Craving (Steel Brothers Saga Book 1) (13 page)

“With all due respect, Mr. Wad—”

“Please, Larry.”

I cleared my throat. “Larry. I guess I’m not sure why you need an assistant.”

“I don’t have an investigator on staff,” Larry said. “At the city council meeting last month, I mentioned that I needed one, but the council suggested, and I agreed, that I hire an assistant city attorney instead, someone who could do investigation work but could also take over for me if necessary.”

“I see.” So I was to be a glorified law clerk. Great.

“Don’t get me wrong. This will be a great starting job for you. You’ll learn the inside out of municipal law and working for the city. And yes, you’ll have to do some investigating, but most attorneys do that anyway.”

I nodded, biting my lip. I wanted to ask how much the job paid, but I wasn’t sure how to broach the subject.

“If you’re interested, Jade, I’d love to have you start tomorrow.”

“I’m definitely interested. And starting tomorrow probably wouldn’t be any problem. But could I ask about benefits?”

Damn it, why had I asked like that? I had every right to know what kind of benefits and compensation I’d be receiving.

“Of course, of course. The city has an HMO for healthcare, paid in full for the employee. If you have a spouse or dependents, the excess will be taken out of your check.”

“Well that’s not a problem. I’m not married.”

“Good, good. We also cover dental and vision. We’re in the state system for retirement, so instead of paying Social Security, you’ll pay into the state coffers.”

I nodded.
Get to the money.

“And the job starts at $65,000 a year.”

Less than I wanted, but for a small town, probably pretty comparable.

“It may interest you to know that the median salary for city attorneys in the United States is about $90,000. But we’re a small town, and you’re a first-year attorney. I’ve been authorized to offer that same salary to any attorney with ten years or less experience, so you’re getting a pretty good deal.”

I couldn’t really argue with his logic, and I wasn’t really in a position to either.

“I don’t know how serious you are about staying here in Snow Creek, but the only private law firm in town is not currently hiring as far as I know. There’s also Newt Davis, a solo practitioner who hung his shingle on the other side of town a few months ago. But I hear he’s having a hard time finding enough work just for himself.”

Wow. He really wanted me to take this job. I wasn’t exactly sure why, but I also didn’t care all that much, at least not at this point.

“So are you offering me the job?”

He smiled. “I am.”

I stood. “Then I’d be happy to accept. Thank you very much…Larry.”

He stood, walked around the table to me, and held out his hand. “Then welcome aboard, Jade. I’m very happy to have you join us here. Let me give you a tour around our office. You can meet the rest of the staff, and then I’ll give you your first case.”

“That’s great. Just let me go tell my friend that that I’ll be tied up for a little while, and I’ll be right back.”

“Not a problem. Come on back in when you’re ready.”

I quickly told Marj that I got the job and that she could go ahead and go. Then I headed back to the office. Larry handed me a legal-size manila folder.

“Here’s your first case, counselor,” he said. “You can take it home tonight and then come back first thing in the morning to start work. We begin at nine around here.”

“Sounds great to me.” I placed the file in my small briefcase.

Larry showed me to a small office, but at least it had a window. It was sparsely decorated with a metal desk, computer table, desktop computer, and a couple filing cabinets and bookshelves.

“It’s not much,” he said, “but works.”

“Oh, it’s fine. I’ll be very comfortable here,” I said.

He introduced me to Michelle, our secretary, and David, a file clerk. “We have a pretty small staff here. It’s a small town, after all.”

“I’m sure everything will work out just fine. It looks great to me.”

“Excellent. We will see you bright and early tomorrow at nine o’clock.”

“I look forward to it.” As I began to walk toward the door, I pulled the file out of my briefcase to take a quick look.

And my heart plummeted to my stomach.

People versus Talon Steel.

T
he rag stuffed
in his mouth made the boy gag. It tasted like mushrooms and dirt and vomit. His eyes were covered and his wrists bound with tight rope behind his back. Only his legs were free, but his exhaustion kept him from kicking his captors. He’d already kicked them and kicked them and kicked them some more…and still he’d ended up here.

“Get on in there, boy,” a voice said.

Strong hands forced him down a long flight of stairs, and he nearly stumbled.

“Welcome home, you little bitch,” another voice said. “You’ll like it here. We’ll make sure you’re very comfortable.” He laughed eerily.

Evil. Like a black snake slithering in the darkness, red eyes gleaming. That’s what the voice sounded like. Pure evil.

The boy shivered. When he reached the bottom of the stairs, the men pushed him into a corner.

“You ready, boy?” the first voice said. “You ready?”

