Force (The Disciples Book 5), page 29
She waves at me in her fabulous, skin-tight beige dress. Her hair is up, and she wears matching, beige patent leather, high-heeled stilettos while Granger’s dressed like Axel, in all black, except he sports black sunglasses. He pulls Gia toward the back corner of the room.
“Everyone stand for the Honorable Judge Rosen,” the bailiff announces, and we all stand.
I grab hold of Eve’s hand, and we watch as a middle-aged man enters.
“Good morning.” He nods at us and we take our seats. From the corner of my eye, I notice Cindy. Wearing a dark dress, she sits next to Doug and Robert on my far right. This is the first I’ve seen her in the courtroom; actually, the first time I’ve seen her since the incident, which sounds better than saying “the day I murdered the bad guy.”
When Ryder turns and winks at me, my breath catches, and my heart aches with love for him. The mere thought of losing him makes my eyes fill with tears.
It can’t happen, won’t happen. We just found each other again.
“Mr. Powers and Ms. Bernard, are we ready to proceed?
They both stand and say, “Yes, Your Honor.”
“Very well, please bring the jury in, George.” My eyes stray over to the prosecutors. They have a whole team: four of them sit at the table along with two aides behind them.
We all stand again as the jury enters, and I watch them closely. They seem refreshed. Because this case has received so much media attention, they’ve been sequestered, and are staying in a hotel down the street.
“Good morning. Let me remind you of the cameras.” The judge gives the same speech every morning, and I recross my legs so I don’t stand up and scream, Get on with it!
I look back at Gia, who smiles encouragingly. I wanted her to sit with me, but Jett thinks it’ll cause a distraction.
“Ms. Bernard, please call your witness.”
I puff out some air. My stomach lurches. This is it—this is fucking it.
“Thank you, Your Honor. The prosecution calls Ms. Daniella Lana Sokolov.” The door opens, and a waifish, almost ethereal-looking woman walks up to the stand. She’s petite with long dark hair and red lips. Her cheeks are pale, but she’s quite stunning. I look over at Eve who is frowning at her. And I almost smile. If you want loyalty, get Eve on your side.
“Do you swear to tell the truth and nothing but the truth?” The court clerk finishes swearing her in, and she steps up to the witness stand. She smiles at the judge, who smiles kindly back at her.
Jett leans over to say something to Rodney, as Ryder simply stares at her. She clears her throat and straightens her plain black skirt.
Ms. Bernard, the prosecutor whom the FBI apparently brought in, is good. Not as good as Jett Powers, but good.
She smiles at the jury, then focuses on her witness. “Good morning, Ms. Sokolov.”
“Good morning.” Daniella looks at her, then looks over at Ryder, and Eve takes my hand again.
“I know none of us like to remember things that are so terrible that it’s hard to imagine that a human being can actually commit such atrocities, but unfortunately they do, and you have been witness to not just one, but three cold-blooded murders.” She pauses as if she’s waiting for Jett to object, but all he does is lean back and listen.
“I was.” She nods.
“Your Honor, I’d like to show the witness three pictures of the deceased before Mr. Leo DeLucca brutally—”
“Objection.” Jett stands. His whole vibe is as if this is all so absurd, he can barely believe she would show the witness anything.
“Objection sustained. Watch it, Ms. Bernard. It’s a little early for that kind of behavior.” The judge takes a sip of his coffee and nods for her to continue.
“May I at least show the witness the pictures of the deceased, so as to make sure these were the men she saw murdered?” She looks at the judge.
“I will allow it.”
“Your Honor, I’d like to see those pictures, just to confirm ours are the same.” Jett holds up his pictures. Ms. Bernard smiles sweetly and walks over to him. Jett looks at them and nods.
“Now, Ms. Sokolov, are these the men you saw murdered that day?”
Daniella takes the pictures, her hands slightly shaking as her face turns paler, if that’s possible. It’s clear seeing these men upsets her.
“Yes,” she snaps and hands them back to the prosecutor as if they have poison on them. So much so that Ms. Bernard frowns.
