Chapter 56 Ryker
RYKER
“The fuck is going on?” Jace asked as he settled into the chair across from my desk.
Blake and Axel flanked him, all three staring at me like I might spontaneously combust. Which … fair. I probably looked about two seconds away from detonation.
I cracked my knuckles. “Bottom line? I’m losing Faith’s case. Let’s recap where we’re at, shall we?”
I started ticking off my fingers, each point another nail in the coffin of my confidence. “One: The ADA is throwing the book at her, every charge imaginable. Even though some of them won’t stick, he’s coming after her hard.”
My second finger went up. “Two: The story has now spread everywhere. Everyone knows about it, so now any potential jury is tainted. Even if I tried to get it moved, I’d bet your ass Judge Kearns will pull strings to make sure it stays right here in the heart of Chicago.
Speaking of our favorite judge”—my voice dripped with sarcasm—“he confronted me. Has every intention of burying her and using every connection to do it.”
Another finger. “Three: Don’t forget, the crime scene photos were leaked, so public outcry will not only taint the jury, but will also put pressure on the prosecution to lock her up.
And that’s if some psycho doesn’t kill her first.” My hand was almost a fist at this point.
“Now, they have every secret Faith was keeping, and they have a record of her threatening his life. And, yeah, we’ve got the phone records, showing hundreds of harassing texts.
His prints on the knife, proving there was a struggle.
Her documented head wound. But none of that matters if the jury already thinks she’s a cold-blooded killer before they even sit down.
We need ONE goddamn thing to actually turn this around! ”
I swept everything off my desk in one violent motion. Papers fluttered to the floor like dying birds, and my coffee mug shattered against the wall, leaving a dark stain that matched my mood.
Axel took a leisurely sip of his coffee and gestured at me with his tumbler.
“Wow. That was dramatic.” He studied the coffee stain on my wall like it was modern art.
“You know what this reminds me of? That time in law school when you threw your Constitutional Law textbook out the window. Except that was because you aced the exam and wanted to celebrate.” He tilted his head. “This is significantly less festive.”
He sat down and kicked his feet up on my desk, right where my papers used to be.
“Look, watching you lose your shit is both entertaining and deeply concerning. Like finding out Santa Claus has road rage.” He picked up a pen that had survived my desk massacre and twirled it between his fingers.
“You’re supposed to be the ice-cold legal machine who makes prosecutors cry.
Not the guy redecorating his office with coffee splatter art. ”
“The prosecution is wiping the floor with me.” The admission tasted like shit in my mouth.
“I’m failing her.” I slumped back in my chair, suddenly exhausted.
“Maybe I should’ve handed this case over to someone else.
Maybe I’m in over my head. I thought I was in the best position to help her.
But now, I’m realizing that maybe being emotionally invested in her hurt the case more than it helped it.
Maybe someone who wasn’t in love with her wouldn’t have left themselves open to blind spots. ”
The office went silent. The kind of silence that makes you realize you’ve just stepped on a conversational land mine.
Axel, the most sarcastic bastard in our group, stuck his finger in his ear, wiggling it theatrically. “I’m sorry. Did you just confess that you’re in love with Blake’s sister?”
Shit. I sure did.
The evidence was right in front of me in the form of Blake’s death glare. If looks could kill, they’d be scraping me off the walls with a spatula.
“Everybody, stay calm,” Axel announced, holding his hands up like he was directing traffic at a crime scene. “We are witnessing a historic moment. Ryker just admitted to having feelings. Actual human feelings.” He pulled out his phone. “I need to document this. Where’s the nearest notary?”
Blake’s eye twitched.
“Go easy on him, Blake,” Axel continued, patting his shoulder with exaggerated concern. “Our boy’s clearly having some sort of neurological event. He threw office supplies. He’s confessing feelings. Tomorrow, he’ll probably start a TikTok account and take up interpretive dance.”
“You’re not helping.” Although, in fairness, I didn’t hate his sarcasm. Without it, I might explode.
“This is the first time you’ve admitted to loving anything that wasn’t precedent law or single malt scotch. And it’s Blake’s sister.” He stopped mid-pace. “Blake’s SISTER. The same Blake who once threatened to remove your spleen for looking at her wrong.”
