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Authors: Rachel Dylan
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stood up for her opening statement and had to face the jury.
Taking a few more deep breaths, she told herself that it was going to be okay. And she reminded herself that she wasn’t alone. She had God with her, which was even more important than the law enforcement presence.
Zach gently took her arm and guided her up the courthouse steps toward the door. Since he’d found out about her past, she’d noticed that he was very careful in how he touched her. The fact that it mattered so much to him meant a lot to her.
Once inside, she let out a breath. The first step was accomplished. Now they needed to get through the security line. There were no exceptions even for lawyers or law enforcement, and that was fine with her.
She set her bag down on the X-ray belt and showed her bar card, which allowed her to bring in her laptop and her phone.
“Are we headed directly to the courtroom?” she asked Zach.
“Yes. We will let you get settled in and ready to go.”
The sooner she could get at counsel’s table and get into the prosecutor zone, the better. There was too much commotion going on around her right now to get her head in the game.
One of the FBI agents opened the courtroom door, and Zach escorted her in. No one was allowed inside yet except for the attorneys and court staff, which instantly calmed her nerves.
Jessica went to work getting set up with her computer and files. Her paralegal was already there with the trial exhibits that she would use. Everything was in place and was proceeding just like any other case.
As people started to walk into the courtroom, her heartbeat pounded, and the calm she had been experiencing was instantly replaced with more jitters. All eyes were on her; she couldn’t afford a misstep. That wasn’t the way she’d planned to start her legal career. She didn’t want to be the rookie prosecutor who fell flat on her face.
Members of the media filed in and sat in the reserved seating. She turned and eyed the reporters, who were like vultures circling their prey. Ready to bust open a big story or tweet out breaking news from the courtroom.
Lord, please give me the strength to do this. All she could do now was wait for the trial to begin.
* * *
Zach clenched and unclenched his fists as he assessed everyone who entered the courtroom. This wasn’t just a regular assignment for him. Jessica had been through so much. She deserved someone who would look out for her, and he was the man for the job. Zach realized that he didn’t just want to protect Jessica. He wanted to spend time with her on a personal level. He couldn’t deny that he was starting to care for her.
Since this was the most high-profile trial in the area right now, the courtroom was going to be packed. Members of the general public had lined up starting hours ago to try to get one of the limited seats. This was a large courtroom, and he tried to make sure he looked at every single person to size them up as a potential threat. He looked down at his watch. The judge should be coming in any minute.
Looking toward the back right side of the courtroom, Zach was surprised to see Luke Hernandez. Despite everything he’d said at the safe house, now here was Luke openly flaunting his support for his brother by showing up at the trial. Unbelievable. It made Zach sick. Luke shouldn’t be able to play both sides. He was an officer of the law and was supposed to take that responsibility seriously.
Zach refused to let the man’s presence rattle him. He had bigger concerns right now. So he took a seat in the first row behind where the lawyers sat. This gave him the best position to protect Jessica. Other agents were stationed throughout the courtroom to get a better vantage point of the entire scene in front of them. He felt good about the security presence, but he knew better than to let down his guard.
“All rise,” the bailiff said.
Zach’s attention was snapped back to the front as Judge Pamela Walker strode into the
Taking a few more deep breaths, she told herself that it was going to be okay. And she reminded herself that she wasn’t alone. She had God with her, which was even more important than the law enforcement presence.
Zach gently took her arm and guided her up the courthouse steps toward the door. Since he’d found out about her past, she’d noticed that he was very careful in how he touched her. The fact that it mattered so much to him meant a lot to her.
Once inside, she let out a breath. The first step was accomplished. Now they needed to get through the security line. There were no exceptions even for lawyers or law enforcement, and that was fine with her.
She set her bag down on the X-ray belt and showed her bar card, which allowed her to bring in her laptop and her phone.
“Are we headed directly to the courtroom?” she asked Zach.
“Yes. We will let you get settled in and ready to go.”
The sooner she could get at counsel’s table and get into the prosecutor zone, the better. There was too much commotion going on around her right now to get her head in the game.
One of the FBI agents opened the courtroom door, and Zach escorted her in. No one was allowed inside yet except for the attorneys and court staff, which instantly calmed her nerves.
Jessica went to work getting set up with her computer and files. Her paralegal was already there with the trial exhibits that she would use. Everything was in place and was proceeding just like any other case.
As people started to walk into the courtroom, her heartbeat pounded, and the calm she had been experiencing was instantly replaced with more jitters. All eyes were on her; she couldn’t afford a misstep. That wasn’t the way she’d planned to start her legal career. She didn’t want to be the rookie prosecutor who fell flat on her face.
Members of the media filed in and sat in the reserved seating. She turned and eyed the reporters, who were like vultures circling their prey. Ready to bust open a big story or tweet out breaking news from the courtroom.
Lord, please give me the strength to do this. All she could do now was wait for the trial to begin.
* * *
Zach clenched and unclenched his fists as he assessed everyone who entered the courtroom. This wasn’t just a regular assignment for him. Jessica had been through so much. She deserved someone who would look out for her, and he was the man for the job. Zach realized that he didn’t just want to protect Jessica. He wanted to spend time with her on a personal level. He couldn’t deny that he was starting to care for her.
Since this was the most high-profile trial in the area right now, the courtroom was going to be packed. Members of the general public had lined up starting hours ago to try to get one of the limited seats. This was a large courtroom, and he tried to make sure he looked at every single person to size them up as a potential threat. He looked down at his watch. The judge should be coming in any minute.
Looking toward the back right side of the courtroom, Zach was surprised to see Luke Hernandez. Despite everything he’d said at the safe house, now here was Luke openly flaunting his support for his brother by showing up at the trial. Unbelievable. It made Zach sick. Luke shouldn’t be able to play both sides. He was an officer of the law and was supposed to take that responsibility seriously.
Zach refused to let the man’s presence rattle him. He had bigger concerns right now. So he took a seat in the first row behind where the lawyers sat. This gave him the best position to protect Jessica. Other agents were stationed throughout the courtroom to get a better vantage point of the entire scene in front of them. He felt good about the security presence, but he knew better than to let down his guard.
“All rise,” the bailiff said.
Zach’s attention was snapped back to the front as Judge Pamela Walker strode into the
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