29. Chapter 29 #2
“He had me destroy the only copy you gave him right after the meeting, so unless you’ve sent him another one, I don’t see how he could have.”
“That’s good enough for me,” Baz decreed. If only they could contact Captain Green directly without risking being fined for overstepping. The long way around it was. “Can you call Ian’s boss?”
It would be better coming from Aya, in case the news about his and Sami’s affair had already spread at Hoffman evidence which raised concern about Ian’s conduct had indeed shown up on her doorstep.
The real challenge was protecting Sami from retaliation. And that took them back to the polished halls of Dunkeld Wilson, with the envelope of evidence secured under Baz’s arm.
The elevator doors dinged open. He squinted against the light bouncing off the black tiles.
Erika’s office was a short walk down the hall.
She’d see them before they could explain…
Would she decide to send them away? Had she fallen for any more of Ian’s lies?
Had they come up with a plan of their own to get rid of both Sami and him—
Baz forced his brain to hit the brakes. No scenario he could construct in his head would make this conversation any more predictable, let alone easier.
Getting Sami that immunity deal was all that mattered, and time was running against them.
Once Ian’s boss knew, Sami was at imminent risk of becoming a scapegoat, and it would be Baz’s fault for initiating all this, and that could not happen.
He felt a soft pressure on his shoulder, found Sami’s lips on top of his suit. Smiling, Baz placed his hand on the bottom of his spine. Just until they got into Erika’s range of sight, but those five seconds were worth it.
Erika’s secretary leaped out of her chair. Baz did not slow down. “Excuse me! You can’t go in.”
“Try and stop me.”
His heart was in his throat, but he pushed the door open, made sure Sami was through before he let it go.
Erika’s glare would have had him freeze any other day, but now, he pushed out his chest and faced her like the goddamned lawyer he was.
“What do you think you’re doing?”
“We need to speak to you.”
“Erika, I tried to stop them—”
Erika cut her secretary off with a flick of her hand. “It’s okay. Leave us.”
Baz willed his breaths to go deeper. First hurdle taken. Now they only had to sell it when Erika’s snarl looked all but gracious.
“Did I not make myself clear yesterday?” she asked in a low voice.
“There’s been a new development. Erika, this is Sami Adam, Ian’s soon-to-be ex-assistant. He has information you need to hear.”
“So you have been conspiring.”
“Only since yesterday. Hear us out, please. We need your help.”
He forced himself to keep up the eye contact instead of allowing his gaze to seek refuge elsewhere, tried to recreate Eevee’s puppy eyes. If he had to beg, he would. He’d get down on his knees if that was what she wanted him to do.
As it was, Erika required no such indignity to lean back in her chair, her arms tightly crossed in front of her chest, one eyebrow arched. This better be good. Well, it was.
Sami listed Ian’s crimes relating to the Captain Green case first, then others where Ian had gone up against a Dunkeld Wilson attorney. Baz handed her the pages of evidence to back up his claims of foul play.
The creases on Erika’s forehead carved deeper and deeper into her skin with each allegation. Only when Sami ran out of words, when his pleading eyes connected with Baz’s, Baz tagged in.
“The problem is, Ian set Sami up to be his fall guy. He will try and pin all of this on him once he finds out this conversation happened, so we need to strike a deal with the state to get him immunity. Please ask your husband to see us today.”
Erika stared at the email from Captain Green expressing their wish for a settlement. She dropped the paper, slowly shaking her head.
“Your boyfriend just admitted to forging evidence. Who’s to say he didn’t manufacture this to save your butt and scapegoat Ian?”
“I didn’t!” Sami protested. “Ian made me help him with some things, but I’m not even supposed to know about the rest—”
“Made you,” Erika echoed in a tone so dry it was a sucker punch to the throat. “You couldn’t have walked away and reported this years ago?”
“I tried, but they didn’t believe me! I…” The quiver of his lips tightened Baz’s chest. “This was a mistake.”
“No!” Baz caught his arm before Sami could run away. They had come this far, they couldn’t give up. Not when Sami’s future was at stake.
“Erika, please. You know Ian is more than capable of committing fraud to win. This all went on long before he met Sami, and the prosecutor will find evidence of that when they check Ian’s private communication. Please. Have you never had a lapse in judgment when you were in your twenties?”
Her stoic mask gave nothing away. The lack of outright denial had to be a good thing, though, so Baz kept pushing.
“Look, this will help you too. I’ll take the blame should Ian be proven innocent, and you can take all the credit for having gotten a dirty lawyer out of the game when he is found guilty. Plus, we can get the Captain Green case back on track for the settlement.”
“There it is,” Erika huffed. “If you seriously expect me to make you partner after all this—”
“I don’t.” The conviction in his words took even Baz by surprise, but he meant it. A stupid title didn’t matter, not anymore. He’d make partner one day, or perhaps he wouldn’t, but he would—hopefully—have Sami.
“All I’m asking is that you help me protect Sami, and then you can fire me, or bury me in paperwork, or whatever you deem right.”
Sami’s eyes darted to him. “Baz—”
“I mean it.” He glided his fingers between Sami’s, squeezed his hand tightly so he too would stop doubting Baz’s sincerity, and he didn’t give a damn about who saw it.
So what if people knew he was gay? If they wanted to shove him into a box for it and use it as an excuse to diminish his success, that was their load to carry.
Baz was done hiding away. He just wanted to be himself for once.
The soft knock on the door made him spin on his heel.
He had never been happier to see Aya’s face.
“Excuse my interruption,” she said, holding up a piece of paper. “Captain Green’s rep faxed over a signed affidavit confirming they were never informed about a new settlement offer. We have a meeting with him and Henry Arden from Hoffman none was left to stop him from bundling Sami up in his arm and kissing his temple.
