Page 51 of Stolen By the Bratva King

“I’d rather just work for myself,” I admit.

“Wouldn’t’ we all.” She chuckles, but it sounds rhetorical.

My gaze steers to Veronica. “Did you see how he wasgloating?”

She nods emphatically. “I told you. It’s their generation. Power trip.” She taps her temple. “It’s all messed up in here. Must have started from a young age.”

I snort. “What’s our excuse, then?”

“We were raised by them.” Veronica sounds sad as she says it.

“There comes that naughty phrase, ‘generational trauma,’ again.”

“It’s not naughty if it’s true.” Veronica is stoic.

I chew my bottom lip. “I feel terrible for storming out on David like that the other night.”

Veronica frowns. “Why? It’s not your fault.”

“No. I mean, yeah. Iknowthat, but still. I feel sort of…I don’t know. Guilty?”

“You have nothing to feel guilty about,” Veronica reassures. “Do we need to go have that drink now, with lunch?”

I rock back and forth in my chair. “I know you’re just joking to make me feel better, but this really sucks.”

“Are you going to try to reach out to David?” she asks.

“And say what? That I screwed it up and I’m sorry he’s in jail?” My shoulders fall as I shake my head.

“Well, you said he wanted to put an end to the gun trafficking, right?”

“That’s what he told me,” I confirm.

“Do you think he was set up?” Veronica asks.

“It’s possible. He had this guy who worked for him that had his own crew on the side. I got the sense that there was some bad blood between them or something.”

“Maybe you could continue to work on the story, to bring justice to David,” Veronica suggests. “Be your own sleuth. Or his. Advocate on his behalf. If you really want to show him your sorry, that’s the best place to start.”

“Yeah,” I mutter, knowing she’s right. My ears ring with David’s voice calling out to me when I left his condo, and the pleading way he begged me to come back after he called me later that same night. “I’m a terrible person.”

“You arenota terrible person. You’re just confused. You are a journalist. You can still make this right, and clear David’s name. You have the platform to do it.”

I take a deep breath of resolve. “Thanks Veronica. For everything.”

“I’ll always be here for reassurance.” She winks at me.

I turn back to my computer screen. “Good, because if this is going to work, I’m going to need all the help I can get. I don’t want to screw this up again.”

Veronica rises from her chair and stands behind me, massaging her fingers into the dents of my shoulders. “Repeat after me. I’m a badass journalist who believes in justice for the right reasons.”

I repeat it like she asks.

“Now, look at me.”

I turn and face her. She stares into my soul. “Never doubt yourself. Because if you do, others will start to do it, also. Know your worth. And it’s a lot. Always stand up for what’s right.”

My eyes flutter closed, and I exhale through parted lips. “I’m going to fix this. Somehow.”

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