Page 15 of The First Hunt (The Final Hunt)

HOLLY

H olly’s leg jiggled as she sat beside Andy on the wooden bench outside the courtroom, waiting to be called.

Thinking of Jared sitting inside the room behind them, pleading not guilty, made her stomach churn.

She’d hoped it would be liberating to get out of her apartment and get this day over with, but now that she was here, under the same roof as her violent ex-fiancé, she felt overcome with the same fear that had ripped through her the last time she’d seen him.

“Ready?” Andy asked.

She smoothed the wrinkles on the front of her blouse that she’d donned at four in the morning after giving up on sleep. “No.”

She stopped herself from imagining what it would be like to be on the witness stand alone, pointing Jared out to the jury as the man who tried to kill her. If she did, she might throw up.

She longed for a cigarette, but she’d thrown them all out after she’d quit. Probably a good thing. Once she started again, she might never stop. Instead, she settled for a piece of gum from the opened pack inside her purse.

She’d started smoking in college but then had quit after Meg had been killed.

Growing up, Meg had been disgusted by smoking, calling it a dirty habit.

After her sister died, every cigarette felt like a betrayal somehow.

Holly imagined Meg looking down on her from wherever she was, despising her smoking.

She squeezed her eyes shut, the image of Jared's face—pale, blood blooming across his stomach—flashing behind her eyelids.

Then her own body sprawled on the floor, the acrid tang of blood in the air, the siren's wail slicing through the chaos.

She'd woken to flashing lights, police officers looming, the pounding in her head a deafening roar.

Jared lay on the floor nearby, bleeding out from the gunshot to his stomach.

After emergency surgery, Jared had made a full recovery before being arrested for her assault.

According to her doctors, she’d made a full recovery too—until the panic attacks, nightmares, and insomnia set in.

Now, two months later, she couldn’t fall asleep without taking a sleeping pill, but she still dreamed of Jared.

She didn’t know which was worse: not sleeping or waking up in a cold sweat like she was reliving Jared’s attack.

Her chest tightened, making her breaths quick and shallow.

Her hands, damp with sweat, shook in her lap, and her heart raced like it might burst. She stood, knowing what was coming next.

She had pills for panic attacks in her purse, but she didn’t want to take one before getting on the stand.

A panic attacked loomed, and she couldn’t stop it.

She took a few steps forward and bent over, sucking in air while placing her palms on her knees.

A security guard walking by came toward her. “Ma’am, are you okay?”

Andy got up and put his hand on her back. “She’s all right,” he told the guard before turning to Holly. “It’s okay,” he said. “Just breathe. In and out. It’s going to be fine.”

Her breathing slowed as Andy led her back to the bench by her upper arm and helped her sit.

“Your testimony is going to put that sonofabitch behind bars so he can’t hurt you—or anyone else—anymore.”

Holly stared at the floor, remembering the statement Jared had given to the press after his arrest, claiming that he’d acted in self-defense after Holly had pulled his gun on him. “What if they don’t believe me?”

“They will.”

“I’m scared, Andy.” Holly turned, meeting his gaze.

“I know. But as soon as you’re done testifying, you’ll never have to see him again. He can’t hurt you from prison. Your testimony is the only way to make sure he pays for what he did to you. And to stop him from doing it again.”

Her coffee burned like acid inside her stomach, and she felt like she might throw up on the marble floor. “I can’t.”

Andy put a hand on her shoulder. “Yes, you can.”

She shook her head, her lungs twisting like a tetherball rope around her heart. She closed her eyes.

“I never told you this,” Andy said. “But the woman Jared dated years ago dialed 911 from his house one night after they’d gotten into a fight.

She claimed he’d shoved her against the wall in a fit of rage, but it was in ’83 before the mandatory arrest law was enacted for domestic violence, so Jared wasn’t arrested.

They broke up afterward and nothing ever came of it.

” He sighed. “Jared claimed she’d lied. I wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt, but I’d seen his temper enough that I should’ve known better. And I should’ve told you.”

Holly opened her eyes. “It’s not your fault, Andy.”

Beside them, the courtroom door opened with a creak.

“Holly.”

Holly turned to find the assistant DA’s gaze on her.

“You’ve been called to the stand,” she continued. “It’s time to go.”

Holly buried her head in her hands.

“She’s coming,” Andy said. “Just give us a minute.”

“We don’t have—”

Holly looked up to see Andy put a finger in the air.

“One minute,” he said.

The assistant DA clenched her jaw, looking between Holly and the detective. “Fine. But no more.”

As the attorney retreated into the courtroom, Andy moved in front of Holly and crouched into a squat so they were eye to eye.

“Holly, I know this is hard. Meg never got the chance to speak up for herself in court. But you can. Meg would want you to testify, just like you’d want her to if she were still here. ”

Holly stared into his brown eyes, knowing he was right. Without a word, she stood to her feet. He nodded before opening the courtroom door for her.

“Here’s our witness, your Honor.” The assistant DA motioned toward Holly from the front of the courtroom after she stepped inside.

From the corner of Holly’s eye, she saw Jared spin in his seat at the defendant’s table. She could feel his menacing gaze on her as she moved toward the witness stand. She kept her eyes straight ahead.

“The prosecution calls Holly Sparks to the stand.”

Holly lifted her chin, steeling herself for whatever Jared’s defense attorney might throw her way on their redirect.

Andy was right, Meg never got the chance to face her attacker in court.

This is mine. Just like she’d never give up her search for Meg’s killer, she had to fight for justice for herself.

No matter how much Jared or his attorney tried to intimidate her, she couldn’t let him win.