Fallen from Grace (23 page)

Changing into a gray tailored suit and black tie, he went to his office. Cammie wasn’t at her desk, and Judas was thankful—maybe he could get caught up on work and bypass Jack’s outrage. Judas had skipped Jack’s voice-mails after hearing his first threat, and Jack didn’t like being ignored.

His administrative assistant, Jolene, looked surprised when she saw Judas round the corner to the left.

“Where have you been, Judas? You’ve missed dozens of court appearances, and Adam had to take over your cases,” she uttered.

“I’ve been...” Judas struggled for a lie. “Busy.”

She pulled a drawer open and took out a stack of messages, along with several files and handed them to him.

“Jack told me to let
him
know when you come in.” Her shaky expression looked up at him. “If I don’t, he’ll fire me.”

Judas clenched his jaw. Jack’s threats had moved to his assistant.

“I really like you, Judas, and you’re a great attorney, but I need this job.”

He heard the stress in her voice. “Don’t worry about it, Jolene. I understand. Do what you have to do.”

He strode inside his office and shut the door. He glanced at the wet bar—a tall antique table which had several crystal decanters filled with liquor reserved for clients—and gave serious thought to a drink, but he’d promised Grace he wouldn’t drink again and he didn’t plan on failing her. Even if he couldn’t see her, or save her from Ellis, this was one thing he could do right by her and himself. Someone knocked, it obviously wasn’t Jack. He wouldn’t be requesting permission.

“Come in,” Judas called.

Holding the handle, Adam walked inside. “So it’s true.” He shut the door and took a seat in a gray upholstered chair, with wooden legs in front of Judas’s desk. Setting his briefcase on the floor beside him, he checked his watch then turned his blue eyes on Judas. “If I was a betting man I would have put money on you not coming back.”

“Well, maybe I’m not as completely amoral as you thought.”

Adam cleared his throat. “I’ve been handling your cases. I wanted to make sure Jolene gave you the case log, but I can see you have it.” He looked anxious. “You have a case in forty-five minutes, and I have evidence to move for a dismissal.”

Judas had been looking through the property case Adam was referring to right before he’d walked in. “I’m impressed by you, Adam. I would never have thought to seek out the grandparent who originally owned the property. And the fact that you took the time to track her down and found a will solidifying our client’s ownership…” He shook his head and grinned. “You should get the credit. You put all the elbow grease into it, so I want you to be the one at the dismissal hearing to receive the credit.”

Adam looked surprised. “Really?”

Judas chuckled. “Yeah, I just wish I could see the look on Judge Hanson’s face. I’m sure he thought this was a slam dunk. I happen to know that he was working on a back door deal with a few elites to purchase the property from the city and build a hotel.”

“Why didn’t you move to have the case dismissed?”

“Because the city would have come back and appealed, and we would still be in the same predicament, just with a new judge.”

“Well, thank you. Judas.” He bit the words out, though less futile than normal. “I really appreciate it.”

“You deserve it.” Judas stood and handed him the case. Adam pinched his thumb and forefinger on the edge of the file. “Now, why don’t you tell me which cases you would like to continue working on, and I’ll take the rest?”

Adam recited three—two were difficult, and one was an easy win, but good for experience. Judas commended him for his choices. “I’m confident they’ll be represented well,” Judas said as he handed him the cases. Adam picked his briefcase up off the floor, and they shook hands. “Once again, thank you, Adam.”

“Anytime, Judas,” he replied with a sincere smile.

Once alone, Judas settled into his leather chair. Thoughts of Grace entered his mind, but he swatted them away, focusing on his work. His clients needed him, and he couldn’t keep letting people down.

Not even thirty minutes later, Jack sauntered into Judas’s office. His temperamental tone tested every ounce of control Judas had left. “You start drinking, and disappear. You rack up over seven-thousand dollars in champagne and whiskey charges, and then get arrested.” His voice dropped another disappointing note. “What is going on with you?”

“Aren’t you satisfied with your creation? This is what you made me, Father, a partying, philandering playboy.
Judas, gain this girls trust. Get me what I need, or I’ll ruin your life,
” he mocked. “I’m fucking tired of it. How many different ways do I have to say it?”

His voice trembled, and he saw Jack’s jaw tick. “How dare you blame me for her death? I didn’t kill her. I did everything I could to save her.” Judas cleared his throat. “I’m sorry. There’s nothing I can say that will make it right, but I can’t do this anymore. I don’t care about the lifestyle. I just wanted a father.”

Jack slipped a shaky hand into the other pocket of his tailored trousers, casting his eyes to the crystal decanters. Judas knew what he was looking at—the scotch. His father always had a weakness for it, even if it were only
one
o’clock in the afternoon. “And I’ve provided you with everything a father should. You’re the one who has deprived me.”

Judas deserved that. “I know. You lost your wife, but I also lost my mother and my best friend, and since the moment I surfaced on that river, I’ve hated myself. She should have lived, not me.”

“Damn straight,” Jack snarled. “Your mother deserved to live a long life.”

“I know, but what life?” Judas shook his head. “I was about to head off to college, and you were never home. You wouldn’t let her see her family. You denied her of a life and took away their only daughter.”

Jack shook his head as he sunk into the gray upholstered chair.
They were on the same level.
Judas didn’t even remember the last time his father wasn’t talking down to him.

“She would hate me.” Jack looked lost. “She’s alone, Judas. Because of me...she’s alone,” he mindlessly repeated.

He wanted his father to feel the same pain he’d inflicted on his own soul, but he couldn’t help feeling sorry for Jack. The past ten years were wrong, and Judas desperately wanted a do-over.

