want him anywhere near this courthouse or attorneys. Maybe he was onto something when he called them all snakes. Rita certainly had her own agenda for calling this meeting, but I can’t see what she’d gain.
“I got a call from this beautiful woman saying I was needed here to discuss your case.” Nolan looks over at the brunette next to him and winks. She shakes her head, and I’m certain she’s just endured minutes of my brother’s ruthless flirting.
“And you are?” I question her as she stands.
“May Shipley.” She holds out a hand to shake, and slowly, the name registers.
“As in Kaplan and Shipley,” I clarify, knowing the answer. I haven’t met Rita’s law partner, but I have heard her name often enough from stories Rita told me.
“Yes.” Behind me, I hear the soft clack of heels on tile, but I don’t turn around. I sense Rita’s presence before I see her.
“And you’re here with my brother because . . .?” I allow her to fill in the blank because I clearly do not understand what is happening.
“I’m here to offer your brother legal representation, should he need it.”
Nolan’s head cranes from May to me. “Why would I need legal representation?” His face blanches, and his voice squeaks.
“No reason,” I state, my voice terse. I step around my brother, ready to push him forward for an elevator, but he stops me.
“What’s going on?” he asks, looking from May to me and then to the woman I’m certain is behind me and behind this shit show.
“Nothing,” I mutter again. “I’ll explain when we get home.”
Nolan’s eyes widen, noticing how I don’t turn to face Rita. I simply nod at May and excuse both myself and my brother. Once inside the elevator, Nolan’s hands twitch in his lap.
“You’re scaring me,” he mutters, watching the elevator count down to the first floor.
“Not here,” I mumble. I’m holding it together by a thin thread, and I can’t risk exposing Nolan or myself in this courthouse.
Nolan and I arrived separately, which means I need to wait until we get home before I implode.
“What were you thinking?” I’m yelling at him before he even exits his car in the driveway. My truck door slammed so hard, the sound still echoes in the yard.
Nolan stares up at me, half in, half out of his vehicle. “I was there for you,” he states like it’s perfectly natural. Like he’s always been there for me.
“Nolan, stop doing me favors, okay?”
“What the fuck?” he snarls up at me.
“That was a ruse. Rita wanted you to turn yourself in.”
“That bitch,” Nolan huffs. However, his defensive tone turns my allegiance.
“She’s not a bitch. She did it for—” The truth slams into me. She did it for me. She wanted to free me from my sentence, but she shouldn’t have gone about it how she did. She should have talked to me, asked me what I wanted to do.
“I told you attorneys were snakes.”
“You watch your mouth,” I bark at Nolan, pointing a finger at him. For the first time ever, Nolan stops and stares at me like he doesn’t recognize me. I hardly recognize myself. That’s been the problem for seven years. I don’t know who I am anymore, but I can’t do this. I can’t keep protecting Nolan.
“Rita . . .” I pause, realizing I’m not exactly laying blame where it belongs. “I could have turned you in, Nolan. If you confessed, my sentence could be wiped free. I could walk away with the conviction struck from my record.”
Nolan’s face turns white once more.
“I could go to jail,” he whispers as if he never understood the depths of the consequences. He committed a crime. He killed an innocent man. He could have gone to jail seven years ago.
Rita. Oh God, my stomach clenches for her all over again. She only wants justice. She wants the right person to pay for taking the love of her life from her.
“I’m not turning you in, Nolan. I’m not offering you up or pressing any kind of charges, but you’re still going to pay for what you’ve done.”
“How?” His head lifts, panic in his expression.
“I haven’t decided yet, but I’m going to find something.” I pause, taking a deep breath. “In the meantime, I’m moving out.”
“Why?” His eyes widen.
“Because you don’t need me, Nolan. You’re self-sufficient here, and frankly, I don’t want to live with you. No offense, little brother, but right now, I’m having a hard time looking at you.”