21. Nate

Chapter 21

Nate

The day of the trial was finally here. Even though my testimony was on video, Anders suggested that I come. He said it would look better, and then we could explain to the jury why the testimony was done the way it was, that there were real fears and attempts on my life. He also said it was solid protection in case the defense attorney managed to get it thrown out.

Truth was, I wanted to be there regardless. I needed to see with my own eyes that he was brought to justice. Unless I did, I'd never feel safe. And now that our baby was growing inside of me, I refused to allow that.

Neither Anders nor anyone else ever brought up the dead henchman at the cabin. From what I could tell, that was over and done with. We owed the koala so much.

Once we got through this trial and sentencing, we would be free at last. We wouldn't need hired shifters circling the apartment property making sure no cats showed up, ready to pounce. We wouldn't need to wonder if a click echoing in the hallway was attached to a gun. We could go to a store and buy real food without worrying someone would intentionally run us over in the parking lot.

Alpha For Hire thought we were nuts when I said we were looking for squirrel shifters specifically. They kept offering me wolves and lions, and even a gator. To them a squirrel seemed too small, too meek. But I threw enough money at them that they managed to fill the spots.

Squirrels were ideal for what we needed. They could just chill in their fur and hang out around in the trees or under the bushes and no one would be the wiser. If they had been in their skin, neighbors would notice, and then we'd have to deal with that. This was so much better.

Their job was boring. And I wouldn't have wanted it any other way. Not once had anyone come near the building that had them concerned. Sure, some shifters came in and out of the building, but they were all there to visit other people or because they lived there. And they were few in number.

Ash and Anders had come up with a better plan than even they had realized. Having that testimony ready to go covered our backs. It wasn't foolproof, and I was glad for the extra protection we'd hired, but it worked out for the best.

The three of us sat in the back of the courtroom, listening to opening statements. Anders was brilliant. He put everything into his opening statements, and it showed. Aside from the murder charge, there were eight others connected to that evening. The victim wasn't what anyone would call law-abiding, and his death had to do with his lack of follow-through on certain illegal "requests."

There were charges on money laundering, human trafficking, and hacking. This only highlighted how crucial it was that Garin had been able to block our phones from being discovered. At first it came across as overkill, but if this guy was connected to technology-related crimes, it was exactly what we'd needed.

The defense attorney spent their opening time blaming everybody but their client.

The prosecutor did things wrong.

The police did things wrong.

The witnesses were not all there. He skipped over the fact that the ones not present were dead. He didn't care. He was throwing anything at the wall and hoping that something, anything , would stick.

He went so far as to say his client was there because of discrimination. Apparently his name was the same as some bad guy in an obscure movie I had never even heard of. And of course, that's why he was being charged.

It was a hot mess.

The judge finally had enough when he tried to get the charges dropped for the fifth time. And he didn't do them all at once, no. He did them one at a time…each and every one of them. The judge denied it, told him to get his act together or face consequences, and dismissed us for a break.

I'd been expecting a long day, but one very different than what we were experiencing. And it only got wilder.

We weren't outside for more than a minute when police ran into the courthouse. Shots were fired, screams were heard, and I wasn't sure we were ever going to get the full story of what happened that day.

But at the end of the day, there would be no trial. He was dead.

There were a lot of conspiracies going around about how that happened. One said the holding cell was accidentally left open. Another said he was on drugs. Yet another said he got the guard's weapon. And then my favorite; he shifted and his lion chased after a ball. Because that was how lions were.

It didn't matter to me what caused his death. I was grateful for it. And that might've made me a horrible person, but so be it. His death was my freedom. It brought me safety for my family. If wanting and appreciating that made me a bad person, I'd gladly wear that title.

There were still things I wouldn't feel comfortable doing: As good as the pizza place was, I wouldn't be back to that part of the city again. Cutting through alleys was forever off my list of shortcuts.

That night when we all climbed into bed, I snuggled between my mates.

"Thank you both."

"For what?" Trig reached for Garin's hand and they intertwined their fingers, settling their joined hands on my still-flat belly.

"For being there for me from the first time you met me. For never making me feel like I was ruining your life as you protected mine. For loving me. For being mine."