He sighed. “She—Alicia—she died.”
Even though I had no recollection of her, hearing the words hurt. “Do—do you know how?”
“She spent nine years in prison, and when she got out, a coupla years after her release, they found her stabbed to death under the Gowanus, near Thirty-ninth Street.”
“Jesus.” I sucked in my breath. “She never really had a chance, did she?”
“Maybe not, given what she’d been through—she was only sixteen when she had you, an addict…but you did. You were the most important thing to us, and we didn’t want you to be upset, so we decided not to tell you. I’m sorry, Brenner.”
“Don’t be. I’m not angry with you.” It was true. “Funny enough, I’m not angry with her either. Not anymore.” Grief sheared through me. “Her life was over before it had a chance to begin.”
“Why the questions about her all of a sudden?”
I hung my head. I wasn’t ready for this conversation. Especially not without talking to Weston first.
“I can’t get into it now. But soon.”
“Okay, I guess. You ain’t in trouble, are ya?”
“No. I’m good. Talk to you soon. Love you.”
“Bye. Call me.”
I sat, my head in the clouds. My phone buzzed. “Yes?”
“It’s Daniel. Can you come to my office, please?”
My heart sank. “Be right there.”
Feet dragging, I walked the halls until I reached Daniel’s office.
Joanne, his secretary, held up a finger. “I’ll let him know you’re here.” She spoke into the phone, then looked up at me. “Go right in.”
I mustered a faint smile and tried to ignore the pounding of my heart as I entered.
“Sit, please.” Daniel pointed to the chair at the conference table and joined me. “I’ve already talked to Weston, but I’d like to hear what you have to say.”
“About what?”
Daniel’s lips twitched. “Well played. I knew you were a good attorney.” He took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes. “I’ll tell you what I told Weston. I don’t care what people do in their spare time unless it’s illegal or negatively impacts the firm. I wasn’t aware that you and he were more than friends, and I suppose there’s no reason I should’ve been. We don’t have a no-fraternization policy, and there’s no intention to start one.”
Even the tips of my ears burned. God, to have Daniel talking about my sex life made my skin crawl. I was certain my face was bright red.
“That being said, Weston has told me there have been some…inquiries about your relationship. I expect you’ll keep the firm out of the press.”
“Of course. And please, I don’t want you to think Weston and I—”
Daniel held up a hand. “Brenner. You don’t owe me or anyone else an explanation. You have a right to be happy.”
Inexplicable tears burned my eyes. “Thank you.”
I left the office and headed to Weston’s to see if he was finally free, but his paralegal stopped me.
“He left about an hour ago.”
“How did he…was he okay?”
Delia raked me with a frank gaze. “What do you think?” She tucked a long strand of hair behind her ear. “I’m sorry. I just feel so bad for Weston. He’s so upset about everything.” As she was about a foot shorter than me, I leaned over to hear her lowered voice. “I’ve been with him since he joined the firm and relocatedwith him from Boston. West likes to pretend nothing affects him and he’s above it all, but the truth is, he’s very sensitive. That’s what makes him so good at his job. He’s very attuned to people and their problems.”
