Alayah looked from Erica to me with tears streaming down her face. She began breathing heavily, clutching her chest.
“I’m free…I’m free. Oh God.”
She broke into a full-blown cry. I wrapped my arms around her to keep her from slipping out of the chair and to the floor.
“You won, baby,” I whispered, rocking her.
She’d won big. Erica and I had decided not to tell her about the request for restitution that we’d put in. More than likely, it would be granted. The system had failed her thanks to members of their own, and they needed to pay her for every year of freedom she’d lost. It would never make up for it, but it would be a hell of a start to a new life.
Alayah gathered herself together and sat up straight.
“Thank you,” she said, reaching for Erica. “You never gave up on me, even when I told you to.”
“I promised your aunt and uncle I would get justice for you. I always keep my word. Congratulations, love.”
Alayah embraced her tightly before letting go and throwing herself into my arms. She cupped my face and kissed me passionately.
“Thank you,” she whispered. “I love you so much, Killian. Thank you for seeing me.”
“Always, baby. I told you, I got you. That’s for life.” I pecked her lips. “We have to celebrate.”
“I have to call Aunt Penny and Uncle Clive and my sisters…and Londyn and—”
“Let’s just call them all over. We have every reason to celebrate you.”
“Please tell me you’ll stay,” Alayah said to Erica.
“I’ll just have to call my husband.”
“Invite him, too,” I said.
“I’ll just step outside and call him.”
She stepped out the back door, phone in her hand. Alayah turned to me with a smile.
“How are you feeling?” I asked, pulling her into my chest.
“Like I can finally breathe again.”
“Well take a long, deep breath. It’s only up from here.”
Chapter 32
Alayah
A Month Later
I walked out of the courthouse with a smile on my face with the people who loved me at my side. Alayah Chambers was officially a free woman with a sizable restitution check. When Erica first began telling me what she and Killian had been up to, my first feeling was embarrassment about other people seeing those tapes. It was bad enough that my sisters saw them.
However, as I listened to her tell me the rest of the story, my heart began to fill with hope. When I learned of my impending freedom, it was like the weight of the world was lifted from my shoulders. It did my heart good to know that somebody was being held responsible for allowing a predator to run free for years.
When the story broke, the women who were paid off came forward. All of them had similar stories of how they no longer associated with their families because they took the money instead of fighting for justice. My heart went out to them. I knew what they were feeling all too well.
“How do you want to celebrate your first official day of freedom?” Killian asked, grabbing my hand.
I looked around at the smiling faces of my loved ones.
Aside from Killian, my aunt, uncle, and sisters were there along with his parents, sister, brother in-law, Ellie, and Londyn. I couldn’t have made it this far without each of them in some way. They had been such a light in my life since the moment I’d touched civilian soil. It hadn’t been easy. In fact, being outside the prison walls was harder than the ten years I spent inside.
