Chapter Twenty-Four
Cole
Iwake with Lori in my arms and mentally issue a vow to keep her here and safe, but I also warn myself that holding on too tightly will destroy her and us. I don’t just love this woman. I admire her strength and what I saw in her last night was not fear of Roger, but fear of losing herself to fear itself. And so, I set aside everything but waking up with this woman, sharing a life, and of course, her picking out my light blue silk tie for the day to match the pinstripe in my gray suit. I pick a red dress for her, because a) her ass is perfect in it and b) I don’t plan to suffocate her and hide her. The dress is bold like I hope she will feel again, soon. She knows this instantly, I am certain, as the choice earns me a kiss and a smile.
I head downstairs before Lori to receive a call from Royce. “Roger tried to kill himself with a sheet last night. He’s being sent back to the hospital.”
My jaw hardens. “In other words, I’m a shitty person for feeling relief right now.”
“You’re human. He was unstable and he now can’t get to your wife. More later.” He disconnects and Lori joins me.
“That was about Roger, wasn’t it?” she asks stepping in front of me.
My hands come down on her shoulders. “He tried to commit suicide, but he’s alive and being moved to the hospital again.”
She inhales a breath and lets it out. “Let’s go to work and find that case to take.”
“Yes, let’s.”
We arrive at the office early and Lori is quick to make coffee and huddle up with Ashley. Reese is quick to check on Lori and I update him on what I know thus far. After which, Lori takes residence in my office at the conference table with a stack of files, determined to find our case while I deal with two junior attorneys and a case gone wrong. In other words, I’m going to court this afternoon, and that means Reid will have to wait until I get back.
When the junior associates leave my office, my phone buzzes. “Alexander Montgomery on the line,” Ashley says. “Are you finally going to tell me what this business proposal is?”
“Why do you ask so many questions?” I ask, not ready to mention the word “partner” to her when that change may not even happen. And change makes people uneasy, even if it’s a good change. She doesn’t need more uneasiness right now.
“It makes me good at my job. I know all. I see all.”
“Put him through,” I say, motioning for Lori to shut the door.
“Cole Brooks,” he says. “You’ve been busy, winning cases and moving. I had no fucking clue you’d left Houston.”
“Bullshit, Alex. You were glad I left and gave you a chance to get the good cases.”
“And yet, you’re calling me now,” he says. “I must be good for something.”
“I want you to come here and talk about a business proposition,” I say.
“Give me more than that. I have a trial starting in a week.”
I fill him in. “I’m possibly intrigued,” he says when I’m done. “Honestly, man, until I get through this case—”
“There will always be another case. Fly in. Meet Reese. Talk to us. This weekend. Hell, we’ll prep for your case over dinner.”
His pen taps on his desk in a steady five beats before he says, “Let me see what I can work out. I’ll call you late tonight.”
We disconnect and Lori gives me a hopeful look. “That sounded promising.”
“It’s an open door,” I say, texting Reese with an update. I stand up. “I’m going to check on where the prep for court stands.”
“I’ll be here,” she says. “I put a call into that judge I told you about. I want to set a meeting for you to talk to him about his case.”
Tension radiates through my body at the mention of the case I’d hoped she’d let go. I walk to her and pull her to her feet, my hands on her shoulders. “This case is not our case.”
“Because it’s too high-profile and you don’t want another Roger,” she says flatly.
“Because I’m being smart as a managing partner of a newly merged firm. It’s a political case and that means the firm is assumed to be political. That means there won’t be one Roger, but many. And they won’t be coming after just you and me but everyone here. We cannot do that, go after the DA, and manage a crisis of management in Houston.”
She inhales and lets it out. “Right.” She softens and presses her hand to my jaw. “I understand. Completely and I was shortsighted on this.”
I kiss her hand. “Not shortsighted. Excited about what you do. It’s important to choose cases that you feel passionate about, but there is more than excitement and even guilt and innocence to consider.”
“A lesson learned.” She kisses me. “Go do your job. I will continue my hunt for the perfect case.”
Relieved, I exit the office as Royce sends me a text: Can you talk? Alone.
