Page 66 of The Inquirer

“I blame everyone for not believing me.” Other than Kaimi, I’d never said that to another person. I hadn’t even said it to any of the therapists I’d been forced to see.

“If Ambrose didn’t believe you, then why would he feel guilty for not stoppin’ Art?”

I opened my mouth and realized I had no answer because I hadn’t thought the question until the moment Bradyn said it. Now that it was in my head, though, I only had one response.

“Motherfucking bastard.”

“I don’t understand.”

Sharp pain in my palms made me realize I’d been digging my nails into my own skin. I put my hands flat on the table as I explained, “If he’s been doing all this for me since I accused Art, why didn’t he tell everyone that he believed me? I was a kid, and everyone said I was lying. My mom. My sister. Everyone. I didn’t have a single person on my side.”

Bradyn reached across and rested his fingers on mine, not holding them, just touching. “I wish I could’ve protected you from all of them.”

A lump formed in my throat, and I had to swallow hard before speaking. “Thank you.”

We sat like that for a minute before I pulled back and returned to the original topic.

“So, Ambrose says he didn’t know that the case Min had would end up in Savannah, let alone connect to a family who employs his family’s law firm, but I don’t know if I can believe him.”

Yeah, I repeated a bit, but I needed my head back into this rather than the new revelation that Ambrose had believed me this whole time but never said a word.

I could be pissed off about that later.

“You think he has an ulterior motive?” Bradyn followed the change smoothly. “For the case, I mean. I can see guilt being the primary motive for him trying to help you, but how would sending you to Savannah and having you deal with his family’s law firm make him feel like he was atoning for something wrong?”

“It doesn’t,” I admitted. “Which is what makes this whole thing more confusing.” I sighed. “I’ve been having this argument in my head about coincidence and fate, and this just makes it worse. I mean, if he didn’t know anything about the case other than it needed someone to research it, then is it coincidence that he sent it my way or is it some fucked-up kind of fate?”

I got up to refill my coffee and then admitted that more caffeine was probably not the best idea for me right now. I rinsed the cup and put it in the sink. As I moved to the fridge, I felt Bradyn’s eyes on me, but he didn’t say anything.

“I think I’m making this more complicated than it needs to be,” I said as I took out two bottles of water, then returned to my seat. “Basically, I’m trying to figure out if I should just stay here and consider my work done, now that I know who it came from, or should I see it through, even if it means I might have to confront members of the Check family, who’d probably like to kill me.”

I had a feeling Bradyn thought I was being overly dramatic with that last bit, but I was serious. The entire Check family, except for Ambrose, wanted me dead. I didn’t plan to get into that, though. I’d shared a lot with Bradyn in the short time we’d known each other, but I wasn’t ready to tell him everything yet.

“Would the whole coincidence or fate thing make a difference?” he asked.

I gave myself a full minute to consider the question. “Probably not.”

“Does the person who sent Min to you change the way you feel about the case? Pick some other asshole to be the one who sent Min. Everything else is the same. Quality of representation would be the same. Cost. Everything but that one element.”

I didn’t really need to think about it. “I’d see it through to the end. It’s about the client getting justice.”

“I think that’s your answer then.”

He was right. Ambrose was a good lawyer, and he’d treat the Douglasses fairly. I was certain about that. With how important this case could be, not just for Kathie’s family, but also for the Huxleys, and for whatever precedent it could set, it didn’t matter if I had personal issues with the senior partner at Min’s law firm. This was bigger than me.

“I’m going back.”

He didn’t try to hide his relief, and that made me a little worried. Even if I spent another couple weeks in Savannah, I’d still be coming back here. I cared about Bradyn more than I’d ever cared about a guy, but Kaimi and Rose were here. Sitara too. She might’ve been new family, but she was family. Bradyn and I would have to have a talk soon about the distance between our homes, but that wasn’t something we had to discuss today.

One damn step at a time.

If I was going to do this, though, I needed a little more time to wrap my head around Ambrose’s involvement. I had to separate my feelings toward him from everything else so that I could work with Min. I did believe that Ambrose hadn’t told her the whole truth when it came to why he was sending me work, so I didn’t have any bad feelings toward her at least.

“Do we have a specific day for our return flight?” I asked.

“No, I left it open.”

“What do you think about staying through the weekend and going back on Monday? I’d like to spend a little more time with Kaimi, Sitara, and Rose, and it’d probably be a good idea for me to catch up on any messages or mail in my office.”

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