Page 92 of Hades

I feel so alone, with none of the people who are supposed to have my back showing up for me. I have Hades and I love that, but he can’t help me keep my license. I wish I could do more.

Twenty minutes and a lot of small talk later, we arrive at Atticus’ office.

As soon as we enter the building, the vibe is completely different than the one we just left. The place screams professionalism, and everyone is dressed like they mean business.

“You must be Hades and Evelyn. Mr. Hale will see you now. Just go straight back to the corner office on the left,” the man behind the front desk says.

“Thank you,” I say as Hades starts walking.

“Do you want me to wait out here in the lobby?” he asks softly as we make our way down the hall.

“What’s the point? You already know everything as it is. Atticus is the club attorney. I don’t have to keep a professional image here.”

When we reach Atticus’ door, Hades knocks once.

“Come in,” a voice says from the other side.

Hades opens the door, and I step in ahead of him, right as Atticus stands.

“Evelyn, I’m sorry we are meeting under these circumstances,” he says, holding out his hand.

I shake it and offer him a smile. “You and me both. I appreciate you meeting with me. I know this isn’t your typical type of law.”

He shakes Hades’ hand, then turns back to me. “I really don’t mind. It’s always good to go outside of your comfort zone. It keeps you sharp. Please sit.”

This meeting is already going ten times better than my last one. He’s wearing a suit, he clearly took a shower this morning, and there’s not a crumb in sight.

“Now, I hope you don’t mind, but I had Trigger send over everything he could, and I’ve had a look, but I want to hear it from your point of view. Tell me what happened.”

Quickly, I run through the story from the first time I met Melanie to the time she coded. Everything she told me and how she begged for help.

“I didn’t do this. I would never intentionally hurt, let alone kill, a patient.”

He offers me a small smile. “I don’t think you would. Killing goes against almost every doctor’s DNA.”

“I don’t know what to do, and my union representative had no plans on fighting this for me.”

“I’m honestly not surprised about that. Most of those people, no matter the field, are just there to fill positions,” he says in disgust, shaking his head.

“So what do I do?”

Hades reaches over and holds my hand, trying to comfort me.

Atticus claps his hands. “Well, you aren’t in this alone. I’m going to do what I can to help you. Next we are going to submit the request for the camera feeds for the ER floor. We don’t need this as Trigger has footage, but it will explain how we have the footage when we present our evidence.”

“Then what?”

I wait for the other shoe to drop. For him to tell me it’s hopeless and to prepare to lose my job.

Neither of those things happen, though. Instead, he smiles.

“I’m the best at my job for a reason. Leave it to me. By the end of this, you’ll not only keep your medical license and job, but we will nail the bastard who is trying to frame you to the wall. Might even get a payday out of it if they fight too hard.”

I breathe out a sigh of relief. “You think we have a good shot?”

Atticus chuckles. “No. I know we are going to win. You should know it too. Now run me through what happened step by step.”

With that, I finally feel okay again. Like I can see the light at the end of the tunnel.