“She does. I’m glad you’ve stepped in to fill that role. Just be careful.”
“What do you mean?”
“You understand that after the trials are over, she’ll disappear and you won’t have any contact with her?”
“I am aware,” he snapped.
His response told he was touchy about the subject. But he had no choice, especially if he wanted her to stay alive.
Court appearances filled our days and were very repetitious. Aiden’s trial was first. He was the kingpin in the operation, and if he went down, the others would follow.
We assembled in a room, and as we waited, they brought in Sinead. She trembled, and that didn’t bode well.
“Here,” I reached into my purse and pulled out a bottle of CBD oil. “Take some of this to calm your nerves.”
“Will it make me sleepy?”
“No, but it will ease your anxiety.”
I filled the dropper for her and pushed the contents of it into her mouth.
“Thank you. How fast does this work?”
“It’ll start in about twenty minutes. Take some deep, calming breaths. That should help too.” I prayed it worked. A trembling voice stumbling over testimony on the stand wouldn’t help with this case. We needed her to exude confidence.
We walked over to the corner and I taught her square breathing, inhaling to a count of four, holding the breath for four counts, exhaling for four, and then holding for four more. That slowed the heart rate and decreased tension in the body. Five minutes later she was slightly better.
“How is she?” Cruze asked.
“Getting there.”
I handed her the drops. “Sinead put these in your purse. If you need to use more, you can do it later.”
“Thank you.”
They came for us and we filed into the courtroom, sitting in the front row. Cruze held Sinead’s hand. Then they brought in Aiden. When he saw her, Cruze said, “Don’t look at him. He’ll try to rattle you.”
She glanced in the opposite direction, and I saw him scowl as his face reddened. He was pissed. It must be awful to know your flesh and blood would testify against you and that will put you in prison for life.
They called Drex to the stand first. The prosecution asked him questions from Danny’s imprisonment to Aiden’s arrest. Then came the cross-examination. It was brutal. We knew it would be. They did their best to piss off Drex, but he never lost his cool, even when they accused him of abducting Sinead and Aisling.
“I’ll repeat for maybe the seventh or is it the eighth time now? Sinead reached out to Wolfe Investigations for help. Had she not done that, I wouldn’t be sitting here today.”
He was perjuring himself. We all would be for this part of the questioning, but we’d decided it was worth it to nail Aiden. We’d made that promise to Sinead, and we’d all keep it.
The week dragged on, although sitting in court watching this unfold had us sitting on pins and needles. I couldn’t imagine what Sinead was experiencing. The CBD oil helped, but she had stress lines around her eyes that hadn’t been there before, and she’d aged at least ten years.
My testimony was simple. They asked, and I responded. I’d given up my true identity, but it didn’t matter. Scottie Sullivan had a target on her back.
When that story came out, the defense moved to strike, but the judge allowed it. It was a true win for the prosecution.
On Friday, the jury went into deliberation. That meant we’d have to spend the weekend without knowing.
We were tense and didn’t want to leave the house. Cruze reminded me of a caged panther as he paced the floors.
“Dude, you’ll wear out the floors if you don’t stop.”
He peeked up at Raiden, as though he didn’t get what Raiden was talking about.
“Huh?”
“You haven’t sat down in over two hours. All you’re doing is going back and forth and it’s giving me a headache.”
“Sorry. I’m nervous.”
“Have a drink to cool those heels. I thought I saw smoke coming off them earlier.”
“Wanna go for a run?”
I intervened. “Guys, do you think that’s a good idea?”
“What do you mean?” Cruze asked.
“An element of danger might still exist out there.”
“Everyone’s in jail.”
“Right, but let’s wait until they’re convicted. Then we can ease our vigilance,” Scottie replied.
“Get on the treadmill. You can burn energy there,” Raiden suggested.
“Good idea.”
Cruze left and Raiden said, “I think he has it bad for Sinead, but I don’t want to say anything.”
“Same here. He’s screwed too because when this is over, she goes into WITSEC and that’s it.”
Raiden didn’t answer but only nodded.
That scene with Cruze made me realize how fortunate I was to have Raiden with me. We spent most of the weekend in each other’s arms, making love in our cozy room. It was great to be back in Denver and living at Raiden’s new house. Since his old one had been destroyed, he bought a new one nearby. Mine still wasn’t finished, but as soon as it was, I would sell it.
He took a chunk of my hair and twirled it around his fingers. “After the trials end and we’re free to do as we please, let’s go away.”
“What about our wedding?” The date had been burning a hole in my mind.
“We can elope. Name the place and we’ll do it.”
“Your family won’t mind?”
“After what we’ve been through, I’m sure they’ll be fine. It’s time to step off this roller coaster ride. What do you say?”
“I’m game if you are.”
I was instantly in his arms as he kissed me. Then he pulled me to my feet, and we hopped around the room like kids.
“Let’s plan. Where do you want to go?”
“Since Gem and I did the South Pacific, why don’t you surprise me?”
“Fine. I’ll take you to one of my favorite places. But I have a question. Would you prefer a beach or otherwise?”
“Not saying. You plan this.”
