Page 38 of Deliver Me

“I’m sure they do have more than they can handle,” she snorted, “that’s what happens when the state doesn’t provide adequate services.”

“Did you expect them to?” he asked gently. “Someone profits off of every aspect of this place—the prison labor, the phone calls, the fees—all of it. They have to keep the beds full.”

“Bullshit,” she muttered again, but she knew he was right. Prison was a for-profit system that broke families for the bottom line and peddled their wares to the public as a service to keep them safe. Convincing them all that what they did was done in the name of justice instead of the almighty dollar was the biggest con ever pulled.

“Are you sure you want to be a lawyer and get mixed up in all this mess?” He looked sad, like maybe he regretted encouraging her.

“Absolutely,” she said fiercely. Every day that she learned more about it, she was more determined to help fix it. “What happens to people like you, people like them,” she said, waving a hand to indicate the other tables, “if everyone gives up on you?”

“I love you,” he said softly. “You give me hope for the world and I thought I had lost that a long time ago.”

“I love you, too,” she said, her cheeks flooding with heat under the intensity of his gaze. “What happens if they do decide to take the case?” she asked, trying to smooth over the tension and return the conversation to something more productive than her own frustration.

“I’m not sure. I know my chances are better—if not to get an acquittal to at least get a shorter sentence—if I can get all the evidence admitted this time that the jury didn’t hear the first time, but all those witnesses … I have no idea where they are now.”

“There has to be a way to track them down,” Mia said with a frown.

He shrugged, clearly uncertain. “I guess we might be able to find them if we had a lot of time to spend combing the internet and social media accounts, but who knows how long that might take.”

“We have to try,” she said. “Mail me a list of names and I’ll start looking.”

“You need to focus on your classes,” he said, brow creasing in concern. “I’m grateful that you want to help, but you have plans that will help a lot more people than just me so you’ve got to keep your grades up.”

“My grades are fine, and I have plenty of time to help. Lilly spends most of her time with Bryce these days and when Kennedy isn’t with her girlfriend, she just hangs out in my room eating snacks so she can do that while I look.”

“You can try,” he agreed, “but it might not be enough.”

It wasn’t. She couldn’t find any of the people he needed, but she wasn’t going to give up that easily. Her next plan was more direct, and it took a few weeks for Mia to convince Gabriel. He was adamantly opposed to her being involved but she wore him down, reminding him that he promised her that he would do anything. If he wanted to be with her, then there had to be no chance that they weren’t willing to take.

She took a deep breath and dialed the phone number he had given her.

An unfamiliar voice answered on the third ring. “Hello?”

“Yes, hello. I would like to speak with Senator Miller.”

“This is Senator Miller. Who is this?”

“My name is Mia Anderson, I’m calling—”

“If you’re lobbying for someone, this is highly inappropriate. This number is only for friends and family.” Her tone was brisk and stern, clearly this was a woman used to having and wielding power.

“Yes, ma’am, I know that,” Mia said quickly, the words spilling over themselves in her haste to get them out before Gabriel’s mother could hang up. “I got this number from your son.”

There was a heavy silence until Lilah spoke again. “I have no son.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Mia said stubbornly, “you do. I know that there’s no way for me to understand the pain that you must be in after everything that happened, but there is more to this story than what was on the news. I’m sure you’ve heard that Gabriel has a chance to get a reduced sentence. He needs your help.”

“Why would I help him?” Lilah said coldly. “After what he did to our family?”

“Because he deserves for his mother to finally know the truth about what happened,” Mia said firmly, “and you deserve to hear it.”

Chapter Sixteen

Gabriel wasn’t surprised that Lilah still refused to speak directly to him—she had never been the type of person that was able to bend easily or often—but hewassurprised that she had agreed to pay for lawyers and private investigators. And not just any lawyers—according to Mia, Lilah had spared no expense on hiring the best.

Amy Hail, the woman who was now tasked with trying to save what was left of his life, was tall and slim—all long limbs and graceful movements beneath a perfectly polished exterior of pressed fabrics and expensive perfume. There was a hint of red in the brown of her hair and an edge of meanness to the green of her eyes. The impossibly high heels and expertly cut suit jackets reminded him painfully of Lilah on her way out the door to some important government meeting.

It also quickly became apparent that, much like his mother, her fragile appearance was not an indication of weakness. Like Lilah, she was a diamond, polished but unbreakable. She was not unkind, but she offered him no false hope, no platitudes or guarantees. She knew the stakes, and she didn’t sugarcoat the odds.

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