Page 46 of Fitch

I chuckled as I ate. The food was amazing, the air between us comfortable and safe.

“I actually did have plans to talk to you tonight,” he said. “Until I saw you with that damn lollipop.”

I chuckled. “Yeah. Definitely gonna need more lollipops.” But then I sighed, knowing I couldn’t put it off any longer. “What did you want to talk about?”

“Benji,” he replied. My gaze shot to his and he waved his fork at me as he chewed and swallowed. “Not about Benji. Just about how his case might affect us, that’s all.”

Relief flushed through me, but only for a moment. “What do you mean? How will it affect us? I’m not involved?—”

He shook his head again. “No, no. I know that. But I do know you in a personal capacity, and you’re his best friend. There are laws to prohibit any such interference.”

“Interference?”

He nodded and put his feet on the floor, his near-empty bowl on the coffee table. “I removed myself from lead counsel,” he said.

“What?” I shook my head. “No, Dom. I didn’t know you were on his father’s case when I first met you, and you didn’t know who my friends were.”

“I know. And thankfully, our team knows that too. But,” he said with a smile, “I stood down before they could suggest it. It makes sense, legally speaking. I can’t give them any reason to use it against the case. The end goal hasn’t changed, and that’s to see Benji’s father put behind bars. We can’t jeopardise that.”

“But that’s not fair,” I tried.

“It’s more than fair,” he said, smiling now. “Plus, I only have another two dozen cases just like it to work on. It’s fine, Fitch.”

I understood, but I didn’t like it.

“Benji said you were awesome,” I admitted. “I asked him if you used your big daddy voice and if he found it hot.”

Dom chuckled. “I don’t want to know what he replied.”

“Probably not,” I allowed. “What else did you want to talk about?”

“Well, the whole Benji thing got me thinking.”

I frowned, not liking how it kept circling back to my friend. “About what?”

He slung his arm over the back of the couch, still relaxed, even smiling a little, and it did make me feel better. “It’s nothing bad,” he began. “You always expect the worst, don’t you?”

“Habit,” I admitted. “Sorry. It’s not a reflection of you?—”

“Hey,” he said, his tone deep but soft.

It made me look at him.

“I know it’s not a reflection of me,” he said gently. “But that’s another thing we need to discuss.”

I was confused. “Pardon?”

He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Let’s start at the beginning.”

I waited.

“What I meant about referencing Benji was that it brought to the surface the fact that there are important things we don’t know about each other.”

“Like if my father is a crime lord of the underbelly like Benji’s?”

Dom snorted. “Well, yes. I mean, I hope not.”

I shook my head. “No.”

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