And Knox was right. I couldn’t talk to Blake about this.Hey, you know how I’m into your sister, which already makes you want to kill me? Well, plot twist: I might not be cool with her if it turns out she’s a cold-blooded killer. Because, you know, standards.
“Aren’t Jace and Scarlett headed to Cabo soon?” he asked.
“How do you know everyone’s itinerary?”
“I make time for the people I care about.” The words were simple, matter-of-fact. “Calls. Visits. You know, human connection.”
“Careful. Your reputation as the scariest motherfucker in here might take a hit.”
“Two things can be true.” Knox’s voice dropped. “Someone can make another inmate piss himself in the shower line and still give a damn about his family.”
I checked my watch. Fifteen minutes left.
“Just spit it out already,” Knox said. “Because we both know you’re not leaving until you do.”
He seriously wasn’t going to let this go. “Fine. You want to know what’s on my mind?” The words came out sharp. “I’m confused. There. Happy now? Your boy’s having a crisis.”
“About the birds and bees? I can draw you a diagram. Might even throw in some hearts and flowers if you ask nice.”
I glared at him. “I can’t discuss case specifics—attorney-client privilege. But hypothetically …”
“Hypothetically.” Knox’s expression turned serious.
“As a defense attorney, sometimes, you face the question: What if your client is guilty?”
“You think Faith is guilty.”
“No.”
“Try that again, this time more convincingly.”
I scrubbed a hand over my jaw, my fingers cramping from how tightly I’d been gripping the folder. “I don’t think she’s guilty.” I picked at a groove in the table where someone had carvedINNOCENTwith impressive dedication. “But even if she were guilty, it wouldn’t change my obligation. She’s Blake’s sister. I’d still defend her.”
“But you like her.” It wasn’t a question.
I opened my mouth to deny it, then snapped it shut. What was the point?
“You like her,” Knox continued, “and you’re not sure you can get past it if she actually did it.”
“It’s idiotic.” I ground my molars. “I’m friends with you, aren’t I? And our other brothers aren’t exactly running for sainthood.”
“But this is different.”
“I don’t know why.” I pressed my palms against my temples. “She looked me dead in the eye and said she couldn’t remember what happened. Like amnesia was just … convenient. And then she revealed that her past was far darker than most of the guilty clients I’d represented in my old job.”
Knox tilted his head. “And that bothers you.”
“You want to know what bothers me?” The words came out in a rush. “My last client who played the memory card turned out to be guilty. Stone-cold guilty. I believed him. Initially at least.”
Knox went still. Even his breathing seemed to pause.
“He swore on his mother’s grave he was innocent. Looked me in the eye, just like Faith did. And I bought it. At first. But even when I started to have doubts, I continued representing him.” My voice cracked. “First thing he did after walking free? Murdered his ex. The one who testified against him. Along with her roommate and the poor delivery guy who showed up at the wrong time. So, yeah, it bothers me. But it shouldn’t. I mean, fuck, when Blake told me Tessa was attacked, I grabbed a bat,” I continued. “I was ready to cave someone’s skull in.”
“Did you find the guy?”
“No.”
“And if you had? Would you have beaten him until his heart stopped?”
