Chapter 27
TWENTY-SEVEN
Shane drove to the courthouse. April sat in the passenger seat, purse in her lap, fingers twisting the most beautiful ring in the world on her finger.
Clouds gathered on the horizon as the forecaster on the radio promised rain throughout the day.
April watched the landscape roll past the window without really seeing it.
"You okay?" Shane asked for the third time.
"No." April looked at him and smiled. "But I will be."
They pulled into the courthouse parking lot, and April's heart kicked into overdrive. This was it. This was where she either kept her son or lost him to the man who'd tried to destroy them both.
Shane cut the engine and turned to her. "Whatever happens in there, we're in this together. You, me, and Kevin. Nothing changes that."
April nodded, not trusting her voice.
They walked into the courthouse together, then through security and the metal detector—Shane had to leave his weapon in the SUV, and she could see how much he hated it. Then down the marble-floored hallway, their footsteps echoing.
Gabriela was waiting outside the courtroom with her briefcase and her game face on. She'd asked her parents and sister not to come—they were watching Kevin at Riversong because she'd wanted something normal for him today.
So she was shocked to see her family there—her Watchdog family.
April stopped short. Rochelle and Gabe. Wren and Elias.
Waylon with Frankie and her baby bump. Ellie and Bear with Star in his arms, her tiny hand curled around one of his fingers.
That sight alone was enough to make April cry a river to rival the St. Vrain.
Gina and Lach. Arden and Kyle. Ben, who smiled when he saw her wearing the ring Shane told her he’d spent a week crafting just so she could wear it today.
Her throat went tight.
"What are you all doing here?" she managed to squeak out.
"Supporting you," Rochelle said simply. "What else?"
April's eyes filled with tears. Seeing her friends here, seeing the people who'd become her family—
"Thank you," she whispered. “Thank you.”
And then her fortress of friends converged on her and she was literally surrounded by love. One hug after another, after another. A thousand words of encouragement. And from Mountain Division, whispered promises of protection, no matter what.
Then came the cheers when she held up her left hand. “I said yes!”
She hugged Ben a second time, kissed his cheek, and thanked him.
Shane's hand was warm on her back. "You ready?"
April looked at the courtroom doors. At Gabriela with her briefcase full of evidence that might not be enough. At her friends who'd shown up to bear witness.
"I am now."
Vince arrived ten minutes later with a lawyer who looked like he charged more per hour than Riversong made in a month.
Where is he getting the money for this?
As if to mock her, Vince was in a Louis Vuitton suit—charcoal gray, perfectly tailored.
His hair was perfectly gelled and styled.
His shoes were polished. He looked like a successful businessman, not a convicted felon fresh out of prison.
He smiled when he saw her. That same smooth, confident smile that had fooled her once.
April felt sick.
Vince took out his phone. His thumbs tapped quickly. Who was he texting? His lawyer glanced at him and frowned, said something low that April couldn't hear. Vince pocketed the phone with a shrug.
Shane's hand tightened on April's shoulder.
“All rise. U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Boulder is now in session,” the bailiff announced as Judge Patricia Preston entered the courtroom and took her seat behind the bench.
She looked to be in her fifties, with steel-gray hair and reading glasses on a chain.
April settled in to wait for their case to come up on the docket.
Eventually, the case was called. April and Gabriela approached the defendant’s table. Vince and his lawyer took their places. Vince continued to put on his charming act, though he kept looking back at the public seating area until he spotted Shane.
Yeah, take a good look at my fiancé. If you try anything, his is the last face you’ll ever see.
"We're here today regarding the petition of Vincent Romano for emergency custody hearing in the matter of—" The judge glanced at her docket. "Kevin Taylor, minor child, age eight."
Vince's lawyer stood. Marc Brennan, according to Gabriela.
"Your Honor, if I may address the court."
Judge Preston waved a hand. "Go ahead, Mr. Brennan."
"Thank you, Your Honor. My client, Mr. Romano, only recently discovered he had a son. For eight years, he was denied the fundamental right to know his own child. Ms. Taylor disappeared from their shared home in Las Vegas without a trace after learning of her pregnancy.” He paused and grinned.
“After living under a false identity for nearly a decade. "
April's hands clenched in her lap. Gabriela put a steadying hand on her arm.
"We have to ask," Brennan continued, his voice dripping with false concern, "what else Ms. Taylor might be hiding.
What crimes she may have committed during those missing years.
What kind of environment she's providing for this child.
A woman who would deprive a father of his son, who would go to such lengths to remain hidden—can we trust her judgment? Can we trust her fitness as a parent?"
"Your Honor—" Gabriela started to stand. “My client has been working at her family business in Colorado for close to nine years. That’s been documented. While Mr. Romano was serving time in prison for various charges including—”
“Your Honor, I was not finished with my—”
Judge Preston held up a hand. "Ms. Vasquez, Mr. Brennan, I'll stop you both right there.
This is an emergency custody hearing, not opening arguments for a trial.
" The judge's voice was sharp. "And you're making some very serious allegations without presenting any evidence to support them, Mr. Brennan.
