She sat on a worn couch and pulled Marina down to sit beside her. “That was a hell of a statement.”
Marina let out a long, slow breath and pulled her hand from River’s. She ran her hands through her hair and nodded, her gaze distant. “All true. Sheila came in yesterday and threw a bunch of pictures at me. Of us.” Her gaze flicked to River and then away again. “She went apeshit, like she’d caught me cheating on her. She told me what she planned to do and threatened your place specifically.” She laughed ruefully. “I threw up on her.”
River settled back on the couch. “But you didn’t call me?”
“I couldn’t.” Marina still didn’t look at her. “If I had, I would have broken client privilege. There would have been massive consequences. I could have lost my license. I might even have gone to jail.”
“Oh.” River wasn’t sure what else to say. She couldn’t expect Marina to face that kind of fallout.
“But I couldn’t just let her win. I couldn’t let her hurt you. So Cari and I started digging, started pushing.Hard. I called in alot of favors. And at five this morning, I met with the FBI to give them everything I had on Black Pinnacle.”
She stopped talking, like all the words had been wrung out of her. She was so still, like she’d been turned to stone.
“And your job?” River asked softly. She had to know.
Marina’s shoulder moved in a tiny shrug. “I’m not sure. I refused my boss’s calls from the moment I left the office, so I don’t know what’s in store. I think it’s safe to assume I’m unemployed. And given the nature of it, probably unemployable. If I even keep my license.”
“Marina…” River tried to hold Marina’s hand, but she pulled it away. “I don’t know what to say. You did what was right, and I’m sorry it cost you so much.”
Finally, Marina’s gaze met hers. “What wasright?” She stood, snapped out of a trance. “What was right would have been keeping my mouth shut and doing my job. What was right would have been protecting my client and not shattering everything I’ve worked for into a million pieces. You think most lawyers are concerned with what’sright?”
River stood too, putting her hands in her pockets. “I’m sorry. Maybe I didn’t phrase that correctly?—”
“It wasn’t right. It was…it was…” Marina threw up her hands and began to pace. “Stupid, probably. Juvenile. Disastrous. Naïve. Self-destructive. A whole lot of things, but I don’t know about right.”
River felt her frustration beginning to rise, but she tried to keep it at bay. Marina was scared and overwhelmed, and she wasn’t handling it well. “It was right when it came to me. To the community.”
“And that’s going to do me a lot of good. That will definitely get me the promotion I’ve been working my ass off for.” Marina’s tone was harsh, her laugh filled with remorse.
“What do you want me to say?” River finally gave up on keeping her temper in check. “If you were going to regret it this way, and it was such a damn bad idea, then why’d you do it?”
“Because!” Marina spun to face her, voice raised. “Because I fell in love with you and now my life is a mess! I don’t want ghosts screaming at me after the most amazing sex of my life. I don’t want to keep going to family dinners and having to remember my sister. I don’t want to think that I took the wrong path, and all this was for nothing.”
River stood utterly still, staring at Marina wide-eyed. “What?”
Marina’s hand went to her mouth, and she stared back at River. Then she shook her head hard enough to loosen the bun at the back, and she pushed past River and ran up the stairs.
“Marina, wait!” River ran after her and grabbed her arm before she got to the door. “Talk to me.”
But Marina jerked her arm away, flung open the door, and disappeared into the slowly dispersing crowd.
CHAPTER 31
Rob,Jeff, and Cari all lounged in Marina’s living room. Empty cartons of Chinese food littered the table, along with several bottles of wine. Marina had turned her phone off, as had Cari. Reporters, as well as the office, kept trying to get hold of them, and she’d decided she simply wouldn’t deal with it today. Or even tomorrow. What did it matter when she got the news that she no longer had a job? And then there was River. Shedefinitelycouldn’t handle that phone call right now.
When she’d come home, all three of them had been waiting outside, despite the early hour. Rob had opened his arms, and she’d fallen into them. Every ounce of adrenaline-fueled courage was gone, replaced with relief that it was over and the knowledge that everything was over. She’d thrown it all away.
But as the day wore on and they talked about potential repercussions, options, and alternative careers, like high-rise window washer or dog therapist, she’d started to feel marginally better. Rob had been making discreet inquiries, talking to other lawyers and even a judge, and he seemed to think everything would be okay. Or okay-ish, anyway.
“I know it doesn’t feel like it, honey,” Jeff said. “But what you did took serious balls. That woman is a lunatic, and someone needed to stop her.”
“And lucky me, I got to be that person.” Marina gave him a tired smile. “I’ll face the firing squad tomorrow. Thank you all for being here for me today.”
“That’s her subtle way of telling us to fuck off.” Rob stood and stretched. “You’ll be okay?”
“I doubt Sheila will send assassins. But if I do die tonight, you know where to start looking.” Marina was mostly joking, but the thought had occurred to her.
“Throw things at anyone who comes in. You’ve got strength in that arm. Grab a stapler, and they won’t have a chance.” Cari gave her a quick hug. “I’ll call you in the morning to see what’s next.”
