Page 1 of Sawyer (Sabre Security Daddies #6)

Lele

L eyla Cortez stood on the front steps of the courthouse, blinded by the flashing lights of the cameras. Reporters’ questions hit her like the blast of a shotgun, each one a pellet leaving its mark.

Too much noise.

Too much attention.

Too much everything.

She leaned into her stepbrother, Hector's, side, grateful she could always rely on him to be there for her. She never would have made it through Jaxon Ruick’s trial if it hadn't been for him. He'd been by her side every minute of the past few months.

He smiled and waved, stepping in to answer every question the reporters threw at her. If he didn't have an arm draped over her shoulder, she would've stood behind him. He was much better at the spotlight than she was. All she wanted to do was disappear .

Questions from the defense attorney had battered her mind. He did everything he could to make her out to be a liar. But she hadn't been lying. At least she didn't think she’d been lying.

God, she hoped she hadn't been lying.

The medicine the doctor had given her had calmed her down, but it had made her brain fuzzy. She could barely keep up. Thankfully, Hector's personal lawyer coached her, preparing her for everything Jaxon's lawyer might ask.

Hector had given her advice as well. "Just answer the questions they ask, Lele. Don't offer anything extra. And if possible, just answer yes or no."

She’d done her best. When she’d told Hector’s lawyer she had no actual knowledge of some of the details of the prosecution's case, he'd glared at her.

Hector had glared, too. "Do you think I'd lie to you, Lele?"

She’d gasped, horrified. "No, of course not. I know you wouldn't lie to me, but if they ask me if I actually saw it myself, the truth is I didn't."

Hector's lawyer spoke up. "No, the truth of the matter is, if we don't put the strongest foot forward, a man who is poisoning children to line his pockets will get off scot-free.

Is that what you want? Do you want innocent children's blood on your hands?

Because that's what will happen if you don't do exactly what I say. "

Hector turned on his lawyer. "Do not speak to her that way. Why don’t you get out and let me handle this?"

The lawyer scowled at her before stuffing his papers back in his briefcase. Snapping it shut, he strode from the room.

Hector turned back to her and wrapped his arms around her in a strong, comforting hug. "Don't pay any attention to him. He knows he gets a bonus if the verdict comes back guilty. Look at me, Lele."

Lele dutifully turned her gaze up to meet his.

He studied her for a moment. "Have I ever given you any reason to think that I would intentionally lie in order to send an innocent man to prison?"

She shook her head. "Of course not. I know you wouldn't lie to me. You've always been there for me. It seems like I've spent my whole life drifting from one massive screw up to the next. My father was right. I'm a magnet for trouble."

"Don't talk like that. You've had some hard things happen, but you've always pulled through. I know you can't remember some of the things I told you happened that day. But you’re the one they called as a witness. If you don’t tell them you saw it with your own eyes, it won’t be admissible. He’s trying to put the blame on you, I suppose, by saying your car was at the drop site for the drugs. You know you weren’t there.

And I know you weren’t there. But if you don't tell them your car wasn’t the one spotted on the CCTV cameras, then a very bad man will be free to roam the streets again and continue to harm children.

I don't want to see that happen, do you? "

Her stomach rolled. She understood what her stepbrother was saying, but testifying to something she didn’t see with her own eyes still felt wrong.

She always did this. She made things more complicated than they had to be.

Her car had been in her driveway when she’d gotten sick from food poisoning.

It had been in the same spot the next morning.

No one had a key to her car except her. Hector had to be right.

The idea that it could’ve been her car was ridiculous.

On top of that, Hector wouldn't lie to her. He’d bailed her out of every scrape she’d gotten herself into since his mother had married her father.

Besides, if she spoke the truth, what did one or two white lies matter if it meant reaching the correct verdict?

"No, I don't. If you say my car was parked at home all day that day, I believe you. And if it's true, it shouldn't matter who says it."

It had all seemed so simple before she sat in the witness box. She said what she'd been told to say. She told the truth about what happened, even if she had to fudge the truth about how she knew.

A reporter shouted, "Mr. Cortez, is it true that you're considering a run for political office in your hometown of Elk Jaw?"

Hector flashed a brilliant smile. "I think I just need to worry about my sister today. She’s the brave one here.

She stood up against a drug lord bent on destroying our children.

She took a stand against corruption in the very institutions that are supposed to be upholding the law and keeping us safe.

Today is a great day. Today, justice won thanks to Leyla Cortez. "

She smiled at the words, still a coldness gripped deep inside her chest, numbing her soul. The man on trial had seemed like a good man. When they found him guilty, the look he’d given her would haunt her nightmares for years to come.

She’d done her part to save the children. To keep drugs off the streets and out of the schools. She’d done the right thing.

Why, then, did she know that a peaceful sleep was a thing of the past?

Two months later…

Lele sat on the cold, metal folding chair, shivering, and stared down at the coffee-stained Formica table.

Why would anyone put a metal chair right under the air conditioner vent?

Her tights might warm her legs when she stood up, but not when she was sitting on what felt like a block of ice in a meat locker.

If she’d known what today had in store for her, she wouldn’t have worn a short skirt.

She dug her fingernails into her palms. The pain kept her grounded in the reality of her situation. Pops and snaps punctuated the air as the radiator in the corner struggled against the cold in the interrogation room.

Was it possible for a person’s brain to hyperventilate? Because she was pretty sure hers had. She dabbed the latest round of tears from her eyes with a crumpled tissue.

Russell Parnel, the lawyer her stepbrother assured her was the best in Tennessee, scraped his chair back on the linoleum floor to stand.

"You have to trust me, Lele. You won’t get a better offer.

Possession with the intent to distribute the amount of fentanyl you had is a class B felony.

