Page 114 of Waste of Worth

All true.

“What about it?” Dino asked.

“You don’t have someone you want to call or talk to? Someone you’d like to see?”

Dino frowned before he could stop himself.

His answer to those questions were an absolutely empathetic yes.

Every day, he thought of Karen. Every day, he hurt.

Every day, he reminded himself of why he was doing what he was doing, and that while it would hurt her—while she would probably never understand—he was doing it so that she was safe, and she would remain so.

It barely helped.

His heart still felt blackened, burned, and ruined.

He was reduced back to that worthless, black existence that had become a faithful friend before Karen came along.

“Is this like the public defender thing?” Mike asked, clearly choosing his words carefully.

Dino appreciated the effort. “Sort of, but—”

“I can do whatever you want or ask me to do as long as it’s not illegal, Dino.”

“Shit, some lawyers will even do the illegal stuff for you.”

Mike smirked at his joke. “Not me, though.”

“This isn’t that.”

“What is it?” the lawyer asked.

Dino took a breath in, wishing his chest didn’t feel so heavy but empty at the same time. “It’s complicated, is all.”

“You were a complicated case.”

“It’s not entirely over yet,” he reminded the lawyer.

Mike agreed to that statement. “But what about this—whatever it is?”

Dino looked over to the door again—it was still closed as Mike hadn’t pressed the buzzer yet. There were no cameras or wires in the room recording their conversation because of attorney and client privilege prevented the jail from doing so.

It was a small gift, if nothing else.

“Dino,” Mike pressed gently, “I was only given an hour.”

Dino was aware.

“Her name is Karen,” Dino said quietly, “and she’s another reason I needed to settle this out now, because her name is on a few things I don’t want them digging into, and it might give my guys some time to wash away what might come up for her on one of my businesses that they haven’t dug into yet.”

Mike’s head cocked to the side, his confusion evident. “What does she have—”

“She’s pregnant with my child, and I’ve kept her presence a secret from people in my family who might do her harm. Because that’s exactly what they would do to her if they knew—harm her.”

The lawyer took his seat again, not saying a word as he did so.

Dino sympathized with the man. It was a lot to take in, but he thought maybe—God, maybe—this was one more way for him to keep Karen. If only he could explain … talk to her, even if it was through someone else … if only …