Page 44 of Operation: Sharp Angel

Becca was happy she’d signed the NDA. Otherwise, she’d not be privy to any of this information, and would probably not have had any contact with any other members of the agency. She was happy she’d met both Michaela and Briana and got to know them. And Angel, even though she’d met her when she came in for her appointment, she was glad she’d gotten to get to know Angel better. She was a total sweetheart who had to be one ofthe most genuine people Becca had ever met. An evening of wine and conversation with her sounded delightful.

Running felt great. Becca hadn’t exercised at all since this horrible nightmare began. She hadn’t done anything she normally would. And for just a little while as she ran, she didn’t think about it, which felt wonderful, until she realized that she had momentarily forgotten, or more accurately, she had just focused on running. Her feet pounding beneath her and the deep draws of breath she pulled into her lungs relaxed her. But with this realization that she hadn’t thought about it, she felt terrible. Her sister and her family deserved to dominate her thoughts until whoever did this was found and paid for it.

“You’ll have those divorce papers ready by tomorrow morning, won’t you?” Briana asked.

“As long as you’ve obtained any other terms the client wants added to them from her tonight. I have the framework built, but plan on working on them after I have dinner,” Becca answered. She guessed she’d hit up the leftovers in the kitchen refrigerator for dinner.

“That’s good. Shepherd has hired a licensed private process server to serve them when and where we tell him to. He’s on standby for tomorrow. Normally, the county sheriff would serve them for a nominal fee, a lot less than it’s going to cost us, but we can’t control the timing of it if we go that route.”

“Is all this being charged to the client? Did you already go over these costs with her?” Becca asked, beginning to get winded from her workout.

“Yes and no,” Briana answered. She wasn’t winded in the least. “This client has funds that she can access once she no longer fears her husband, which may be after he’s been served with divorce papers and an order of protection. There are household accounts she is on with some money she has access to. I’ve already advised her to open an account in her name alone tobe ready to transfer all the funds from the joint household account into, preferably at the same bank, so she can do it online through the banking portal. Getting access to the majority of the money will have to wait until the divorce decree orders it, and-or alimony and child support payments kick in if he’s not in jail. So yes, she is prepared to pay for our services and an attorney’s services, though it may be awhile before she can pay her bill in full. I’ve always accepted payments from my clients over time and those who couldn’t afford to pay, I asked them to promise to provide me favors in the future for the services I provide them today.”

“What kind of favors?”

“Usually, to give other women fleeing their abusive husbands a place to stay and to possibly hide them until they’re safe.”

“It sounds like you have a whole network set up,” Becca said.

“You could say that,” Briana admitted. “The bottom line is that my clients expect to have to pay the going rate for services, but I’m flexible in the payment of that debt. The important thing is getting them out of the really bad situation they’re living in first.”

“I can afford to provide the service as a divorce attorney and get paid in installments, if need be,” Becca said.

“I’m sure Shepherd will pay you by knocking the amount off your bill with us,” Briana said. “It makes no sense for you to pay us and then for Shepherd to turn around and pay you.”

“Yes, that does seem stupid.”

“What do you think? Would you like this gig long-term? I could talk with Shepherd about it. I’d love to have you on full-time representing my clients as their attorney,” Briana suggested.

“I’m flattered you ask,” Becca said. “Let’s see how this first one goes.” She was panting from her run, breathless and winded. But she wouldn’t slow down. It felt so good.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Carter and another younger man enter the gym, both dressed in workout clothing. Carter came up to her treadmill. “Oh, so this is where you went. I checked the rec room and the apartment on nine and didn’t find you. Angel told me you were with Briana, but didn’t say you were here. I assumed you were in her office working on the domestic abuse case.”

Becca slowed her machine to a fast walk. “No, nothing more to do on it until after she talks to her client tonight.”

“Shepherd filled us in on the plan.” He pointed to the man Becca had not seen before who had entered the gym with him and was now by the free weights. “That’s Smith. He and Jackson will go in and install the cameras and mics. I’ll be out front to provide backup to Briana in case this guy gets physical.”

“Great, thanks, Tessman,” Briana said, only now beginning to get winded.

“I’m going to go,” Tessman pointed over his shoulder, towards the free weight area. “After we’re both cleaned up, let’s talk about dinner, if you have no plans.”

“Yeah, no plans,” Becca confirmed with a grin. She hadn’t realized her lips were still upturned after he walked away.

“A dinner date, huh?” Briana whispered.

Becca was shaken out of her own thoughts on the subject. “No, not a date, just dinner, probably to discuss my case,” she whispered back.

Briana let it go.

They finished their cardio and then moved over to the weighted machines. From there, Becca got a front seat view to the free weight workouts that the two men engaged in, though her gaze was magnetically drawn to Carter. He held large hand-weights. She had no clue how many pounds each was. She’d never used weights that large. He wore a tight-fitting tank style shirt that clung to his chest and abs, displaying each muscle thatshe hadn’t known was as spectacularly developed as the shirt showed.

“You may want to close your mouth and stop yourself from drooling over those men,” Briana whispered with a laugh as she crossed in front of Becca. Briana had finished her reps on the machine, unlike Becca, who’d gone still as she watched the men work out. Briana adjusted the seat and weights on the next machine she’d use on the other side of Becca.

“Just taking a break for a moment,” Becca argued.

“Yeah, that’s what we’ll call it,” Briana teased with a smile. “Don’t worry. They’re so focused on their own workouts, I’m sure neither noticed you were staring and drooling.”

“I wasn’t drooling,” Becca argued.

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