Page 161 of Justice II

The baby had a full head of dark hair. Her little mouth opened before she settled against Aria’s chest, offended already by everything happening around her.

“She’s pretty,” I whispered.

Aria looked up at me.

“She is, isn’t she?”

Later, when the nurse helped Aria get settled, she asked whether I wanted to hold her.

I should’ve said no. I was already having trouble keeping this visit where it needed to be.

Instead, I washed my hands and took my niece.

Her eyes opened while I looked down at her. She couldn’t have known who I was, but I kept watching her anyway. Her fingers curled against the blanket, and I tucked it closer around her.

For a minute, I forgot about Roman. I forgot about the woman in the bed and everything I had come to ask her.

“Hey, pretty girl.”

I touched her cheek with one finger before giving her back.

Once the nurses left, Aria started crying again.

“Roman handled everything. The bills, the accounts. Now bill collectors and loan sharks are calling me every day. I don’t have a job or a degree. How am I supposed to do this alone?”

“Suck it up, Aria. I did five years in a cell with nobody. You have a healthy daughter and your whole life ahead of you.” I rolled my eyes.

She looked offended, but I wasn’t here to coddle her. Fuck her feelings. She was still a self-centered brat.

“I need you to cooperate with my attorney about Keenan. I want my rights back,” I announced.

“What?” she asked.

“I’m offering. Two hundred and fifty thousand dollars for my rights and you’ll live,” I said as I glanced down at my nails.

“What are you talking about?” she pried. My God, she was dumb as a doorknob.

“It’s for you to get on your feet. My attorney will handle the paperwork, and you won’t fight me.”

“You have that kind of money?” she questioned.

“I can get it. And I’ll make sure Roman’s body is found. His death will be official. You can claim his life insurance for you and the baby.”

Her face crumpled. I waited while she cried into a tissue. I wasn’t about to comfort her over that man.

“There’s a condition,” I continued, lowering my voice. “The money and my help with the insurance depend on you keeping the name Banks out of your mouth. No police, no reporters. Nobody.”

She glanced toward Derrick at the door before looking back at me.

“Do you understand?”

“Yes,” she whispered.

“And the papers?”

“I’ll sign.”

“Good. I’m out…”