False identity? Crimes? Do you have proof, or are you just throwing mud? "
"Your Honor, the pattern of behavior suggests—"
"Suggests nothing without evidence." Judge Preston looked from Brennan to April to Gabriela.
"I think we need to discuss this in chambers before we proceed.
There are too many irregularities here, and I want to hear from both parties without the theatrics.
" She stood. "We'll start with the defense.
Ms. Taylor, Ms. Vasquez, please join me. "
April's heart was hammering. Gabriela squeezed her arm and whispered, "This is good. She's on our side."
Shane caught April's eye as she stood. His expression said he didn't like this—didn't like her being out of his sight, didn't like any of it. But he nodded.
April followed Gabriela and the bailiff through the door behind the judge's bench. The chambers beyond were exactly what she'd expected—floor-to-ceiling law books, a heavy desk, framed diplomas, and photos of what looked like Judge Preston’s grandchildren.
Judge Preston gestured to the chairs in front of her desk. "Please, sit."
April sat. Her knee was bouncing. She forced it to stop.
"Ms. Taylor." The judge's voice was gentler now, away from the courtroom theatrics.
"I've read the filings. I know Mr. Romano served time for fraud and financial crimes.
I know he also wasn't listed on the birth certificate.
What I want to hear from you is why. Is he the father, or should we stop right here? "
April took a breath. "He is, Your Honor, but only because he ‘donated’ his genetic material.” April felt her cheeks flush.
“He’s not Kevin’s dad and never will be.
The day I told him I was pregnant, he told me to get rid of it.
When I refused, he—" Her voice caught. "He hurt me.
He hit me. Kicked me on the floor, hoping to cause a miscarriage.
And I knew if I stayed, he'd keep hurting me. Hurt the baby."
"Did you report the abuse?"
"No, Your Honor."
"Why not?"
"I was terrified. He had connections. Money. By sheer luck, he was arrested, and I saw my chance. I just wanted to get away before—" April's hands twisted together. "Before he killed me and my baby."
Judge Preston was quiet for a moment, studying April's face. "And in the nine, almost ten years since, Mr. Romano never attempted to contact you? Never tried to find his child?"
"He was in prison for most of that time. And I don't think he cared. He didn't want Kevin then. I don't know why he wants him now, except maybe to get revenge on me."
The judge opened her mouth to respond when the fire alarm started blaring.
The sound was deafening—a piercing shriek that made April's ears ring. She stood, her heart racing for entirely different reasons now. Fire? Here?
Judge Preston stood, looking more annoyed than alarmed. "Are you kidding me? We just had a false alarm two days ago." She grabbed her purse off a brass coat rack. “Ms. Taylor, Ms. Vasquez, we'll have to continue this in half an hour when they allow us back in. We’ll use my private exit."
She led them to a door at the back of her chambers—one April hadn't even noticed. It opened onto a narrow corridor, concrete walls and fluorescent lights. Service access, probably for staff and emergencies. The alarm was shrieking louder in here, echoing in the concrete corridor.
"This way," Judge Preston said, leading them down the corridor. April could smell smoke now—acrid, bitter.
“Wait, do you smell that?”
Before anyone could answer, two firefighters rounded a corner ahead of them at full jog.
Guess it’s not a drill.
"Your Honor?" The one in front shouted over the alarm. "Smoke reported on this level. We'll escort you to the nearest exit." And now April could see the smoke beginning to fill the hall.
"My goodness." Judge Preston coughed. "This is real?"
"Yes ma'am. Stay in single file, keep moving. We’ve got some smoke ahead but it'll clear. Fastest way out. Let’s move."
They fell into line, the first firefighter in front, then Judge Preston, then Gabriela, then April.
The second firefighter brought up the rear right behind April.
The smoke grew thicker the farther they went.
April could barely see Gabriela's back ahead of her.
Her eyes were streaming. The alarm was still screaming, disorienting, making it impossible to think.
"Keep moving!" The firefighter behind her called over the noise. "Almost there!"
April took another step. Her foot caught something—she didn't even see what—and suddenly she was falling, her ankle twisting hard as she went down. Pain shot up her leg and she cried out.
"April?" Gabriela's voice came from somewhere ahead in the smoke.
"I'm okay!" April called back.
“Keep going with them, Don, I’ve got her!” the second firefighter shouted. He was already sliding his hands under her armpits, helping her stand. "You all right to walk, ma'am?"
April tested her weight on her ankle and winced. "Twisted it but I think I'm okay."
Through the smoke, April could just barely see the others disappearing. The firefighter gripped her arm firmly, steadying her.
"Thank you. I don't know what I tripped on—"
She felt a sharp sting in her neck. For a second, she didn't understand. Thought maybe a spider bit her, or—
Her legs buckled. The firefighter caught her before she hit the ground.
“Something’s wrong,” she slurred. The smoke. She needed to get out of the smoke knocking her out.
When the firefighter spoke again, his voice sounded different. Accented. Cold.
"Shh," he said. "Quiet." He picked her up and slung her over his shoulder, then headed in the opposite direction from the others.
April tried to scream. Tried to fight. But her body wouldn't cooperate.
Shane. I need Shane.
Kevin—
The world went black.