A rare double-update weekend!!!! This is part one, chapter twenty-six will be up in a moment.

Paul could hear the pain in Wendy Alexander's voice as she spoke the truth about her relationship with Charles Pearson. A truth that could ultimately save Colonel Shaw. He had to admire the woman. Risking public humiliation in order to help someone else took a lot of guts, especially in a large courtroom where the formality of the all-wood décor alone was intimidating. She was the only wife on Robbie's list willing to come forward. Yes, they could have subpoenaed the others, forced them to testify, but that might have done more damage than good if any one of them were desperate enough or angry enough to lie under oath.

Reluctant witnesses were not always reliable.

"What else did Elizabeth Shaw tell you about Charles Pearson that day she came to see you?" It was a skill he'd learned over time, using the appropriate question to change the mood of the testimony, like turning the dial on the discussion to the hard or soft option.

Wendy pushed her shoulders back and sat a little taller. Elizabeth's name always had that effect on her, which was good. Sad Wendy wasn't going to gain any sympathy for cheating on her husband, regardless of how remorseful she appeared. Angry Wendy was much more convincing. "Elizabeth had broken things off with him before he'd had a chance to ask for any money, but she'd had her suspicions and had started investigating Charles on her own. Which led her straight to me."

Paul stepped a little closer to the jury, sensing the twelve follow his every move. He wanted their full attention on this one. "And what did she want from you?"

"She wanted me to testify when she brought charges against him. She said he'd bribed a few other wives on Base and would probably continue to do so if we didn't ban together and stop him." Wendy sighed. "I refused. I had my marriage to think about."

Paul spun on his heels to face her and spread his hands apart. All part of the show. "So why now? Why are you here today?"

Wendy's focus went to the jury, hitting them one-by-one in the eye with a soft, pleading stare. "Guilt, in all honesty. It ate away at me from the time Elizabeth left my front door, and when I found out about her murder, I had to wonder if—"

The DA shot up from his chair to object, but it was pointless. The sob coming from the woman had already cut off any speculation. Although unrehearsed, the timing of Wendy's breakdown was ideal. This was something the jury could get on board with. Paul rushed over and pulled a tissue from a nearby box and offered it to her.

"Thank you," she murmured, dabbing at her eyes. "Sorry."

"Take your time."

Wendy blew her nose and cleared her throat. "I had to tell my husband. We're getting divorced now." She shrugged. "My marriage wasn't in good shape anyway—otherwise I never would have fallen for that lunatic's charms. I just wish I'd confessed sooner, had the strength to stand behind Elizabeth when she needed me."

It was a powerful statement, and Paul took a moment to let it sink in. Walking back to his table, his gaze lifted to the front row just beyond the bar. Robbie, despite having heard all the facts a million times before, looked just as caught up in the testimony as the rest of the crowd. Catching his scrutiny, she shifted in her seat and crossed her legs, causing the skirt to ride up and expose a bit of the lace near the top of one thigh. Revealing but concealing, seductive but classy, naughty but nice, no matter what you called them, stockings could lure a man in like a come-hither stare, their long sensuous lines a silken pathway to the riches above.

They were the first things he was going to peel off of her.

Or maybe he'd have her leave them on when he took her.

Tough choice.

Unfortunately, the sexy display caught the eye of the man next to her too. Leering over, the idiot whispered something that had Robbie whipping her head down and tugging on her hemline. With the way her cheeks pinked up, Paul had a pretty good idea of what had been said. He had the sudden urge to lift the bastard from his seat and toss him out on the lawn where the rest of the dog shit—

Somebody said something in the background Paul didn't quite catch, but it had him blinking his way back to reality.

"Captain Sullivan," he heard Judge Benson call. "I repeat. Do. You. Need. A. Recess?"

Shiiit. One flash of thigh and his mind had gone AWOL. "No, your Honor." He shot a death glare at Robbie's neighbor, which had the man lifting his eyebrows and shifting away from her. Paul turned back to the judge. "Just one more question, your Honor."

"Very well."

With his head back in the game, he gave Wendy a half smile. "You mentioned the notes Charles Pearson hid in your husband's car."

Wendy nodded. "Yes."

"How did Charles Pearson have access to your husband's car?"

"I asked him that once, but he wouldn't tell me. Like I said, I assumed Charles was an officer stationed at Quantico. Elizabeth was the one who cleared that up. She'd tracked down a Charles Simmons driving a taxi service between the base and the VRE train. It was him. Most of the high-ranking officers had their cars on Base and would often tip these drivers to take their vehicles in to be serviced or inspected or even washed. Technically it was against the rules, but they all did it and nobody complained."

"So on those occasions, these contracted workers would have been given their keys." It was a vital point. Keys could be copied, providing full access not only to Tony Shaw's car, but possibly the house itself, which would explain the lack of forced entry.

"Yes."

"That's all, your Honor." Paul headed back to his seat, glancing once in Robbie's direction to make sure the POS beside her was behaving.

Robbie smiled and gave him a thumbs-up.

The cross-examination went well. Andy Stewart couldn't do much to Wendy's credibility. The woman didn't have any serious flaws besides the obvious one, being an adulterer, and Paul had made sure during jury selection to have a few of those on the panel. Nobody was squeaky clean. Nobody.

