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Lachlan was sitting on the bed with his eyes closed, head resting against the wall, when she walked in. At the sound of her footsteps, his eyes opened, landing on her. His face softened when he saw who it was.
“Hey,” he said, sounding tired. She wondered if he’d slept at all last night.
“Hey, how are you doing?” she asked, unlocking the cell and stepping inside. She locked it behind her—it was protocol, and Mitch was all about protocol.
“Bored, restless, worried...” He gave a lopsided grin. “You want me to keep going?”
Bethenny smiled, glad he could crack a joke even under these circumstances. “Sounds about right,” she said. “I just had an interesting chat with your lawyer.”
His lips pressed together ever so slightly. “They sent the best they have,” he said.
Bethenny nodded. “It seems you earned quite the reputation,” she said.
He raised an eyebrow. “I care little for reputation. I was given jobs and I did them well.”
“Perhaps you’re being too modest.”
His eyes narrowed. “What exactly did she say to you?”
Bethenny shrugged. “It doesn’t matter. I came here to ask your opinion on something, actually.”
He turned so he was facing her directly. “I’m all ears.”
“Can I trust her?” Bethenny asked, watching him closely.
His eyes narrowed. “Honestly, I don’t know. I’ve seen her before while working another case, but today was my first time meeting her. Thankfully, I haven’t required her services prior to this point in time. She’s good at what she does, and her track record speaks for itself.”
Bethenny nodded slowly. “Does she win at any cost? Does she bend the rules? Does she break them?” she asked, referring back to the conversation they’d had a few days ago.
He paused, searching her eyes. “What did she say to you?” he asked again, but this time his voice was laced with concern.
Bethenny shrugged. “Nothing, I just need to know who I’m dealing with. It’s my job to find the evidence, and I’m wondering how nice she’s going to be if...” She didn’t finish the sentence because she knew if she didn’t find the evidence, he would spend the rest of, or at least a large portion of, his life in prison.
“Did she threaten you?” he asked, his eyebrows weaving together.
“No,” she said without hesitation.Not directly.“It would just help if I knew what I was dealing with.”
He studied her for a long moment. “I’m sorry you’re dealing with this, and I’m even sorrier I can’t help you. You came to a small town to get away from this and I brought it to your feet.” He looked away but not before she saw his clenched jaw.
“Don’t feel bad for me,” she said. “This is my job, and I can handle it.”
He looked back to her, his face softening. “That’s not what I meant,” he said quickly. “I... I wish we could go back to playing Risk. Honestly, that was the happiest I’ve been in a long time.”
His confession was sad, but she felt the same way. She took his hand, squeezing it.
“We’re getting you out of here. I promise,” she said, looking into his eyes. She had no idea how she was going to fulfill that promise, but she had to find a way.
He gave her hand a gentle squeeze back.
“I’m going to spend the next day looking over the officers’ intel for all of the cases: Eden, Jessica, and Kiera. Somehow they’re all linked, though I have no idea how,” she said. It was the best she could do until they got another lead.
He nodded. “Sounds like a plan, boss,” he said with a smile.
“Temporary boss. Remember that. I need you to stay positive and think of any detail—no matter how small—about your previous cases that could be linked. If this is a revenge killing, there’s a link. Can you get access to those case files?”
He paused, seeming to think about that. “I’ll ask Emma.”
She nodded. “I need to get back to my desk and do some work,” she said, her eyes dropping to her watch. “You’re due in front of the magistrate in a few hours.”