Still gagged, the boy couldn’t answer. Ready for what?

He soon found out.

“
P
lease
, Steve. I can’t stand the handcuffs.” I sweated in the back of the police car, my hands bound behind me. I tried to draw in a deep breath, and then again. Couldn’t get enough air.

“Sorry, Tal. Gotta do it by the book. You know that,” Officer Steve Dugan said. “Why’d you beat that kid up, anyway?”

I didn’t answer. I knew better than to talk. Besides, the guy was twenty-five years old, at least. He wasn’t a kid.

A half hour later, we arrived at the Snow Creek Police Department and Courthouse, next to the City Administration Building. Steve got out of the car and opened the door for me.

“Come on, Tal.”

I stayed seated, paralyzed. White noise echoed in my head.

“Commmme…onnnn…Tallll…” Steve’s voice was deep and drawn out, like it was in a time warp.

A meaty hand grabbed my arm.

I jerked it away. “No!” I screamed. “I’m not going!”

“Christ, Talon, what’s wrong with you?”

Snippets of images formed in my mind. Getting back from Grand Junction…alone in the house…doorbell…Steve…under arrest…handcuffs…

I hadn’t resisted until now. Why hadn’t I resisted? It was all a blur. A black evil blur. A blur with a phoenix tattoo…

I stood, got out of the car, and landed a roundhouse kick to Steve’s chest. Steve went down, and I turned and ran. I ran and I ran and I ran…like I should have run all those years ago—

Until I straightened like a board. My body hit the concrete with a thud, my muscles spasming. Had to piss, had to shit. Couldn’t fucking move.

“Help me! For the love of God, help me!”

No one came.

No one ever came.

Dying. I was obviously dying, and no one cared. Minute by minute by minute…

No one…

“All right, come on, Steel.” An arm helped me to my feet. “What were you thinking, kicking a police officer?”

“It’s okay, Sarge.” Steve’s voice. “He’s just having a hard time. I’m not pressing charges. The Taser was punishment enough.”

Taser. I had been tased. I looked down. My pants were dry, thank God. I hadn’t made all over myself. Though my hands were still bound, I could move my fingers. I stepped forward. I could walk. My head hurt, like a hammer pounding my temple.

“You doing okay, Tal?” Steve asked. “Ten seconds from a Taser’s a lot to take.”

Ten seconds? More like an hour. “I don’t belong here,” was all I said.

“Yeah, you do, when you beat up a guy,” a voice, not Steve’s, said.

I turned. An older cop—must have been the sarge—had his pistol trained on me. He kept it aimed while Steve walked me into the building. I wasn’t afraid of guns. The world contained much worse implements of torture.

White noise again as they filled out paperwork, took my fingerprints and my mug shot.

Again as they watched me undress and put on the orange prison clothes they gave me.

Again as they shoved me into a jail cell.

My hands now free, I huddled in the corner, the white noise finally silencing. Dark and eerie voices replaced it, hurling me back through time.

T
he boy huddled
in the corner of the dark cellar, the pain cutting through him, his blood soaking the meager gray blanket his captors had given him. He had vomited what had been left in his stomach—oatmeal cookies and a slice of watermelon, his afternoon snack.

A sandwich sat next to him. They’d left it when they were done.

He couldn’t eat. He’d never eat again.

At least he was no longer tied up. They’d locked him in. Alone.

“Get up. Get up and try to find a way out of here,” the voice inside his head commanded.

But his body was weak. Torn up. Used. He couldn’t move.

His little brother had gotten away. He’d run like the wind when the boy told him to. Thank God.

“Come on. Get up!” The inner voice again. “You don’t deserve this. Get out of here. You can recover. You can go on. Fight, damn it, fight!”

The boy didn’t move.

And the voice never spoke again.

I
quickly leafed
through the folder. Colin had filed charges against Talon for assault and battery. Damn. This had never occurred to me, and it probably should have. One thing was for sure—I couldn’t take this case. I had major conflicts of interest on both sides.

I opened my mouth to say as much, but Larry started talking.

“Talon Steel was just arrested today. As far as I know, he’s next door in lockup at the police station. I’m sure one of his rich brothers will bail him out any minute now.”

I gasped. At least he was safe. Where had he been? He must have been taken in after I left for work this morning. My skin prickled. I couldn’t stand the thought of him in a dank little cell.

“Mr. Wade—”

“Larry, please.”

I nodded. “Larry, you know I’m staying at the Steel ranch. And I feel I’m under obligation to tell you also that the alleged victim in this case, Colin Morse, is my ex-fiancé. So clearly, you can see how I have a conflict of interest here. I don’t think I can work on this case.”

