by Lane Hart
"No fucking way," I mutter in complete and total shock. "How do you know all that?"
"One of our PI's has a damn good hacker on staff. Now we just need a reason to give to the District Attorney to go through his bank account records. I'd say revenge is a pretty good one. I'd take a guess and say Elliot's juror couldn't sway the whole jury to convict you on the rape charge, but he strong armed them on the assault, and they caved. Page and our PIs are talking to them all right now."
"Good."
"Look, I don't know which picture you got upset with Page and Jude over, but believe me, I've been with them almost twenty-four seven since you got locked up, except for when he took her to the doctor and then they came to visit you. There is nothing going on between them. Page is a complete mess over you, and she's seemed to fall even further off the deep end after her visit Saturday."
"Do you sleep in the same room with them?" I ask sarcastically.
"Some nights, yes, back when we were all staying at the hotel. None of us really slept the first few days, but Jude and I took turns trying to comfort Page during her more…extreme crying fits. Yes, he was in the bed with her, just like I was some, but they were both fully clothed, and there was nothing sexual about it. Your brother is your biggest supporter, and even after whatever happened last Saturday when they came to visit, after days of getting the runaround about where you were, all Jude said when I saw him was, 'We've got to hurry up and get him out because he's losing it.'"
"Um-huh," I grumble.
"Oh and the only way they found you on Friday was by Page calling every prison in the state asking them to check their roster to see if you were listed. This place, Northern State, was listed seventh on a list of ten."
"So you really think there's nothing going on?" I ask, more of that ridiculous feeling of hope filling me up.
"I'm certain there's not anything going on. She loves you, and treats him just like me like he's her brother," he says before he chuckles. "Actually, I'm a little jealous because I think she wishes Jude would've been her funny, easygoing brother growing up instead of having to put up with me being an ass to her."
"Maybe…maybe I overreacted after seeing the picture. I mean, I know they did the same thing to one of the pictures of Page and me when she first started working on the case."
"You probably did overreact, but I know they'll forgive you given the circumstances."
"Will you ask them to come back and see me this weekend? Tell them I've cooled down and I'm sorry."
"I'll do it," he agrees.
Chapter Eighteen
Page
"Adam, I know I screwed up this case, but there's more to the story," I tell the District Attorney.
He leans back in his chair, steepling his fingers in front of him. "I'll give you five minutes."
"Great. Okay, I'll talk fast. I was engaged to Elliot Winters, the Maryland state senator. He came here to Atlantic City after Jax's, I mean after Jackson Malone's court day on June second. I was…I was with Jax...in my room...when Elliot knocked on the hotel room door. Even though Jax made up a story about me switching rooms, later when Elliot found me, he attacked me. He accused me of sleeping with Jax and then grabbed me by the throat asking if that's what I liked now. He was…he held me down on the bed, and I couldn't get his hands off of me. I yelled for Jax, who was thankfully in the room next door. He and Jude came in and got Elliot off of me, and then Jax started hitting Elliot, beating the crap out of him. Elliot said he was going to blame the whole thing on Jax, and no one would believe us."
"I do have a hard time believing that."
"Then I guess it's a good thing I have a video recording," I tell him. "Here," I say offering him the thumb drive. He takes it curiously, plugs it into his computer and then we listen to the conversation we had without Elliot knowing.
"Okay, so now I believe you. But why do you think this is reason enough for the judge to declare a mistrial for Jackson Malone?"
"Well, as you heard, Elliot told us it wasn't over, and he figured out a way to get back at Jax. He paid juror seven, Steve Yates, half a million dollars to sway the jury to convict Jax."
"How the hell do you know that?" he asks, sitting up straighter in his chair.
"I can't give you sources or the proof I have, but if you could just get a warrant for his bank records after you charge him with attempted murder against me, you'll find it."
"I don’t know, Page. That's a stretch, to ask for bank records for an assault case."
