By Any Other Name Read Online Free Page B

neck as he wheezed. She tried to inch away, tried to get some space between them, but every time she shifted he seemed to move with her, pressing himself into her, brushing against the curve of her ass and driving her short skirt up further.
    Worst elevator ride ever.
    The man got off on the tenth floor, glancing back and giving her a playful wink. She shuddered as the doors closed again. Ugh, gross .
    The elevator seemed to stop on every single floor on the way up, so by the time she made it to the twenty-third, she was actually fifteen minutes late for her hearing. She sprinted into the courtroom, shoving the door open so hard it disrupted the judge in the middle of proceedings. All eyes turned to her as awkward silence permeated the room. Oops .
    "Sorry," she muttered to no one in particular as the judge turned his focus back on the case at hand. Her eyes scanned the courtroom, seeking out the lawyer her father had hired, and found him standing up front… with Jackson. Wonderful .
    Jackson looked uncomfortable, dressed in a too-big black suit that did no justice to his physique; his hair was cut neatly, not the shaggy mop it used to be. She was so fixated on how he looked that she nearly missed the judge's words.
    "This case is adjourned in contemplation of dismissal. I'm setting a court date for six months from now. If you can stay out of trouble until then, all charges will be dropped."
    The judge banged his gavel, a small wave of murmurs flowing through the courtroom as Jackson smiled, his shoulders sagging with relief. He turned to leave, striding right by Genna, so close their arms brushed together, but he didn't so much as even look her way.
    The entire thing reeked of Primo.
    "Next on the docket is The People versus Genevieve Galante ."
    Sighing, Genna tore her gaze away from the door where Jackson had disappeared out of and approached the lawyer still lingering at the front of the courtroom. He smiled politely at her as he shifted through his stacks of paperwork, putting Jackson's on the bottom as he moved hers to the top. "This should be quick. The judge just needs to sign off on the plea agreement we made."
    "Why does Jackson get to walk free and I have to plead guilty?"
    "That's just the way it worked out," he replied, his voice casual, but Genna caught the hidden meaning in the words. That's the way Primo Galante arranged it . Regardless of if her father wanted to admit it to her or not, she knew half of the people in the courtroom were in his pocket in one way or another, whether they owed him favors or he paid them handsomely. How else did the man, career criminal, manage to stay out of jail all these years?
    "Miss Galante," the judge started, peering at her through a pair of thick wire-rimmed glasses. "The agreement made between your council and the district attorney for the lesser charge of unauthorized use of a motor vehicle in the third degree, a misdemeanor, is approved. The court hereby sentences you to 120 hours of community service and a $1000 fine. Your driver's license is also suspended until at which time you can complete your sentence."
    The bang of the gavel echoed through the room before they quickly called for the next case. Genna's lawyer motioned for her to step out, but she just stood there, gaping at the judge.
    "Is there an issue, Miss Galante?" the judge asked, eyeing her peculiarly when she refused to budge.
    She opened her mouth to argue, to point out how harsh that sentence was, but the lawyer cut her off and spoke up instead. "No problem, your honor. My client's grateful for the court's leniency today."
    Stepping in front of her, he physically led her away from the defendant's table and through the courtroom before she could really protest. She stepped away from him once they reached the hallway, throwing up her hands in disbelief. "You call that leniency ?"
    "It could've been worse," the lawyer said. "You could've gone to jail for the felony."
    She glared at him as he casually strode