Chapter 16
Sarah
The November sunlight was almost blinding after the dim courthouse interior.
I blinked against it, my eyes still adjusting as Kael and I descended the courthouse steps together.
The air smelled of fallen leaves and exhaust fumes and something else—freedom, maybe, or just the absence of immediate threat.
And then I heard Jordan's voice cutting through the afternoon quiet.
"There she is! The brilliant legal mind who just made Dawson look like an idiot!"
I looked up to see them clustered near the parking lot—Jordan, Tori, Ruka, and Argon, all grinning like they'd just won the lottery. Kelsey stood slightly apart, still in her sharp gray suit, looking pleased with herself.
"Kelsey called us," Jordan explained, jogging over to pull me into a fierce hug. "Said we needed to be here when you walked out victorious."
"I didn't—" I started, but Tori was already there, wrapping her arms around both of us.
"You did," she said firmly. "You saved him, Sarah. You saved both of them."
Over her shoulder, I watched Argon approach Kael. For a moment, the two Orcs just stood there, looking at each other. Then Argon's face crumpled—actually crumpled—and he pulled his brother into an embrace so fierce I heard Kael's breath leave him in a rush.
"I thought I'd lost you," Argon said, his voice breaking. "When they arrested you, when you were willing to—" He pulled back, his hands gripping Kael's shoulders hard enough to bruise. "You were going to confess. You were going to throw your life away for me."
"Of course I was," Kael said quietly. "You're my brother."
"No." Argon shook his head, and I saw tears tracking down his face—actual tears, from an Orc. "No, you don't understand. I killed him, Kael. I broke his neck. And you were going to take the blame, go to prison, maybe die—" His voice cracked completely.
Kael's hands came up to frame his brother's face, forcing Argon to meet his eyes. "And I'd do it again. Every time. You were protecting your mate. You have Tori now. You have Viola. You have a family, a life worth living. I wasn't going to let them take that from you."
"You have a life worth living too," Argon said fiercely. "You matter, Kael. Not just as my brother, not just as someone who protects others—you matter."
I felt my throat tighten, tears pricking at my eyes as I watched them. This was what family looked like.
Argon pulled Kael close again, one hand coming up to cradle the back of his brother's head. "Thank you," he whispered, his voice raw. "Thank you for being willing to save me."
When they finally pulled apart, both of them had wet eyes. Argon turned to me, and before I could say anything, he crossed the distance and pulled me into a tight hug, lifting me off my feet.
"Thank you," he said into my hair. "I will never be able to repay what you've done. Never. You gave me back my brother. You—" His voice broke again. "Thank you."
I hugged him back, my own tears finally spilling over. "You're welcome," I managed. "Both of you."
Jordan eyeballed me with a curious expression. "Okay, I have to know—how did you figure out the sovereign land angle? That was brilliant."
"Actually," I said, feeling heat creep up my neck, "it was Kael's idea.
While we were hiding out at my uncle's cabin, we came across a boulder inscribed with Native American symbols.
" I glanced at Kael, remembering the day we'd found the stone.
"He reminded me that Orcs and Native Americans aren't all that different.
Both pushed to the margins. Both forced onto federally designated lands. "
I glanced at Kael and our eyes held for a moment too long. I felt the weight of everything unsaid between us—the cabin, the rules, the way he'd touched me this morning like I was something precious.
Jordan's gaze flicked between us, her expression knowing. But she didn't say anything, just smiled.
"Well, whoever figured it out," Ruka said, clapping Kael on the shoulder hard enough to make him stagger, "it was fucking genius. Dawson's face when the judge dismissed everything? I wish I'd been there to see it."
"It was pretty satisfying," Kelsey admitted.
"He's also not the type to let this go," Jordan said, her smile fading. "You know that, right?"
"I can handle Dawson," I said, more confidently than I felt. "The FBI will be investigating him now. I sent all the evidence plus how he was planning to kill Kael to Agent Morrison. He'll be too busy covering his own ass to worry about me."
"Still," Tori said, worry creasing her forehead. "Be careful, Sarah. Please."
"I will." I squeezed her hand. "I promise."
Jordan clapped her hands together, breaking the somber mood. "Okay, enough doom and gloom. We need to celebrate! Everyone back to the village—Zuhra is making chili, and Ruka's bringing out the good whiskey."
"The really good whiskey?" Argon asked, perking up.
