I could hear the murmur of Devon whispering in my ear as I sat with effort. He reached out to support my arm which I subtly pulled away and tucked against my abdomen, out of his grasp. I leaned heavily on Trey's arm, angled away from Devon as Trey helped me sit. I had a feeling, deep in my gut, that Trey knew exactly who he was directing me toward. As I settled down on the bench, I stomped on Trey's foot and sent him a glare. He tried to look innocent, but I knew his games.  He looked away guiltily and I sat stiff on the wooden bench, my abdomen screaming in pain. "Not even a bullet can keep the mighty Beatrice Welsh down," Devon whispered with a slight smile as I studiously ignored him. The judge was coming into the room, and we stood, with some effort, as she entered and sat. Our case was next, so we sat l

The painkillers I had taken were wearing off. Or, it could be that the pain I felt when I realized I had forgotten that this was the anniversary of Leah's death was overwhelming me. I didn't know which it was and it really didn't matter. One year ago, a part of my soul died.  Alessio kept his arm around me as he steered me through the courtroom, out the doors, and toward the waiting Escalade out front. There were cameras flashing and I thought absently that this was the first time I would see photos on the news where the defendant was protecting the lawyer instead of the other way around. "Your friend," Alessio started and I felt a lump rise in my throat. "You were close?" I nodded, unable to say anything.  "What was her name?" Alessio asked, his eyes gentl

I knew she wouldn’t be happy that we had put flowers on Leah’s grave, but I had hoped she might be able to look past her anger and see that we sent the flowers as a way to honor her friend, not to taunt her with memories of the past. Perhaps it was presumptuous of us to assume we could be a part of her grief when her anger was too raw, too poignant. I could see her from a distance. I was sitting in a car on one of the winding roads through the cemetery and I watched her visit Leah. I knew she would come here, I didn’t know when but I knew she would make an appearance at Leah’s gravestone. I needed to be near her today. Of all days that she needed me, today was the most important of all. She needed me, David, and even Alessio, as new as he was, and I needed to be close so I could help her, even if it was from the shadows. As soon as I felt her tense on the bench next to me in the courtroom when she realize

Mark stared at me with a look of disbelief. I was standing in the doorway of his office, breathing heavily from the effort of the day. I was exhausted but I needed information and Mark would help me. "You were shot?"  I nodded in agreement and my face reflected my exhaustion. The day had been long and Callie kept trying to pull me back toward the elevator. I knew she wanted to get me back into a cab heading toward Alessio's. I wasn't ready to go back yet, though. I had things that I needed to find out.  Mark was the first stop. "Listen, I need a favor," I said and I watched as Mark's brow rose expectantly, waiting for me to explain. "I need to know who stores backup files for Safe and Secure? Specifically for S

“Your brother’s company is in DC? I thought he lived in New York,” Callie said, trying to sound nonchalant as we drove closer to the industrial buildings on the outskirts of the DC Metropolitan area. “Just his data storage,” I replied. “It’s held by a company in Annapolis.” “Why did you need Mark to tell you that?” “It’s not public knowledge but Mark’s his counsel,” I said. “It’s the reason I got hired at the firm.” “That’s why your mother loves him?” “Oh yeah, and Mark is an acceptable choice for a Welsh.” I could see Alessio turning his head slightly to listen to our conversation. His eyes glanced back at me in the rearview mirror and I felt the intensity of his stare.