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I swallow the knot in my throat and try to still my nerves. “I don’t think I could testify.” Just thinking about walking into court and seeing him again, in person, makes me ill. “I can’t face him, Damian.”
“You’ll never be alone. I’ll be there the entire time.” He takes both of my hands in his and holds them tight.
“Show him that strength he didn’t think you had. Fight him with the truth and tell that whole courtroom what he did to you. Don’t let that motherfucker win.”
Lip trembling, I choke on painful tears. Knowing he’s right doesn’t make the prospect of facing Ash any easier.
I hear the guest room door open, announcing Mom’s up. “Good morning. How are you feeling, darling?”
“I’m okay.”
“Good, honey. I’m going to make us some pancakes. You need to eat.” She heads for the kitchen.
“Mom?”
She turns back around. “Yes, sweetheart?”
I stand. “They caught him.”
She draws in a sharp breath and rushes to me. “Oh, thank God!” She wraps me in a tender embrace as we both cry, our relief and anguish filtering through the room. I know she needed to hear this just as much as I did.
* * *
DAMIAN
The next day while we’re all enjoying lunch thanks to Karen, my phone vibrates against the table. Seeing an incoming call from Gabe, I quickly answer, knowing what today is.
“Hey man, what’s up?”
“Hey D, we’re just leaving his arraignment. The son of a bitch made bail, but the judge ordered him to wear an ankle monitor.”
Fuck. They say hatred is a powerful emotion. It can blur your vision, cloud your judgment, and possess your soul until you drown in it. I can feel myself being swallowed by it more and more every day. He gets to walk free after what he did, while she gets to fear for her safety. Where the fuck is the justice in that?
“I know it’s not the news we were hoping for D, but at least we’ll know where he is at all times.”
“Yeah.” I look over at Lilah as she takes tiny bites of her food, pretending she’s not paying attention to my conversation. My gut twists. I don’t know how I’m going to tell her.
“There’s one more thing, we installed a remote access program on his laptop during our search and Samantha found the photos and videos you mentioned. She said he also sent it to his email. It’s all gone now, man. Wiped clean. There were no traces of them anywhere else.”
Relief washes over me. At least I can give her some good news. “Did you see them?” The thought of someone else seeing my girl that way infuriates me.
“No. Samantha is the only one who handled it. We’d never do that.”
“Tell her thank you.”
“Will do. Let us know if you guys need anything.”
“I will.”
I hang up and place the phone back on the table. There’s an undeniable tension as both women face me.
“I know that had something to do with me. What happened?”
“The judge released him, but he’ll have an ankle monitor the whole time.”
She freezes for a second, staring at me unblinking, before turning back to her food as if I just gave her the weather forecast.
“What kind of judge would do such a thing?!” Karen snaps. She places a hand over Lilah’s. “I’m sorry, honey.”