"The stuff we've been saving for special occasions," Jordan confirmed. "And if this doesn't qualify as a special occasion, I don't know what does."
Kael's eyes met mine across the group, and I felt heat flood my cheeks. I knew exactly what he was thinking about—the night when we'd done the moonshine tasting... and what happened after.
His gaze darkened, pupils dilating, and I knew he was remembering the same things. The way I'd gasped his name. The feel of his tusks against my throat. The delicious weight of him pressing me into the mattress.
I looked away first, my heart hammering, acutely aware of everyone around us. Of Jordan watching us with knowing eyes. Of Ruka grinning like he could read every filthy thought running through my head.
"The good whiskey sounds great," I managed, my voice only slightly unsteady.
Kael's lips quirked in a small, private smile that made my stomach flip.
Everyone started talking at once, making plans, arguing good-naturedly about who was riding with whom. I felt myself being pulled into the warmth of it, the joy and relief and simple happiness of people who'd been through hell and come out the other side.
But I couldn't go. Not yet.
"I have to stop by the clerk's office," I said, raising my voice to be heard over the chatter. "Sign some paperwork, make sure everything's filed correctly. And I need to check in at my office—I've been gone for days, and I'm sure there's a mountain of messages waiting."
"I'll come with you," Kael said immediately.
I looked at him, at the protective set of his shoulders and the way his eyes tracked every person who walked past us on the sidewalk. He was still in bodyguard mode, still ready to fight off any threat.
Part of me wanted to say yes. Wanted to keep him close, to hold onto the bubble we'd created at the cabin where it was just the two of us against the world. Where I could reach for him and he'd be there, solid and warm and mine.
But we weren't at the cabin anymore. We were back in the real world, with real responsibilities and real lives that existed separately from each other.
I had a law practice to run, clients who depended on me, a professional reputation to maintain.
And Kael had his brother. His people. A life in the mountains that I wasn't sure had room for a human lawyer who wore heels and lived for courtroom battles.
I needed to start figuring out how to exist without him.
It was going to hurt. God, it was already hurting, just thinking about it. But better to start now. Better to learn how to let go in small increments than to have him ripped away all at once.
"No," I said gently. "Go with Argon. Catch up with your brother. You haven't had a chance to really talk since the wedding."
"Sarah—"
"I'll be fine," I insisted. "It's just paperwork and phone calls. Boring lawyer stuff. I'll head up to the village when I'm done."
Kael looked like he wanted to argue, but Argon put a hand on his shoulder.
"Come on, brother," Argon said. "Let Sarah do her job. You can hover over her later."
"I don't hover," Kael protested.
"You absolutely hover," Jordan, Tori, and I said in unison.
Everyone laughed, and I felt some of the tension ease. Kael gave me one last long look before letting Argon pull him toward Ruka's truck.
I watched them go, feeling the loss of his presence like a physical ache.
"You okay?" Kelsey asked quietly, appearing at my elbow.
"Yeah," I said. "Just... tired."
"Liar." But she smiled when she said it. "Go do your paperwork. We'll save you some chili."
I hugged her quickly, then headed inside the courthouse.
The clerk's office had the paperwork waiting for me.
I signed off on everything, accepting their congratulations then headed for my Jeep that had thankfully been dropped off in the courthouse parking lot.
The drive to my office was short—just a few blocks through downtown Franklin.
I parked in my usual spot behind the building, a small brick structure that housed three law offices and a bail bondsman.
My office was on the second floor. The door had my name on it in gold lettering: Sarah Potter, Attorney at Law. I'd stood in this hallway the day it was installed, thought of my dad and felt a surge of pride so intense it had brought tears to my eyes.
My name was on the door.
It still made me proud, even now. Especially now.
I unlocked the door and stepped inside, breathing in the familiar scent of old books and lemon furniture polish. My office was small—just a couple of rooms with a desk, two client chairs, file cabinets, and floor-to-ceiling bookshelves crammed with law books and case files. But it was mine.
I set my briefcase on the desk and started sorting through the mail that had piled up during my absence. Bills, mostly. A few filings to answer and messages from clients. Nothing urgent.
I was halfway through the stack when I heard the door open.
"Forget something?" I asked, a smile forming on my lips, thinking--hoping--it had to be Kael.
"You could say that."
The voice was wrong. Too deep, too cold, too familiar in all the worst ways.