Total pages in book: 58
Estimated words: 55839 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 279(@200wpm)___ 223(@250wpm)___ 186(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 55839 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 279(@200wpm)___ 223(@250wpm)___ 186(@300wpm)
I nod, completely understanding her. “I see what you mean.” But what about Greer? I feel safe when I’m with her. She calms me. She makes me believe I can overcome the anxiety.
Is it true that I’m using Greer instead of doing the work myself?
“I’d like for you to overcome this anxiety by yourself. So, that way if you lose her you won’t head off into a tailspin.”
My heart beats heavy in my chest. I can’t lose her. “I…I.” My eyes widen when I realize I’m having another panic attack.
Marley moves from around her desk. “Roman, breathe. You’ve got this.” She holds onto my hands. “Breathe,” she repeats over and over, and I focus on her words.
I suck in a deep breath, trying my best to fill my lungs and slow my heart rate. I try to focus on Marley’s words of telling me to breathe. Of telling me everything will be all right.
But will it?
Will I even be able to survive without Greer in my life?
NINETEEN
GREER
“Not guilty, your honor,” I say to the judge as Bane Delgado stands in the courtroom next to me.
Doubt fills me as I stare at the judge, wanting so badly to believe the words I say. After looking through the case files, I don’t believe my client is not guilty, but that shouldn’t matter. It shouldn’t matter to me.
It never has before. I’ve defended guilty clients before. I knew what I was getting into when I started this job. When I went into this career.
Bane smiles at me, and it’s not a friendly smile. No, it’s calculated and sinister. Like he’s secretly telling me not to fuck this up for him. He’s got a fiancée to get home to, which he won’t let me forget.
It's as if the judge is in his pocket. He delves into the finer details and ultimately orders Delgado to be placed under house arrest until the trial—a decision I had been hoping for. Bane Delgado appears pleased with this as well.
After the arraignment, I hurry out of the courthouse. I head outside, eager to get home to Roman.
“Hey, you,” someone says.
I glance up and Chloe’s walking toward me. The pale blue maternity dress she’s wearing hugs her growing baby bump, and she’s as radiant as the sun beaming down from the clear blue sky.
“Hey.” I give her a little wave. “What are you doing here?”
“I have to appear in court, regarding a case.” She glances at the courthouse. “Do you have time to grab a coffee with me in the cafe? I’m early and would love a decaf cappuccino.”
“Of course.”
We head back into the courthouse and weave through the hustle and bustle to the small cafe tucked in the lobby's corner. Chloe settles in at a table while I head up to the counter to order.
With both drinks in tow, I cross the hardwoods of the cafe to the table where Chloe sits waiting.
“Here you go,” I say, handing off Chloe’s decaf cappuccino to her. “How are you feeling?” I ask as I sit down.
“I’m ready for this baby to be out. Only like one more week, but it feels like forever.”
I can’t wait until my little niece or nephew is born, so it truly seems like forever. It must be a million times worse for Chloe. “He’ll be here soon enough,” I say with a smile. “Or she.”
Chloe rubs her belly and leans in to whisper, “I’m scared.”
“Aw.” I set my cup down and stare into her worried green eyes. “I can’t pretend to know what you’re going through, but everything will be okay. Dev’s going to be a great father. You're destined to be a rockstar of a mother, and naturally, I'll be the coolest aunt around. We got this, Chloe.”
Chloe shakes her head. “No, I’m scared about labor. It’s going to be horrible. I can already tell. I was talking to this woman at Lamaze class, who’s pregnant with her second baby, and she told me a war story.”
I don’t know how to reassure her, because no baby has come out of me, but I try anyway. “But she’s doing it again, so that’s a good sign, right? And once it’s over, you’ll have this adorable little baby to love.”
Chloe blows on her decaf cappuccino. “It’ll be like something out of a horror movie.”
I laugh as I take a sip of my coffee. “It won’t be like a horror movie.”
“It will be.” Chloe eyes me over the rim of her cup. “I swear, this baby better be cute.”
“It will be the cutest baby ever born.” I laugh. “Come on, stop. You’re the strongest woman I know, and the baby will be perfect.”
“You’re right. Positive thinking.” She takes a sip of her coffee. “Enough about me. What’s up with you? How’s the case?”
“Yeah. I don’t know about this one. It all seems so backwards. It’s crazy to defend somebody who might possibly be a monster”—I lean back in my seat—“but I still don’t know what to do.”