Page 152 of Homecoming

“Are you at work?”

“You’re going to laugh… I took the day off because I was too tired from messing around with my boss all night.”

“That isfabulous.”

“He said I’m going to be a partner, and if I want a day off, I should take a day off. So I sent him to work and took a day off.”

“I love it.”

“I think I might treat myself to a massage later.”

“You go, girl. Love you so much.”

“Love you, too. Thanks again for showing me what’s possible.”

“I can’t wait to tell Dan we inspired you.”

“Tell him I love him, too, for making my girl so happy.”

“I’ll do that the minute he gets home. Call me later?”

“If I’m not busy.”

They hung up laughing, and Kara used a tissue to mop up her tears. Imagine being one half of such an incredible love story that you inspired others to take a chance on love so they could have what you have. It was unbelievable and amazing at the same time.

She hoped Dan would be home soon so she could tell him all about it.

Dan metCarter in the same coffee shop where they held their initial meeting. Carter used an iPad to show Dan the footage from the Barnacle in which Tanya’s ex-boyfriend was clearly present.

“I matched this image to his Snapchat account and went back through his Twitter—I refuse to call it by that stupid new name—and found a bunch of rants about how no one is loyal anymore, how you can give someone everything you’ve got to give and it’s still not enough.”

Dan perused the increasingly unhinged tweets that showed how bitter Billy was about the breakup with Tanya. “What else do we have on him?”

Carter pushed another sheet of paper across the table. “Charged with domestic assault two years ago, but the charges were dropped when the victim refused to cooperate.”

“Do we know who the victim was?”

“We do.” He produced another page that showed the initial complaint that was filed by Tanya, alleging he’d knocked her around when she tried to leave his apartment. “When the rubber met the road, she was unwilling to testify against him in court.”

Dan winced. That decision might’ve ended up costing her her life.

“I poked around with some of their friends and learned that after the domestic incident, he begged for forgiveness and convinced her to give him another chance, even with everyone in her life pleading with her to end it with him for good. The second chance lasted about six months, after which time she told him they were done and to leave her alone.”

“And did he?”

“Nope.” Carter produced a copy of a restraining order filed in Storrs, Connecticut, that had required Billy to be at least one thousand feet from Tanya.

“I heard her parents hadn’t wanted to involve the police because their families were friends.”

“All of this happened in Storrs. I’m not sure her parents knew about it. He violated the order by being in the Barnacle that night.”

“That’s enough for the cops to pick him up.”

“Your thinking matches mine.”

“Great work, Carter. Seriously… This is everything we need to introduce enough reasonable doubt to get my clients released.”

“They should drop the charges against them, too.”

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