“The aim of a criminal defense lawyer isn’t to prove their innocence. It’s to make sure that people are charged fairly in court, maybe get them a more lenient sentence. Obviously I’d rather defend clients who are innocent, but those aren’t as common as you’d think.”
Mathlin must still look confused, because Titan said quietly, “Not every criminal is charged the same. Sometimes two people are charged differently for the same crime, because one of them belongs to a minority group. Maybe they speak differently, or they look different. Usually it happens because the prosecutor is a biased asshole. Without someone holding the court accountable, how do you make sure that criminals are fairly punished?”
Mathlin didn’t have an answer to that. He remembered stealing loaves of bread after he’d escaped his Master. A time or two, he had done it in a crowded marketplace, with cops hot on his heels. He had never stopped to consider the consequences. Later on, with Jannie’s dual species making her a target, he didn’t feel safe working for people he couldn’t trust, especially when she needed him close all the time. So he had stolen food then, too.
If he had been caught during any of those thefts... he could’ve been punished worse than what bread theft deserved. And no one would speak up for an omega with nothing to his name.
“So why did you quit?” he blurted.
Titan looked away. “I trusted the wrong people. See, I started the firm with my best friend at the time. Ray and I met during law school and became roommates, then best friends. He had some sketchy connections. But because he had saved my hide a few times, I trusted him to have my back.
“The thing is, Ray didn’t always do things to help people. Sometimes he did things to benefit himself. I was fine with that. Until we got a really big case one day.
“You know that I depend a lot on heartbeats and visual cues to read people,” Titan continued, his eyes narrowed. “Except this client was one of those liquid metal guys who have no heartbeat, and precious few tics. I felt uneasy about him. But the client was offering to pay a lot; five times our usual rate. Ray swore up and down that the client was innocent.
“So despite my misgivings, I decided to trust him.
“We won the case. But in the months after, my client showed up as whispers on the grapevine. There were rumors about him being involved in an omega trafficking ring. He had paid Ray a hefty sum so I would represent him in court, before lying to me about his case.
“I confronted Ray. He claimed that the client had only begun his criminal activities after our case was closed. But unlike the silver guy, I could read him. To my horror, I realized that Ray had been learning to hide his tells from me, so he could lie to me and get me to do his bidding.” Titan gritted his teeth. “I showed him the proof. He publicly accused me of lying to the court to help my client get out of his sentencing—and he even had ‘evidence’ of it. Forged emails, draft pleadings with incriminating comments... He must’ve broken into my laptop at the office to change those documents.”
“Oh no,” Mathlin whispered, horrified.
“Yeah. The court suspended my license,” Titan said bitterly. “I was eventually cleared of wrongdoing. But when it came time for Ray to be charged by the court, he pulled some strings and gotoff lightly.” Titan thumped his head against his headrest. “That whole thing fucked me up. I lost a lot of faith in people and decided to quit. Instead, I spent all my savings on Twin Buns. It was my other dream job.”
The more Mathlin heard, the more his chest ached. “I’m sorry all that crap happened to you. It’s terrible.”
Titan shrugged. “Yeah, well. Can’t have everything in life, I guess.”
“I stalked the asshole for a year and poop-bombed his head,” Hamilton said proudly. “Never the same bird species, and sometimes I was a dog pissing on his shoes instead.”
Titan huffed. “I appreciate it.”
“I’m glad you did it, Hamilton,” Mathlin grumbled. “I hate that terrible people exist.”
Hamilton puffed up his chest in the driver’s seat. “And that is also the reason why Twin Buns isn’t located in Cartfalls, even though business would be better there.”
Titan sighed. “I don’t want to move away from my pack, either. That really limits where I can set up shop.”
“Must be nice to have a family,” Mathlin said. “I mean, Jannie is my family, but... she’s not an adult.”
Titan watched him through the rearview mirror. “You’re always welcome with the pack, you know.”
Mathlin frowned. “But I’m not a wolf, and neither is Jannie.”
The alpha rolled his eyes. “Math, you’ve been hanging around the pack for a while now, as a guest. You can continue being a guest indefinitely. No one will chase you out.”
“You’re just biased because you like me,” Mathlin mumbled. “But... I lie a lot?” His breath hitched when he realized that. In his efforts to hide Jannie’s true nature from Titan and the pack, it kind of counted as lying. “Why don’t you hate me?”
16
BUNS IN THE OVEN
“You’re a shitty liar,Math. I read the truth just as easily from your lies,” Titan said drily. “And you haven’t lied about the important things.”
Mathlin hunched his shoulders. “I guess you’re right.”
It didn’t soothe his unease, though.