Not liking how that sounds, I dial him immediately. “What’s happening?”
“My brother hacked the hospital records, which stated that the restraining order was cancelled. No notification was needed.”
“Which isn’t true.”
“Which means the paperwork was tampered with. This DA is powerful and dangerous. He must know that he’s being investigated and that didn’t come from my team.”
“Reese’s wife has been digging around,” I state.
“She needs to stop and you need to convince the DA there is a truce in the making. Get on his good side. You don’t go at a man like this full frontal. Let my team do their jobs.”
“I’ll talk to them,” I say. “What else?”
“More soon.”
We disconnect and I walk straight to Reese’s office, motion to his door, and his secretary confirms he’s alone. I enter and shut the door. “The paperwork was changed on Roger’s discharge papers. Royce Walker thinks the DA is behind it.”
“Good. Lori is safe and we can use this to take him down.”
“He wants us to back off. He seems to believe the DA is dangerous. He believes the DA knows we’re coming for him and Royce wants us to make a truce with him and let him set the asshole up. Pull Cat back.”
He tosses his pen on the desk. “That’s like pulling a tornado back that’s already spiraling, but yeah. I’ll pull her back. What else?”
“More soon.”
He nods and I exit the office, and holy hell, I’d invite a good case to dig into right now. Lori is right. We need a case and we need one now.
It’s nearly seven when Lori and I join Cat and Reese at their apartment. We’re gathered around their island finishing off a pizza waiting on Reid and Royce for a plan when Royce shows up. He claims the endcap. “We have leads on some low, dirty actions by this DA that don’t just border on criminal, they are criminal. We need some space to pull together damaging evidence but he’ll cover it up as long as he feels watched. He’s now on guard. We need to back-up, give him space, and act slowly but precisely.”
My cellphone buzzes with a call from Reid and I let him know who is in the room before I put him on speaker. “Look all,” he says. “I have a company takeover in process. I can’t stop by, but here’s what you need to know. One of the board members of this company I’m managing somehow got word that I’m suing the DA. He’s tight with him. He let me know he is not pleased.”
“And you’re pulling out,” Lori assumes.
“Hell no,” he says. “I’m not pulling out. Sorry, ladies, but I told him to go fuck himself and I’d buy him out. He acted like I stuck something up his ass when I didn’t get the pleasure and then went on his merry way. I’m in. I’m going after the bastard, but I’m damn glad circumstances didn’t allow you all to charge into his office with me. I’ll get you your settlement, but this board member suggested you’re going after the DA on a bigger level. I need to know what I’m into and not on the phone.”
“I’ll come see you tomorrow,” Royce says. “Where?”
“I’ll text you the address. Call me directly to coordinate.”
“Will do,” Royce says and when I disconnect the line, he adds, “Let Reid go at the DA on this lawsuit, and then it’s over. Back away.”
“Make nice when they’re suing him?” Cat asks. “Is that possible with this man?”
“I can do it,” Lori says, and we all look at her.
“What does that even mean?” I ask.
“I’ll play the victim who needs his help, of course,” she says. “I’ll tell him this case has touched my heart but scared me too, and I just need it behind me. I’ll plead with him for a way to do that and praise his record.”
“If he knows we’re going after him,” Cat says, “that won’t work.”
“It will if I tell him how much those close to me have freaked out, and how I’m pulling them back, too. I need everyone to just put this behind us. I’ll make him believe that for my sanity, everyone has agreed. I’ll do it right. I’ll cry. I’ll convince him. I’ll even offer to do a press conference with him.”
“I do not want you putting yourself on the line with this man,” I say. “No. Absolutely not.”
“Actually,” Royce says. “It might protect her and everyone else in this room. Why would he reject a press conference and positive press when he wants reelection?”
Lori turns to me and grabs my arms. “I’ll close him. I can do this.”
I look skyward and force myself to be reasonable. She’s right. Royce is right. “I’ll go with you. He needs to hear from me that I’m backing off.”
“No,” she says. “I’ll close. I’m not his adversary. You are. I can do this. I need to do this alone.”