Brenda Jackson - Courting Justice

Sometimes the only crime is giving in to temptation...

Winning a high-profile case has given a huge boost to New York attorney DeAngelo Di Meglio’s career—and his love life. Too bad fame hasn’t helped him win the woman he’s been infatuated with for years. Tired of waiting and wondering, Angelo books a trip to the singles-only Bahamas resort where Peyton Mahoney is celebrating her thirtieth birthday. And just as he hoped, when they finally connect, the chemistry is mind-blowing….

Two weeks in paradise has given Peyton some sizzling memories. That’s all she expects—or wants—from a legendary player like Angelo. Having grown up on Chicago’s South Side, she is worlds away from his life of privilege. Then a controversial case puts them on opposing sides. And as sexual tension spills over from the courtroom to the bedroom, there’s no way they can ignore the undeniable attraction….

NEW YORK TIMES AND USA TODAY BESTSELLING AUTHOR

www.millsandboon.co.uk

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To the love of my life, Gerald Jackson, Sr. My one and only. Always. Happy 40th anniversary! And I’m looking forward to many, many more!

To everyone who enjoys reading about the Madarises, this one is especially for you.

Dear Reader,

I never imagined when I penned my first Madaris novel that I would still be going strong seventeen years later.

The Madaris family is special, not just because it is my first family series, but because over the years you’ve made them your family. I’ve often said that the Madaris men have become your heroes because they represent those things you desire—men whose looks not only take your breath away, but who have the ability to make you appreciate the fact that you’re a woman.

I set the stage for Courting Justice in my last three Madaris novels. The hero and heroine, De Angelo Di Meglio and Peyton Mahoney, take center stage in a love story that will leave you breathless until the end.

I hope you enjoy reading Courting Justice, the eighteenth book in the Madaris Family and Friends series.

All the best,

Brenda Jackson

For none of us liveth to himself, and no man dieth to himself.

—Romans 14:7

Contents

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

Chapter 27

Chapter 28

Chapter 29

Epilogue

Chapter 1

“This is Martin Long reporting live from the steps of the U.S. District courthouse in lower Manhattan. We’ve just been told that a verdict has been reached in the federal case against Senator Ivan Russ. So far the headlines have been dominated by the prosecutor and the defense attorney in the case—a legal battle between two high-profile lawyers dubbed the “Thriller Maxilla” and the “Italian Hellion.” According to sources, defense attorney DeAngelo Di Meglio has gotten his client, Senator Russ, acquitted on all charges. Government prosecutors, headed by Attorney Samuel Maxilla, were shocked when their key witness in the case broke down after only fifteen minutes on the stand under cross-examination from Di Meglio.”

The reporter shifted the microphone to his other hand. “Under relentless questioning by Di Meglio, Congresswoman Andrea Vermeil shocked everyone in the courtroom with her confession that she had framed Senator Russ in a conspiracy to embezzle over a half million dollars in campaign funds…”

DeAngelo Di Meglio tuned out the reporters surrounding him and braced himself for the onslaught of media that would descend on him the moment he left the courthouse. This case was what he’d worked hard for his entire career, one that would make him a household name, one that would put him at the top and establish his legal reputation. And now at the ripe old age of thirty-four and after practicing law for ten years, he’d finally done it.

“Mr. Di Meglio, how did the case come together?”

“Why didn’t the senator admit to the affair with the congresswoman to save himself?”

“Are you upset the senator wasn’t truthful with you about everything?”

The reporters’ questions came at him from every direction.

He’d had a gut feeling the moment Congresswoman Vermeil had taken the stand, and his instincts made him push her in his cross-examination. Maybe it was the “I’m about to hang you by the balls” look she’d given his client, Senator Russ, who denied having an affair with the congresswoman and was willing to risk prison time to keep the affair from his wife, who was terminally ill. DeAngelo shook his head. Ivan Russ had actually believed that it was better for his dying wife to believe he was an embezzler rather than find out he was unfaithful.

The reporters continued to bombard him with more questions despite his response of “no comment.”

“How do you feel about breaking this case?”

“What do you think about the federal prosecutors and how they handled the case?”

The scene outside the courthouse reminded DeAngelo of the very first time he’d lost a case and how he’d felt then. He remembered the advice his parents, both of whom were lawyers, had given him: If you can’t say anything nice about somebody, then don’t say anything at all.

He looked straight into the TV camera pointed in his face and said in a direct, confident voice, “No comment for now. We’ll answer questions at the press conference.”

A short while later he was back in his office, surrounded by family, friends, associates and the law firm staff. They had all dropped by his office to congratulate him on winning a case many had thought would last for weeks or months. In fact, a few had even assumed there was only a snowball’s chance in hell of winning the case. The federal prosecutors had boasted that they had an airtight case against the senator, and when they found a briefcase filled with half a million dollars buried in his backyard, many assumed he was guilty.

Although the evidence had been damaging, for some reason DeAngelo had believed Senator Russ’s claims of innocence. But DeAngelo had suspected the senator wasn’t being truthful when he’d asked him if he knew of anyone who would want to frame him. DeAngelo got the sense that Senator Russ was trying to hide something, trying to protect someone. But no matter how he’d tried, he couldn’t get Ivan Russ to tell him anything other than that he didn’t plant the money in his backyard.