Discovering my street is completely blocked off, I park a few roads down. I see most of my neighbors gawking on their lawn as I sprint towards the house.

"Don't you have anything better to do?" I yell, glaring at them.

Pushing my way through the horde of onlookers, I finally reach the yard. I see an officer dragging Julia towards his car when I glance around. I then notice the handcuffs and shackles dangling from her extremities.

"You can't go in there, Sir," a young officer states, stepping in front of me.

"She's my client and this is my house," I protest, trying to dodge past him.

He steps in front of me again."You can talk to your client at the jail," he says, pushing me to the sidewalk.

"Why are you taking her to jail when it's clearly self-defense?" I ask, pointing to my door. Seeing the officer turn towards the house, I try ducking past him, he quickly spins around.

"The detectives will sort it out at the station."

Looking around I see yellow tape strung across the yard.

"Please help me, Larry, please," Julia begs as the cop drags her to the car.

"Don't say a word until I get there," I yell, sprinting to my car.

~~~

Larry

The detective is typing away at the keyboard when I step into the station.

"Hey, Sir, stop, you can't go back there." The dispatcher yells as I cross the room.

Hearing a loud commotion, the detective looks up from his desk.

"Can I help you, Sir?" he asks, rising from his chair.

"Where's the captain?"

"He's busy right now, but If ..."

I dash down the hallway before the detective has time to finish.

The sergeant is standing by the door when I race down the hall. Giving her the evil eye, I throw the metal barrier open.

Julia is crying in her seat when I storm into the room.

"Larry," she cries, wiping her face with a tissue.

I see she's still in handcuffs and shackles when I cross the room.

"Is all of this hardware really necessary, Captain?" I ask, lifting up her chafed wrists.

"She assaulted one of my officers as she was trying to flee," he quickly explains.

"She assaulted an officer?" I question, glancing towards my client.

"No, I didn't, Larry. I tripped over your shoes and landed on top of the detective."

Joe gives her a suspicious look.

"That's what happened, honest it was," she cries.

"The cuffs don't have to be so tight, do they?"

"No, I guess not." Grabbing a key, he loosens them a bit.

"Thank you," she says, rubbing around the metal.

"I don't understand why she's here in the first place when the evidence clearly shows she shot the man in self-defense."

"How can it be self-defense, when the bullet entered from the side of his body, and not the front?"

"He tried to dodge out of the way, and that's when the bullet hit him," Julia explains.

"Why were you waving the revolver around on the porch?"

"I wasn't waving it around. I ran through the house trying to get away, and I stepped out on the porch with the weapon in my hand."

"I'm still charging her with assault with a deadly weapon."

"She obviously had no intentions of doing any bodily harm."

"Who's to say she didn't want to take down a few more before she's arrested?"

"She killed the guy in self-defense."

"So she claims."

"So she claims? Look at my door, Joe, just look." Holding my phone up to his face, I continue.

"It's lying in the entryway completely demolished," I yell, slamming my fist on the table.

"I...I ran out of the house in fear of my life not to harm someone else," Julia tearfully explains.

"Why did you run back inside, if you were so scared?"

"I didn't know what else to do."

"The most you can charge her with is brandishing a weapon, Captain and you know it."

Julia looks up at me with fear in her eyes, I wink in response.

"The DA believes we can show intent to do harm," he says, handing me a folder.

I quickly scan through the lengthy report, getting angrier with every fraudulent sentence.

"This report is preposterous, Joe, and you know it," I say, slamming it down on the table.

The photos scatter across the table, Julia gasps in horror. Not wanting to upset her further, I toss them back in the folder.

Julia looks up at me, tears streaming down her face.

"I...I told him about the car that's been following me," Julia softly replies.

"What car?" I ask, stunned by her news.

"The one that follows me through town, the same one I saw outside the house today."

"When did this happen?" I ask.

"It was right before that man burst through the door."

"Do you know who your victim is?" Joe questions.

"I've never seen him before in my life."

"Really?"

"Honest, Captain."

"I find that hard to believe since he is your brother-in-law."

"Brother-in-law, no, Bill doesn't have a brother."

"No, but Andy does."

"Andy?"

"Yeah, you know your first husband, the one you brutally stabbed to death."

"I killed him in self-defense after he beat and raped me."

"That seems to happen a lot to you, doesn't it?"

"No."

"First there was your husband, Andy." Joe opens the folder.

"And then him." He points to a picture in the folder. Seeing Julia staring at the photo, he quickly continues.

"Was the guy in the alley self-defense too?" he asks, pointing to the third gruesome photo.

"I...I didn't do that, I swear I didn't." Julia cries.

"Enough of your fishing expedition, Joe," I say, closing the folder again.

"Her husband's death is out of your jurisdiction and she's already been arraigned on the stabbing. So you can either charge her with something new or she's free to go."

"If that's how you want to play this, then fine. Julia Moffett, you're under arrest for assaulting a police officer and blandishment."

"Do something, Larry," Julia tearfully begs.

"You know we'll beat these charges, Joe."

"We'll just see about that."

The door squeaks open, the DA steps in the room.

"After reviewing the video I believe it was self-defense, and that she didn't mean to do bodily harm on the porch. As far as assaulting an officer, a body camera shows her tripping on a shoe."

"So she's free to go?"

"Yes, under the conditions previously outlined by the court."

