Inside, it was quieter. Agent Torres met us at security and escorted us to a private waiting room where I could prepare for my testimony.
"You ready for this?" she asked.
"No," I admitted. "But I'm going to do it anyway."
Torres smiled and nodded. "That's all any of us can do."
She left to coordinate with the prosecution, and I turned to Hudson.
"You can't come in with me," I said. "I have to do this part alone."
"I know." He took my hands, squeezing gently. "But I'll be right outside that door. And the second you're done, I'll be there." He kissed me one more time, then stepped back as the bailiff came to escort me to the courtroom.
I walked through those doors alone.
But I wasn't afraid.
Because I knew what was waiting for me on the other side.
Chapter 10: Betty
Itold the truth.
For two hours, I sat in that witness box and recounted every detail of the night Chris Greene was murdered. The sound of the gunshots. The way his body had crumpled to the ground. The faces of the two cops standing over him, their badges glinting in the dim light of the alley.
The defense attorney tried to shake me. Tried to poke holes in my story, suggest I'd been drinking, imply I couldn't have seen what I said I saw from where I was standing.
I didn't waver.
When I finally stepped down from the stand, my legs were trembling and my throat was raw. But I'd done it. I'd told the truth, and nothing they said could take that away.
Agent Torres met me outside the courtroom doors.
"You did good," she said. "Really good. The jury was with you the whole time."
"What happens now?"
"Now we wait for the verdict. But between your testimony and everything else we've got on Briggs, I'd be surprised if it takes them more than a few hours."
Hudson was waiting for me in the hallway, just like he'd promised, and I walked straight into his arms.
"It's done," I said against his chest. "I did it."
"I know, honey." His arms tightened around me. "I'm so proud of you."
We stayed like that for a long moment, just holding each other in the middle of the busy courthouse hallway. I didn't care who was watching. I didn't care about anything except the solid warmth of him, the steady beat of his heart beneath my cheek.
"Let's get out of here," he said finally. "You need food and rest."
"I need you."
His breath caught. "You have me. Always."
We left the courthouse through a back entrance to avoid the press, Santos driving us in a nondescript SUV with tinted windows. Hudson sat beside me in the backseat, his hand wrapped around mine, his thumb tracing circles on my palm.
"Where are we going?" I asked.
"Your apartment. Martinez has been there all morning, making sure everything's secure." He lifted my hand to his lips, pressing a kiss to my knuckles. "I thought you'd want to sleep in your own bed tonight."
