Page 7 of Fighting Conviction
Naomi’s mouth opened and shut before she nodded her head once and winced.
Thea beamed at her momma and tugged Snake to the beanbag, instructing him to sit on the floor beside her. His smile widened as he followed her directions and Thea giggled when he asked her questions about her favorite shows.
“That’s so strange,” Naomi whispered. “She’s never taken to anyone like that. Not even her—” She cut herself off and coughed before placing the ice pack back onto her cheek.
“You can take that off now. It’s been enough time for you to take a break from the icing.” Dev offered.
Naomi grimaced and alternated a panic-stricken glance between Dev and Snake. “Can I… can I keep it on? For a little while longer?” she whispered.
Dev seemed to follow her hesitation and nodded before grabbing a towel from a drawer. “Here, you can use this instead if you want to keep your injuries… discreet.”
Naomi nodded and a shaky breath escaped her as she exchanged the ice pack for the towel.
“Okay, next steps,” Ellie said, aiming to steer the conversation. “The attorney for the clinic, Jules, and our manager, Nora—the one you met when you came in—will be in soon.” As if on cue, there was a quick knock before the door cracked open.
“It’s Nora! And I brought backup.” Nora’s voice called out into the room.
“Come on in,” Ellie answered.
“We having a party?” Nora joked, relieving tension in the room Ellie hadn’t realized was there. Nora stomped in with her combat boot heels in a whirlwind, and Jules click-clacked right behind her in her signature red stilettos, blazer, and dress. Ready for court as always, despite her noticeable baby bump.
Nora was obviously making a joke about the number of people in the room, and she had a point. The medical room wasn’t small by any means. It was more of a multi-purpose room and big enough for multiple kids to play around, officers to question survivors, or for prosecutors to prepare, but not all at once. It was getting crowded.
“We finally lost Jason, so I have about an hour of freedom,” Jules mumbled. When Ellie snickered, Jules narrowed her brows and placed her hands on her hips. “Think it’s funny, huh? Ever since Ihelpedyou kick him off your security detail, I haven’t been able to so much as pee without company, and I don’t even have a kid yet! I mean, for the love of God, I already have a whole human attached to my uterus. I don’t need one attached to my hip, too.”
Dev scoffed and shook his head as he scrubbed his beard. “I’m sure you didn’tlosea BlackStone Securities agent.”
Nora only smirked. “You’d be simplyastoundedat the things I can do, Devil, my dear.” She turned and clapped before waving Vanna White-style in Jules’s direction. “‘Kay Naomi, doll. I brought our lawyer. Are you feelin’ up for a chitchat about boring legal-Sméagol stuff?”
“I wanna go home now.” Naomi sighed. “There’s nothin’ to talk about—”
“Yeah, yeah. I hear ya.” Nora interrupted before peering over Dev’s shoulder to see the notes he’d placed on the counter. She looked back up at Naomi and twirled a fingerless gloved hand in the air. “Bike accident, hm? Well, just hear her out. You bought a ticket by coming here, so now you get a free show. We do this with every survivor who’s had ‘bike accidents,’ ‘fallen down stairs,’ ‘fallen up stairs,’ ‘landed face-first into doorknobs,’ yada yada. You have no idea how many clumsy people we get in here.” Nora smirked, undeterred by the scowl forming on Naomi’s face.
“Anywho, like I said this morning, we’ve got suitcases, clothes, toys, whatever you need from the thrift store, if you decide you need somewhere else to go. Even if you decide to stay, it’ll be good to have as a cover if anyone questions where you went. It’s totes free and you can pretend like it’s a shopping spree for Lil’ T over there.”
“Thank you,” Naomi rasped out before a small smile lifted the corner of her lip. Nora had that effect on people. Even though she was blunt, people loved her for it because her delivery was so dang disarming.
“Hi, Naomi. I’m Jules, I’d like to go over some—”
“You’re an attorney, right?”
Jules frowned before nodding warily. “Yes, I’m a victim’s rights attorney.”
“And attorney-client privilege…” She darted an eye toward Ellie. “Whatever I say, you can’t repeat as long as it’s in confidence between you and me?”
Jules’s brow raised, and Ellie had to imagine it was from the grasp of the legal concept. Most people didn’t know that particular loophole, that if someone was in the room between you and your attorney, the right for your words to be kept a secret didn’t apply to the others in the room.
“That’s right… would you prefer we speak more privately?” Jules gestured to Ellie, Dev, and Nora. “If you’d like, these three and Snake can step out in the office right there until we’re finished.” Jules pointed to the adjoining room.
Naomi’s head dipped in agreement. “I’d appreciate that, thank you…” She peered over Jules’s shoulder before bending her head closer. “But, um… Snake, right? He can stay. So long as we whisper… Thea looks so… carefree, right now. I want her to keep that feelin’ for a little while longer.”
“Sure thing, babe,” Nora replied and turned on her heel to the office. “Let’s go kids.”
The poor woman looked a little guilty for asking them to leave and she had no reason to. Ellie gave Naomi what she hoped was an encouraging smile, to let her know it was okay she’d asked for privacy.
Nora settled in behind the computer and Dev leaned up against the opposite wall as Ellie shut the door to the small office. Before it was closed, Ellie heard Jules begin to murmur, and Ellie didn’t need to hear to know it was her usual spiel about legalities. She’d heard it so many times, she could give it herself if she had a legal degree to her name.
Ellie’s stomach twisted at the reminder of how far away she was from getting a degree. She’d just started Ashland State University to become a therapist and was already bristling at how much time college life wasted.
