Chapter 50
Robyn
I look up at the judge as she flips through the papers in front of her. She must be close to her sixties, and from her size and the vivid color of her eyes, I would say that she’s a shifter.
I keep my hands folded in my lap. My attorney sits to my left, a shifter male who looks nervous, which makes me feel nervous. The prosecution is at the adjacent table. I have not looked at them once since they pleaded their case as to why I shouldn’t be given bail.
My eyes prick just thinking of all the things they said. They made me out to be a criminal, saying that I planned on using my position to harm the shifters on Draig Island. They are calling for me to be charged with treason and terrorism.
My heart is beating so fast that I have to force myself to breathe slower. When I start to gain control, I turn my head toward the gallery, needing a second away from staring at the bench.
It’s full, and I recognize many of the faces here today.
Carla is in the front, dressed in a black blazer. Her eyes find mine the moment I look over, and she gives me a smile. She looks like she hasn’t slept. Her eyes are red-rimmed, and there are shadows beneath them.
Behind her is Brody, and next to him, Lena, who gives me a short, warm nod when I catch her eye. There’s a member of the hospital board, and even a few nurses and orderlies. There are admin staff too. So many people came here today, and it looks like they’re here to support me.
Something tightens inside me, and my eyes prick.
The judge clears her throat, and the gallery settles into quiet.
“Dr. Keller.” Her voice is raised so that all in attendance will hear. “I have reviewed the evidence presented and taken into consideration the severity of the charges brought against you.”
Here it comes.
I stare at a fixed point on the desk in front of her and hold very still.
“This court is prepared to grant bail.”
The air shifts in the gallery with the briefest of collective exhales.
“In the amount of one million dollars.”
The exhale becomes something louder. A murmur that rolls through the rows like a wave.
“What?” someone yells.
“Why so much?”
“Noooooo!”
There are more yells of surprise. More chants against such a high bail.
My attorney puts a hand on my arm, even though I didn’t react. One million dollars. It may as well be ten million because I don’t have that kind of money.
“That is ridiculous,” Carla’s voice rings out above the loud chatter in the courtroom.
“Order.” The judge’s eyes cut to the gallery. Her gavel comes down hard several times. “Order, please. I will have quiet in my court.”
Another wave of displeasure runs through the room, quieter this time.
“Order!” the judge shouts again, her eyes blazing. “I—”
The door at the back of the courtroom opens, and something in the air shifts. A hush starts at the back of the gallery and moves forward, row by row.
My attorney looks over his shoulder and frowns.
I turn, my breath catching.
Ridge walks up the aisle.
He’s in a dark suit, fitted at the shoulders, and a tie. Every eye in the room follows him, including mine.
I am taken aback at how together he is. How larger-than-life. How his presence fills the entire space.
My heart starts to go nuts again, but not for the same reasons.
What is wrong with me?
Why do I still react to him after everything that happened?
He doesn’t look at me. He walks directly to the front of the room and has a quiet word with the bailiff first. The bailiff steps to the bench and speaks low. The judge’s expression doesn’t change, but something in it sharpens.
She looks at Ridge. She looks at the bailiff. She does not look pleased.
Then she gives a brief, almost imperceptible nod.
“We’ll take a short recess.” She stands, and her robes move. Then she disappears through the door behind the bench with Ridge a few paces behind her.
As soon as they are gone, the courtroom detonates.
“What is happening?” Carla is on her feet. Half the gallery seems to be.
I spin toward my attorney. “What does this mean? What is he doing in there?”
He shakes his head, frowning. “It could mean new evidence has been submitted.”
“New evidence.” I stare at him. “What kind of evidence?”
“I don’t know yet. We have to wait. If the judge allows it, we will be notified and given access to whatever it is.”
“Do you think she’ll retract the bail? Can she do that?”
He nods once. “I’m afraid she can.”
What if he found something that makes this worse? What if there are more planted documents…or worse?
The thought is a cold slide from my collarbone to my stomach. I swallow thickly.
After what feels like an age, the door opens.
Ridge is not with the judge when she returns to the bench. She sits on her chair and picks up a sheet of paper. The room goes silent.
She looks up once, scanning the room briefly, and then down again.
“New evidence has been submitted and reviewed. This evidence is sufficient to clear Dr. Keller of all charges brought against her.” A pause. “Dr. Keller, you are free to go.”
She hits the table with her gavel, just once.
For a full three seconds, the courtroom is completely, utterly still.
I look at my attorney, who looks shocked.
Then he smiles, turning to me, and when our eyes meet, he nods once.
“You heard the judge,” he says.
The room comes apart.
I stand up from my chair, and my legs are not entirely steady, but they hold. I take a step. Then another. The room is very loud around us.
I’m almost to the gallery gate when Carla reaches me first. She puts her arms around me and holds on. I hold on back, and I feel the shudder move through her.
“You’re free!” she says, muffled against my shoulder. “I’m so happy.”
“Me, too. Thank you for being here.” My voice is muffled too, and a little high-pitched from trying to hold back tears.
“Obviously.” She pulls back. Her eyes are wet. She laughs at herself, swipes at her face, and laughs again.
Brody shakes my hand and then pulls me into a hug that nearly lifts me off the floor. Hannah squeezes my arm. Lena hugs me with both arms and doesn’t say anything at all. A member of the hospital board shakes my hand.
“We knew you weren’t guilty,” he says.
It goes on and on as I walk down the aisle. I’m touched at how many people are here in support of me. I don’t trust my voice, so I just nod or smile or hug them back.
Then I’m outside and turning my face up to the sun. It feels wonderful. I had started to imagine myself being stuck inside a cell for years.
