Page 104 of Hunter or Hunted

If David were here, he would’ve gotten visitation. After all, he’d never hit Junie. Sold her to a drug dealer once, but there was no evidence of it, so Angela’s attorney would’ve yelled, “Relevance.”

A woman’s black eye and busted lip meant far less to a courtroom than scratches on a child’s arm.

Good thing we didn’t have to worry about that.

34

EDWARDS

The Hearing

Simone, her lawyer, and Gwen were out of the courtroom in heartbeats. Edwards only had enough time to give her a smile before an officer he knew from the academy, Tyler Morgan, caught him in the hall. He started on a tangent about an arrest he’d made last night. Something to do with a DUI. Cop small talk.

Edwards, known for his friendly nature, nodded and agreed with a periodic, “That’s wild, man,” watching Simone in his peripheral. She stood with Gwen and her attorney near the towering walnut French doors. They exchanged a glance or two, one with Gwen as well, but Tyler kept running his mouth.

Gwen’s look said more than Simone’s glance. Her eyes widened, glanced at Simone, then fell back on him. As if to say, C’mon, dude. You’ve got an opportunity here. Take it.

Edwards wanted to. More than Gwen could even begin to understand. Standing there, only a dozen yards from Simone, an invisible tether stretched out between them. His focus should’ve been on Tyler. That was the polite thing to do. But even from here, that floral, fruity perfume pulsed from her skin toward him. It floated through his nose, carrying with it the memory of that night. The night he’d stood close enough to draw it deep into his lungs.

When they’d danced together at Mallory’s party, Edwards swore the world stopped spinning. His and hers were the only beating hearts in the galaxy. It’d been some time since he’d seen her smile—really smile—but that night, even if only for a few moments as they danced on that patio, her smile encompassed all the cosmos. The stars overhead had twinkled off her eyes like polished diamonds, unearthed from eons and eons of pressure and friction.

Then the scream.

Then that muddled, messy conversation in the driveway. Edwards didn’t even remember what he’d said. On Gwen’s word, Sebastian told Edwards he hadn’t screwed anything up. He just hadn’t done enough.

Edwards had spent the last three weeks searching for the words, the time and place, to address it. To offer Simone what he’d wanted to begin with. A real date, a real start.

He’d rehearsed it in his mind a thousand times. In those fantasies, he was the hero. Simone’s lawyer asked for Edwards’ testimony, so he stood in the crowd and declared it all. “Your Honor, Angela Burke has been harassing the Black Pines Police for months. I can only imagine the pressure she’s put on Simone. This wonderful woman, this goddess of beauty, this saint of a mother, has done no wrong. She just wanted a fresh start away from the chaos, away from the abuse. She finally had it, and this monster and his mother are doing everything in their power to destroy the beautiful world she’s built for herself. All she wants is some peace, some calm. She can’t have it when she has to deal with that woman.”

In the fantasy, the judge smacked the gavel, then Simone leapt into his arms, and the crowd cheered for them to kiss.

Obviously, the fantasy proved to be only that.

When Simone won, he started conjuring up another. In this one, he declared his affection in the busy courtroom hallway, Simone leapt into his arms, and the crowd again cheered, “Kiss! Kiss!”

But Tyler was still talking, and Gwen’s wide-eyed darting glances were narrowing.

Simone spared Edwards one more glance as she and Gwen turned and started out the door.

The fantasy vanished.

He couldn’t let it vanish.

“Yeah, it was nice catching up,” Edwards said, eyes on Simone as the cold wind rushed in. “I’ve gotta head out, though, man. Shoot me a text sometime. We’ll grab a beer.”

Tyler started to stretch out the farewell, but Edwards was already jogging to the doors.

Simone and Gwen were halfway down the steps. The metal bar handle thwacked as Edwards burst through the door. Simone jolted, and the two of them looked over their shoulders in tandem.

“Hey,” Edwards called, winded. He smiled. “Do you have a minute?”

Gwen smirked, giving Simone a pat on the back. “I’ll go get the car.”

Simone shot her a look.

But he needed to make this right. Maybe he wouldn’t be the hero, but he could make this right.

Simone forced a smile for him. “Sure. What’s up?”