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“You’re cocky.”
“I’mdedicated,” I corrected before swiping her lips between mine. Only backing up enough to talk, I said, “Worst-case scenario, my family would have had your back.”
“I’m…” Her voice trailed off, cracking when she finished, “Tired. So damn tired, Jameson. Soul deep, exhausted from years of his bullshit.”
“I know, baby,” the words choked out of me, palms buzzing with the need to fix this for her. And for a moment, I thought about the role she played—in this town, in my family—always lifting people up, making customers smile, or feeling seen whenIknew she’d actually been distracted. Noel buried her grief in the joy of those around her, solving her friends' problems and ignoring her own. But that didn’t mean it wasn’t there.
“You’re the one good thing I have in my life right now.” Those delicate fingers slid their way up to trace along my cheekbone, like she was working on memorizing my face. That ache did it—yanking her against me, my lips came down on hers, desperate to take away the weight on her shoulders. “You should’vetold me,” she said between my stolen kiss and heartbreaking whimper. My chest fractured, jaw ticking as I sucked down a breath. The worst part wasI’dfucking done this. I’d hurt her like this. And there wasn’t a way to fix it. Either way—either decision I’d made—I was going to break something beautiful again.
“If we’re doing this, the honesty goes both fucking ways, Jameson. You don’t get to demand it from me and then hide something like turning yourself in to bearrested.”
“I know. Iknow,baby. You’re right. That wasn’t fair. It was fucking shitty. I’m not going to try and justify it. I just…” Heart heavy with the distrust etched across the face I loved so much, I gathered the gumption to admit, “I’m not man enough to walk in there and do what needed to be done if you were breaking like this in front of me. I could never have left you like this. Never have left you crying outside that damn building and turned my back on you. It would’ve torn me in two. Maybe that makes me chicken shit. But I can’t say I’m sorry because I’d do it again.”
“What if they didn’t let you come home?” She smacked her petite palms against my chest, punctuating the demand. “Did youthinkof that?”
Heart aching, shoulders drooping, I shook my head, honestly saying, “No, baby. No, I didn’t.” The horror that flashed across her features made me hate myself, and I rushed to explain, “Because the idea of not going home to you would havekilled me.I trusted Judge Cullen, trusted Rob and Charlie to advocate, just like they did.”
A breathy little scoff escaped her chest. “Got yourself a whole team, don’t you?”
“Yeah, baby,” I breathed, tucking a curl behind her ear. “Together,we’llbeat this. Iknowwe’ll win. If I wasn’t so confident, if there was any doubt in my body, I would tell you that. We’ll get him. The whole family is digging up new angles. Now, come inside with me. Please.”
“A lie of omission is still a lie, Jameson. I’ve done relationships built on deceit. Remember?”
“I know,” I rasped, terror slicing through me as anger etched across her face. She soldiered on.
“And despite how ours started, I won’t do it again. Please. Just…promise me. No more lies.”
“No more lies,” I agreed, before leaning down and kissing her breathless, letting our bodies sink together, all the while sending up a silent prayer that I could make good on that promise. A throat cleared, and I knew Broderick was dying to excuse himself.
“Good,” she said, peeling away. She turned to face our uncomfortable companions. “Now, somebody call Max. I need his help.”
Noel
Enough was fucking enough.Rage, so visceral my bones were vibrating, consumed every inch of my body. The selfish prick could call me names, insult my family, and try to steal my fire, but I would never let him get away with going after Jameson. I didn’t give a shit if it was his idea or his damn demon of a father’s. Jameson wasmine. End. Of.
I’d been ranting about justice for the better half of the last hour as four sets of eyeballs tracked my movements.
“…If he’s going to dominate in the courtroom, let’s take the fight to him outside it. Fuck legal. Fuck strategy. We take this straight to the court of public motherfucking opinion,” I snarled as Max plugged the USB I’d handed him into his computer, wide brown eyes cautiously tracking my livid pacing from one side of the room to the other. They blinked when his focus zeroed in on the file now open on his screen. Elora did the same thing from his side. Her lips were sealed as my diatribe finally ended. Like a concrete statue, Broderick sat unmoving in his chair in the corner, Axel leaning against the wall just behind him, just as motionless. He’d been here in under five minutes after Jameson texted him. I’d have to thank him when I wasn’t seeing red someday.
“Holy shit,” Max said cheerily, leaning back to cross his arms as a sound more scoff than laugh burst through his lips. Jameson leaned in, only to stiffen. I knew what he was looking at. My bruises from the car accident and the day I showed up on Rhyett’s step. My stomach turned like a bucking ship at sea. I’d never shown him those. Never shown anyone those. The way his knuckles went white where his fist rested on his thigh made me question my resolve to do it now, but I cleared my throat instead. Holding my ground. As Max casually scrolled through the file of damning evidence, I remembered the sinking feeling in my gut as I’d snapped pictures of shady-looking parking garage handoffs, not wanting to believe my own eyes. There were blatant candid shots with lowlifes and known felons.
Josie’s late husband, Blaze, had friends in high places, and my play with Shamra paid off when she secured the last few pieces I’d needed without even hesitating. Hell, she seemed to enjoy herself, dusting the rust off those old reconnaissance skills.
“You got the videos off the hardware store cameras?” Jameson’s eyes flicked to mine. I nodded.
“Yup. And the harbor and Grizzly Grind. Charlie pulled them both for evidence.”
Jameson’s smile twitched wider, understanding settling in. “Don’t need a warrant when you can just ask the owners.”
“Exactly,” I said, smiling. “Turns out Mrs. Anderson, Captain McGrath, and your brother had no qualms about handing over what we needed.”
“I mean. I’d cut ‘em off before you knock his lights out,” Max said, shaking his head. “But the point is pretty damn clear. You can see his face from the harbor cameras.”
“Baby, you’ve just been sitting on all this the whole time?”
“Some of it,” I admitted. “Charlie got the videos this afternoon. Some of it a friend sent over after last night, after things went sideways.”
“Afriend?” Jameson scowled up at me, nervous or jealous; I wasn’t sure which. Either way, I smiled at the protective posture of his stiff shoulders and tense jaw. The flexing tendons in his arms.