"Then what about getting the feds involved. Tell them he's a dirty politician. They can investigate to see if he's accepted bribes or misused campaign funds."
"That might be possible. I could make a call to the local bureau."
"Could you get a search warrant for all the jurors' bank records to investigate juror fraud? I'm begging you, Adam. Jax didn't do anything to that woman but have sex with her, and he doesn't deserve to be locked up. Help me convince Judge Bray to declare a mistrial."
He sighs and taps a pen on his desk. "There is something I debated telling you before the trial, but I didn't. The victim, or alleged victim, asked me about money. She wanted to know how much she could get from Jax for what he did after he gets convicted. I told her this is a criminal court, not civil."
"So this whole time, she wanted his money."
"Yeah, that and revenge that he didn't want anything to do with her most likely. I probably should've told you that she asked about restitution."
"Don't worry about it. Just...all I'm asking is for you to do what you can now to help Jax."
"All right, let's go to the judge's chambers and see what we can get him to approve. If nothing else he'll probably agree to bring the jurors back in for questioning."
"Thank you so much!" I exclaim.
Now we're finally getting somewhere! With any luck, we'll convince the judge to give Jax a new trial, one with a better attorney.
…
Jax
I'm pissed that they're moving me and not telling me where the hell I'm going. But then I start to see the signs for Atlantic City outside the prison bus windows. Why are we going back there? It has to be something to do with the case since there's only a jail there and no state prison facility.
After sitting alone in a holding cell for at least an hour, I'm finally taken into the courtroom. The same judge from the trial is on the bench. Logan is sitting at the defense table instead of Page. I look around the room and…my heart stops when I find her in the front row, sitting beside my dad and Jude. They're all smiling, so I take that to be a good sign about why I'm here, even though it looks like Page is about to cry.
"Mr. Malone," Judge Bray starts. "You've been summoned to court because we've reopened your case after an investigation of juror fraud. There is evidence to suggest that one of the jurors was bribed during your trial. Therefore I've declared a mistrial and ordered that you be granted a new one. Until such time you will be released on the same bond conditions as before, a fifty thousand dollar secured bond, no travel without prior approval is permitted, and you are to have no contact with the alleged victim."
They're fucking letting me out. After only two and a half weeks I'm getting released from prison. Jesus!
"Thank you, your Honor," I finally manage to say.
"We'll go ahead and calendar the case for retrial the week of September third. Any objections?"
"No, your Honor," Logan responds.
"No objection," the District Attorney says.
"Then let's adjourn court for the day. Bailiff?"
"All rise. This honorable court now stands in recess until tomorrow morning at nine a.m."
With that, my handcuffs are removed, and I'm once again a free fucking man.
Logan is wearing a cocky grin that he definitely deserves.
"Thank you so much. I don't know how to ever repay you," I tell him.
"Oh, you already have in a big fat fee." He laughs. "Now go see your wife," he says with a slap on my shoulder. "She
missed you."
I turn around and look for Page. She hadn't moved, so I go to her.
"Hey," I say, unable to help my smile.
"Hey," she replies hesitantly.
"Hey, bro, glad to see you out of handcuffs," Jude tells me.
"Good to have you home, son," my dad says, giving me a hug.
"It's damn good to be free. I'm sorry about how I acted last weekend," I apologize to them all. “That place…it does something horrible to a man.”
"You were being held in a shitty prison for something you didn't do. That would make anyone go a little crazy," Jude replies with a shrug.
"Yeah, it was pretty shitty, but it's no excuse for how I acted. Now let's go home," I say, talking to Page. "Forgive me?"
"Yes. Even on your worst day, you're better than Elliot on his best. Oh and he's sitting in a cell right now, getting drilled by federal agents," Page replies with a smile.
"Welcome back to the free world," Page's dad, who had gone unnoticed, says from beside me. I turn toward him and shake his offered hand. "And welcome to the family."