~~~

Julia

Not wanting to be at the house by myself, I decided to help Larry in court.

"Call your next witness, counselor."

"The defense rests, your Honor."

"We'll hear closing arguments tomorrow, court is adjourned."

"This is it, Julia," Larry nervously says.

I see the fear in his eyes. "I know you can do it, Larry, I just know you can."

"He better hope he does, for his daughter's sake." Marty smiles.

I give him a deadly stare. "Let's get out of here, Larry," I say, scooping up the rest of his papers.

"I do need to polish my closing arguments."

"See you tomorrow, Vinnie," Larry says.

"Yeah, tomorrow," he anxiously replies, glancing towards his uncle.
~~~
Julia

The short drive home is quiet with both of us lost in our thoughts.

I'm thinking about how much I missed my babies, and how I long to hold them again. I then start thinking back to all the happy times we spent together. I'll have more precious moments like that real soon, I think, wiping the tears from my cheek.

Looking over, I see Larry is miles away. I know he's fighting his own battles and my drama is only causing him more grief.

I have to stay strong for him, I think, gulping back the tears.

"Home at last," he halfheartedly says, pulling into the drive.

I wasn't too sure I wanted to go in there, after everything that happened today. Be brave, Julia, I think, trudging across the lawn.

"My buddy did a good job on the door," he says, swinging it back and forth.

Looking over, I see a small rug covering the bloody mess.

"My buddy took care of that too."

"Thank you, Larry," I say, plopping down on the couch.

Dropping his keys on the table, Larry plops down beside me.

"Everything will be alright," he says, gently brushing the hair away from my tear- streaked face.

"You promise?"

"Yes."

I feel his lips brush against mine as his hand gently massages my breast. He squeezes my nipples through the thin fabric as his lips move down my neck.

"Oh, Larry," I moan as his hot breath travels down my chest.

I feel his hands unfasten my blouse and then unclasp my bra.

"Everything will be fine," he smiles, caressing my hard nipple with his tongue.

~~~

Larry

I'm polishing up closing arguments when my phone rings.

"Who is it, Larry?" Julia asks.

"It's my wife, Jen," I say, scooping up the phone.

"Is everything alright?" I ask, clenching the phone, afraid of what I might hear.

"Closing arguments are tomorrow, Larry," the caller states.

"Who is this?" I ask, putting it on speaker so Julia can hear.

"Let's just say I'm a friend of the family." He laughs.

"Where's Lilly and Jen, are they ok?"

"They're standing right beside me, aren't you girls?"

"Daddy," Lilly cries.

"That's enough," the voice firmly states.

"You better not harm one hair on my little girl's head, you got that?" I say, pacing across the room.

"I'd be more concerned about winning this case than what I'm doing to your family."

I picture Lilly being held down in bed, the strange man lying on top of her.

"So help me God, if you..."

"Win the case and I won't."

"I want to talk to my daughter."

"How about you speak to your wife, she's just dying to talk to you."

"Is that supposed to be some sort of a sick joke or something?"

The caller laughs.

A few seconds later, I hear Jen's voice on the phone.

"Hello, Larry," she weakly replies.

"Jen?"

"Please do what they say, Larry, Please, for mine and Lilly's sake."

"Is Lilly alright?"

"She is for now, but she won't be if you don't win this case. So please do your best tomorrow. Please, Larry, please win this case," she bawls.

"I think you've spoken to her long enough," the kidnapper says,

I hear the phone being shuffled around.

"You better win this case if you want to keep your family alive," he says, disconnecting the call.

"I have to win this case, I just have to," I cry, crumbling to the floor.

.