Page 69 of (Un)Rivaled

The corner of Laurel’s mouth quirked up. “I do like the sound of that.”

“Then it’s settled. We’re telling Calla.”

“Telling me what?” Calla asked as she walked into the room with our mother, carrying more garbage bags and empty boxes. Laurel met my eye and shook her head. Not the time. I couldn’t blame her for that, not when my mother was standing in the same room. In my heart, I wanted to trust she wouldn’t betray our confidence, but she’d been married to David for years. Even if they barely spent any time together under the same roof, they had a relationship. I didn’t know if her loyalties would completely lie with us—or worse, she’d fall on his sword to get us out of trouble.

“We want to throw you a baby shower,” I said, the only thing I could think of on the spot. “But we weren’t sure if Alex wanted to host, so we figured we’d talk to you and see what you wanted to do first.” I motioned over my shoulder to Laurel. “She was planning to keep it a surprise, but I thought we should see how you felt.”

“Okay…” Calla said, giving me a look as if she knew I was hiding something from her. “Doesn’t matter to me; I just want everyone I love to be there. Everything else is just extra.”

“On it,” I said as I grabbed a box and moved over to the shelves. Running my fingers over the titles, I couldn’t hold back a question that had plagued me for years. “Mom, what happened to all of Dad’s old files and stuff? If it’s still around, I might want some of it for my office.”

If I ever had an office again. I’d reluctantly told my family I was out of a job, and they all surprised me, jumping to my defense. With their confidence, my own started to build. Maybe it was time to put myself back out there, to find my legal footing in a world without corruption and greed. I’d gotten into law to protect people, to continue the fight my dad had started, but the waters had gotten so muddled along the way, and I forgot about that goal. Now that I’d had some time to clear my head, it felt like the right course, time to correct the ship to its original destination. No, I wouldn’t be making as much money, but I could live a life I was proud of, one that allowed me to spend it with the people I cared about most.

“Oh…” my mom said, shifting behind the desk. “Well, any client files got signed over to another attorney in town, and his open cases were also reassigned. But his personal records I kept, anything that didn’t pertain to one of his clients. Any notes, books, whatever he had stored here.”

“You did?” Laurel asked, sitting up in interest.

“Of course,” she answered. “After your father died, I couldn’t bring myself to throw it all away. When David started coming around, he was insistent I get rid of his stuff, but I still couldn’t, even though he’d been gone for years. So, I took his old office space downtown and used it as storage.”

“What about now?”

“It should still be there,” she said as she stood up straighter. She used the backs of her hands to push her dark red hair away from her face. “Before he died, your grandfatherbought the building, and it was transferred into my name after he passed. I thought about selling it, but…” She sighed, smiling softly at us. “I didn’t have the heart.” As her voice trailed off, she turned back to the desk, opening the drawers methodically. “If you want anything, you’re welcome to it. I have the keys in my office downstairs somewhere. Your father would have wanted you girls to have that stuff instead of it sitting there, waiting for someone else to find it.”

Laurel met my eye, and I gave her a subtle nod, knowing we were both thinking the same thing.

It had been waiting for us.

THIRTY-SEVEN

“This seems a little excessive,” Devyn whispered at my side.

I looked over at her, dressed in all black, her hair tucked into a knitted cap. She looked adorable, even though she’d been on edge ever since we walked up to the office building.

As soon as Diane mentioned Peter’s office, Laurel and Devyn started planning, wanting to get in there as quickly as possible. They were ready to drive right over and start digging into his files, but after talking to Tomas, they waited until tonight instead.

“Maybe,” Tomas looked over his shoulder as he pushed the key into the lock. “But we’re not taking any chances. We’re already tempting fate by assuming everything is still in there.”

Devyn huffed, staring up at the building. I reached out and took her hand. “It’ll be there, Ace. I know it is.”

She squeezed my hand back, but her eyes never strayed from the door. So much of Devyn’s identity was tied to her dad’s. He’d given her a love of the law and a strong sense of justice. Even though we were both young when he passed, his death had destroyed a piece of her. And even though Icould never take away that pain, I wanted to try. I wanted to hold her in those challenging moments and remind her we had so many good things waiting for us in the future.Ourfuture.

Tomas pushed the door open then moved to the side so Devyn could enter first. She gave me one last look as she let go of my hand and walked inside the back entrance of the building. As I followed her, I tried to take in the space despite the limited lighting. The air was musty, like what you’d find in the archives section of the library. Dust covered most of the surfaces, and each of our steps made a little more kick up into the air. After shutting the door behind us, Tomas handed us small flashlights and made his way to the front of the office space.

I could see how this place had sat silent for so long. It was still in the center of town but far enough away from the main drag that it got limited foot traffic. The building itself was in good shape, despite the shuttered windows and lack of life inside. Diane might not have come here, but someone was taking care of the building. There was no evidence of age or damage on the inside or out, which had been one of my major worries. In fact, despite the dust, it looked like it had been preserved, as if Devyn’s dad would be walking back inside at any moment.

Devyn’s phone chimed in her pocket, and she pulled it out, grimacing as she read her text. “It’s Laurel. She wants to know if we’ve found anything yet.”

Tomas snorted. “Doesn’t have a lot of patience, does she?”

“She’s been working on this for over a decade,” I bit back, suddenly feeling a bit protective over Laurel. It wasn’t the same as the feral need to make sure Devyn was safe, butafter working together for so long, it was hard not to defend her. “She’s ready to move on. We all are.”

Devyn nodded at me then turned back to Tomas. “Where do you think we should start?”

He motioned for us to follow him further, stopping to look inside each space. I glanced over my shoulder, expecting to see Devyn behind us, but instead, she was facing one of the walls, her flashlight pointed at something I couldn’t make out from my angle. As I stepped closer, my breath hitched as I saw the etched glass:The Law Offices of Peter Winters.

“I keep thinking about him,” Devyn whispered. “What he would think about all this. What he would think of me.” Her wide eyes met mine. “Do you think he’s ashamed of me?”

I pulled her into my arms and kissed the top of her head. “Never, Ace. Why do you think he would be?”

---