57. Cassandra Walker #2
‘So, he’s not a homophobe after all,’ I observed internally, and my monster nodded its great scaled head in agreement.
‘Mmm. It would appear not. Turns out he’s just a bit of an idiot.’
‘A well-intentioned idiot, at least.’
‘I shall call off the cavalry.’
“Nolan,” I said, finally putting him out of his misery and interrupting his frantic diatribe.
“Uhm… yeah?” he asked, swallowing nervously. He was staring at me like he was afraid I was going to tear him a new asshole, and I laughed softly.
“I think this is… amazing, that you’re trying to better yourself. It’s more than I would normally expect from a cishet man, to be honest. Your kind isn’t exactly known for your ability to… self-reflect. I’m very impressed.”
He brightened and gave me a hopeful smile.
“Cishet!” He snapped his fingers, beaming at me in excitement. “I know what that means now!” I rolled my eyes at him, though I was still smiling.
“Very impressive,” I grinned. “Proud of you.”
He preened slightly before visibly sobering and giving me a more serious look.
“All jokes aside, Cass… I… I’m really sorry about the way I’ve behaved.
I told you already at the time that it was because I was feeling threatened, and I felt like I was losing you.
But I can see now that I never really had you in the first place.
Not like that, at least. But I really hope we can at least still be friends.
And from everything you’ve told me about Theo…
she sounds awesome. I want her to like me, too.
I know we got off on the wrong foot, but I hope I can still be a part of both of your lives, even though I’ve been a complete ass. ”
I gave him a warm smile and nodded. “I’m sure that can be arranged. Apology accepted.”
His entire body seemed to immediately relax, and he gave me a relieved smile.
“Thank fuck… Jesus, I’ve been so stressed about this.”
“I can tell.” I laughed before tucking into the couch opposite the one I’d found him reading in. “And honestly, I’m glad we ironed that out, because I need someone I can trust right now, and I was hoping you’d be willing to help me with something.”
Nolan frowned, flopping back down onto the couch opposite me before giving me his full attention.
“Sure, of course. What do you need?”
“Well, I’m sure you’re feeling the same way I am about how this case with the reverend is currently going.”
Nolan’s expression darkened, and he pursed his lips, nodding.
“Yeah. Dude’s fucking scum. And his ego is through the roof.
He’s definitely guilty, and honestly, I’ve been losing sleep over this shit…
But I’ve brought up backing out of this case with Edmund, and he’s digging his heels in.
Apparently, it’s not even just about the money with this guy.
He’s super connected with some powerful people, and I genuinely think Ed’s…
a little afraid of him. He would obviously never admit that, but… it’s just a vibe I’m getting.”
My eyebrows rose in surprise. It didn’t take a genius to know Nolan hated our client as much as I did, but I didn’t know he’d already tried to get the partners to agree to fire him. Nolan was just full of surprises today.
“Interesting…” I hummed, filing that piece of information away for further inspection. “Well, I actually have a plan for that.”
“Oh?” Nolan asked, leaning back in his seat and crossing his ankle over his knee as he eyed me with interest. “Do tell.”
“I have a friend who is… good at digging shit up on people. It would obviously be all off the books, but if we can get hard evidence that the reverend is guilty and present it to Viv and Ed, they’ll be more willing to drop him.
If we can find evidence, so can opposing counsel.
They won’t want to risk being on the wrong side of this case if we can make it clear it’s a losing battle before we even go to court. ”
Nolan raised an eyebrow, and his lip quirked.
“And how exactly is your… friend going to acquire evidence like this?”
I shrugged, tossing my hair over my shoulder and feigning disinterest as I examined my nails.
“It’s one of those, ‘the less you know the better,’ kind of things.” I smirked, and Nolan’s smile widened.
“Spicy. Alright. I’m in. What do you need from me?”
“Nothing yet. But when the time comes, and I’m ready to bring whatever I manage to dig up on him to the partners, I’m going to need your support.
This can’t look like I’m just trying to sabotage this case because I want to get out of working it with you or some bullshit like that.
I want this thing dead in the ground because, honestly, fuck that guy.
This has nothing to do with making partner.
It’s so far beyond that. At this point, it’s fucking personal for me, and if this plan doesn’t work and they still insist we represent him, I plan on resigning. ”
Nolan’s eyebrows rose, and he gaped at me in surprise.
“You’re serious?”
“As the fucking grave.”
“Okay. Wow, shit. Alright. Yeah, for sure, Cass. If you can make a solid case against him, I’ll back it, one hundred percent.”
His instant commitment to helping me loosened something in my chest, and I found myself smiling at him again.
“Thanks, Nolan. I won’t forget this.”
He grinned back, giving me a firm nod.
“Of course. That’s what friends are for.”
My monster barked out a laugh.
‘Look at that. A real friend. How far you’ve come, little killer,’ my monster purred, and I mentally rolled my eyes.
‘I don’t have friends because it usually ends with you wanting to murder them for one reason or another.’
My monster smirked, flicking its tail lazily in amusement.
‘Murdering this one is still an option. I certainly wouldn’t say no if you were offering.’
‘You’re insufferable.’
My monster chuckled as I said goodbye to Nolan and made my way out of his office. I’d already told Alyssa I would be out for the afternoon and to hold my calls.
My next meeting wasn’t something I wanted any sort of digital record of, and when I’d asked Vox for the address to his new place, he’d sent me a pin to a house that was suspiciously close to Cleveland State, which was over an hour’s drive away.
‘Strange that the vampire has purchased a home so close to Gnomes’ college,’ my monster mused, and I scowled.
‘Don’t get me all worked up before we even get there.’ I scowled.
I had enough on my plate as it was. Worrying about Vox’s new obsession with my little sister wasn’t something I had the time or energy to deal with at the moment.
Especially considering I was about to ask for a huge favor from that asshole.
‘It was merely an observation.’
‘Yeah, well… keep your observations to yourself when it comes to Naomi.’
I sniffed irritably, but my monster just let out a low rumbling laugh.
I’d worry about what Vox’s intentions were with my sister after he got me everything I needed to terminate this case against the reverend… and if I played my cards right, I was hoping he would also be able to help me do a deep dive into Theo’s past.
If anyone could find out who had hurt Theodora, it was Vox Moretti, and I was hoping by the time he was done working his magic, I’d have everything I needed to purge the world of not one, but two disgusting predators.
‘Not bad for a casual Tuesday,’ I mused, and my monster hummed its agreement in my chest.
‘Indeed.’