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….
Courting Justice
NEW YORK TIMES AND USA TODAY BESTSELLING AUTHOR
Brenda Jackson
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
“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