Page 7 of Lawyer

“Fine. Talk.”

“I need to know why you’re selling drugs for Lucas,” I start bluntly.

“Why do you need to know that?”

“It’ll help with your case,” I reply. “If we can sell the prosecutor a good story and feed them a bad guy like Lucas, we might get you out of this mess unscathed.”

“I’m not a good story, Silas. I’m a real person.”

I squeeze my fist shut and take a breath, silently counting to ten as I do my best to maintain my patience. I take a swallow of my scotch and look out over the downtown skyline. When I feel calm enough to speak, I set my glass down and turn to Aria.

“We need to present the prosecutor with a version of your life and how you ended up dealing for Lucas that will make her feel good about cutting you a deal,” I say. “Now, tell me why you’re dealing in the first place.”

I watch the emotions cycling across her face. Aria quickly moves from sadness to anger, to bitterness, to obstinacy. She narrows her eyes as she looks at me and clenches her fists on the tabletop, her face becoming a mask of frustration. And fear. She takes a swallow of her cosmopolitan and squares her shoulders, clearing her throat as she looks at me.

“My parents died when I was still a teenager. My brother is five years younger than me, so he was just a kid. When they died, they left us with nothing,” she says, her voice firm and taut. “I had to find ways to make money just to keep us fed. As I got older, I started to deal because the money was good. It was great, actually. My brother was starting to get involved with some bad people though. I knew if I didn’t do something, I’d lose him to the streets. So, I started saving as much as I could and by the time he was ready for high school, I’d made enough to send him to a private school back east.”

“Christ, Aria,” I say. “Why didn’t you ask somebody for help—”

“Who? Like social services? I was not about to put myself or my little brother into the system. They would have split us up and I would probably never see him again,” she growls. “I wasn’t going to let that happen. So, I’ve been doing what I’ve had to do for years now.”

“But why deal drugs?”

“It’s not like I have an education or the skills to do something else right now, Silas. I just barely got through high school as it was. And forget about college,” she snaps.

Her story resonates with me. She needs me to help her and that’s exactly what I intend to do. I’m sure she’s going to tell me she doesn’t need my help. Or that she doesn’t want it. But she’s going to get my help anyway. I can tell Aria’s a good person who’s just run into some bad circumstances. She’s not like the depraved and arrogant scumbags I’m usually paid to keep out of prison. Selling drugs might not be the smartest path she could have chosen but given her situation, it might have been the only path open to her.

We sit and talk for the next couple of hours and I’m able to coax more of her story out of her. Or maybe it’s the four cosmos she’s had that do the trick. Whatever the reason, I think I’ve got a better, fuller picture of my client. Of the woman I am going to make my own.

“Would you go to college? If you had the means and all,” I ask.

“Well… yeah. That’s been my plan all along. My little brother is graduating this year and I’ve always been planning to use the money I’m making with Lucas to pay my own way into college,” she tells me. “Of course, now that I’ve been arrested and I’ve pissed off Lucas, I don’t see him inviting me back to work for him. Not unless it’s as one of the girls he runs.”

“He runs girls in addition to drugs?”

She nods.

“And you’re certain of this?”

“Yeah. I’ve been dealing with Lucas for years now. I’ve got a pretty good idea of what his business model looks like.”

“Okay. Good. That’s good,” I reply. “But like I told you before, if you want out from under this, you’re going to need to get comfortable with the idea that you’re going to have to testify against him in open court. And I hope I don’t need to tell you that the more ammunition we have to use against him, the better it is for you.”

I can see the reticence in her face, but she remains silent. She’ll come around though. She’s a smart girl and she’s not going to take the full rap on this. Nor should she. But there is one more point in all of this I want to make just to really drive it home for her.

“Think about your brother, Aria. You don’t want him to have to come visit you in prison, do you?” I press.

Her frown deepens and her expression darkens as she turns away from me. I think I’ve made my point and so, I finish up my drink and set the glass down on the table.

“Come on. I should probably go ahead and get you home,” I say.

“Sending me to bed?” she asks, her tone dripping with sarcasm.

“Be nice or I’ll turn you over my knee,” I reply with a grin, but she doesn’t return it.

We get to our feet and head to the elevators. As the car descends, I’m once again overwhelmed by the urge to get a room, throw Aria down onto the bed, and fill her with my seed. I just want to dispose of this case. I want to get her out of legal jeopardy and be done with that aspect of our relationship because the sooner I do, the sooner I’ll be able to make her mine.

And she’s going to be mine. No question about it.

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