"Thank you, Mr. Davenport," I say in surprise. I'm glad he doesn't seem pissed at Page for marrying a jackass like me. Turning my attention to Page, I ask, "Come home with me?"
"Of course," she agrees.
"They're ready to release your belongings back to you, and as soon as that's done you can go," Logan tells us.
After I get rid of the orange jumpsuit, I change into the jeans and tee Page brought me, then slip my wedding ring back on. All that was left was for us to make our way through the maze of reporters to my dad's SUV.
I reach across the backseat to hold Page's hand, but that's not enough contact. I grab her and pull her on top of me so that she's straddling my lap, and bring her lips down to mine. Our kiss is hesitant at first but quickly escalates until we're clinging to each other like we can't get close enough. I feel the wetness of Page's tears on my cheeks, and at least now I know they're happy ones.
We kiss like that for the entire three hours home. After saying goodbye to my dad and Jude, I carry her up to my apartment and start undressing her before the door shuts. I need her, need to feel her warm skin against mine to truly feel alive and free again.
Page is gorgeous laid out underneath me, her blonde hair down and fanned out on the bed, her blue eyes lit up with happiness.
"I missed you so damn much," I tell her.
"I missed you, too," she says with a smile. "Now make love to me."
"Do you want me to get a condom?"
She bites her bottom lip and smiles wider. "No, and you don't have to stop either."
"You don't have to tell me twice," I say as I ease inside of her. She's definitely ready after three hours of foreplay. "I love having you like this, with nothing between us. Whatever happens...well happens, if that's okay with you."
"Um, well, you don't have to worry about getting me pregnant," she says, making me go still.
"Oh?"
She's gone on birth control. I shouldn't be surprised. She's several years younger than me, right out of law school. We just got married two weeks ago, and I've been a jackass the entire time. I guess it shouldn’t come as a shock that she doesn't want to get knocked up so soon.
Even understanding all that, it's still hard not to take it personally. That she just doesn't want me to get her pregnant.
"If you want to wait that's fine...I just thought, after that night..."
"Jax?"
"Yeah?" I ask, pulling back to see her face.
"You don't have to worry about getting me pregnant because, well, I already am," she says, practically flinching away from me while her eyes stay locked on mine.
"You're already..." I rewind her words to make sure I understand them. "You're...pregnant? Like right now?" I ask, and she nods.
"We're gonna have a baby?"
"Yes," she confirms. "Are you freaking out? Because...I'm sorry, Jax. I knew you'd be upset..."
I lean down and kiss her lips to stop her rambling. But then...has it even been long enough for her to know? "Oh princess, I swear I'm not upset. I'm just surprised. I mean, are you sure? How do you know, because it's only been what, just two, maybe three weeks?" I ask.
She exhales likes she's been holding her breath the whole time. "I'm sure, and I'm, um, about six or seven weeks along."
"Okay, you lost me." I'm not all that great at math, so maybe I'm missing something.
"There was a condom recall."
"You're shitting me." I laugh, and she shakes her head with a smile. "I'll be damned. So the night we got married, you were already..."
"Yeah. I found out the day after they moved you from Atlantic City. I was dizzy so Jude went with me to the doctor's office and they told me."
"God, and I acted like such an asshole to you!" I exclaim, now understanding what Jude was trying to tell me. What Page had been trying to tell me when I went ape-shit on them at the prison.
"Don't worry about that. It was a stressful time. I can't imagine how hard it was on you. Being in there, all alone."
"I missed you so damn much," I tell her. "So when? When are you due?" I ask, rubbing my palm over her lower belly, that doesn't feel any different yet.
"April fourth."
"April? Wow. Do you think we'll have a girl or a boy?" I ask with a smile.
"If it's a girl, you're not going to make her fight are you?" she asks.
"I guess we'll just have to wait and see if she comes out swinging,” I joke. “All I know is that we're going to let him or her do whatever the hell they want."