Carla comes through the door behind me and stops too.
“Okay?” she asks.
“Yeah,” I say. My voice is steadier now. “Yeah, I think I am.”
Flint is at the bottom of the courthouse steps. He waves.
Carla waves back. “Holy shit, he’s just as hot as I remembered.”
I find myself looking around to see if I can find Ridge or his SUV. I hate how disappointed I feel when I don’t see either.
I need to stop, so I focus on Flint.
We go over to him.
“Robyn, Carla, hi. Good to see you both.”
“Hi, Flint,” I say.
“Hi.” Carla sounds all breathy.
They have a stiff, slightly awkward hug.
“Let me guess: you had a part in this,” I tell him as they break apart.
He nods. “I did, but it was mostly Ridge. He worked pretty much around the clock.” He glances at Carla, then back at me. “He’s the one who cracked the whole investigation wide open.”
“Where is…um…Ridge?” I wince inside because I shouldn’t have asked. It doesn’t matter. It shouldn’t matter.
“Apologies, he had somewhere to be.” He licks his lips, looking down at his feet, and then sighs. “I told him to speak with you himself, but he wanted to give you space after what happened. He didn’t want you to feel uncomfortable.”
“Right.” I look at Flint. “Can you tell me what actually happened? What evidence did you guys unearth? How did you get me out? I’m assuming you found the person who framed me.”
He blows out a slow breath. “Ridge got to the bottom of it, and I’m sorry to have to tell you, but it was Dr. Patel.”
My stomach dips. “Patel.” I hear myself say it quietly, and feel the small, specific ache of disappointment that rises inside me.
“Oh, my goodness.” I huff out a breath. “I would never have thought that it was Raj. We’re friends.
I’ve been to his house. I had Thanksgiving with them.
I know his wife. Avani is lovely.” I wave a hand.
“Sorry, it’s just that I’m in shock. He’s a good guy. At least, I thought he was a good guy.”
“Dr. Patel and his family were being threatened. More specifically, his two sons. Whoever orchestrated this threatened to kill Patel’s boys.
They sent pictures to prove that they had access to Dr. Patel’s sons.
It’s the same MO these people have used before, and it’s highly effective,” Flint confirms.
“That’s terrible. He must have been so afraid. Where are they? I hope Raj hasn’t been arrested.”
Flint shakes his head. “No, not at this stage. If he cooperates fully, he should have all charges dropped. For now, they’ve been moved into protective custody. His wife didn’t know anything about it. Dr. Patel was trying to protect her.” He pauses.
“Who did this to him? To me?” I ask.
“We haven’t tracked down the source yet. That investigation is still ongoing. Suffice to say that they are a clever bunch. Nothing traces back to them. Not that we have found; we’ll keep digging.”
“Thank you, Flint,” I say. “For everything you did. Can you tell Ridge—?” I stop. “Tell him thank you. From me.”
“I will.” Flint nods. He and Carla look at each other for a beat that goes slightly too long. Carla looks away first.
“Take care, Carla.”
“You, too.”
We watch him go.
“Holy hell,” she says under her breath. “His ass is something in those leather pants.”
I giggle. She does, too.
Flint swings his leg over the bike, putting a helmet on his head. Then the engine turns, and he rolls out of the space, checks for traffic, and he’s gone a few seconds later.
Carla turns to me. “Shitty about poor Raj.”
I nod. “Yeah. I feel for him.”
“I wonder how long he’ll be gone.”
I shrug. “I have no idea.”
“Okay.” Carla claps her hands together. “I’m taking you home.”
“We should probably go to the hospital,” I start. “Both Dr. Patel and I are—”
“No way.” Carla takes my arm and steers me firmly toward her car.
“Absolutely not. We are going to your apartment. I’m calling the hospital right now to tell them to redirect anything urgent to my cell.
If there is a genuine emergency that requires you specifically, they will call.
” She pauses to pull out her phone without slowing down. “Tomorrow is another day.”
I open my mouth to argue.
“I mean it, Robyn.”
“Okay. Fine,” I say.
She squeezes my arm. “Here’s what we’re doing. We’re having a pajama day, which means I’m borrowing something from you to wear. Then I’m ordering enough Thai food to last three days, and we are not moving from that sofa. We’ll watch movie reruns.”
My eyes sting all over again. “You’re the best, Carla.”
“I know I am.” She glances at me as we reach her car, and her expression goes soft for just a second.
“You’ve become an amazing friend to me, and I love you stacks,” I tell her.
“Ditto, babe,” she says as she unlocks the car.
Just then, an entire group of journalists arrives, shouting for my attention. There are cameramen, too, pointing their lenses at me.
They start firing questions at me.
“Have you been acquitted?”
“Did you do it?”
“Are you out on bail?”
“Why did you do it?”
“Get in,” Carla shouts.
I jump in the car, and she races away. The journalists are running to their vehicles to give chase.
“Crap,” I say.
“Holy shit! You’re famous.” Carla’s eyes are wide.
After a minute or two, Carla slows down.
“That was nice of Ridge,” she says.
I make a noise of agreement.
“I’m sure he’ll come and see you.”
“Why?” I ask.
“To apologize in person and to clear the air. I’m sure you still have feelings for him. You can’t just switch them off.”
“Ridge and I are over.” I laugh, but it sounds hollow. “What am I saying? Ridge and I were never a thing. Not really. It was just sex. Let’s forget about Ridge.”
“We won’t talk about him.” Carla glances my way.
“Now you’re talking.”
I’ll get over him. It’s not like I knew him for long or anything. I’ll be just fine.