Joseph smiled. “Hey, sweetheart. How’d it go in court?”
“Good. The partners actually showed up to represent Gabby. They were able to get her out as a material witness. And after they told the prosecutor about what happened to me, they put her in protective custody.”
Joseph raised a brow. “I’m surprised they didn’t offer you protective custody.”
“They did,” Katherine admitted with a grin. “But who’s gonna protect me better than you?”
Joseph chuckled and nodded his head toward the kitchen. “What’s happening in there?”
Katherine kissed his chin and jogged back into the kitchen. “I’m cooking,” she proudly announced.
“What?”
Katherine whipped around and glared at him through narrowed eyes. He seemed astonished and a bit scared.
“I made a pot roast. Your mother walked me through it.”
Joseph chuckled. “Okay, sweetheart. Do I have time to grab a quick shower?”
“Yep. Dinner will be done in ten minutes.”
Joseph walked to the back of the apartment. A few minutes later, she heard the shower. Her pot roast only needed a few more minutes. Since Joseph liked eating in front of the TV, she used that time to set dinner trays in front of the sofa. As she was placing napkins and utensils on the trays, a news story caught her attention.
Katherine sat and stared at the television with disbelief. It was reported that Larry Crane had been found dead in the parking lot of a westside bar. Apparently, he was beaten and strangled to death.
Katherine gasped. Her hand flew over her mouth. It hadn’t gone over her head that Larry had been murdered within days of her attacker’s revelation that Larry was who’d hired him to kill her. Katherine got up and rushed to the bathroom. The shower was still going when she entered without knocking, but Joseph wasn’t in the shower. He was sitting on the edge of the tub with his head in his hands.
Katherine took one look at him and knew immediately that Joseph was responsible for Larry’s death, even if his knuckles hadn’t been so badly bruised. When he realized she’d entered the bathroom, he looked up with tears in his eyes. He swiped a tear and cleared his throat.
“Katherine, I...” His voice cracked. “I wasn’t planning on killing him, but he...”
His pain was her agony.
Katherine stepped in front of him and cupped his face. “I know, honey.” She dropped to her knees and pulled him into her arms. “It’s gonna be okay,” she whispered. “I promise.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
KATHERINE
Joseph held the door open for Katherine to enter the courtroom. She was nervous, but happy to finally get her day in court. The crowded court quieted as they made their way down the aisle. They found a couple of empty seats in the fourth row, but before they could slide into the row, they were waved down by Jake Quinn, the Assistant U.S. State’s Attorney.
Katherine and Joseph pivoted and followed Jake to a little room at the back of the courtroom. Katherine assumed he wanted to prep her a little more in anticipation of her testimony, but when they entered the room, he had a look that worried Katherine.
“What is it?” she asked.
Jake took a deep breath and gestured toward a chair. “Why don’t you take a seat?”
Katherine looked at the chair and frowned. “I don’t want to sit. What’s going on?”
After a sigh, the attorney said, “We’re not going to need your testimony anymore.”
Katherine was blown away. “What?”
“Your father cut a deal. He’s going to not only testify against every defendant, but he’s also going to give up offenders we didn’t know about.”
“What does that mean for him?” Joseph asked.
“Three years in prison and five years of supervised probation.”