District Attorney General Boucher wants to use you as proof that he is tough on drugs.

He plans on asking for the harshest penalty if you force him to take this to trial.

That’s thirty years. He’s offering ten with your admission of guilt, but the offer won’t last forever.

He’s ready to pull it off the table. My advice is to take the deal.

If you behave yourself, you can be out in three years. ”

Why was he even asking her if she had no real options? The ticking of the clock over the door competed with the radiator noise in what seemed to be a competition to drive her insane. She wanted to scream, but she was too weak. Instead, she hugged her arms around herself and rocked in her chair.

How could it have turned out like this? She was waiting for the final paperwork to land her dream job at a rising game design company. She was finally about to take control of her life.

Hopelessness engulfed her like a tidal wave. How could this be happening? “B-but I d-didn’t do a-anything w-wrong!”

Russel glanced pointedly at his watch. “We don’t have much time. What should I tell them?”

Her future rode on this decision. No reputable company would hire her if she pleaded guilty to these charges. Her lawyer… strike that, her stepbrother’s lawyer… wants her to throw away everything she’d worked so hard for.

Had she not sacrificed enough? She would never survive in prison. She was a short, curvy girl with the survival instincts of a Steller’s Sea Cow. She’d read about them once and knew she’d found her spirit animal: slow, stupid, and overly trusting.

That was her. After a decade of Hector dealing with her crap, she had no idea why he still stepped in to rescue her from herself. She was just thankful he was always willing to help.

But there was only so much he could do. She’d really messed up this time, and now she was going to prison. All because someone had stolen her car while she slept off a bout of food poisoning and used it to deliver drugs to former FBI Special Agent Jaxon Ruick.

Russell cleared his throat, snapping her back to reality.

One look at him should have told her she needed someone else.

She tried not to judge people by their appearance, but sometimes she couldn’t help it.

Russell was balding, which was fine. But he was trying to hide it with that comb-over thing men do, which wasn’t.

His suit was too tight, too short, and so out of style it was almost comical.

His leather shoes were scuffed and worn, and his briefcase wasn’t in any better shape.

Upon reflection, he was the perfect lawyer for her because just like her, he was falling apart.

He drummed his fingers on the table, clearly tired of waiting for her to decide.

It wasn’t as if he had volunteered to be her champion.

No, he was on her stepbrother’s retainer, which was lucky.

All the other high-powered, big-gun lawyers worked for District Attorney General Boucher.

She should be grateful she had a lawyer at all.

But even with Hector’s help, she wouldn’t be surprised if this guy was throwing the case on purpose to save his unremarkable career. If she’d learned one thing in the past two months, it was that no one stood against District Attorney General Boucher. Especially if their career choice was law.

At least her family, well, her stepbrother, was standing by her side .

No one else believed her. No one else defended her.

She didn’t blame them. They saw the news and heard the rumors.. Of course, they believed all the lies.

No one wanted a backstabbing drug dealer around them. That’s who they thought she was.

Russell shrugged his shoulders and said what she’d been telling herself.

“They have the best lawyers in the world. Not to mention the public’s opinion.

Everyone is on their side. You have to face facts.

If we take this to court, you won’t win.

And you’ll be facing a sentence almost seven times longer.

Without confessing to the charges, you don’t make a very sympathetic figure.

It is the best option you have. Why are you fighting this? ”

"Why? Why am I fighting this? Don’t you care that you’re asking an innocent person to confess and pay for something she didn’t do?”

Lawyer Russell smirked. “Everyone in prison is innocent and misunderstood. Everyone was framed. Listen, this isn’t just about what they’ll do to you in the trial.

I know you can’t see it, but I’m trying to do you a favor.

DAG Boucher holds a mean grudge if you don’t fall into step with his plans.

Don’t think his ability to punish you ends with the sentencing.

He can make prison worse for you. A lot worse. I’m trying to keep you alive.”

Lele’s heart skipped a beat at his words. He wasn’t lying. The General, as he liked to be called, could do that. Could and would.

She couldn’t give up, even though tears choked her. "I didn't do it. Why does no one listen to me?" She despised the vulnerability in her voice.

Russell heard her but must have decided he was done talking. He didn’t say anything. Instead, he let the silence speak for him. That's the reaction she always got whenever she tried to defend herself— silence so thick it made her want to scream.

She needed to face the reality of her situation. It was going to happen. She was going to prison, and there was nothing she or Hector could do to stop it. She clasped her hands together to still their trembling.

Closing her eyes, she watched her future vanish in a puff of smoke. Her life had never been a fairy tale, and it wasn’t going to end with a happily ever after. No prince was riding in on a white steed to rescue her.

Russell must have sensed her surrendering, giving up. Sliding the papers toward her, he said, “The deck is stacked against you. For what it’s worth, I do believe you.”

She couldn’t hold back her gasp of surprise. “You do?”

There was only sadness in the smile he gave her.

“I do. I always have. And that’s why I’m counseling you to take the deal.

I know it looks like forever to you. At twenty years old, five years, hopefully three, seems like an eternity.

You can be out by the time you’re twenty-three.

You can move on and start a new life somewhere.

You’ll have your whole life to look forward to. ”

She held back her words, though she couldn’t hold back her humorless laugh. The truth was, after she signed these papers, she would have no life. The General had taken that away. She’d be under his control for as long as she drew breath.

With still trembling hands, she took the pen Russell offered her and signed the paper. It might as well have been a hammer driving the final nail into her coffin.

She’d tried to live the life her father wanted for her. She’d failed. Sometimes the best you could do is recognize when it was time to give up. Shoving the papers back to him, she lowered her head to rest on her arms and sobbed.