Page 116 of Forgotten Prejudice

He leaned closer to me so we were face-to-face. “I have an alibi.”

“No one said you did it yourself. After all, you’ve got people working for you.”

“Objection, Your Honor! Counsel is harassing the witness,” Jones called just as I pushed back from the stands.

“Sustained.”

I turned to face the court, a comfortable smile on my face.

“All I’m saying is that there’s a reason to doubt the prosecution’s version of events, which finds Mr. Bianchi to be nothing more than a witness. While, in fact, we should question why Mr. Bianchi is not a possible suspect.”

“Objection!”

God, he sounds like a parrot.

After I got permission to go on, I moved closer to Dion.

“So, what do you have to say in your defense?”

“That I did no such thing. I wouldn’t waste a bullet on a whore.” He tilted his head, eyes moving to Camilo’s. “That’s what he was, and you know it, too.”

I was ready to respond to Dion’s words when Camilo beat me to the punch.

“You son of a bitch!” he shouted, eyes pinned on Dion as he tried to stand up. With his hands and legs cuffed, he fought off the guards who tried to restrain him. The judge called for order and for Camilo to sit down, only for him to ignore her. Chaos erupted in the room, reporters already taking pictures and recording the event. This utter disaster ended with the judge dismissing Camilo from the court and calling it a day.

While seeing my client being forcefully removed from the court wasn’t ideal, seeing Eiv’s and Charlie’s faces was. From the knowing look in my team’s eyes, we all shared the same thought: the jurors were starting to see the cracks in the prosecutor’s case. But my satisfaction from getting what I wanted was soon erased as I crossed paths with Ashton, and the anger burning behind his green irises told me I was in deep trouble.

Soren

“You son of a bitch. You actually put me on the stand.”

Huffing, I turned to face Dion, who walked toward me until we stood face-to-face in the hall.

“You know it’s not personal,” I teased him back.

“Screw you, you cold bastard.” He slapped my chest, then pulled out the toothpick he was chewing on. “You’re lucky I still need you, Dane, or you’d be dead right now.” He spoke while my attention carried to his thick eyebrows and hooded eyes.

Dion always had a tired expression accompanying his face, although by now, I knew he wasn’t tired or bored as it might have seemed to a stranger. Hours of studying his appearance, out of mere curiosity, brought me to the conclusion that it was the combination of his deep blue eyes and thick eyelashes, along with the shape of his brows, that gave off this unique impression.

“Did you honestly just threaten me in court?” I asked, eyeing the guards behind him. To Dion’s credit, he and his men always looked neat. It made focusing on the conversation a lot easier.

“Did I?” He looked around the empty hall, amusement in his eyes. “Because I don’t recall doing so.” He brought his toothpick back to his lips. Now, playing with it with his tongue, he tilted his head. “What were you trying to do back there?”

I knew Dion would come to find me after today’s testimony, but I expected it to be a lot less civil. Thankfully, I was too useful for him to toss me out over some slight inconvenience.

“Don’t worry.” I looked around us to ensure no one was listening. The only people around us were his guards, who stood a few steps back. “It’s not you I’m after.”

“You’re after the dad.” It wasn’t a question, but my lack of answer was an answer, and he laughed. “That son of a bitch…” He ran his fingers through his tousled dark hair. “He called the feds on my club. You knew about it, right?” Dion had his hand in many legitimate businesses, but his favorite was the Venetian, the allegedly illegal club where Shay-Lee and Camilo’s love story bloomed.

“Well, since it is a legitimate business, I assume they found nothing?” I stated the obvious while locking eyes with him.

“Of course they came up with nothing. But it doesn’t matter. What Christian did was a clear declaration of war.” Shaking his head, he chuckled. “What a piece of shit that man is.”

“So why not give me the evidence I need and help me get even with him? I bet you have it.” I tried my luck, but all I got in response was a throaty laugh from Dion.

“That was a good try, Dane.” He patted my chest, his evil eyes letting me know that he did, in fact, have the key evidence to end this case. But like everything in his life, Dion kept his secrets close to the heart and even closer to the trigger.

“Now, between an attorney and his client, what do you have against Camilo? He’s just a kid.” Clearly, Dion held some sort of animosity toward Camilo, which made no sense to me. Camilo was nothing but a small fish in a tank full of sharks.