"And you do?" She pulls her hand back. "You've known him for what, a few weeks? And you're ready to throw your entire life away for a man who kidnapped you?"
"He didn't—" I stop. Because he did. He absolutely did, but how does she know that?
She must have more than he thinks.
"Lindsay, I understand you're worried. I understand you have this case, and you see the Vitales as criminals. But there's so much you don't understand about my situation."
"Then explain it to me."
I can't. Not without revealing things that would put her in danger. Not without breaking Salvatore's trust.
"I can't."
She sits back, her expression hardening into the one she wears in court.
"Can't or won't?"
"Both, I suppose."
We stare at each other across the table, years of friendship suddenly feeling fragile as glass.
"Lin, if they're so dangerous, why would you risk taking on this case?"
She scoffs. "You know I've never been afraid of a little challenge, Val."
"I don't want to see you get hurt."
"And I don't want to see you get hurt."
"He would never hurt me."
"I have to tell you something."
"What is it?"
"They know about the case you're working on. Someone must have tipped them off or something, I'm not sure."
"Someone? What else do you know, Val?"
I grab her hands. "Your dad has been working with them."
"What? No, that's bullshit." She pulls her hand from mine.
"I don't know to what extent or how, because your dad is… an amazing mayor. But his name is somehow mixed up with them. This could be more than you think, Lin."
"I trust that my father has been working for the good of the people of this city. But if he chose to be on the side of criminals, then, like your fiancé, he must pay for his crimes." She looks at me.
"If you go through with this wedding," Lindsay says quietly, "I can't protect you anymore. The case I'm building… It's going to destroy the Vitale family. Everyone connected to them. Including you."
"You’d let me burn?”
"I'd save you, every time, you know that. But you have to let me save you." She stands, pulling cash from her wallet and dropping it on the table. "I have until the end of the month to file charges. You have until then to change your mind. After that…" She meets my eyes. "After that, I can't help you. You'll be one of them. And I don't protect criminals, Val. Not even ones I love."
She walks out, leaving me alone with cold coffee and the sinking realization that everything is about to get much more complicated.
* * *
That evening, I stand in front of the mirror in a floor-length royal blue gown. It's stunning the way it falls off my shoulder, fitted through the bodice, with a flowing skirt that makes me feel like royalty. The diamonds Salvatore gave me sparkle at my throat and ears. My engagement ring catches the light with every movement.