“Nonsense. In a small town like this, there’s always some kind of conflict one way or another. We all know each other.”

“But I—”

“This isn’t anything different than what we see all the time around here. You will take the case. Mr. Morse is staying in a hotel in Grand Junction. His contact information is in the file. I don’t know if Mr. Steel has retained counsel, but if you want to go next door to the police station and speak to him, now might be a good time.”

I couldn’t believe this. Perhaps Larry didn’t feel what he was doing was unethical, but I sure did. Yes, I got that in a small town the potential for conflict was pretty great, but I had conflict on both sides of this case.

“Larry, I’m asking you as a professional. Please don’t make me take this case.”

“Jade, I’ve known the Steels since they were kids. I have just as much conflict as you do. But someone has to take this case.”

“No, you don’t have as much conflict as I do. I have conflict on both sides. I was engaged to the alleged victim, for goodness’ sake. And I was a witness to the attack.”

Larry’s face turned red. Had I crossed a line? I did want this job, and I was thrilled that he was giving me the opportunity.

“If you’re unable to take the work that I assign you, I will have to find another attorney for the position.”

Yup, I’d crossed a line. I knew an ethical violation when I saw one. but I needed the job. I couldn’t hang out at the ranch forever. And he did have a point about conflict being rampant in a small town. Plus, this way, I could make sure Talon wasn’t too harshly punished. For some reason, turning over control of Talon’s fate to Larry or anyone else didn’t feel right to me. I’d make sure Talon got an attorney, and any attorney worth his license would make sure I was removed from this case.

“No, you don’t need to find another attorney. I appreciate the opportunity to work here. I will take the case.”

“I think that’s a wise decision. But I’ll advise you, Jade, if you want to keep his job, do not question my ethics again.”

I nodded. I had no doubts. From what I learned in legal ethics class, Larry was definitely violating ethics by putting me this case, and consequently, I was as well. But this
was
a small town. What he said made a lot of sense. If we were that stringent about conflicts, we’d have to bring in outside counsel to prosecute every case. That wouldn’t be feasible. So I would work the case to the best of my ability. I didn’t want Talon to go to jail. I could see that he paid restitution and got community service or something.

I walked out of the building, and Marj met me with some takeout.

“I grabbed us some food. I thought we could eat in the park. Such a beautiful day. Might help us take our minds off Talon.”

Talon. Why did I have to be the one to tell her?

“Talon came back,” I said.

She smiled. “Really? Where is he? What happened?” Then her happy face fell. “Oh, God.”

I swallowed, nodding. “Marj, I can’t have dinner with you right now. I have to go next door. I have a case to work on. Talon has been arrested. Colin filed charges against him for assault and battery. That’s why the cops were looking for him last night.”

Marj clamped her hand to her mouth. “What are we going to do? I’ll go with you.”

I shook my head. “I need to go alone. This is business.”

“But he’s my brother.”

“That’s exactly why I need to go. You’re too emotionally involved.” What a crock. I was just as emotionally involved, if not more so. “Besides, it’s my job.”

“But you’re working for the city attorney. That means…”

I nodded. “Yes, that means I’m working against Talon. But don’t worry. I’m going to take care of this so that he’s in as little trouble as possible. I promise you.”

“I need to walk over to the firm and get an attorney for him,” Marj said.

I nodded again. “That’s a good idea. Hurry. It’s almost five. They might be closing soon. I’ll let him know another attorney is on the way.”

Marj ran off, still carrying our food, while I plodded over to the police station.

Fifteen minutes later, I was sitting in a witness room across the table from Talon. Even in orange, the man was a god. He made prison garb look like Armani.

He didn’t speak, clearly on edge. Tense. It was written all over his face, from his pursed lips and clenched jaw to his wrinkled forehead.

I cleared my throat softly. “Talon, I want you to know that you can have an attorney present during this meeting.”

“You mean you’re not my attorney?”

I shook my head. How I wished I were. “No, I’m the assistant city attorney. Larry Wade just hired me and gave me this case.”

Talon rolled his eyes. “Oh, for the love of God…” He glared at me, his eyes black and angry.

“You’re not thinking anything I haven’t already thought myself. But this will be all right. I can make sure everything turns out okay. The first thing we need to do is get you an attorney.”

“Jade, you have to get me out of here. I don’t want an attorney.”

“If you want to get out of here, you need one. Marj is heading over to the firm right now to find one for you.”

“Those jokers? I wouldn’t pay one of them to represent me.”