Then I make love to my pregnant wife. I've never been so damn happy and have no idea how I could be this lucky. I have everything I could ever want, and I owe it all to a lying bitch. Who would've thought that in the end, I'd be thanking her? Instead of making my life hell, she helped me find my way into heaven.
Epilogue
Page
The sold-out crowd of ten thousand at the Patriot Center in Fairfax is a force to be reckoned with. Kind of scary actually.
"These people are nuts," I have to yell to Sadie, so she will hear me over the noise.
"Yeah, they are. Especially the women," she giggles.
"Jax is clearly the fan favorite," I notice, from all the signs and the Havoc griffon logos in the stands.
"Uh-huh. Jax is the best, and I’m betting Jude will be, too, soon," she says wistfully.
I know Jax is incredible, but seeing it is a whole different thing.
The lights in the arena dim and the theme song from the Halloween movies pump into the stadium after the announcer finishes the intro for Jax's opponent, Michael Evans. A few fans chant the first name of the man with a shaved head and solemn expression as he makes his way down the aisle to the raised octagon. Both of his arms are covered with black tattoos of screaming skulls and fire, which up his badassness.
Jax will never have any ink work done on his magnificent body. He's afraid of needles. Needles and small spaces are what freak out my big, incredible husband. But he doesn’t need the ink to be tougher. He manages that just fine on his own.
Once the ref cleared the psycho looking dude to enter the cage, the announcer goes through Jax's many wins. The world championship belt is on the line with this fight. Jax is fighting to keep the title that was taken away after the criminal charges. If he wins, this will make it six consecutive years as the reigning champion.
The first guitar riffs of Sick Puppies’ rock song "You're Going Down" comes blasting from the stadium speakers, making the crowd go even wilder.
The colored spotlights swirls, searching the arena for him until he finally steps out of the tunnel. He’s wearing tight black shorts, with almost every inch covered by sponsors, and a red Havoc hoodie pulled up over his head but unzipped to show his cut upper body. Incredible is the only way to describe him.
Watching one of the big screens in the stadium, the camera goes in for a close-up of him walking to the cage. He's the raging volcano a
gain, scary and beautiful at the same time. I can only stare and drool as he approaches the ref and strips down to his shorts. I don't care much for the roar of approval from the thousands of women cheering for him. That's my husband, damn it!
Finally, he's cleared to enter the octagon, just six months after his case was dismissed by the district attorney.
We found a witness to testify that the bitch had confided in her that she'd lied and given herself the marks on her neck. And somehow, mostly because of my brother, I'd managed to keep my law license. I've finally figured out what type of law I want to practice. I decided to specialize in sports contracts, and I already have a few MMA fighters as clients. Now that we're married, I can even represent Jax. I also plan to spend some time volunteering at the local animal shelter after the baby’s born. We’re currently looking for a house with a backyard to move into, and once that happens, Jax has promised me all the puppies and kittens I could ever want. I know that if it were up to him, he’d give me the world.
I'm doing great with my nerves seeing Jax in his very first fight, or at least I was until the bell rings and the two men collide.
"Oh shit!" I exclaim when fists start flying. I hold my breath as I watch the two angry men face off.
The psycho fighter dodges one of Jax's jabs and starts laughing like a cocky bastard, motioning to himself with both hands, telling Jax to bring it on. The leer stays on his face right up until Jax lands a cross on his jaw. The other man falls back so stiff and fast there isn't even time to yell, "Timber!"
"Oh my God! Jax won?" I ask Sadie, jumping, well easing to my feet as fast as an eight-month pregnant woman can. “But it just started like ten seconds ago.”
"Oh yeah. That dude won't wake up until next week!" Sadie replies before we both shout and cheer for my man.
We yell louder when Jax's arm is officially raised by the ref. Once again he’s the undisputed, middleweight champion of the world. To celebrate he climbs to the top of the cage, straddling it with both hands in the air while waving the black and white Havoc Fight Club banner proudly.
