Proposed: Cuffs & Briefs, #4

By Valentina Don and Petra W.

He proposed.

 

I fought long and hard to get here.

 

But I've learned something.

 

His past has always been around the corner.

 

And his past might just mean the end.

 

But I refuse to let his demons win.

 

Part Four in the Cuffs & Briefs Series

• Language: English
• Publisher: Perfect Escape
• Release date: Feb 2, 2021
• ISBN: 9781393305996

Book preview

1. THE FILING

Carson Pierce didn't have doubts, regrets, or misgivings. He was a confident, assertive attorney who was good at what he did. So, when he started to question how he was going to handle the brief he had to write to appeal the conviction for his client, Laura Stone Moore, he knew he needed a break. He had walked away, giving it some time.

Well, time was up and now he knew what he had to do. She may have been caught red-handed stealing a Jackson Pollock painting, specifically No. 5, 1948, from an art gallery, but he wasn't going to let that stop him from claiming insufficient evidence on her grand larceny and conspiracy charges that went along with it. He knew they were just trying to throw the book at her and she really didn't deserve that. More hardened criminals roamed the streets than Laura and she didn't deserve to be locked up. And, yes, that may have been the man who had suddenly fallen for Laura speaking, but that was also the criminal defense attorney in him talking. He had done a noble job at keeping their roles distinct in their relationship—attorney and client—but it was getting harder to do with each passing day. Stone had spent the time leading up to her trial under his roof, under house arrest with him, thanks to some fancy footwork with the judge, and he got to know Laura, the woman behind the stone. She was smart, skillful, and sexy. Not only had he gotten to know her, he had fallen for her.

If his feelings weren't motivation to do his damnedest for her, then he wasn't sure what was. So, he decided that his brief would contain three legal grounds on which he would base his appeal. There was no need for him to decide to only proceed claiming insufficient evidence to support the conviction. Instead, he proceeded with adding a juror misconduct claim, as well as another claim he argued during the initial trial—improper admission of evidence from crimes for which she wasn't being charged. The juror misconduct was because Carson got an insider tip that some of the jurors communicated about the trial outside of the courtroom with the bailiff when they shouldn't have. The improper admission of evidence claim was simply due to the fact that evidence from prior crimes that he had dropped from her charges was still entered into the record. The jury should have never even heard that evidence, but once the cat was out of the bag, so to speak, there wasn't much he could've done. The prosecutor did the damage and they all knew that it would have been too late even if it was thrown out. They can't unring a bell like that, they knew. That was why he knew he had to proceed as he was because, best case scenario, if he won on the insufficient evidence claim alone, then that was huge, but if he didn't, maybe he'd at least get her a second chance. She'd get a new trial with a different jury and he would fight to make sure the evidence of her other crimes was barred. Laura deserved every chance she could get to be the free woman she once was. Carson was going to see to it.

2. THE HEARING

Stone knew the drill by now. She'd gone through enough bail hearings to know how this would go. She'd listen to the judge blabber on, Suit would plead her case, and the judge would agree to bail. She found comfort in knowing what to expect. That was about all she found comfort in when he first told her about the hearing.

At first, Stone didn't think this would work. She thought Suit made this whole thing up. She just couldn't figure how suddenly she would get out of prison with her conviction still hanging over her head, but he explained to her that it was actually possible.

It's something called bail awaiting appeal. Now, that we filed your brief with the appellate court, and as we wait for our day in court, you can do so out of prison, he said, full of mirth when her eyes got wide and expressive as he spoke.

It was at times like that that she let herself get hopeful, optimistic even. That was why she was glad she had Suit in her corner. He pushed boundaries. He did things no one expected. He was not afraid to use the law to his advantage. And bend the will of others when he couldn't. It was funny, she contemplated, how she was softening to him more and more.

Sitting in her usual seat, she wore her prison-issued garb and wished the bailiff who transported her over would remove the cuffs around her wrists, but she knew that wasn't going to happen anytime soon, so she resigned to being uncomfortable.

Then, Suit came in and spoke to the bailiff in hushed tones. Without realizing what happened, the bailiff came over and removed the cuffs.

She didn't know what to do with her hands first, it was such a wonderful feeling to be able to move them around. She ran her hands through her long black hair that was tied back neatly at the nape of her neck. Hi, she said, her voice suddenly full of emotion as she spoke to Suit.

Hi, yourself, he said and acknowledged the bailiff who stood by her side. Ready for this?

As I'll ever be.

Good, because you're coming home with me, he promised, where you belong. His eyes reflected the emotion his voice lacked and Stone didn't miss it.

She looked at him with questioning