My excitement grew. I hadn’t looked forward to anything in ages. Going away with Raiden would be spectacular.
Monday arrived, and we prepared to put this behind us. The jury had finished deliberating over the weekend and was ready to give their verdict. They’d found Aiden O’Brien guilty, as we expected. Sinead’s testimony was the key to putting him away.
She sagged in her seat and silently wept. As the officer escorted him out of the courtroom, he aimed his finger at her and said, “You’ll pay for this. You and that brat of yours.”
It took two long months to obtain convictions on the others. It was a tedious process, but it was worth our time. Ensuring that no one else would die at the hands of those monsters had been our goal, and we’d seen it through.
We celebrated on the night that they read the final guilty verdict. Sinead accompanied us to a restaurant after some pleading with the two marshals who were on her case.. It was something none of us had done in over a year. Raiden booked a private room at one of his favorite places and we had a grand time. We consumed great food and wine. During dinner, we told the family we were going away for a few weeks to celebrate the end of all the mayhem.
Brax and Reynolds had flown in to celebrate the end of the trial. Reynolds had gone back to Atlanta after Aiden’s capture. They also had an announcement. Reynolds was pregnant. No wonder she refused the glass of wine offered to her.
“It’s about time! Our Olivia will finally have a cousin,” Acer shouted. He raised his glass of club soda for a toast to the happy couple.
The only ones who weren’t very excited were Sinead and Cruze. They both acted like life was ending. I hated it for them.
At the evening’s end, we took cabs home, but Cruze was suspiciously absent. I kept my mouth shut until Raiden and I were alone.
“I noticed too but didn’t want to mention
it. He probably went back to Sinead’s room with her.”
“I hope they work something out, but I don’t know how.”
“Maybe with everyone behind bars, she won’t have to go into WITSEC.”
“Raiden, that wouldn’t be smart. One of them is still at large and who knows how much information he has.”
“What will happen to all of Aiden’s money?”
“The feds will confiscate it along with all his other assets here. I’m not sure about his assets in the UK.”
“So that means it leaves Sinead nothing.”
“Pretty much.” How sad because she’d been raised with a silver spoon in her mouth.
“That’s why Cruze is so attached. He’s always rooted for the underdog.”
“As in giving her a new start?” That much made sense.
“I think so.”
“I hope so because once in WITSEC, she has to stay away from him permanently.”
Chapter Forty-Eight
Raiden
We boarded the plane, destination undisclosed. It was a surprise for my wife-to-be, as she wished. The crew knew it too, so it was all hush-hush.
I’d even packed her bags so she wouldn’t have a clue to what climate we’d be traveling. It hadn’t been easy keeping this trip a secret. I was every bit as excited as she was.
“How long is the flight?”
“Long,” I answered with a wink.
“Good. That will give us time to sleep.”
“There’s also another surprise. Our destination doesn’t allow foreign weddings so…”
A man walked out of the cockpit and I introduced him as the person who would perform our ceremony.
“Here? Now?”
“Yes, because I want us to be married to celebrate our honeymoon as long as it’s okay with you.”
“Yes! Yes, that’s fine.”
His name was Michael, and he was a retired judge. We’d gone to the courthouse for the marriage license. I’d told her a little lie and said we might need it on our vacation.
The ceremony was quick, but her beautiful eyes told me everything. My heart was in her hands, as it always had been from almost the beginning.
“I now pronounce you husband and wife.”
He didn’t have to tell me to kiss her because my lips were already there. By the time we peeled ourselves away from each other, he’d disappeared.
“Congratulations, Mrs. Kent.”
“I like that. Scottie Kent.”
“Not as much as I do.” I tugged her toward our seats.
“Mr. and Mrs. Kent, we have some special food aboard for your flight,” one of the crew said.
“Oooh, I love the sound of that. Please tell me you have cinnamon muffins.” She inhaled deeply. “I smell cinnamon.”
“Not exactly, but you’ll be pleased.”
He brought us coffee, and we sipped on it as we took off. Once we hit ten thousand feet, the flight attendant brought out cinnamon scones. They were warm and delicious. Scottie was hooked.
“These are crazy yummy. I can’t believe I have another cinnamon treat I’m addicted to.”
“I know how you love it.”
I planned a full course breakfast for midmorning, but he served mimosas now. We toasted each other.
“Here’s to our elopement and marriage. What do you think your parents will say when they find out?”
“I have a feeling they have an inkling about it.”
“Yeah?”
“I rarely take long trips like this.”
“I see. And why not, Mr. Kent?”
I captured her lips in a kiss. “Hmm. Because I travel so much for business, I’d rather kick my feet up at home. However, with you by my side, I may have to alter my thinking.”
“About that. I have an idea I want to toss your way. What do you think about me working with you?”
“You mean at Kent?”
“Yes, dummy.” She elbowed me in the side.
“Wow. I’m intrigued. Tell me what you have in mind.”
“You know how we worked together on software when we first met, I could do that, but in different capacities. I could work for Drex as needed too, so I wouldn’t leave them hanging.”
