Jude nodded this time and lowered her head as she shut the door. The three of them walked to the elevator and were safely on it when she heard Hazel calling for her.

Inches remained when he caught sight of her while he pushed the button erratically to stop the door from closing. “Jude! Don’t go! Fight!”

An inch left before the door closed, blocking him. She said, “I love you. Always.” She heard the slam of his fists on the outside of the elevator as they started to descend. With her back to the officers, she glanced at them in the reflection of the doors. “We need to hurry. He’ll fight for me.”

The tall man standing directly behind her said, “I’d do the same for my wife.”

She found some comfort in the fact that he shared that with her, and she smiled.

TAYLOR JUMPED TO his feet when his lawyer, Caleb Monroe, walked into the police precinct. “Are you getting her out?”

“She’s not in jail, Taylor.” He walked with purpose to the counter, but added, “We’ll find out where she is, but right now, you need to calm down or they won’t tell us shit. Now go sit down and let me handle this.”

“Caleb—”

“Go.”

Taylor’s hands fisted and his teeth were grinding together, but he did what Caleb told him to do because he wanted to know where Jude was and everything, other than going to her family’s home—which he was threatened by Caleb not to do—he had tried had failed so far. From his chair he saw his lawyer discussing what seemed like the weather from the way they laughed and were so relaxed. After a few minutes, Caleb came over to Taylor, and said, “Let’s go.”

“Where is she?”

“We’ll discuss it outside.”

They walked out onto the busy sidewalk and down half a block before Caleb stopped and said, “She’s with her parents. We could have assumed that since she wasn’t under arrest. That leaves us to file papers on her behalf if you feel she still wants to pursue her rights at this point.”

“What are you talking about?” Taylor asked, crossing his arms over his chest. “Why wouldn’t she?”

“Because she went willingly. She returned to these apparent monsters on her own.”

“No, she didn’t. They were going to arrest me. I would have fought for her. She knows that. She went to protect me.”

“But right now, we don’t have a statement from her saying that or to back that as her claim. We only have that she returned to their home willingly.”

“We need to go. They’ll send her right back to Bleekman’s.”

“As your lawyer, I’m advising you once again to stay away from the Boehler residence until we have the law on our side. They can have you arrested on a number of charges, Taylor, and those arrests will make it more difficult to change the guardianship.” He sighed. “I know this is har—”

“No, you fucking don’t know. You don’t know what it’s like to live with the knowledge they’re abusing her emotionally and physically. When I saw her strapped to that damn bed at the hospital, she was so drugged she was unconscious, her face was pale, and her lips were dry, which means they hadn’t given her anything to eat or drink in about sixteen hours at that point. Look me in the eyes and tell me you could see someone you love like that and just sit around and wait.”

He looked away, and then down the street, anywhere but at him. When he turned to face Taylor again, his voice was lower. “Work. Within. The. System. We’ll get her freed, but in the meantime, you have to use the law against them. Vigilante actions only hurt our case and ultimately, her.”

“I’ll give you two hours.”

“Three.”

“Fine. Three. You better fucking get the paperwork sorted out by then.”

Two hours later Taylor got the call he didn’t see coming. Caleb said, “They’ve filed for a restraining order against you. It was approved until we can prove otherwise. I’ve already sent in the request for an expedited hearing on the case. I’m waiting to hear back.”

Taylor sat there on the couch, numb. His emotions seeped into his voice, which were disillusioned and stunned. “A fucking restraining order? Against me? Are you kidding?”

“Unfortunately, I’m not.”

He was grappling for anything that would keep him afloat from the despair that waited to devour him. “Is her name on it?”

“You can’t go near her, but no, she didn’t file it. Her stepfather did, and in the court’s eyes, that’s all that matters.”

“They should have the restraining order against them.” Now Taylor was pissed.

“We’re getting hit. It’s been brutal, but we have legal rights, we have plans in place. Let’s just continue on with the plan we’ve agreed to and when I get word on the hearing, I’ll call you back. In the meantime, don’t go over there. Don’t go near Judith.”

The hearing was set for four that afternoon after Caleb pulled strings and once the judge was assigned. He’d played cards with him twice and used that relationship to benefit his client.

Seven hours later, Caleb and Taylor stood there in his chambers across the table from the Boehler’s family lawyer. Jude was not there, neither was any family member. That was probably safer for them considering Taylor’s contempt.

When the judge sat down, he looked tired. Taylor didn’t feel this would bode well for them, but Caleb seemed confident. The judge said, “I’ve read the arguments on both sides and I’m curious how this case even came to be. You have Mr. Barrett on one side that has shown exemplary behavior and is from a prominent family in our fine community. They’ve raised millions through charity work over the years. He’s well educated and a hard worker with a respected architecture track record.” He paused to look at Taylor as if to verify his findings from the file. Then he pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose, and added, “Then you have the Boehlers, who have filed this order against Mr. Barrett in protection of their daughter who is currently under their care—legally.” He glanced at the Boehler lawyer but didn’t seem impressed. “So what’s this really about?”

Caleb spoke up. “Judge Matthews, the Boehler family is not protecting their daughter, but are putting her in harm’s way. Mr. Barrett can testify to the conditions she is put under as well as recall the gruesome details of what she has told him privately regarding her treatment under the ‘care’ of her family and doctors at Bleekman’s. But beyond that, Mr. Barrett is Judith Boehler’s husband. They were married two weeks ago—”

The other lawyer interrupted, “I’d like to speak to that so-called marriage.”

“It’s not a so-called marriage,” Caleb interjected. “It’s a legal, binding agreement between two people who love each other.”

The judge’s attention was volleying between the two lawyers.

The Boehler lawyer said, “Judge Matthews, the Boehler family feels their daughter Judith was coerced under stress and medication to go along with this marriage plot.”

“Fuck you!” Taylor stood and shouted, slamming his hands on the shiny wooden table between them. “I love her and she loves me. There was no coercion.”

Caleb grabbed Taylor’s arm and Taylor sat. “Please let me handle this, Taylor.”

Caleb questioned the other lawyer. “What is this coercion based on? She wasn’t on drugs at the time because she was with my client. She’s only drugged when she’s with your clients. So she got married on her own accord—”

“Like she left him of her own accord this morning.”

“She left because the police said they would arrest my client if she didn’t go with them.”

The other lawyer smiled. “You’re really reaching. The family, with consent from their daughter, filed this restraining order against your client.” He opened his file. “Besides, he’s abusive and is trying to brainwash her against her own parents.” Scoffing, he glanced to the judge for what appeared to be extra drama. Setting three photos of Jude in front of the judge, he said, “The photos speak for themselves. This is the current state of her body—bruises on her upper spine, collarbone area, and around her ribs. All places distinctly chosen by your client so they couldn’t be seen by her family.”