Chapter Thirty-Three #2
“Proceed.”
“Mr. Porter is a bully, but he could not bully Lochlan Dane. Does that man look like someone who can be threatened?” She gestures to Lochlan, and it takes everything in me not to smirk.
Lochlan hates this level of attention.
The jury looks aghast at Lochlan’s intimidating presence, agreeing with Liv easily.
“So instead of taking his loss, Mr. Porter stooped low. He decided to harass Mr. Dane’s property. His animals. His employees. Not only is this against the law, but it’s simply unacceptable. We cannot take things that don’t belong to us.”
She takes a stroll from her table towards the jurors.
“Mr. Porter wants you to believe that his brother, Jeremiah, is at fault for all the damage he caused, but that is not the truth. He back-stabbed his brother in this very room, splitting from his defense to save himself. My guess? He split from his lawyer this morning for the same reason. Mr. Porter does not like to lose, but unfortunately for him, I’m here to ensure that happens today.
” She walks back to her table, but I’m not looking at her.
My eyes are glued to Porter behind his table. He’s looking at Liv as if he’s holding a knife to her throat, and I don’t fucking like it.
His anger rattles his voice as he starts his own defense, but it’s sloppy and not nearly as articulate as Liv’s. I hardly hear his argument because each time his steps take him within feet of her, my body tenses.
I don’t like this guy, and I don’t like how she is forced to be close to him. He hates her guts.
“I did not have a hand in any violence, and the prosecutor cannot prove this. That is why she chooses to assassinate my character,” he spews, pacing the floor.
“As many of you probably relate, I am not forced to be friends with my family members. I am not close to my brother. I am not his keeper. I had no say in his criminal actions. I think the lack of evidence from Miss Greenwood proves this.” He sits in his seat and adopts a smug look on his face, preparing for Liv’s counterargument.
She stands, rounding her desk before leaning against the table top with a casual air. She points her remote at the projector and clicks one time.
A screen filled with texts appears. “Mr. Porter’s text history to his brother. You might have destroyed your phone, Mr. Porter, but your brother was not that smart.”
She steps towards the jury as she speaks, and his evil eyes don’t stray from her.
“Not only can we see just how often the two brothers communicated, but his exact words when requesting his brother to burglarize Second Chance Sanctuary. Damage Second Chance Sanctuary, and worst of all… Assault and kidnap an employee at Second Chance Sanctuary. And, his panicked text messages to you when his actions went too far.”
“Bullshit! These should be inadmissible.”
“If you hadn’t fired your lawyer, Mr. Porter, he would have taken care of that for you,” Judge Fulton explains dully. “Can you explain why you think they should be removed as evidence?”
Porter’s silence lingers.
“Didn’t think so. Proceed, Miss Greenwood.”
“Mr. Porter did not physically put his hands on another person, but his actions directly resulted in one Second Chance Sanctuary employee being kidnapped and held against her will, and another nearly losing his life.”
“I didn’t tell him to beat the man to death!” He cries.
“So, you admit that you did speak to your brother?”
“Wait, no!”
“Mr. Porter,” Judge Fulton thunders. “Sit down. Stop speaking out of turn. You’re under oath, and she hasn’t finished yet.”
“Mr. Porter, do you admit to unlawful harassment of Mr. Dane?” Liv hammers him while he’s still shaken up from the judge’s hand-smack.
“No.”
“Did you create unlawful documents in an attempt to obtain Mr. Dane’s land?”
“No.”
“Mr. Porter, do you admit to conspiring with your brother to commit crimes against Second Chance Sanctuary?”
“No!” He pounds his fists on his table in frustration.
“Last question, and remember you are under oath, Mr. Porter,” she continues calmly despite my need to jump across this bar and put a wall between her and Randall Porter.
“Did you conspire to kidnap JoAnna Montgomery?”
He hangs his head. “No,” he utters, losing his fight.
“Then why do your text messages say otherwise?” She adds at the end, speaking directly to the jury instead of giving him a chance to respond. “That’s all, your honor.”
“Mr. Porter, your closing statement.” He doesn’t look at the judge. “Mr. Porter,” Judge Fulton encourages again. When Porter doesn’t move or speak, he hits his gavel. “We’ll go to recess while the jury deliberates.”
Liv packs her briefcase slowly as Porter is led to another room, but as soon as the courtroom begins to empty, she spins around to face us. “I totally got him!” She beams, and I’m struck by it, grateful to be on the receiving end of it.
“You did great,” I tell her, breathing for the first time in nearly two hours.
“Sorry to call you out. I knew you wouldn’t show if I warned you about it,” she says to my side.
“No, it was great, really captivated the jury,” Jo agrees, but Lochlan only grunts.
“Now, what?”
“We have to wait until the jury comes to a decision. Could be ten minutes, could be hours. You guys don’t have to stay for this part. I appreciate you coming.” Liv and Jo hug, giggling about how pretty they both are or something, as I move over to talk to Lochlan.
“She’s the most important person in the world to me, Loch. You can at least humor her with a few words when she speaks to you.”
He looks at me like he might snap back, but he sighs, reconsidering. “I’ll work on it,” he grumbles. “Jo really likes her, too. It won’t be long until they suggest a double date.”
“I’d love to buddy. All you had to do was ask.” I slap him on the shoulder, and he tells me to fuck off under his breath.
Now if I could just get her to go out on a date with me first…