This was it.
This was what I needed.
Alan Sanders wasn’t just an abuser. He was aserialabuser. A predator who targeted vulnerable women, manipulated them, and destroyed them.
And Sadie had been his latest victim.
His last victim.
“This proves Alan’s pattern,” I said, my voice tight with urgency. “It establishes him as a dangerous, violent man. It shows the jury exactly what kind of person he was and what he was capable of.”
Nav’s expression darkened. “There’s a problem.”
I looked up at him. “What problem?”
“These documents were sealed,” Nav said. “The court records, restraining orders, police reports... all of it is sealed orrestricted.”
My stomach sank. I sat back, the weight of it settling over me.
This evidence was exactly what I needed to prove that Alan Sanders was a violent predator with a documented history of abusing women.
But I couldn’t use it.
It would take time to get a court order to have the records unsealed.
And they didn’t prove he’d abusedSadie.
I looked at the documents spread across my desk, then at the plea deal folder Rosalind had left behind.
Two impossible choices.
I had evidence that Alan was dangerous to other women, but nothing proving he was dangerous to Sadie. And the evidence I did have was obtained through illegal means. I rubbed my face, exhaustion and frustration warring inside me.
“Give me some time,” I said finally. “I need to figure out how to use this without getting disbarred.”
Nav nodded and stood. “You’ve got three days, Matlock.”
“I know.”
He left, closing the door behind him.
I sat alone in my office, surrounded by evidence I couldn’t use and threats I couldn’t ignore.
And somewhere in the middle of it all was Simon, the man I loved. The man I was supposed to protect, the man whose future was in my hands. The man who literally trusted me with his life.
I picked up the plea deal folder and stared at it.
Forty-eight hours.
I had forty-eight hours to figure out how to save him.
And I had no fucking idea how I was going to do it without losing him.
Chapter Twenty-One
Simon
I pulled into the driveway just as the sun started to dip toward the horizon. It had been a long day at the salon, and all I wanted was to fall into Tony’s arms and let him tell me everything would work out.