even if he gets her out of the courthouse, he’s going to have the entire fucking police department looking for him.”
“We could stash him in the panic room. It’s big enough for all the kids, so they could easily hide out there.”
Ice shook his head. “The first place the police will look is at Reed Security. They’ll get a warrant to search the premises and look into all their holdings. Besides, Cap needs to look as innocent as possible so he can keep the business running. If we involve them, everyone could lose their jobs.”
“That leaves running. Since we can’t involve Reed Security, then all safe houses are off the table.”
“Which means we have to have some kind of plan in place in case he doesn’t have it planned out that far.”
“We also have to know how he’s going to get her out of the courthouse because we’ll have to be waiting for him.”
He nodded, staring off into space in thought. “He won’t go out the front door. Too many people would see. The alley is a possibility, but that leaves him open to being boxed in.”
“The roof is out. There are no buildings close enough for him to jump across to, and even if he could, he’ll have a pregnant woman with him.”
“What about the basement?” Ice asked.
“He’d be a sitting duck. Even if he hid out down there, he couldn’t just walk out after the building closes.”
“No, remember when Lucy was taken from the school? That guy took her through the old tunnels that were used during prohibition. Didn’t some of those tunnels run under the courthouse?”
“I think so. Do you think Becky still has those schematics on file?”
“Let’s give her a call and find out,” Ice grinned.
✯✯✯✯✯
Cap
I sat in my office, drinking whiskey to calm my nerves. I wasn’t normally one to sink under pressure, but I knew one of my men was going to go rogue and possibly get himself killed. He wasn’t filling any of us in on his plans for tomorrow and that scared the fuck out of me.
I couldn’t think of anything I could do for him without bringing down the entire fucking company. I had to think about all my employees, not just one. Even if that one employee had given more than anyone could ask for.
I turned in my chair when I heard a knock at the door. Knight was standing in my doorway, which shocked the fuck out of me. He didn’t ever come to see me unless he had something to say, which was hardly ever. He did his own thing and stayed away from anything even resembling camaraderie.
“You got a minute?” he asked as he walked in.
I waved him to the chair across from my desk. Of course the fucker wouldn’t sit down. He never did, no matter how many times I offered.
“What’s on your mind?”
“What’s the plan for tomorrow?”
“No plan,” I shrugged.
“You know Jules isn’t going to let Ivy go to prison,” Knight growled. “We need a fucking plan so he doesn’t get himself killed.”
I smirked at him. “I didn’t know you cared.”
“Just because I don’t have some weird bromance with you like Sinner does, or gather in the locker room with the guys to compare wax jobs, doesn’t mean that I don’t care.”
“I’m touched,” I grinned. “But there is no plan. Jules hasn’t said shit to any of us. We don’t know what he’s planning, so there’s not a whole hell of a lot we can do.”
“We should at least have a contingency plan in place. You have two snipers at your disposal.”
“No, we’re not going to shoot anyone,” I said drolly. “Not everything is solved with a rifle.”
“It should be. It would solve a lot of problems,” he grumbled.
“You want to know my plan?” Knight nodded seriously. “My plan is for you to stay the fuck away from that courthouse so that you don’t get yourself sent to prison. I’m not sure Pappy is ready to break your ass out of prison again. And I’m sure the military would be better prepared the second time around.”
“I’m dead,” he shrugged. “Nobody’s going to be looking twice at me.”
“Are you shitting me? One look at you and people shit their pants.”
“Thank you.”
“That wasn’t a compliment.”
“It was to me. If people aren’t scared of me, that means I’m getting soft. I’d have to go back to being an assassin, which I wouldn’t mind, but I’m sure Kate would have a problem with. Kicking ass in here is okay, but it’s not the same stress reliever.”
“You have some serious issues, Knight.”
“You already knew that.”
“Stay away from the courthouse. The last thing I need is Kate coming in here and chewing my ass out because I let you get shot, get captured, or have to go on the run.”
“She doesn’t run my life.” His eyes darkened dangerously, but I knew it was more out of self-preservation. That woman had him by the balls.
“Right. You’re an island. My mistake.”
“Whatever. I’m out of here.”
He turned and headed for the door, but I knew that wasn’t the end for him. “Stay away from the courthouse tomorrow.” He held up his middle finger in response. “Knight!” He kept walking. I slammed my hand down on the desk. “Goddammit.”
✯✯✯✯✯
The courtroom was silent as we waited for the jury to read the verdict. It had taken them less than an hour to decide, which meant that Ivy was going to prison. It was the only option. Since there was absolutely no evidence on her side, there was no way they were coming back in her favor.
“Will the defendant rise for the reading of the verdict? This is case number 973483D. We the jury, unanimously find the defendant guilty of murder, as charged in the indictment.”