“Do you need some water, Ms. Sokolov?”
Daniella shakes her head and says, “No.”
“Something’s wrong,” Eve whispers. “Holy fuck, she played them.” She stares at Daniella as her nails dig into my hand.
“How can you tell?” I whisper, wanting to tell her to let go, but my heart is racing, and my face is flushed, so who cares if she draws a little blood.
“Because I’m an expert at lying. And even better at conning people.” She says this almost breathily. Blade looks down at her and grins as if he thinks she’s the most amazing thing to walk the planet.
“Again, I know this is painful.” Ms. Bernard’s voice directs my attention back to her.
“But our job, your job, is to remove people who have zero remorse. Get them off the street. They can’t walk among us. You need to put them away so they can no longer be a threat to society.” She walks to the jury, looking at them.
She’s definitely stepped it up a notch. The jury seems enthralled with her dramatics today.
“Ms. Sokolov? Do you see the person who killed these three men sitting in this courtroom today?” She motions to Ryder.
“I’m going to puke,” I lean over and whisper to Eve. She holds up her hand, a small smile on her face, as we both watch Daniella look at Ryder.
“Ms. Sokolov? Is that person sitting in this courtroom?” Ms. Bernard walks toward her.
Daniella speaks loud and clear. “No. I’ve never seen that man before in my life.” She motions to Ryder with her head.
Black dots dance before my eyes. I try to blink them away and breathe. The courtroom explodes with talking. The judge pounds his gavel as Jett frantically talks with Ryder, who sits calmly while the world implodes around him.
“Order,” the judge yells. “I will not say it again.”
Eve leans back and smirks up at Blade, who laughs and kisses the top of her head. “You’re amazing, my queen.”
“I hate to say I told you so, but…”
“You love to say you told me so.” He grins.
“Order.” The judge pounds the gavel again and holds up his hand. “May I please have a word with the prosecution and the defense?”
Jett stands, ready to pounce. He nods at the jurors—they seem somewhat confused.
Ryder turns to look at me, and for a moment, he’s blurry because of my tears.
Our eyes connect.
It’s over.
We won. I can feel it.
Both attorneys talk in hushed voices, but Jett has triumph all over his face. They both thank the judge and walk back to their tables.
“The prosecution has no further questions for this witness.” Ms. Bernard looks down at the table, then up at Daniella.
The judge looks at Jett. “Mr. Powers?”
“Thank you, Your Honor. I’d like to ask Ms. Sokolov a couple of questions.” The judge turns to Daniella, reminding her she’s still under oath as the prosecution frantically texts and papers fall off the table.
“Good morning, Ms. Sokolov. I will make this brief. This man sitting in front of you is not the man you saw murder those three men?”
“No.” She shakes her head, then turns to the jury. “I’ve never seen that man.”
“You sure? You’re under oath.” Jett moves in for the kill.
She nods. “Yes. That man, is not the man ID’d to the prosecution.” She looks at Ms. Bernard, who is clearly flabbergasted, although trying to wear a calm face.
“Your Honor, I motion to dismiss. The prosecution has clearly tried to pin this on an innocent man. But in this country that doesn’t always work.”
“Objection.” Ms. Bernard stands.
“On what? Your key witness is horrified. Look at her. She’s never seen my client. You’re lucky if my client doesn’t sue you for—”
“That’s enough.” The judge bangs his gavel. “Ms. Bernard?” he says. “Does the prosecution have anything else? Or is Ms. Daniella Sokolov’s testimony your only proof?” The judge waits. The room goes silent.
“Just one moment.” She holds up her hand, and my stomach flips as she looks at her phone, then back up, her face flushed. “The prosecution, with all due respect, withdraws its case.” The courtroom explodes again.
The judge looks down at the paperwork on his desk, then pushes his glasses up as the courtroom turns quiet.
“In the matter of the people versus Leonardo DeLucca, the case is dismissed. Mr. DeLucca, you’re free to go.” He slams the gavel down and turns to address the jury. “Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for your service.” He nods and leaves the bench to return to his chambers.
