Another Lifetime

Chapter 34

DeAnna Kastell

The deliberations had already taken a whole day. "Dea, chill the fuck out," X told me and I couldn't. I was stressing out about the verdict not going the way we needed it to. I was stressed it wouldn't go the way I needed it to go.

"I can't until I know that he's going to fucking prison for the rest of his life," I told him and he pulled me back into bed with him.

"He's going to go to prison, Dea, and once he does, I'm off parole," he told me and I couldn't believe that. "Part of the deal was of my testimony resulted in a conviction then I'd finish parole early," he explain and I threw a cushion at his head.

"And you didn't feel like telling me this?" I questioned him.

"Didn't want to get your hopes up," he told me and if his parole was up that meant he couldn't stay in the halfway house anymore.

"So where are you going to live?" I asked him, knowing he didn't exactly have a lot of cash to pay rent in our town.

"Hadn't planned that far ahead," he admitted, "part of me thought that Aron was going to get off but Jessie and Frank seem pretty convinced that the jury are going to convict," he told me and I was hopeful but I needed this conviction. Dad may not have bought off the jury but Aron might have.

I texted the DA, I needed to know what the plan was if Aron was found not guilty. She texted back saying she was in her office. I texted Preston to bring the car around. "You can come live with me and Frank," I told him, made sense for us to live together again.

"You sure?" He asked me.

"You're my fiancé, long as you don't piss off Frank," I told him, not looking up from my phone. "I gotta meeting, I'll be back later," I said and kissed him.

"Since when do they do meetings so late?" He asked me.

"It's informal, a couple of the guys in my New York meetings are doing them at a diner not far from the community centre," I lied and grabbed my bag.

"Okay, I guess I'll see you later," X said and I rushed out of there. I couldn't believe I was about to tell Roberts this but I needed to sort a deal for X if I was going to do this.

I let myself into her office without knocking. "What did you want to talk about?" She asked me.

"What happens if Aron Martens beats this charge?" I asked her.

"Then we start again and find another charge for him," she told me.

"How does child pornography and statutory rape work?" I asked her.

"Pretty damn well," she told me.

"I'm only pressing charges if he doesn't go to prison, I don't need Griffin knowing about this unless we have to use it," I told her and took off my necklace.

"You had sex with Aron and filmed it?" She questioned.

"More like I was high out of my fucking mind and he took advantage of that, before X got out of juvie," I told her, "but I'm not pressing charges unless I have to," I reminded her.

"So I'm assuming you're here to make a deal on behalf of your fiancé, otherwise why bother mentioning this to me," she said, leaning back in her chair.

"I want the same deal he's getting now, he gets off probation and I need immunity," I told her and she raised an eyebrow. "I deleted it off his hard drive, so he couldn't use it against Griffin," I explained to her.

"I can draw up the deal for you since you deleted off his computer and didn't hack it off, I see no need for immunity," she said and I went quiet, "oh for fuck's sake, DeAnna," she said and put her head in her hands.