During closing, Paul summarized the evidence and poked holes in the other side's case. All he needed was reasonable doubt. A hung jury would take care of the rest. He wrapped it up by reminding the seven men and five women of the prosecutor's high burden of proof. He was in the zone, feeling a familiar euphoria, the satisfaction from a job well done. It felt like a win, and he had only one person to thank for that. With the last word spoken, he turned to that woman, wanting her to be part of the celebration.

In an instant, all his pleasure drained away. What the hell?

Robbie's seat was empty.

Forty minutes later, with the jury off deliberating and all the paperwork done, Paul found himself in the hallway of the courthouse, leaning against marble by the men's room door to wait on Shaw. And still texting Robbie. A few stragglers came up to shake his hand and offer early congratulations, but he couldn't concentrate enough to carry on a decent conversation.

Where the hell is she? She wasn't answering any of his messages. How could she just leave like that? After the suggestive deal she'd made with him that morning, he'd assumed they would . . .

You know what? Fuck it. His brows pulled low as he hit the send button for the last time. This was an occasion for celebration and here he was pining after some woman who clearly didn't want to be part of it.

"Hey."

Paul lifted his head. Joanne Thomas stood a few feet away, short red hair gelled into spikes, tattooed arms crossed over a black leather vest. "Congratulations. I think that went your way. Was it the right way?" She shrugged. "Only Tony Shaw knows for sure."

Yes, Joanne lived up to her name. She'd been a doubting Thomas from the moment they'd met, but she'd been happy to testify and had a fan in Robbie.

"Thanks," he muttered.

That full head of points got cocked to the right. "You don't seem very pleased."

Wait. Maybe she knows something. "Did Robbie tell you she was leaving?"

"Ahh." There was a hint of a smile. "Yes, as a matter of fact she did." She stepped closer, unhooking her arms to hand him what looked like a business card. "She told me to give you this."

He went to pull it from her fingers, but Joanne held on tight, those shrewd eyes drilling into his. "Robbie's one of a kind. You'd better treat her right."

The or else went unspoken as she let go.

It was a card.

A keycard.

"Go to The Hay-Adams in D.C., room ten-fourteen."

Seriously? If Robbie thought he was going to go chasing after her like some panting dog with raging hormones, she had another thing coming. He shook his head. "I'm afraid I—"

Joanne's focus was captured by the whoosh of the bathroom door. Out walked Shaw and the pair of them faced off like two midfielders in the World Cup, the tension so thick, Paul had to wonder if it was jealousy fueling all the friction. Elizabeth had played for both teams after all.

"Tony," Joanne all but spat.

"Joanne." The colonel nodded. "Thank you for helping in there." He scrubbed a hand across his buzz cut. "Listen, I have Elizabeth's camera back. I won't use the thing, and I think she would have liked you to have it."

Joanne lifted her chin. "No need to thank me. I only told the truth, something any decent human being would do. Keep the camera. I'd only end up selling it." She turned away and walked toward the exit, the door that would take her back to her busy life, her businesses, her family. Her freedom.

Something Shaw didn't have. Not yet anyway.

Paul gave the colonel a tight smile. The man had been through the ringer over the last month, and it showed. He'd dropped a lot of weight and now walked with a limp, likely due to the ankle monitor he still wore. "Sorry about that. She's a little upset."

Shaw tracked Joanne's departure with solemn eyes. "That's okay. She cared for Elizabeth too. I get it."

"That was a generous offer. Someone will want the camera, I'm sure."

"Yeah," he sighed. "I'm just grateful that asshole didn't manage to sell it on eBay." He looked at Paul and his face brightened. "Hey, maybe Robbie would like it? Can you ask her for me?"

If she were here you could ask her yourself. As his irritation surged, Paul's eyes went to the ground and stayed there. "Sure," he bit out.

After a long pause, the colonel asked, "You ever been in love, Captain?"

The two locked stares. Paul didn't know what to say, very aware of the fact that he'd used at least a dozen snappy comebacks to similar questions in the past.

When there was no answer forthcoming, Shaw shifted his gaze to the window across the hall, the glare from which highlighting the shine of unshed tears. "It's complicated, I know, but I'll give you some unsolicited advice. Don't make the same mistake I did. When you find love, you hold onto it, no matter what it takes. It's worth fighting for."

Smart words. From a man who knew what he was talking about. Shaw was alone, not by choice, but by a cruel fate cast upon him, and yet despite all the pain and deceit, he still believed.

"Come on, we'd better get you back home," Paul said, clapping a hand down on the colonel's shoulder. "I have someone I need to go see in D.C."

END OF CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

Technically, I'm late with this chapter but it's a double, so I'm going to call it even!🤣🤣🤣🤣 (Any Planes, Trains, and Automobiles fans out there? This is the time of year to watch it if you haven't before)

Do you think Paul is slowly figuring out this crazy little thing called love?😍🤪😍🤪

Full steam ahead. And I do mean full steam. 🔥🔥🔥🔥

All votes and comments are very much appreciated.✨❣️✨❣️✨

Dedicated to @blushhing for coming back and continuing on with The Wild Ones! I appreciate all the comments and support, and I always look forward to reading what you have to say each week♥️ Thank you!