“I’m Nakia’s lawyer,” he lied smoothly. “I’d like some privacy with my client.” Justin was fighting to contain his fury at what he saw as compounded abuse by her relatives.
“Good, hopefully you can get her to sign the papers to release Ralph from custody,” Ralph’s father raged. “How the hell does she expect my son to take care of this family?”
Justin stilled, trying like hell to calm every muscle in his body. Removing any expression, he instead maintained a cool regard. It was a necessity he’d learned when on missions as part of a Special Forces Op. “My obligations are to my client and not to your son or his family. I have a court order assigning me the right to act on behalf of my client.” He had no such thing and was pretty damn sure it wasn’t possible for him to get one in this case, at least not without a long court battle. However, he was banking on the fact that her family wouldn’t know that and, by the time they called another lawyer to call bullshit on that, he would have already secured Nakia in a place out of their range to hurt her. “So, I ask you again to leave.”
“No!” Ralph’s father wasn’t going to cooperate.
“She doesn’t need a stinking lawyer!” Nakia’s father added his two cents to the argument.
“When did Nakia hire you?” her mother demanded, her suspicion toward him etched on her face. “Because she hasn’t been able to speak since the accident.”
Smart one. Justin kept his game face on.
“Nakia works for our firm. And you are referring to Nakia’s assault, not an accident.” Colt’s authoritative, no-nonsense voice filled the room as he walked to where Justin had taken up a protective stance next to Nakia’s bed.
Justin welcomed his brother’s intrusion. Colt didn’t answer her mother’s question, but he was glad that their combined presence seemed to have made the parents and in-laws a bit uneasy. Without asking any further questions, they reluctantly rose from their seats and left the room.
“Thanks, bro,” Justin mumbled as he gazed down at Nakia. “I need to get her out of here.”
“Whoa! What are you thinking, Justin? It’s one thing to lie to her parents about our being Nakia’s lawyer, but it’s quite another to sell that shit to a judge.”
“They are determined to bail that bastard out of jail, and I want her out of his reach before they do.”
“Shit!” Colt roughly stabbed his fingers in his hair and gripped the short strands. “Are you even sure she wants this?”
Justin wasn’t sure of anything. However, he was shocked when a soft hand gripped his with unexpected strength after his brother’s question. He looked down to see Nakia’s right hand holding his as though afraid to let go. He raised his gaze to her bandaged face, and the steady stream of tears sliding down the edge of her bandages to her hair made him curl his hand around hers in response. “Don’t worry, sweetheart. No one’s going to hurt you again under my watch.” Although he didn’t have the first clue as to how he was going to afford it, he pulled out his phone and started dialing.
“What the fuck?!” Colt exploded when he realized what Justin was doing.
Justin stopped dialing long enough to frown at his brother. “You don’t have to stay if you’re not on board with this. I’ll take care of this on my own.”
Colt let out a few more colorful curses before muttering, “Of course the firm will cover the cost. The last thing I want is for Melissa to get wind of this and divorce your ass for taking this much personal interest in another woman. She’s already out for blood over the airport incident.”
“Thank you,” Justin breathed out in relief. His brother’s agreement made his task easier. “Watch her while I take care of this.” He started from the room, only to stop mid-stride as Colt’s warning reached him.
“Don’t make me regret this, little brother. You’d better not be doing this because you want to dip into this forbidden pool.”
“Don’t be an ass, Colt. When you bent all the rules to help Imani, I was there to support you, without passing judgment as to why you were doing it. Pay me the same respect.” Justin waited for a few tense seconds before he felt Colt at his back. He didn’t bother turning because he knew his brother would always have his back, both physically and metaphorically.
“You’re right,” Colt told him softly. “I’ll call Matt and Dad to let know we’re doing this. While we don’t need their permission, I don’t want any nasty surprises later. And I especially don’t want them blindsided when Melissa complains. And you know damn well she will make a stink about this.”
“Thanks. And for the record, I don’t give a shit what my wife, or anyone else for that matter, thinks about us helping.” This time when he strode from the room he didn’t stop, and in less than three hours, he had a private hospital lined up, a top specialist to tend to her injuries, and a plastic surgeon to consult on her face, along with a judge’s signed authorization allowing him power of attorney over Nakia’s affairs. Not only did the judge take into consideration Nakia’s husband’s impending release from custody, it also helped when Nakia had been conscious enough to indicate her agreement.
Again, his brother’s contacts and reputation came in handy to get things moving fast. And despite the protests of her family, he had her transported in Colt’s private jet, along with her doctor, a few hours later to a private hospital in Dallas.
She couldn’t speak because of the bandages on her face. Her husband’s violence had dislocated her jaw and severely damaged her face. There was still hope that there was no permanent nerve damage. The doctors had given her an iPad to type her responses, which were short and usually only consisted of one word at her doctor’s prompting.
Justin spent the first week at her bedside, despite Melissa’s constant protests and demands for him to return home. He didn’t understand the overwhelming need he felt to protect Nakia. It was as if he was compelled to remain at her side. Every instinct in him insisted that she needed him. And he was proved right to be cautious because Ralph’s father managed to get into her hospital room one night. Justin didn’t want to think what could have happened if he hadn’t been there to stop the old man when he tried to approach Nakia. The old man had been sent packing with his tail between his legs.
When she’d been initially transferred to Dallas, she’d slept for days. The doctors had assured him that her body needed the rest in order to heal. However, each day she grew stronger and remained awake for longer periods.
“How are you, Nakia?” Justin asked her gently. It was the same question he’d asked her every morning he came into her hospital room to see her. Although she couldn’t speak, she used her iPad to communicate with him. She usually gave him a thumbs-up emoji. However, today she responded in a full sentence.
“I’m fine, thanks to you,” she typed.
Justin couldn’t stop the slow smile of satisfaction that had his jaw aching because his smile was so big. Until today, she’d used emojis or letters or one word to answer a query. This was a huge improvement. His heart rate quickened with relief. Until that moment he hadn’t realized how worried he’d been about her mental state. Whether she would remember what happened or whether she had any damage from the vicious kicks to the head her husband had delivered.