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“Dana!” Reginald screams. “I didn’t do it. I swear to you. I love you. I wouldn’t hurt your father!”
She presses her hands to her face, upset when she has reason to be happy. She has her reasonable doubt, and any jury doing their job will acquit her. My hand settles on her back and I twist around to find Cat, thankfully, at the railing. She has a way with Dana that I’m going to need right now and I motion for her to meet us in the back room. She nods and stands up, heading toward the door.
Elsa kneels next to Dana and says something to her, and Dana nods then stands up. I intentionally allow Elsa to guide Dana forward, while Richard and I fall into pace behind them. “Nailed it, boss.”
“If I nailed it the trial would be over,” I say. “I didn’t get my confession.”
“Close enough to win,” he assures me, but that’s not good enough.
“The longer the trial,” I say, reigning myself in right along with him, “the more chances to have it turn against us. Never be overconfident.”
We exit to the hallway and I hear Reginald shouting again, “Dana! Dana, please talk to me.”
The man must have run from the courtroom to get here this quickly.
Dana bursts out of the conference room where Elsa has just managed to lead her. “I need to talk to him.”
“No,” I reject instantly. “Not now.”
“I have to talk to him,” she insists. “I need to hear the truth directly from him. Please.”
“You’ll know the truth when he testifies,” I say. “If he turns on you, he killed your father.”
“And if he doesn’t?” she asks.
“That doesn’t mean he didn’t do it,” I say, and silently add: It just means he’s gambling on her protecting him with her money.
“I’m here!” Cat calls out.
I turn to find her and Savage rushing in our direction while Reginald’s voice fades as he’s clearly ushered away. “Our team took care of him,” Savage confirms as he and Cat join us.
“I don’t want him taken care of,” Dana growls. “I wanted to talk to him.”
I turn to face Cat, giving a barely-there shake of my head, letting her know how against that idea I am. She gives me a tiny nod. “Not if you want to help him and you,” she says, stepping around me and taking Dana’s arm. “Let’s go into the conference room. We don’t want to be overheard.” Cat ushers her into the room.
“Jesus,” Elsa murmurs. “Can’t a client just be glad you saved her ass? Thank God for Cat.”
“Agreed,” Richard adds. “You saved her. She’s losing her shit. That’s not how this is supposed to play out.”
No, I think, and that doesn’t sit well with me. “Give us a few minutes with Dana,” I say, but I don’t wait for an answer. I enter the room.
“Right now,” Cat says, as I shut us inside. “The prosecution believes you’re going to get a ruling in your favor. They’re scrambling to either convict you or save face. Anything you do will be suspect.”
“If you’re talking to Reginald,” I say, “you could be coordinating lies. The police are watching right now. You’re protecting you and him by staying away from him.”
“Why didn’t you warn me about that in there, Reese?”
“I needed you to be just as shocked as the jury,” I reply. “And I needed Reginald to give us an honest reaction, not one you prepped him for.”
“I don’t like that you didn’t tell me,” Dana snaps.
“That testimony,” Cat says, her tone angry now, my wife rising up to protect her husband, “was your ticket to freedom. Reese set you free. He saved decades of your life.”
Dana presses her hands to her face and then looks at me. “I’m sorry.” Her voice cracks. “I know you protected me. I just don’t want him to be guilty. I love him. He’s all I have.”
“Which is another reason to give yourself some space,” Cat says. “You’re vulnerable with him right now.”
“What happened to keeping him on our side?” she demands.