“Shit,” Jules growled next to me. The other wives gasped, but the judge slammed down the gavel, silencing the court.
“Everyone will remain silent or I will have the courtroom cleared. Let’s continue. Signed by the presiding juror, Mr. Janesek. Mr. Janesek, is this your signature?”
“Yes, it is Your Honor.”
“Members of the jury, if that is your individual verdict, if you would please signify so by raising your right hand. Please let the record reflect that all twelve members of the jury did in fact raise their right hand. At this time, we will take a short recess while the court considers sentencing.”
Jules was a tightly wound ball of fury next to me. He hadn’t made a move yet, but I knew that he would. It was only a matter of time. Ivy sat stoically in her seat, not showing any signs of distress as the judge read the verdict. The court recessed, but no one moved except Ivy and her lawyer. They were escorted out of the courtroom. It didn’t take long for the judge to come back for the sentencing.
“The court has considered the nature and circumstances of the offense. I have considered the aggravating factor found by the jury. I have identified aggravating and mitigating factors and considered those in arriving at a sentence for these areas. As aggravation the court finds, as the jury found, the crime was especially cruel. The defendant did not render aid to the victim, and viciously killed the victim without remorse. The court has also considered the emotional and financial harm to the victim’s family members. As mitigation, the court finds the defendant has multiple priors in criminal history. The court has also considered the defendant is currently pregnant. The court has also considered the defendant’s childhood, criminal history, and lack of remorse. The court finds the mitigation presented is not sufficiently substantial to call for leniency and that a death sentence is appropriate. It is ordered that the defendant is to be incarcerated in the Department of Corrections until the time that the defendant’s child is born and will then be transferred to death row.”
Ivy finally broke, letting her head fall to her chest. That was the only sign that she was falling apart. I glanced at Jules. His jaw was locked tight and his leg bounced rapidly. I knew it was coming. I didn’t have to wait long. As soon as the bailiff started forward, Jules stood and made his way out of our aisle.
“Shit, we need a distraction.”
“On it boss,” Lola said. Her seven month pregnant body waddled out to the aisle. She bent over, gasping in pain as she fell to her knees. “Help! Someone please help!” Water trickled on the floor beneath her. Freckles ran into the aisle as the courtroom erupted in chaos. She bent over Lola, worry marring her beautiful face.
“Help, she’s going into labor!” Freckles grimaced and clutched her own stomach. That was a little much, but leave it to Freckles to really try to sell it. The judge tried to regain order in the court, but everyone from the gallery was running to Lola and Freckle’s aid. Rolling my eyes at the dramatics, I stood and ran to Freckles side like the good husband I was. Only when I reached her, her face was truly pinched in pain and I started to worry that I had this whole situation entirely wrong.
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
Jules
I STORMED OUT of the aisle, determined to get to Ivy and get her out of here. I had no weapons on my side, but that didn’t matter. I was a trained killer and I could fight off these bailiffs with one hand tied behind my back. Just as I was getting to the end of the aisle, someone screamed for help behind me. I glanced over to see Lola clutching her stomach in the aisle and Maggie running to her. I smiled at these women who had my back. Cap was behind it, without a doubt.
I strode forward confidently, never faltering in my stride. Everyone was distracted and I intended to take advantage. The bailiff didn’t see me coming. I stepped behind him as he locked the cuffs around Ivy’s wrists and put him in a headlock, draining the air from his body. I didn’t have time to mess around, but I wouldn’t kill anyone if I didn’t have to. The judge saw me and yelled for guards, but the noise in the courtroom was too loud. Other men started toward me, so I threw the bailiff to the ground and grabbed Ivy, ignoring the shocked expression on her face. I didn’t have time to stop and explain shit to her.
I dragged her to the doors that she entered through and stormed into the hallway. There was a guard that assessed me for a second before realizing what was going on. He pulled his gun and I stepped around Ivy to charge him, but I didn’t have the opportunity. Knight stepped out of the shadows and subdued him, dropping him to the ground and then stepping in front of me.
“Let’s go.”
He led Ivy and I down another hall, seeming to have the whole place on a map in his head, much like I did.
“Do you have a plan?” he growled.
“Of course I do.”
“There’s an underground tunnel-”
“In the basement,” I cut him off. “That’s where we’re headed.”
“You don’t have much time. They’ll be sending guards after you.”
“I don’t plan on sticking around,” I said as we hurried down the final corridor. The hallways filled with screams and people were running and shoving each other. I didn’t bother to look at Ivy right now. I had to concentrate on getting us out of here. I was shocked that Knight was here, risking his neck to save mine and Ivy’s. But then again, this was Knight and he was as loyal as he was unpredictable.
