Page 46 of The Devoted Husband

Standing, Dante bobbed his head. “Thanks, Imani.”

“Hey,” she called as he turned to leave. “If she gets out of this...Take care of my sister, okay? And the next time you talk to her...tell her to keep her head low and not get into any shit because I’m not there to fight her battles.” She gritted her teeth, and if Dante wasn’t crazy, he’d swear her eyes watered. But that couldn’t have been the case because Imani never cried. She didn’t even cry when she was sentenced and had to say goodbye to her twins. If Sade was able to pull tears out of her...maybe therewashope for Imani yet.

Sade

The Next Day

Sade’s eyes shifted from one side of the hall to another. Her hands and feet were cuffed, which she believed was a bit unnecessary. The officer, however, made it clear that they wanted to take no chances on her attacking anyone—as if she were an unnecessarily violent person. No...Sade had always been a protector and defender of those she’d loved.

Since she had no idea where she was being taken, Sade’s nerves were on edge. They didn’t subside until she entered a small room with several booths, occupied by inmates on one side of the clear glass and their visitors on the other. Her heart expanded in size at the sight of Dante. Not talking to him for four days had been a prison of its own.

He smiled as he stood, but he frowned when he noticed the restraints. “Is all that really necessary?”

Officer Mitchell chuckled. “Seeing as she just got out of the hole this morning, I’d say they areverynecessary.”

With a roll of her eyes, Sade sat at the small square table across from him. Because she didn’t have what the officers considered good behavior, she was unable to meet with him in the main visiting area...where she would have been able to be wrapped up in his embrace.

“You wanna tell me what the hell happened for you to be in solitary for three days, Smiley?”

Though his tone was serious, Sade couldn’t help but smile. “Hi, handsome. I missed you.”

His eyes rolled playfully. “Don’t try to flatter me. I’m upset with you.”

“What did I do?”

“I don’t know! That’s what I’m trying to find out.”

“How’d you find out I was in solitary?”

“I had Richmond call for a wellness check since I hadn’t heard from you. The warden looked into it and told him you were in solitary.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah. So explain, and please tell me you weren’t fighting while you’re pregnant with my baby.”

“I didn’t really have a choice, Dante,” she grumbled, avoiding his eyes. “She attacked me, and I had to defend myself. The baby’s fine. They checked me out before putting me in the hole.”

“Jesus. I gotta get you out of here.”

“Since I missed my court date, I have to wait until next Wednesday.”

“Well, I have some really good news. If I’m right about this, I may be able to get you out that day or even before then.”

That caused Sade to perk up. Her back straightened as she smiled and sat up in her seat. “What did you find?”

“It’s only a hunch at the moment. I’m still working on getting proof...but I think Jones paid someone to attack Imani so she’d have to get outside care. You said you saw him at the hospital, right?”

“Right. Yeah. Well, at first, I didn’t think it was him, but when you said he’d been following me, I assumed so.”

“If he was at the hospital, I think he was getting your sister’s DNA. That’s theonlything that can explain how theyall of a suddenhave enough evidence to arrest you.”

Sade rubbed the center of her chest, her heart, as she sat back in her seat. “If that’s the case...” She looked around before whispering, “I’m done, Dante. They literally have my DNA at both crime scenes. There’s no way I’m coming home.”

“If Jones illegally obtained that evidence, it would be inadmissible.” Her eyes fluttered, and her mouth went slack. “That would be all the evidence they have; without it, there would be no case. Plus, how would they prove it’s actually a match? We could argue that he doctored that too. You’d be free, Sade.”

“Don’t play with me, babe.”

He chuckled and sat up in his seat. “I’m serious, Smiley. I just have to prove that he stole Imani’s DNA to match it against yours.”

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