“Levi. Did you hear that?” Carnell says, closer than ever.
Leo holds his breath.
Even though Carnell can’t see him hiding behind the still-open door, all it would take is for him to poke his head into the not-so-empty meeting room for Leo’s last-second hiding spot to be discovered.
“Court has been called into session. I have to go,” Lang says from directly outside the doorway.
His footsteps fade quickly down the hallway.
Carnell lingers for a heart-stopping moment, his hand resting on the doorjamb as though he might step inside.
But without an audience to entertain, he loses interest.
With a sneer, he and his henchman finally slither away like the snakes they are.
Leo exhales the breath he hadn’t realized he was holding, air escaping in a whoosh as he bends over to steady himself.
Fuck, that was close.
The tension still buzzes in his chest.
Then it hits him—court’s in session.
Straightening up, Leo jogs back the way he came, marveling at how he managed to get so lucky.
Hayes is already being led in by the time Leo hurries up the aisle and slides into his new seat between Rowan and Finn off the narrow aisle closeto the wall.
Gideon has finally claimed his seat on the center aisle, with Luca next to him in Gideon’s old spot.
Luca looks calmer now that he has Gideon to watch out for, and Gideon looks a bit scent-drunk—which Leo supposes is better than being incarcerated.
Finn leans in to whisper, “Where did you go?”
Now isnotthe time for Leo to share with his pack about Carnell’s hand in today’s proceedings.
So he shakes his head.
“You’ll tell me later?”
“Yeah.”
He grabs his alpha’s hand and doesn’t let go.
Leo’s view of Hayes is better (worse?) from this angle, and once again, he’s only got eyes for Jay.
Hayes hears the door, and his head turns toward the back of the courtroom, visibly perking up when it’s not Carnell.
Whatever Carnell has in mind,Leo thinks,Hayes knows nothing about it.
The judges’ door bangs open, and Judge Patel enters with the same flurry of black robes as when she’d left an hour prior.
Only the Goddess knows if that’s good or bad.
The crowd barely has time to get to its feet before she’s banging her gavel loudly.
“Sit.”
Judge Sanderson shakes his head and addresses Hayes.
