Page 80 of EverGreene
Thank Christ Ever found the transcript quickly, rescuing me from thoughts I should definitely not be having during a trial involving the horrific, fiery deaths of two people. But she must have been a little too overzealous when she pulled the folder from the box and moved to stand back up because the folder flew out of her hand and struck the back of Conrad’s chair.
“Would you be more careful?” Conard sneered, turning around to glare at her.
Ever’s face turned fifty shades of red as she retrieved the file from the floor. It wasn’t her embarrassment that struck me as much as the way she and Conrad had looked at each other like two vipers ready to strike. A bit of an overkill reaction for the file-turned-projectile, which could only mean...
That son of a bitch.
I clenched my jaw, balling my fists in my lap. Because, of course, it was Conrad. It was always Conrad. When Kim hadshown interest in me—feelings of affection I most definitely hadn’t returned—Conrad swooped in. And why? A show of dominance. A reminder that he held all the cards. He’d seen Ever and me at the bar and put two and two together. She wouldn’t have slept with him, so what the fuck did he do to her exactly?
“Here.” Ever set the file down on the bench between the two of us, but I was no longer interested in reading along to a transcript I’d already read so many times I could repeat passages from it like scenes from a movie. Hand shaking with fury, I reached for the notepad on the other side of me and hastily scribbled a note.
What did he do to you?
I passed the notepad to Ever with the pen, keeping my eyes on the back of Conrad’s head. If only the ability to shoot daggers with your eyes were an actual thing.
Seconds later, she passed the notepad back to me.
Who?
You know who I’m talking about. What happened? Did he hurt you?
This isn’t the place to discuss this.
Rage consumed me, and the only thing holding me back from tackling Conrad like a linebacker was a combination of Ever and the Sawyer family, who’d already been through hell and back and were sitting next to Conrad and Blaine at the Plaintiff’s table.
“Come on,” I whispered to Ever, nodding at the doors leading to the hall.
“Not now, Loche,” she hissed, trying to mask the fear in her eyes with strength.
“Yes. Now.” My hand brushed over hers, and I had to hold myself back from grabbing it.
She glared at me, looking back over at Conrad, who was too engrossed in the video being played for the jury to notice much else. “Fine. I really hate you, you know that?”
“Keep telling yourself that. Let’s go.”
We stood up, doing our best not to draw the jury’s attention away from the video, but still caught curious looks from Jason and Caroline as we walked out of the courtroom.
“We shouldn’t be out here,” Ever said, frustrated but also a tad less tense now that she was out of Conrad’s orbit.
“You and I both know that video is a good hour long and about a third of those jurors are probably already asleep, anyway.”
“It’s unprofessional.”
“What’s unprofessional is that piece of human filth sitting in the courtroom right now. Please. I need to know what happened. Did he touch you?”
“I didn’t fuck your uncle if that’s what you’re asking me.” Ever’s whisper was laced with malice, and it was obvious she was fighting back tears.
I took a step closer to her, looking down into her wide, betrayed eyes that shone green from her fury. “I know, and I never thought that you did or that you ever would. But something happened, and I need to know what it is so I can take care of it.”
“You are not going to make a scene in there. This trial is too important for the Sawyers.” Her expression softened. A tear slid down her cheek, and I brushed it away without thinkingthat a man touching her might be the last thing she really wanted right now.
“I’m sorry,” I said, withdrawing my hand.
“For touching me or for Conrad? Only one of those things requires an apology.”
If only you knew how much I needed to apologize to you for.
“If you need some time to tell me what happened, I understand. Just know that I believe you, not him.”
