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“I’ve read it,” I say, making my way around my desk.
“How? The ACA only just submitted it today.”
I glance up. “I read it at the police station.”
Halted at the door, he stares at me, a hard line bracketing his mouth. “Whatever’s going on with you, get it under control. The ACA submitted an emended statement, Larkin. Stating the victim was suffering shock during her first interview and now recalls more details of the attack.” He sighs a lengthy breath. “The Commonwealth knows your tactics. They’re building a strong case. So…just consider the ramifications.”
He’s never feared any ramifications from the Commonwealth before. I eye him suspiciously. “Do you think the Commonwealth wants a conviction bad enough to plant evidence?”
My question wipes the stern expression from his face. “That’s a dangerous game, Larkin. Personally, I wouldn’t go down that road.”
I hold his stare a moment longer, waiting out his poker face. Then it’s there; his tell. Just the slightest tick of his eye. Gannet wanted Bates inducted into The Firm, or he wanted to use his request as a means to feel out my loyalty to my client—whether I believe in his innocence. Now he’s going to push for a vote to have our representation removed from Bates.
He has an agenda, but I’m just not sure what it is. Not completely. Making me look incompetent on this case could swing the partner vote in his favor for a takeover. And that might be all it is. But there’s an unsettling feeling I can’t shake—like this goes deeper.
“All right,” I say, dismissing him. “Later this week.”
Once he’s gone, I pick up my phone and pull up a text to Alexis. My thumb hovers over the onscreen keyboard, my brow creased as I consider whether or not I want her on this case anymore.
Before last night, I held no reservations, but seeing how I’m struggling to keep my personal feelings from affecting my judgment—a rarity for me—I can’t help but want Alexis far away from all of this.
“Fuck.” I shove the phone in my pocket and jam my fingers through my hair.
Motivation is key. A person’s motivation drives every decision, whether right or wrong. A bad choice can feel like the only right course, if your motivation is strong enough. I used to have no trouble deciphering my motivations.
Then Alexis complicated things. I want to punch myself for thinking it—it’s such a prick excuse. Only it’s the truth.
Right now, my motivation is to get a handle on this case, then get control over the chaotic force annihilating my life. But I knew how dangerous she was for me before I went there—I knew she’d upset my world. I just didn’t believe I’d fall for her as hard as I have.
I tap the intercom. “Julia, bring me every document that ACA sent over.”
“Yes, sir. But I thought you wanted—”
“Now,” I grate. “And give Miss Wilde the day off. Have Jefferson take her…wherever she wants.”
The pause on the other end of the line almost makes me question my directive. Then Julia’s, “Yes, sir,” seals my resolve. I can’t do my job if I’m thinking about Alexis. And I can’t stop thinking about her when she’s so damn near.
I need her away from all this filth of the rape case.
I groan, knowing I’ll suffer her dejection later. Hell, I don’t know how the others get anything done at all with their fucking subs trotting all over the floor. Then I smile, shaking my hea
d at my own idiocy.
They’re not in love.
I am.
There’s the fucking truth of it.
If Bates is guilty—and he better pray the evidence proves otherwise—then maybe pulling my representation is for the best. I don’t want to concede to Gannet, but I can’t defend a rapist. At one point, sidelining my own convictions for the law wasn’t an issue.
The law is the law. The law is rules and order. It’s steadfast.
However, things have changed.
Change.
That pesky inevitability.
