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I open the file and sift through the photographs. I have to hand it to Indie; she completely outdid herself. When I asked her earlier this morning to go and see Charlie and help him get something on Eleanor, I expected backlash from her. Instead, she’s done as ordered, and she and Charlie have come up with the goods.
Standing from my seat, I hand the file to a confused-looking Eleanor. It takes her about three seconds after opening the file before her jaw drops open, and she looks up at me with daggers.
“So, as you can see, Miss Price. There is something here for both of you to lose. I will need the USB with the video on it, along with any copies of it you have made.”
The file contains a photo of Eleanor snorting something suspicious off a half-naked woman's chest, another one is a photo of her exchanging papers for money. I’m assuming she paid someone for college tests. Either way, it doesn’t look good. Police chief's daughter cheating her way through college. Another document shows a bank statement from her father with a large sum of money being deposited into the school Dean's personal account. That too looks suspicious.
I take the folder from her and pull out the last page, then hand it to her along with a pen. “This contract will need to be signed, stating that no further copies will be made, and if any are found, they will be immediately destroyed. You will cease any contact with my brother and refrain from sharing this contract or information with any persons. If for any reason the video becomes leaked, you will bear full responsibility for your indiscretions.”
These are the cases I enjoy the most. The ones where both parties are not innocent, and they both walk away tarnished and a little less of a person than they started out as. No one gets hurt further, and I can walk away with clean hands.
“You bastard.” Eleanor sniffles. “How dare you! You can’t do this.”
I smirk at her, leaning against my desk. I place my hands in my pockets and look down at her. “Oh, sweetheart, you started this war. I’m just ending it.”
“You're just as bad as your brother; you have no moral compass.” Eleanor bares her teeth at me like she is some kind of feral animal.
“Touché, Miss Price.”
“I’m not signing this. I’m being punished, and Liam just gets away scot-free.” She begins to stand.
“Don’t you worry about Liam. He will get what’s coming to him. I assure you. It’s in your best interest to sign the contract, Miss Price. So, sign it and walk away. Let this be over.”
She quickly scribbles her signature at the bottom of the contact, slams it into my chest, and storms out of my office, her sorry tail dragging behind her. Long and slow, I exhale my relief, picking up the phone to call my father. My call is cut short by Indie barging into my office, looking directly at me like she is about to end my life.
“I can’t believe you! When you asked me to help Charlie this morning, I had no idea that you were involving me in something illegal. I thought I was assisting you with a case, not blackmailing some poor young teenage girl.” She places her hands on her hips, fire almost breathing from her lungs. She’s mad!
I shake my head at her. “That poor young girl you're feeling so much sympathy towards was blackmailing my brother. She is not innocent, Indie.”
Indie glares at me. “What the hell were you doing in here with her for three hours? She was distraught, at best. You’ve most likely scared the girl for life.”
“Good. Then she will think twice next time about playing childish little games with grown men's lives.”
“She’s so young, for God's sake; you could have gone easier on her.”
I pick up the USB stick Eleanor left behind and shove it in Indie’s face. “Believe me, if you watched this video, you would see she is old enough to know better!”
Indie attempts to move the USB stick away. I grab her by the wrist and pull her close to me. I’m so close I can feel her heavy breaths on my face as her body tenses, and the blue of her eyes darken.
“What have I told you about barging into my office and yelling at me?” I want to pull her even closer to me, but at this moment, there’s nothing left between us except tension.
“Get your hands off me. You don’t scare me. I don’t give a shit what you said. You are unethical, and I won’t be a part of this.”
“I’m a lawyer, Indie. Everything I do is questionable.” My voice turns soft and husky as my eyes trace the outline of her perfect pink lips. God, I just want to feel them. I want to know if they are as soft as they look. Her chest rises and falls rapidly. I know she can feel this heat between us. I’m not holding her tight; she could release herself from me at any time she wants. She hasn’t though. Instinctively, I lick my bottom lip, imagining what she would taste like.
“Let me go,” she says breathlessly. I know she can feel this connection. She’s as drawn to me as I am to her. It’s almost uncontrollable. Almost inevitable.
“I may be a monster in your eyes, but I would never put you in danger. You do that all on your own, sweetheart.” I release her wrist; she immediately steps back looking at me as if I just stole something from her.
She points her finger at me. “Don’t you ever implicate me in your illegal shit again!” Once more, she leaves my office and slams the door behind her.
I can’t wait to rub this in Liam’s face. Better yet, I can’t wait to rub it in my father’s.
Chapter Fifteen
Indie
THE REMAINDER OF THE week drags on, as does the next. A handful of sketchy-looking clients have meetings with Roman, June tells me about her grandchildren for the hundredth time, and I’m sent on more errands around Boston like Roman’s slave. Lunch runs, document collections, more friggin dry cleaning, and the worst one was having to sit outside a courtroom waiting for Roman with a fresh coffee he had me fetch from the cafe he prefers all the way on the other side of the district.