“Your firm is solid. You have built your way to the top, and honestly, I think you could have been just as powerful without my untoward contributions. You don’t have to corner anyone.” Judas paused. “I could only hope to be as a good of a lawyer as you, but you have to give me a chance. Otherwise I might as well be dead. I’m not living, and I can’t be
this
anymore.”

“I’ve failed my family,” Jack uttered.

Judas looked at his father with his salt and pepper gray hair, his new Armani suit and his gold cuff links. He was exactly who Judas refused to become—greedy and power hungry.

Looking at his disarmed father, he turned the situation upside down, pulling the emotions he’d forced Jack to face right out from under him. Judas wasn’t in the business of destroying lives; that was Ellis, and they were nothing alike.

“I have work to do.”

Jack cleared his throat, likely embarrassed for showing he was human. “Of course, I have work to do as well.” He stood and buttoned his jacket.

For the first time, in a long time, Judas felt in control. “I’ll be here,” he mumbled, dryly.

Jack left, closing the door quietly behind him. Judas read through his remaining six cases, and worked until his mind refused to function. After the night he’d had, he should have been resting, but he was taking care of his responsibilities. He was one of the last people to leave the office, but as he reached the elevator, he ran into Adam.

“You’re here late,” Adam said, looking at the digits above the double-sided silver doors.

“I figured it was time to get back to work.”

“You could have done it, you know.”

“Done what?” Judas asked.

“Figured the property dispute out.” Adam looked at him. “You would have found a way. You’re the best lawyer I’ve ever met, Judas, and I’m honored to work with you.”

They rode the elevator together in silence. Judas didn’t have any friends, but if he did, he would want them to be like Adam Scott.

October 1
st

Two weeks later

G
RACE
PUT
HER
LAPTOP
IN
her briefcase and locked her file cabinet. Between patient sessions and packing up her apartment to move in with Ellis, she was mentally and physically exhausted. She was putting on her jacket when she heard the elevator chime and heels clicking across the lobby floor. They stopped, and she heard a feminine voice curse.

She opened her office door and saw Rebecca. She had makeup smudged under her eyes, and she looked as if she’d been crying.

“What’s wrong, Rebecca? I’ve been concerned about you,” Grace said. Rebecca had missed her scheduled appointment and the phone number she’d left with Leslie had been disconnected.

“I’m sorry I missed our session, but I really need someone to talk to.”

“Of course.” Grace invited her into the dimly lit office. It was already dark outside. “Please take a seat.” She motioned toward the couch.

“Thanks,” Rebecca said as she sat down.

Grace turned a few lamps on. “It’s really not a problem. I don’t have anywhere I need to be. Would you like something to drink?” She took a seat in the chair across from Rebecca.

“No, thank you.” Rebecca kneaded her palms together. “I don’t even know where to start.”

“It’s okay, take your time.”

Rebecca took a deep breath and exhaled. “Do you remember the guy I mentioned? Judas?”

Grace’s heart slammed in her chest. “Yes.”

“He was drugged by a friend of mine because of me. He’s fine. I think. But it’s only a matter of time before it’s over,” she said sadly.

“Before what is over, Rebecca?” Grace questioned, her pulse quickened.

“A few days after I came into your office, my phone was disconnected and I was told I needed to vacate my apartment. I was angry and wanted to confront my parents, so I went to their house. The lights were all off and I thought everyone was gone but I heard my father’s voice coming from his study. He was on the phone talking with someone about Judas. I don’t know if you remember me telling you what my father does but he’s an ADA. He was talking about building a case against Judas and his father, Jack Woods.” Tears rolled down Rebecca’s pink rouge cheeks and she started nervously biting her nails.

“I heard my father mention the evidence he’d found. Judas had been gathering condemning information about women and Jack was using it to extort their fathers who are Judges and political officials. Judas supposedly called these girls
marks
and I was his most recent target. Jack was going to use my drug use as leverage against my father. I ran out of the house, I couldn’t listen to anymore. I felt so stupid. I went to see a guy friend of mine and told him everything I’d overhead. But I wasn’t thinking straight.”

Grace handed Rebecca a Kleenex. “Go on,” she urged.

Rebecca wipes the tears off her face and blew her nose. “I thought back to everything Judas had done for me. At the darkest point of my life, he was there for me. I’ve only known him for a month, but I feel like he knows me better than anyone ever has. Several times he’s pulled me out of a bar or nightclub when I was wasted and took care of me. What I overheard my father talking about was horrible and should make me hate Judas. But I can’t shake this feeling that Judas would willingly betray me. I don’t think he’s like that. In fact, I know he’s not. Judas is caring and empathetic, this bad boy image he portrays is a ruse. I don’t understand why he’s doing it but I can’t let my father send him to prison.”

Suddenly, it dawned on Grace who Rebecca’s father was; the ADA working with Ellis. Ellis was going to use Judas and Jack’s downfall for political gain. He’d mentioned it would be the biggest extortion case this city had ever seen.

“Dr. Winters?” Rebecca called.

“Hmmm…”

“Are you all right?”

Grace looked at her. “Ummm…yes. Of course. I apologize. What do you intend to do about this information…I mean about Judas.”

“I don’t know. That’s why I came to talk to you.”

Grace felt guilty. This was her client and her welfare was Grace’s responsibility. She struggled for the right thing to say, the right thing to do.

“Honestly, I can’t tell you what to do, Rebecca. You have to do what you think is right.”

“I know,” she murmured. “It’s just hard. I really care for Judas and I don’t want to see him get hurt.”

Neither did Grace. It took until this moment to realize she had feelings for him. Feelings that ran deeper than her love for Ellis. She instantly felt an overwhelming need to protect Judas and to warn him. Even if it meant betraying her fiancé and ruining her career.

Grace just hoped she was making the right decision.