Page 36 of Indiscretion

“We had her body fluids on the sleeve of his shirt. There’s no way he didn’t do it.”

“So how did you get into it with him?”

“I kept visiting Lizzie after the trial was over. I’m describing all these developmental issues, but she still understood so much. And she loved having visitors. She would light up. I really enjoyed my time with her. We learned some TikTok dances together.” I smiled, thinking of how she would laugh when I played back whatever we’d recorded. “Anyway, long story short, a few months after the trial was over, I went to visit her one day, and one of the nurses told me Lizzie was leaving. Her uncle had decided to take her out of the assisted-living facility she’d spent her entire life in and take her home with him.”

“How the fuck can that happen?”

“I have no damn clue. I filed a petition with the court to stop it, but the uncle’s attorney pegged me as a disgruntled prosecutor. Lizzie’s case was the first trial I’d ever lost. And since he was found not guilty, in this judge’s eyes, the man was innocent. I argued that there was a difference between not guilty and innocent, but he allowed it anyway.”

“What a shit show.”

I nodded. “Anyway, to cut to the end of the story, the afternoon the judge handed down his decision, I was beside myself. I knew I couldn’t see that pedophile in the hallway or get stuck riding in the same elevator as him, so I went to the ladies’ room in the courthouse, where I broke down and had a good cry. It was already late in the day, so not long after, one of the court officers popped her head in to tell me they were locking up. The halls were pretty much empty on the third floor of the courthouse—or so I thought, until I rounded the turn that led to the staircase and found Mr. Flint standing there. He smiled as he told me how he couldn’t wait to have Lizzie all to himself in his bed every night. I snapped and pushed him. He lost his balance and fell down the marble stairs. He wound up breaking his neck and is permanently paralyzed from the neck down. The courthouse is filled with cameras, so the entire thing is, of course, on video. I had no defense other than he was a piece of shit, so I took a plea deal on the assault charge and consented to the disbarment to put it behind me.”

“Christ, Naomi. That’s a big price you’re paying for a guy who had it coming.”

I shrugged. “Some good came out of it. He can’t touch Lizzie anymore.”

“I don’t know many people who would have done anything different in your shoes. I’m sorry that happened to you.”

I nodded. “Thank you.” We were both quiet for a moment. Eventually, it was me who spoke. “Can I ask you something personal now?”

He gave a curt nod. “Of course. It’s about eight inches, eight and a half on a good day.”

I chuckled. “No, seriously. How do you represent criminals for a living?”

He looked at his half-empty beer. “I’m going to need another one of these if we’re swapping war stories like this.”

“How about this round is on me? You deserve it after sitting through my depressing story.”

Dawson smiled. “Not so fast. You haven’t heard mine yet.”

Chapter 10

DAWSON

I glanced back at the booth while waiting at the bar for our drinks. Naomi’s story was something else. Thewomanwas really something else—gorgeous, curvy, smart, a smartass, and a badass, too. If you asked me, she’d gotten the sharp end of the stick. She should’ve received an award for making it so that piece of shit could never touch a child again, not been stripped of everything she’d worked for.

I returned to the table, trying not to feel even more attracted to her than I was before as I passed her a fresh glass of wine.

“Thank you.” She sipped. “I have to say, you have my curiosity piqued. I expected one of those canned, every-person-has-a-right-to-a-defense answers like all criminal-defense attorneys keep in their cash-lined pocket.”

I spread my arms across the back of the booth. “Based on that statement, it sounds like you don’t think very highly of defense attorneys. Yet you came in to interview for a position working for one. Why is that?”

She bit her plump bottom lip. “Truth?”

I took a page out of her book. “No, lie to me. It’s what us lowlife criminal-defense attorneys like.”

She smiled. “The thought of representing criminals doesn’t sit well with me. But I’ve been on at least fifty interviews since moving here, and as soon as the person I’m talking to hears about my disbarment, my resume gets round-filed. I thought I might have a better shot with you.”

“Because Ben and Lily are my friends?”

Her lip twitched. “No, because you’re a criminal-defense attorney, so your moral standards are likely lower.”

I covered my heart with my hand. “Ouch.”

She chuckled. “Sorry.”

I wasn’t sure I could fault her for feeling that way after working in a DA’s office. No doubt she’d witnessed some pretty shitty tactics to get some pretty shitty clients off. “It’s fine. I get it. Some days it’s not an easy job.”