“Talon—”

“I plead guilty, damn it. I fucking plead guilty. Send me off to prison.”

My brain was rattled for a moment. Had I heard him right? “Talon, I’m going to consider this all off the record. You don’t know what you’re saying.”

“You are a representative of the city of Snow Creek and consequently the state of Colorado. I am pleading guilty to you, an officer of the court. Take my plea, and send me up the river.”

What was with him? Three seconds ago, he wanted me to get him out of there. “As I said,” I continued through clenched teeth, “this is all off the record. This conversation is not taking place. Any guilty plea you want to enter with me is not going to get entered. I will not be taking any pleas from you, only from your attorney.”

He leaned back in his chair and sighed. “Suit yourself.”

“Now, I can help you. Colin is a reasonable man. I’m sure he will agree to drop the charges if you pay him restitution.”

“I’m not paying that asshole off.”

“Talon, you beat the crap out of him. He might have medical bills. You owe him that much.”

Talon said nothing, just crossed his arms and glared at me.

“Be reasonable.”

“Be reasonable? You want me to be reasonable? I had a cop come to the house this morning, took me away from my home in fucking handcuffs, like a common criminal. They locked me up, Jade. They locked me up in a cell. You have no idea…”

“Have no idea about what? What did you expect? When you beat the hell out of someone, that person might decide to file charges. You
are
a criminal, Talon. But this is fixable, if you’ll just let me help you.”

He closed his eyes. Dark circles rimmed them, his laugh wrinkles more apparent than usual. He obviously hadn’t slept last night. Where had he been? I opened my mouth to ask, but he spoke.

“Maybe I don’t want to fix it. Maybe I’m just too fucking tired to fix it.”

“Look, even if you do plead guilty, you probably won’t go to jail for a simple battery. Colin is fine. There are no lasting issues. You might get a fine, or restitution, maybe some community service and probation. You probably won’t do any jail time.”

“I happen to know that misdemeanor assault in Colorado carries a potential of three years jail time.” He raised his eyebrows at me.

“I see you’re familiar with the criminal code in Colorado.”

“I do a lot of reading,” he said. “I never sleep, remember?”

I sighed. What was I going to do with him? He seemed determined to destroy himself. Well, not on my watch.

A knock sounded on the door, and I turned.

A uniformed officer led a man in. “Mr. Steel, your attorney is here,” the officer said.

I stood and held out my hand. “I’m Jade Roberts with the city attorney’s office.”

“Peter O’Keefe.” The man took my hand. “Do you mind if I talk to my client alone?”

I shook my head. “Not at all.”

Talon stood. “I mind. She stays.”

“Talon, that’s not a good idea. Mr. O’Keefe is here to help you.” I turned to O’Keefe. “Maybe you can talk some sense into him.”

“Mr. Steel, your sister explained the circumstances to me and also explained Ms. Roberts’s involvement. I’m going to try to have her removed from the case due to conflict of interest.”

“Just so you know,” I said, “I tried to get out of this case myself. Larry wouldn’t let me.”

O’Keefe nodded. “Larry has a tendency to bend ethics whenever he can.”

I didn’t doubt it. “You can get me off this case if you want to, but I’m willing to strike a pretty good deal.” I put my hand on the doorknob. “Let me know when you’re ready to talk.”

“Damn it!”

I turned and faced Talon after his outburst.

“Haven’t I made myself clear? I said she stays.”

O’Keefe let out a heavy sigh. “Fine. But if I tell you to shut up, you better damn well shut up. Maybe we can get this settled today.”

“It’s already settled. I plead guilty. I want to go to jail.”

I shook my head. “Talon, please. There’s no reason for you to go to jail. Colin is not even that injured.”

“I’m afraid I don’t quite understand what you’re saying, Mr. Steel,” O’Keefe said. “The city attorney here is clearly willing to work with us. Why are you so against it?”

“I committed a crime. Criminals belong in jail.”

“Technically this is a misdemeanor, not crime,” I said.

“Ms. Roberts is correct. You haven’t been accused of a crime. You haven’t even been charged with anything. You’ve only been arrested. Your sister is arranging for bail right now. You should be out of here within a couple of hours.”

“Nope, I think I’m staying.”

I threw my hands in the air. “I’ll leave you two to battle this out.” I turned to O’Keefe. “Afraid I don’t have a business card yet. I just started work today.” I hastily scribbled my cell phone number on a Post-it. “You can reach me here.”

“Thank you. I’ll be in touch,” he said.

“I told you, she stays!”

I left anyway.