Page 84 of The One for Forever

After the verdict, she leaves the courtroom with her head held high. But when I reach her in the hallway, she slumps against me. I lead her out of the courthouse and across the street to her building. A few people try to speak to her along the way, but she ignores them, and I frown at them until they step back.

When we reach her office, we go inside and I shut the door. She sits in her desk chair and stares blankly at her dark laptop screen.

“Not guilty,” she says in a monotone. “I lost the case.”

“It wasn’t just you. You were part of a team. If anything, you held everyone together after Lana had to leave.”

“No, Rex. I insisted on investigating the anonymous source. I brought in Pete Diamond as our star witness.Me.” She wipes her hands over her face. “Was it all a trap from the beginning? I just…I don’t understand.”

I kneel in front of her, taking her hands in mine. “Maybe you should take the rest of today off and debrief with your team tomorrow.”

She pulls away from my touch. “I have things I need to do. Calls to make. Could you wait in the hall, please? I’d like some space.”

I stand. “Of course. I’ll be there if you need me.” I’m trying not to let her dismissal bother me. In fact, I’m proud of her for soldiering on. Exactly what she’s been doing this whole time. I just wish I could take this burden from her. Shield her from the disappointment and scrutiny.

But she doesn’t want that from me, nor should she. I’m not her mentor, and I’m certainly nothing like a father to her. I’m the man who loves her.

This isn’t easy for me, though. Standing in the hallway as if I’m nothing more than a bodyguard.

She leaves her door partway open, and I hear her speaking quietly on the phone. The click of her keyboard. Then voices come from the front of the building. Some kind of commotion.

I radio to the guys I have stationed in the front of the building. “What’s going on?”

“Reporters. The assistant DA came out and made a statement about the Printz verdict, but they’re not satisfied. They want to talk to Quinn since she’s the one who tried the case. There are news trucks all over the street.”

I curse. The media presence during the trial has been obvious, but we’ve been avoiding them as best we can. The reporters were satisfied with shouting a few questions at her on her way in and out of the courthouse before, but I guess now that the verdict has been read, they smell blood in the water.

Quinn steps into the doorway. “The media?”

I guess she heard what my teammate radioed. I nod, and her eyes go round. “Rex, please get me out of here.”

Resolve settles into my bones. Man, it feels good to have a mission.

It takes me a few minutes to come up with a plan. Then I put it in motion. I find an admin who has golden hair and Quinn’s build. Quinn hands over her blazer, plus a pair of sunglasses.

“Thanks for doing this,” Quinn says.

The admin smiles, adjusting her disguise. “Hey, most exciting part of my week. You did great with the closing, by the way. A bunch of us watched it. And the cross you did on Amber? Powerful. You did the best you could with the hand you were dealt.”

Quinn’s expression doesn’t change. “Thanks,” she mutters.

I feel her dejection in the pit of my stomach.

Next, Leon comes inside to meet us. He’s on duty today, and he’s all business. Which I appreciate. The kid does come through when it really counts.

“Leon, when you get the signal from me, escort our decoy outside through the front. You can drop her off when you reach the end of the block. You’re okay walking back?” I ask the admin, and she nods. Then I turn to Quinn. “You know what to do?”

She nods. “Head to the conference room. I’ve got it.”

I leave the building. The throng of reporters gets excited when they see me approach, but they deflate when they realize I’m just security. I breeze past them. Then into the parking lot, where I start up my truck and drive around to the rear of the building, where a first-floor conference room window overlooks a quiet side street.

The window in Quinn’s private office is painted shut, but this one works well enough as an escape route. As soon as I pull up, Quinn climbs out and dashes to the truck. The moment she’s inside, I take off.

But then I see heads turning and fingers pointing. One of the camera crews has spotted us. They must’ve realized the decoy was just that. Shit.

“Buckle up.”

I floor it.

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