I don’t know when I stand. All I know is he’s free. He turns, and I try to reach for him, but Jett is smiling and laughing as the press moves in on us.
“Ryder,” I scream. Someone pushes me from behind and Blade reaches out, holding a photographer back. And suddenly Ryder grabs me and lifts me over the wooden bench. Setting me down, he cups my face with both hands.
“You.” His eyes are fierce as they zero in on me. “Julianna…” I nod, and the tears flow freely. “Fuck. I love you,” he growls, and I can feel his very strength, passion, and love pour out of him. I wrap my arms around his neck.
“I love you more.”
After wiping my tears away with his thumb, he lowers his head to my mouth, and I feel that pull that is us. I can’t escape it, never want to. It’s stronger than love. It’s as if the very universe has put me here for this man.
Destiny.
“Kiss me.” He smiles, and I’m almost dizzy when his lips take mine. The cameras are filming, and people are screaming questions at us, but all I feel is him.
I moan as his tongue tangles with mine. And I smell his fresh spice and leather scent. I lean closer. Pausing the kiss, he gazes at me, ignoring the insanity that’s swirling around us.
“You’re all I’ll ever need. You’re my gift, my reason that the sun rises and sets.” His gravelly voice sounds strained, as if his emotions are too much for him. We stare into each other’s eyes.
He’s my only love.
He is my forever.
RYDER
Six months later
I lean against the doorframe and do my favorite thing: watch her. She’s wearing her hair up, ringlets escaping as she stands back to look at the fabric swatches Antoinette and Eve hold up against the wall. She shakes her head, and the three of them stare at the swatches some more.
Her skin is glowing. I adjust myself—can’t help it. Something about seeing her with my baby growing inside her has me in a constant state of arousal.
Like I might have a new fetish, which is why as happy as I am that she’s enjoying herself, it’s time for Eve and Antoinette to leave. I watch like a stalker as she rubs her lower back and laughs at something Eve says.
She’s mesmerizing.
Fucking stunning, inside and out, and she’s mine.
We’re entering our seventh month, and she’s going strong. She hasn’t really stopped since I got acquitted. It’s like that was her green light to take the world by storm.
Starting with us taking a little trip to New York, and me having an impromptu chat with her dad and ex-husband. We packed up what little she wanted, and it’s been nonstop ever since.
She got her money, and invested it in a home for battered women and children, then started house hunting.
We bought our first one and she, Eve, and Antoinette started decorating it. That was until they decided it would be fun to have the walls torn down. Snipe’s cousin is a contractor, and in no time they had a team.
Their company, 3 Designing Blondes, was born.
In six months, they’ve flipped our first house, and have redecorated Charlie’s diner and the main area of Gia’s house in Malibu.
I can’t keep up, but according to Axel’s grumbling yesterday, they’ve completed five projects, yet they haven’t finished his kitchen yet. I had to bite my tongue not to snap, At least you had a kitchen at one time. I’m still without one.
But if this makes her happy, I’ll live the rest of my days without one. Needless to say, 3 Designing Blondes is booked solid for the next six months.
I glance around. This is our dream home—we’re making this one ours. They say timing is everything, and with this house, they’re right. One of Eve and Blade’s neighbors decided to cash out and move to Oregon. Julianna got to them before it even went on the market.
We bought it on a Friday. On Monday the 3 Designing Blondes crew was in my house before I’d even poured a cup of coffee.
The view is unbelievable. It’s close to the clubhouse, three houses down from Blade and Eve, six from Poet and Charlie.
“Dude.” Axel walks by me, shaking his head. “Pull it together, man. You look like a dog panting after a bitch in heat.” He shakes his head at me as he enters my house, and I smirk when he grabs Antoinette from behind, causing her to spin around and jump into his arms. Then they all three happily bombard him with swatches and color samples.