“I like the sound of that. You and Acer could do a lot together and you could also teach him how to run programs on the dark web. I can see exactly where you’d fit in.”
“Really?”
“Yes, and not only that, I would enjoy working with you every day.”
“Raiden, think about it because sometimes it doesn’t work out so well for couples to spend so much time together.”
“If it doesn’t we can reevaluate, but I don’t see that happening.”
Then she shouted, “I can’t believe we’re going on vacation and I don’t even know where!”
That got me laughing. It had been quite a while since we’d both been so carefree.
“Hey, let’s watch a movie,” she suggested.
“Great idea.”
We settled on a comedy since we were in such a cheerful mood. We didn’t want to watch anything heavy. Breakfast was served in the middle of it and after, she fell asleep. I opened my computer and worked on a project I’d neglected. I had catching up to do, but promised I wouldn’t chain myself to work on this vacation.
The flight was interminable because all I wanted to do was see her expression when we landed at our destination. I fell asleep and awoke to the aroma of dinner. She was tickling my nose with the tip of her finger.
“I thought you were a gnat.”
“I am. A very large, hungry one.”
“You won’t have to wait long from the smell of things.”
“I smell cheese.”
“Mmm, that and something else.”
The flight attendant appeared with two white linen cloths to set the table before us. Then he brought our dinners. We had broiled lobsters with clarified butter, filets of beef, mashed potatoes with gruyere, and a light salad. He followed up with a nice bottle of merlot.
“Wow. This looks perfect.”
She cut off a piece of the lobster, dipped it in the butter, and slid it into her mouth.
“Mmm, delicious.”
I followed suit, and it was mouthwatering.
She tapped my arm. “Did you select the menu?”
“I did.”
“Thank you. It’s perfect.”
We both finished dinner and an enormous piece of cheesecake arrived for each of us.
“Oh, my.” Scottie patted her stomach. “I’m not sure I have room for a bite.”
“Try a tiny one.”
She tasted it and saved it for later. “It’s delicious, but I have no room.”
The rest of the flight was nice as we talked out our future business plans and the possibility of building a new home.
“I love the house you just bought.”
“Our house. I do too, but I want to begin fresh, in a new home, with no memories of the past.”
She rested her head on my shoulder. “It is new and we’ve already made some pretty awesome ones there.”
“We’ve started some great ones, yeah?”
“Oh, yeah. And we can make some new ones too.”
“You honestly want to stay there? I bought it so quickly, it was only supposed to be a resting place.”
“It’s perfect. I love the layout, it’s in the best location, and it has everything a home needs.”
“Then it’s settled. We’ll stay.” I planted a kiss on the top of her head. The flight attendant cleared the table and asked if we wanted anything else.
“Nothing for me, thanks,” Scottie said.
“We’re good. All we need is the table moved.”
He pushed it down so we could recline our seats into beds.
“Sir, would you like me to make up your beds?”
“We’re fine.”
We were drowsy after that monstrous meal and both fell fast asleep.
The flight attendant woke me
in order for us to buckle up.
“Sir, we’re landing to refuel. I’m sorry to wake you, but the captain asked me to.”
“It’s fine.” I woke Scottie, and we put our seats up.
“Are we landing?” she asked with a yawn.
“Yes, but only to refuel.”
“Good lord, where are you taking me?”
“You’ll see.”
The stop was brief, and we were back in the air in no time.
“Do you know how much longer?”
Checking the time, I said, “Approximately five hours.”
“Perfect. Enough time for a long nap.”
“Have I told you how stunning you are?”
She smoothed her hair.
“Don’t. I love it when you just wake up.”
“You’ve said that before.” Then she rumpled my hair.
“I love it too. You remind me of a little boy.”
“Little boy?”
“Yeah, all cute and sexy.”
“Didn’t know little boys were sexy.”
“They aren’t. But they’re cute. Big boys are sexy.”
“Scottie, where did you grow up?”
“Wow, what a segue. In Virginia, why?”
“Curious. I know nothing about your past.”
Her hand covered mine. “I’m sorry. I’m used to keeping it a secret.”
“Understandable. You don’t have to anymore.”
“It’s quite liberating. Ask me anything.”
“Not now. I want you to sleep.”
“You’re too good to me.”
“Not possible. I love you too much.”
“I love you too, Raiden Kent.”
Her seat went back, and she curled onto her side. It was difficult thinking of my life before her. I reclined my seat and fell asleep, nestled behind her.
We finally landed in our surprise destination. I acted like that little boy she’d described. I could barely contain my excitement.
“First, put this on.” I dug through my carryon and pulled out a silk blindfold.
“Seriously?”
“Yep, I don’t want you to know where we are until we get to our place.”
“Okay, whatever you say. You’re taking this surprise thing a little too far.”
“Not at all. It’ll be worth it. Wait and see.”
I escorted her down the steps and to the awaiting limo. They’d been instructed not to speak, so she wouldn’t hear any accents. It wasn’t far from the airport to our destination. Then I took off her blindfold.
Raiden: A Stand Alone, Irish Mob Crime Romance (The Kent Brothers Book 2) Page 25