Much as he strained his ears trying to hear Erika’s husband’s replies, he caught barely more than a murmur before she hung up.
“Well.” She folded her hands on her desk. The pause lasted an eternity. Sami bounced on the balls of his feet, vibrating in Baz’s arm. “He’s on lunch in fifteen minutes and in meetings for the rest of the day. You better run if you want to catch him before.”
Fifteen minutes? For what, twenty blocks? Oh, Chicago’s tourists better keep a tight hold on their coffees.
Baz scrambled the papers back into the envelope and snatched the affidavit from Aya’s hands.
He just about remembered to shout a “thank you” over his shoulder before dragging Sami out.
His ears were burning with the comments he knew Aya and Erika were making about them right now, but for the first time in his life, he couldn’t care less what his superiors thought of him.
He hit the ground running, keeping a tight hold on Sami’s hand as he pulled him up Grand Avenue.
“Do you even know where we’re going?” Sami laughed, loud and exhilarated and Baz loved it, so much.
“Yes!” He had spent hours memorizing the Chicago train system when he first moved here. He could find his way around this city in his sleep.
He tapped his card twice to get them both past the gates and into the station. A rush of people came up the stairs. The southbound train was still on the platform.
“Run!”
Baz took the stairs two at a time and threw himself in between the closing door, blocking it with his arm to pull Sami inside too, seconds before the train started moving.
“This is a red line train to 95th/Dan Ryan. Lake is next.” The automated voice announced.
The adrenaline rushing through him made sitting impossible. He leaned against the metal pole with Sami in his arms. They fit together so perfectly, how could he resist?
“Thank you,” Sami mumbled into his chest.
“Don’t thank me. I love hugging you.”
“I clearly meant thanks for doing all this for me.”
Oh. Well, that didn’t require gratitude either. Helping him was selfish more than anything—Baz wanted to be with him, and he’d be damned to let Ian tear them apart.
They made good enough time to merely power walk the last blocks to the State’s Attorney’s Office, hand in hand.
Baz found he liked it that way. Perhaps they could go on walks more often, through Lincoln Park after a long day of work, or maybe to pick up dinner before spending the night at his place.
They hurried down the hall just as Erika’s husband stepped out of his office. Baz had only seen him a handful of times, but the broad shoulders, bald Black head, and perfectly groomed goatee were unmistakable.
“Mr. Dunkeld! Hello. Your wife just called on our behalf.”
Dunkeld sighed. He pushed the door back open. “This better be quick. There’s a hotdog with my name on it downstairs.”
“If you hear us out, I’ll buy you all the hotdogs you want.”
“I’ll hold you to that.” Dunkeld gestured to the free seats opposite his desk.
Baz suppressed the urge to rest his hand on Sami’s thigh, a feat he only accomplished by sandwiching it between his thighs.
Dunkeld eyed up Sami. “I take it you’re the plaintiff?”
“Uh, yes.”
“And I suppose that makes you his lawyer.”
It did, didn’t it?
“Yes.” Baz squared his shoulders. “Sebastian Hadley, I work for Erika. It’s good to see you again, sir.”
Sami’s side-eye was awfully amused. Baz would prove to him there was no one better suited for the job.
The demand for immunity had Dunkeld rolling his eyes, but he did agree, provided they didn’t waste his time. No risk of that. Still, Baz insisted on having in writing that nothing Sami said in here could incriminate him.
And then, Sami laid everything open, even parts of the story Baz hadn’t heard yet; how Ian had coerced him into cooperating, all the false promises of getting him licensed.
Names of witnesses from the opposition Ian had intimidated by sending big, bulky guys to scare them out of testifying.
Every place where Dunkeld should go digging to legally obtain the same evidence Sami had delivered to him now.
The list went on for so long, Dunkeld had his secretary cancel his two o’clock appointment.
“Is that enough?” Sami wrapped up his monologue, fidgeting his fingers.
“Just about,” Dunkeld deadpanned. He was hunched over the papers, supporting his forehead with his fingers. “I will pass this on to a judge, and I’ll have my assistant draft up a proper immunity deal in exchange for your testimony at court.”
Sami nodded rapidly, slowly smiling. He clutched Baz’s hand.
“Of course! I’ll help in every way I can.”
Dunkeld nodded. The deal was struck.
“Thank you, sir. You really earned yourself that hotdog,” Baz said. He wished he could see Ian’s face when he realized it had all gone up in flames—actually. Maybe he could.
“I need a whole deep dish after this,” Dunkeld said. Was that a sense of humor? Who would have thought the Dunkelds had it in them. No wonder Aya went to their dinner parties.
“One more thing. Are you getting an arrest warrant as well as a search warrant?”
“I’ll certainly try.”
“Which precinct will those go to?”
“I’ll have to check. Does it matter?”
Well. They had a lot to rub in Ian’s face, and it so happened there was a CPD sergeant—or whatever his current rank was—who was eager to make up for half a lifetime of neglect.
“No, just wondering. Thank you. We really appreciate it.”
He shook Dunkeld’s hand and bid him goodbye—and had his phone out the second they were back out in the hot, stuffy hallway. Whoever thought it was a good idea to cover the south-facing side of a building in glass ought to be fired.
“What are you doing?” Sami asked.
“You’ll see.” Baz hit the green button next to the number he didn’t think he’d ever call again.
Jack answered immediately. “Sebastian?”
“Hi. J—Dad,” Baz corrected himself. The word felt strange, foreign in his mouth after going unused for thirteen years. Sami’s jaw hit the floor. “I could use your help with something, if you’re up for it?”
“Of course! Count me in, whatever it is.”
“Great.” Ian wouldn’t know what hit him.