I turn and light a cigarette, grinning at Axel’s misery while I wait for Blade. He’s picking up James Dean from football practice and Nicole from soccer, so he’s running late.
Which is good—I need to get myself together anyway. I walk around to my backyard and the view that’s worth the money we spent on this place.
Home.
Such a foreign word to someone like me. I’ve never had one per se. I mean, there’s the clubhouse, but that was just a room where I slept and fucked.
This… this is where I dream, and not a dream with ghosts in it, but one that builds on something. A need inside me.
I’ve been waiting for something. But deep inside I knew, have always known, she’s the one I was waiting for.
Julianna.
My jewel.
I look out at the valley below, going over and over everything. Because if I’ve learned one thing from what happened, it’s that I don’t leave anything to chance.
Control.
It allows me to sleep at night. Pavel is thriving, and as of now, he hasn’t decided to do something stupid, which is good. Makes the club’s life easier.
After Daniella’s testimony exploded, the state and prosecution were not about to go down. An investigation was launched into the dirty agents in the bureau. Not only did Pearson Madison go down, but the FBI also had numerous other agents on the take.
Justice? Maybe for a few.
I take a deep drag off my cancer stick. I don’t claim to be a saint, none of us do, but we sure as shit don’t rape and hide behind a fucking badge while we embezzle money. Not that I think they’re gone. They’ll be back, just with new faces. As members of the Disciples, we’ll always be looking over our shoulders, but that’s okay. That’s our fate, and as long as we ride hard and love fierce, we’ll all be okay.
Blade’s SUV pulls up in his driveway, and Nicole comes running down the street to my house waving at me as she enters.
“Hey, Uncle Ryder?” She’s still in her cleats, which is not gonna go over well.
A chorus of voices scream, “Not on the new floor!”
I glance over to see Axel walking to his car, his arm wrapped around Antoinette’s shoulders.
I drop my cigarette, snuffing it out with my boot.
“Axel, it’s weird. Before we pick up the twins, we need to at least stop by and check on her,” Antoinette says, digging in her purse. Axel opens the door for her to slide into his GTO.
“Babe, aren’t you tired? You know she’s just being Cindy.” He slams the door, looking up at me, like I can help.
This is our latest drama.
Cindy.
She’s apparently disappeared. No phone calls, texts, or email. She’s gone silent.
Even her social media is gone.
Unfortunately, this is not the first time, so it’s hard to take it seriously. She up and left for days after the trial, but the girls are convinced this time is different.
We’ve been keeping an eye on old Dr. Davis. The threat of exposing him for the fraud and sick fuck he is seems to have made him slither away. He’s still practicing medicine, but as for his other activities, they’ve stopped.
“Yo, Ryder, send my daughter and wife home, will you? My son has something he needs to tell his mother,” Blade yells and I have to grin. Thank fuck, we own three of the four properties on this cul-de-sac because we’re not a quiet clan. The nice older couple who live at the end of the street seem happy to see the kids playing.
We’ve also beefed up security. I’ve installed at least a hundred sensors in the hillside, and three-dozen cameras on the street, not including the massive number in our houses.
“Will do,” I bellow back, as both he and James Dean enter his house. Axel’s GTO rumbles to life, and Antoinette rolls down the window.
“Hey, Ryder? Can you tell Eve and Julianna that Jax Saddington has confirmed the meeting next week? This is huge.” She looks at her phone, then at me. “Tell them we might have to push things to make this work.”
She smiles and waves as I hear Axel say, “Finish our kitchen first.”
I walk up our driveway and enter my house. Eve is standing there holding Nicole’s hand and swinging her massive bag on her shoulder.
“I heard him, Ryder. God, all of LA probably heard him.” She rolls her eyes.
“I’m supposed to tell you that Jax Saddington confirmed the meeting next week.” I rattle this off as Eve stops and cocks her head.
“Really? Hm, that is big. But with the baby coming, we really need to focus on finishing your house first.” She reaches for a bunch of blueprints before she leaves. Nicole happily skips next to her mother, telling Eve about her day.
