“So how the fuck did Blake find him?” I ask, more to myself, but Carlos answers me anyway.
“Good fucking question. I was trying to find that out before he was whacked.”
I collapse against the back of the couch and dig my fingers into my eyes. Dropping my hand to the couch, I tell my friend, “I’m going to keep looking through this. I’m trying to work my way through his emails now, but there are a lot. If I findanything,you’re my first call.”
“Good, thank you. I hope like hell you can find something. Because bringing down Goodwin would do wonders for my career.”
I huff a laugh. “I’m on it. Have a good night. Tell Mandi that I’ll see her in the morning.”
“I will,” he replies, but hesitates, and I can tell he has more to say.
“Spit it out, Carlos.”
“Uh, well, I didn’t know Mandi didn’t know about you and Lily being together. I might have spilled.”
I frown. “Technically, you don’t even really know about Lily since I’ve never confirmed anything to you.”
Carlos scoffs. “Okay, sure. Please tell me all the otherclients you’ve moved into your condo and taken to the mountains for a little weekend getaway.”
I press my lips together to suppress my laugh. “I should’ve known I would get caught by one of you eventually.”
“Yeah, well, now you’re caught by both of us because I accidentally became a gossip.”
Mandi says something in the background.
“I’m going to let you go. I have a client to go see,” I joke as I stand.
I hang up on Carlos’s laughter and go to find Lily, deciding I need a break from digging into her late husband until tomorrow.
Even with droppingLily off at work, I beat Mandi to the office, if the empty lot is any indication. I unlock the door and push it open, but then freeze when I see a large, dark-haired man sitting on the small couch in the waiting area.
“Who the fuck are you, and what the fuck are you doing in my office?” I bark out, my feet still cemented to the ground.
The man stands and steps around the small coffee table. He extends his hand, and I eye it as if it might bite.
“My name’s Tony Aiello. And you are Chris Rivers.” He thrusts his hand in my direction once again.
Against my better judgment, I step farther inside to take his hand and let the door close behind me. “I would say nice to meet you, but that’s still to be determined.”
After I shake his hand, he gestures behind him. “Can we talk in your office? I promise I’m not here to hurt you. I think we have a similar interest.”
Since my scale of what’s right and wrong is shaded grey, I do wonder if Tony may be onto something. I give him a curt nod and lead him into my office, flipping lights as we go. As I take a seat behind my desk, he takes the chair in front.
“So what’s so important that you had to break into my office on this fine Tuesday morning?” The slight tendril of fear I felt initially has morphed into annoyance. He could’ve just made an appointment.
Tony leans forward and says, “Blake Bennett.”
My entire body tenses, but I keep my face clear of any emotion. “What about him?’
He shrugs as if what we’re talking about is no big deal. “Word on the street is they’re about to arrest his old lady for his murder.”
My heart starts racing.
“Another word on the street is that you’re her attorney.” He leans forward even more and glances to either side of him, as if looking for someone who might overhear. “And then I heard something crazy. That you might not just be her attorney, but you also might be boinking her as well.”
My jaw muscles twitch with the pressure of trying to keep my mouth shut. I want to deny it, mostly for Lily’s sake. But I don’t know who the hell this is or what he wants. “How do you know that?”
Tony shrugs again with a smirk. “A little birdie. But she isn’t why I’m here. Well, not directly anyway.”