“Shut up, Axel,” I snapped, watching Blake grow even tenser.
“Ryker’s gone and caught feelings during the worst possible legal situation since that guy tried to sue God and lost on a technicality.”
“Are you done?” I asked.
“Not even close. Do you want me to arrange the intervention now or after the trial? Because watching you moon over your client while simultaneously having a professional meltdown is like watching a car crash. If the car was on fire. And heading toward a fireworks factory. During a gas leak.”
Blake’s hands clenched into fists. He could have laid into me for the millionth time about dating her.
But either he was having mercy on me or he was finally accepting that I’d never hurt her.
“We have to do something to keep her out of prison.” His voice cracked slightly on the last word, and he exchanged a loaded look with Jace.
Something unspoken passed between them, and I had a feeling it involved Jace’s considerable resources and possibly a one-way ticket to a non-extradition country.
But that was no life either.
“Tell us what you need,” Jace said quietly, breaking the tension.
I straightened in my chair, forcing myself back into lawyer mode. The self-pity could wait. Right now, Faith needed me functional.
Wolfe thinks he’s got us on the ropes. Thinks he’s already won.
Time to show that smug bastard what a comeback looks like.
“Jace, I need more PIs. As many as you can get me, and I need them yesterday.”
“Done.”
No hesitation. Just done. This was why I loved these guys.
I turned to Axel. “That PR consultant …”
“Rebecca.” Axel nodded slowly, already following my train of thought. “She’s already signed a letter of intent. She’ll work with us.”
“Good. I need her to dig up and air stories about Faith. Good ones. The foster kids she mentored. Community service. Anything that shows she’s not the monster the media’s making her out to be.” I met his eyes. “Can you handle that?”
“Consider it handled.”
Blake shifted forward. “She’s going to kill you if she finds out you leaked information about those foster teens.”
“Keep the teens’ names out of the press,” I said. “Full anonymity. But even if that still upsets her, if Faith has to hate me to stay out of prison?” I shrugged. “I’ll take that deal every single time.”
Every. Single. Time.
Axel snorted. “Romance of the century, folks. Really tugging at the heartstrings here.”
“We need something else in the media too. Something that speaks to a broken child,” I continued. “Blake, work with Axel. Find photos of Faith as a kid. Before she went into the foster system, before everything went to hell. We’re going to remind people she’s human.”
“Done,” Blake said quietly.
I drummed my fingers on the desk, my mind racing through scenarios and strategies.
“What else? We need to prove he was stalking her. Not just the text messages. Something concrete. Security footage, witness statements, anything that establishes a pattern of harassment. Jace, my team hasn’t had luck with security footage yet, but I suspect it’s because they’re going through the proper channels.
Channels Kearns might be blocking. Have your PIs go around the system.
They can get away with shit mine can’t.”
“Done.”
Blake stood abruptly, his chair scraping against the floor. “We’re not letting her go to prison.”
The way he said it wasn’t a promise. It was a threat. To the universe, to the justice system, to anyone who stood in his way.
And damn if that doesn’t make me want to hug the overprotective bastard.
Jace rose, too, adjusting his cuff links with that eerie calm he always maintained. “My brother, Hunter, is a prosecutor,” he reminded me. “Want me to see if he can help?”
Right. Hunter Lockwood. I scrubbed my face, considering it.
“No,” I decided. “Wolfe and Kearns will try to bury Faith, no matter how much another ADA tries to help. Intervening will only get your brother tangled up in this shit.”
Jace studied me. “Whatever you need, Ryker. Money, resources, people. You say the word.”
Axel clapped me on the shoulder as he headed for the door. “Try not to have a complete mental breakdown before trial, yeah? We need you functional.”
“No promises,” I muttered.
The door clicked shut behind them, and I was alone.
I reassembled the case files across my desk and stared at the evidence stacking up against her, at the impossible mountain I had to climb. My reflection stared back at me from the dark computer screen. Bloodshot eyes. Three days of stubble. I looked like hell.
Felt like it too.
I didn’t know how long it would take for something to go our way. We were running out of time, and every second that ticked by felt like another nail in Faith’s coffin.
But little did I know that Jace’s PIs were about to uncover the holy fucking grail of defenses …