Chapter Twenty-Four
Sarah
Dmitri left the house early this morning, claiming he had to handle some business before the trial resumed this afternoon. A part of me wondered if he was just trying to give me space to think without having to look at him and feel guilty for considering lying on the stand.
He kissed me goodbye without mentioning the testimony at all, and I blushed as Ronnie looked at me pointedly. Things changed between us last night when I went into his bedroom. I hadn’t planned on going to him. I’d simply had trouble sleeping after the stressful day I had, and I decided to go to the kitchen to make myself some hot tea. But when I heard him moan my name as I passed his bedroom, I couldn’t help myself. All of my resistance to the fire burning between us faded away, and I couldn’t even pretend I regretted it.
Being with him was just as satisfying as I remembered it being four years ago.
But I didn’t necessarily expect him to kiss me in front of his housekeeper as if we were a real couple. It shocked me, and for the first time, I thought about what it would be like to be with him outside of all this. The idea made warmth spread through my chest.
Shaking my head, I pushed those thoughts away. I couldn’t even comprehend such a possibility until I knew what I was going to say in court today.
I fretted about it all morning. The fear and the guilt pulled me in separate directions until I felt like I was losing my mind.I tried to focus on Alexis, making sure she ate breakfast and had everything she needed to spend the day with my mother.
I hadn’t told her what happened in the parking lot or that I was staying with Dmitri. It would only worry her. After the way Mira reacted, I didn’t think I had the emotional capacity to deal with more concern and questions about my decision-making.
But I didn’t want to leave Alexis with her without protection, so Dmitri arranged for someone to sit in a car outside my mother’s house and keep an eye on things while I was at the courthouse. It wasn’t a long-term solution. I’d have to eventually tell my mother what was going on and figure out how the new threat to us affected my job and childcare arrangement, but for now, I just needed to know my daughter was safe while I testified.
It felt different to arrive at the courthouse today. Before, I was nervous about testifying. Now, my heart felt like a lead ball sitting in my chest as I walked inside the building. Was I really going to lie on the stand? Could I do something that would increase the chances of Dmitri ending up behind bars for a crime he didn’t commit?
There was already a target on my back, and telling the truth today would just make it worse. I meant it when I told him last night that I should lie to the jury. My safety and Alexis’s were at stake.
But what guarantee did I have that the men who threatened me would leave me alone if I did what they wanted? Men who would threaten a child and then try to kidnap her weren’t to be trusted. There was no honor there.
Plus, lying on the stand came with consequences. Lie to protect my daughter but send an innocent man to jail, andpossibly me too if the lies were discovered. Or tell the truth and risk Dmitri’s enemies coming after me and Alexis.
The only guarantee I’d received came from Dmitri. He promised he would keep me safe, and there were no conditions attached to that declaration.
So, how could I betray him?
The courtroom looked the same as it did on Friday afternoon. The DA sat at a table to the right, and Dmitri was seated to the left with his lawyer. I hesitated before going to the right, taking a seat on the side that made me look loyal to the prosecutor.
A few days ago, just choosing a seat here wouldn’t have felt wrong. But things had changed so quickly. My feelings for Dmitri had grown from a spark of attraction to a deeper connection that I wouldn’t have thought was possible when I first walked into this courtroom and saw him on trial for Mr. Moss’s murder.
I arrived just before the judge entered the room. I wasn’t ready when I was called to the stand right away, but I didn’t think more time would have done me any good. No matter how long I mulled over my decision, I would just keep going back and forth about it.
As I took the stand, my eyes landed on Dmitri. He looked so handsome in a black suit, his dark hair brushed back from his forehead as if he’d run his fingers through it multiple times. His brown eyes locked on mine, and I saw nothing but understanding in their depths. He heard me last night, and he thought I was going to lie. He believed I would tell this whole courtroom that I saw him kill my boss, and that look on his face told me he supported that decision.
But I couldn’t do it.
Lying, even if it was to save myself, would only end up putting me at the mercy of the men who killed my boss. I had to trust that Dmitri would protect me and my daughter.
Our daughter.
“Miss White, can you tell us what you saw that day?”
DA Reid looked at me expectantly. I swallowed hard around a lump in my throat and straightened my spine. From what Dmitri had said, the DA might be in cahoots with his enemies. I no longer knew who to trust.
“I came back from lunch and heard strange voices in Mr. Moss’s office. They mentioned that he owed them money—”
“Them or their boss?”
The interruption made me falter. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Dmitri’s hands tighten into fists where they were resting on the table in front of him.
“They said it was their boss,” I replied. “They told Mr. Moss that their boss would deal with him if he didn’t pay them back soon.”
“Then what happened?”