Chapter 9
Two Days Later
My first time in a courtroom had been exhilarating. Unlike the rest of my class, I didn’t have the same feelings of anxious nervousness when stepping onto the floor. I wasn’t easily intimidated by any of the judges and I didn’t have the same fear most of them felt during their first mock trials. I felt comfortable. At the time, it was just about the only place I felt wholly and utterly in control of an outcome or a situation. I just had to play my cards right and I would get what my clients needed.
It’s a skill that has since served me incredibly well.
That skill is why I feel so at ease strong-arming judges. I have no shame using the assets that I have to get what I want from them. I have to hope that it works when Nikolai steps in here. Sadly, he’s exactly the sort of man that most judges like to stereotype when they look at him. Tall, dark, handsome, with an overabundance of muscles and tattoos? It’s going to be my job to make sure they don’t punish him just for looking the part.
I wasn’t surprised that my request to move up the hearing was approved. But, I do wish that I had had a bit more time to properly prepare for what’s about to come. Even still, I make sure to dress in my very best outfit and leave my blonde hair in ringlets around my face and shoulders. I’m channeling my inner girl and I swear before the afternoon is over, I’m going to have each and every person in this courtroom eating out of my hand.
I do what I have to do.
I don’t even know what physical state Nikolai is going to be in when I face him. I asked to have some time to meet with him before going in front of the judge but it was denied. I’m sure that he will turn on his unique charm. I just want to make sure everything lines up. He’s as prepared as he’s ever going to be.
I think I might be nervous for the first time in my whole career. My palms feel sweaty. This isn’t something that’s ever happened to me. I’ve been way less prepared and had a less ironclad defense and yet…
There’s a lot riding on this.
My whole future is riding on this.
My daughter’s safety.
Nikolai’s future.
Wait. Nikolai’s future?
That shouldn’t be part of my equation. Not on a personal level. Yet, I can’t shake him. I can’t stop thinking about how things are going to go. I enter the holding room where Alek, Anya, and Henry are sitting. Henry is wearing a lovely suit that brings out his eyes. He’s fidgeting softly. It’s the first time that I’m meeting this young man in person. He stands to greet me the moment I close the door.
Behind him, Alek smirks proudly. I can see he’s about to ruffle the young man’s hair affectionately but stops himself so that Henry still looks composed when he goes into the room in a few minutes.
“Is everybody ready?” I smile brightly. I hope that my air of confidence fills them with ease before we go in here.
Specifically, I look at Anya. She’s the one who I would expect to be least comfortable confronting her husband. The divorce is just about finalized on paper but she hasn’t seen Nikolai since the incident with Henry.
Alek answers for all of them while squeezing Henry’s shoulder affectionately. “He’s ready. We all are. Though, I think that Henry’s going to put us all to shame. He was up before dawn practicing.”
I grin and address Henry directly. “Remember, you don’t have to make your testimony in front of everybody. You can go into the room with the judge and speak to him personally. But then they can’t go with you. Have you decided what you want to do?”
Henry nods. “I will do it like the people on TV.”
“You mean in front of everybody?”
“Mmhm - I mean, yes ma’am.” Henry corrects himself and I nod.
“I can tell you have been practicing,” I add with a smile.
“Yes ma’am!” Henry continues.
The hardest part about this whole thing was convincing a child why it would be acceptable for him to lie under this particular circumstance. Anya and Alek both told him that it was just going to be like acting and that it wasn’t truly a lie. Henry’s such a sweet kid that he didn’t want to lie about anything ever. He only needs to confirm that Nikolai is his biological father, and that the day in question, when the kidnapping took place, was actually their very first father-son outing and that this is all just a big misunderstanding.
“Any questions before we do this?” I wink for good measure. Anya places a hand on her rounded belly and inhales slowly to steady herself. I understand the nerves. I don’t think that I would be even half as composed as she is if I were forced to go into a room with my ex-husband again.
