Bella sifted through her notes. “They’ll provide jobs—”
“Yeah, and pay minimum wage for someone to clean their toilets,” snarked Orion.
Bella scowled. “I’ve met most of the residents in Phase I. They’re good people.”
“Who are out of touch with reality.” Leopold leaned forward, salivating over the chance to fluster Bella. They were taking this case way off course and as far from the law as possible. Adam’s blood pressure began to rise.
“Just because a person has money—”
“Means they think they can do whatever they want,” interrupted Zeke.
Adam had had enough. He rose to his feet and buttoned his jacket. “Your Honor, the question before you isn’t the character of The Cove’s residents, but the legal right I have to rezone and subdivide my land. You have the documents before you that prove the land is mine. You have the law before you that clearly states I have the right to do with it as I choose. And, you have the permit issued two weeks ago from the City of Seattle, thanks to the diligent efforts of Miss Creer, granting the change.”
Bella jolted at his inclusion of her in the argument. He could feel the pride of his compliment radiating off of her, and it bolstered his confidence. So much so that he added, “I’ll be sure to share Mr. Wolfe’s assessment of our residents with our residents. We wouldn’t want the billionaire homeowners to hire a local attorney who thought so little of them.”
The Wolfe brothers sank deeply into their gray padded seats. Adam had delivered a death blow to their hopes of landing huge retainers—no one in The Cove would so much as read a letter from their office when he blackballed them.
Judge Stavish tossed the injunction out—rather reluctantly—and scuttled back to his chambers. No doubt he was thinking about his upcoming reelection and the campaign funds he might procure from The Cove’s deep pockets.
Adam stepped across the small space between the desks and clamped his hand on Zeke’s thin shoulder. The man gasped, his eyes tracing the scar on Adam’s cheek. Adam’s fury rose, and he leaned close to growl. “Don’t ever attack my clerk in court again.”
Zeke nodded quickly, his jowls swinging.
“We were just doing our jobs,” whined Orion.
Adam locked eyes with the youngest Wolfe and increased the pressure on Zeke’s shoulder. The man slid farther down in the chair to get away from his grip. Orion’s eyes widened in fear. He’d hidden behind his brothers’ suits, and being in the direct line of fire was a new experience. He dropped his eyes and turned slightly away.
Adam stood tall and motioned for the brothers to leave. They did. The door opened, and several flashes went off in the hallway. Journalists that had been in the courtroom lined up outside to take pictures.
Bella piled papers and that darn law book in her arms, looking more like an adorable coed on campus than a lawyer. She strode down the aisle, intent on making it out the door.
Spent, Adam sank into the chair and laid his forehead on the desk. His chest felt like it had been clawed open, and his back ached from carrying a burden of an evil man’s decision.
“Mr. Moreau?” Bella was beside him. She bent down so her face was level with his and touched his arm. Her hand was warm and comforting through his jacket. The kindness in her voice was more than he deserved after the way he’d treated her.
“I can’t face the reporters.” He lifted his head off the table and noted how close they were. He could see the black rings around her brown eyes, the softness in them almost too much to bear. “They’ll see … me.” He was tired, too tired to keep his walls up, especially when she looked at him like she cared. Had anyone ever looked at him that way before? Certainly not his father. The resulting warmth in his chest was a newly tapped well. He could no longer deny that Bella affected him, though whether that was a good thing or a bad thing remained to be seen.
She bit her bottom lip. “I’ll help you.” She looked around. “We can go out through the judge’s chambers.”
He snorted. “Stavish hates me.”
She smiled sweetly. “Yeah, I kind of got that.”
His smile was tentative. “Would you really walk out with me?” The gesture was more than he’d dare ask for, but it was enough to carry him through the moment when his scars were revealed to the world. Somehow, the world had shrunk to the two of them in this moment.
She moved her hand down his arm, laced their fingers together, and gave him a reassuring squeeze. The warm spring in his chest bubbled and then burst forth, electricity dancing across his skin. “I’d be honored.”
Compassion, that’s what he’d seen in her gaze. Mixed with respect. He could handle that.
He nodded once and got to his feet. She released his hand, and he tugged his shirt sleeves down inside his jacket. Bella took up position on his left side, where the scars were. Depending on the angle of the cameras, her head would be in the way for most of the shots. He put his hand on the small of her back, amazed at how it fit right there. They made their way through the doors and the mob of reporters throwing questions and sometimes insults to get them to turn their direction for a picture or a quote.
The first reporter jumped in front of them, making Bella cringe. She recovered quickly and managed to remain calm and classy for the rest of the ordeal. She pushed right past the worst of them, clearing a path for him to follow without looking like she was babying him. Once in the car, Adam leaned his head back against the seat. Exhaustion over took him, and he slept, barely feeling it when Ben helped him from the car and into his bed.
“Will he be all right?” Bella’s voice came to him through the drowsiness.
“He needs rest,” assured Ben.
Adam didn’t want her to leave him, but he didn’t have the strength to call out. He hadn’t left the house since the incident, hadn’t even passed the six-week basic recovery phase for surgery, and he’d hurled himself into a full-fledged battle. He wouldn’t change a thing, though. The soft smile on Bella’s face was worth it.
