Tall, rail thin, rich dark hair pulled back into a single ponytail. Dark eyes, olive skin. She wore black from head to toe. She neither smiled nor frowned.
What she did do was stare.
“Do I know you?”
The woman didn’t answer the direct question. “My name is Sasha.”
“We find the defendant, Mykonos Sobol, guilty of . . .”
Leo blew out a long breath as the foreperson rattled off a dozen charges.
His fists clenched at his sides, and the smile in his heart punched his gut with relief. He glanced at the back of Marie Nickerson’s head. A head with a pixie cut courtesy of her assailants.
Her shoulders slumped, and her female attorney placed an arm over her shoulders while the male whispered in Marie’s ear.
Leo pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and immediately texted Claire. He knew Neil would inform her of the outcome, but he’d likely wait, and if it were him, Leo would want to know, real time, if he wasn’t there.
Guilty.
She texted back almost instantly.
Thank God.
Leo tucked his phone away and listened while the judge thanked the jury for their time and quick deliberation.
Mykonos sat huddled with his attorneys, eyes glaring across the room toward Marie.
Sitting behind him, Navi and his henchmen kept their eyes forward.
The courtroom itself was humming with activity as reporters undoubtedly texted their bosses in an attempt to get a jump on the headlines.
The judge closed the session by telling the defendant when sentencing would take place, then dismissed the jury and adjourned the trial.
Reporters rushed out.
The bailiff approached Mykonos to take him back into custody.
“Watch, the judge will go easy on him,” Fitz whispered at Leo’s side.
They’d seen it before. The jury did the right thing. The bad guy received a guilty verdict. And then the judge slaps him with a prickly rose and not a sledgehammer. Though there were too many charges for him to get off without doing real time in jail, there were no guarantees the judge would do the right thing.
Marie’s attorneys hugged the girl and offered their congratulations.
While she did have a slight smile on her lips, her expression was blank.
Numb.
One of the attorneys turned to Leo and Fitz. “Thank you. All of you.”
“I’ll pass that on to everyone.”
Marie looked in Leo’s eyes. “Thank Claire for me.”
“I’ll do that.” Leo smiled . . . wanted to give her some kind of assurance. Once she left the room, he’d likely never see her again. “Go grab that life you deserve.”
She lifted her chin ever so slightly. “I’ll try.”
A noise on the other side of the courtroom caught their attention.
Everyone turned to see Mykonos offer a confident smile to Marie.
Her attorney stood in front of her as Mykonos was escorted from the courtroom.
“Don’t let him rattle you, not now,” Leo told Marie. “We have the area secured. Once you’re settled, that man will have no way of knowing where you are.”
She looked blankly at a wall. “That won’t stop me from looking over my shoulder for the rest of my life.”
No, he didn’t imagine it would.
Navi made his way to the end of the aisle and stopped only a few feet from where Leo and Fitz stood.
“We meet again,” Navi said to him.
Leo squared his shoulders, put himself between Marie and Navi.
“Get her out of here,” Fitz told Marie’s personal detail.
Out of the corner of his eye, Leo saw Marie being escorted away from the activity. Once she was out of view, he turned back to Navi.
“I hear you had an unfortunate accident the other night,” Navi said.
“And where did you hear that?”
“Shootings in Vegas are commonplace, but they still make the paper.”
Leo narrowed his eyes.
“Glad to see you’re in one piece,” Navi said, his charming smile firmly in place.
“I somehow doubt that,” Leo said. His jaw tightened.
The man laughed. “Oh, of course. You probably think I had something to do with it. I assure you, I didn’t. Though it does make me wonder who your enemies are.”
Leo matched the man’s energy and confidence. “I’m one of the good guys.”
That made Navi laugh. “Right.” He looked above Leo’s head. “I missed the halo. But I see it now.”
“Is there a point to this conversation?” Fitz asked.
Navi looked down at her, didn’t comment, then back to Leo.
The dismissal rippled through both of them.
“Be careful out there,” Navi advised as he turned to walk away. But before making it two feet he looked back. “How’s the woman doing?”
“The woman?” Leo played dumb while the hair on the back of his neck stood on end.
“The woman who was shot? The paper didn’t disclose her name. I imagine with the good guy standing right there, she fared well.”
“She’s fine.”
He nodded. “Good. I hate to see innocent people getting hurt.”
Navi started to turn away.
“Plan on staying in town for long?” Leo asked.
“This is a filthy city. Never did see what my cousin saw in it. Can’t trust the women.” He motioned toward the door Marie had disappeared behind. “Can’t walk the streets. Can’t have a quiet meal without someone harassing you.”
Leo didn’t comment. Once Navi broke eye contact, Leo watched him walk out of the room flanked by his goons.
“That guy’s a prick,” Fitz muttered.
“Any of that sound like a threat to you?” He stood a little taller, felt some of the tension ease from his shoulders.
She shook her head. “Nor a confession.”
“That doesn’t mean it wasn’t both.”
Fitz stretched her neck from one side to the other. “Let’s get out of here.”
CHAPTER SEVEN
The drop ceiling tiles of the hallway were broken up by long fluorescent lights in various stages of function.
Olivia had a vague memory of being wheeled down this path before. A hospital staff member pushed the gurney while Rick, a bodyguard, walked alongside them.
She felt like an observer. One with limited space in her brain to carry any information she’d been given.
“So you get paid to sit in a chair?” the staff member asked Rick as they waited for an elevator to open.
“You could say that.”
The door dinged, and once again Olivia was in motion.
Each bump shot pain up her side and had her closing her eyes to try and manage the discomfort. She’d started saying no to the pain medications in an effort to recognize herself in the mirror.
When someone wanted to join them on the short ride down to radiology, Rick lifted his hand. “Mind taking the next one?” he asked.
Without question, the person waiting backed up as the doors closed.
“Do people always listen to you?” Olivia asked.
“Not my wife,” he said with a smile.
“Good to know.”
The lower levels of the hospital were a series of catacombs and relatively deserted.
The hospital employee parked the gurney outside a closed radiology door and disappeared inside, leaving Rick and Olivia alone.