As we turn to head into the closed viewing courtroom, I can’t help but compare my experience with Billy to Anya’s with Nikolai. It’s like she and I have met wholly different versions of the man in question. As abrupt as Nikolai has been, the way that he touched me told me a lot. He held me so much more delicately than he needed to. Despite the force, there had been no malice behind his actions. It was… new for me.
Henry is prepped. I told him exactly what the prosecutor was going to say, and he has his speech ready for the judge. I walk into the room with my head held high as they file into place behind me. Daniel is already waiting where Henry goes to join him - though his eyes seem to be locked on the back of Nikolai’s head.
I can’t even begin to understand the way that the tension melts from my shoulders as I stand next to Nikolai behind our small table. I place my belongings respectfully on the floor and remain standing while the judge takes his place at the head of the room.
“Please be seated,” the judge instructs and everybody in the room sits down. The older man doesn’t even bother looking up from the paperwork that he’s so focused on, and I take that to be a good sign. Quickly, I glance over to the large man seated beside me. He doesn’t seem any worse off than he was two days ago at least. His bruises seem to be starting to yellow and the swelling is somewhat going down which I take to be a good sign. He glances at me out of the corner of his eye and winks at me.
It shouldn’t make me damned giddy.
How ridiculous.
It’s just a bodily response to him. At least that’s what I’m going to tell myself. It’s nothing more than that. I can’t help that I find him to be so damned attractive.
Focus Kate.
“Volkovich vs. Volkovich will now be heard.”
The case moves by in a blur. It’s infuriating that every single time that I move I am constantly more and more aware of his body heat and how close his thigh is to mine. It’s irrational to want to feel his hand sliding up my thigh. Not to mention wholly unprofessional and impossible - but I want it all the same.
Clearly, I need to get laid. My dreams of him are to blame for this. They have to be. There’s no other reason for me to be this damned feral over a man that I’ve only met with a couple of times. It doesn’t make sense.
Daniel and Helena are up first to give their testimony. Everything goes exactly as it’s supposed to. Helena, as Nikolai’s first fiancée, is incredibly convincing in her story. Daniel is the one on record for having called the police at the hotel that day. He explains that he was just a concerned citizen attempting to do his duty in a situation that he had grossly misunderstood. Everything is falling in line. Even I can hardly believe how well everything is going, all things considered. Then Henry is up - and he does perfectly. He says everything that he’s supposed to. He is convincing and even manages to take a good, long, lingering look at his biological father for the first time since the abduction. The little actor even manages to smile and wave at his ‘daddy’. Henry, being the absolute angel that he truly is, finishes up his testimony by asking the judge directly when he was going to be able to go and get ice cream and hamburgers with his father again.
Done and dusted.
This would have all been impossible if it weren’t for such stellar liars. I know that I took an oath to uphold the law to the best of my ability but every single person here in this room knows that there isn’t any real money in doing that. It’s why Nikolai is going to walk out of here a free man.
He’s the only person left to be called up to testify. However, the judge doesn’t call his name. Instead, he stands and motions for the jury to be ushered into the meeting room. Strange, to be sure, but not wholly unheard of.
When the judge leaves the room to confirm and deliberate with the jury before sentencing… Nikolai’s fingers brush against the outside of my thigh. Just the slight sensation sends ripples of pleasure through every part of me. It’s like my whole focus pinpoints on that touch and stays there. I stay frozen in place, despite how badly I want to lean into the touch. I want more. I want him to properly thank me for all the hard work that I did manipulating this situation into the outcome that he wants the most.
Pity that it can’t happen.
The judge comes back and takes his seat.
“There’s just one more testimony that the jury and I would like to hear.” He says as he stacks his papers up neatly and places a paperclip on the corner. The jury all files in one by one to retake their seats. No doubt they are attempting to throw a curveball. “Anya Volkovich, would you please come to the stand?”