“I know,” he says. “And I’m very nearly out of it. I can’t stall. Ihaveto start moving this forward.”
How can he be so cold, so calm, when he’s talking about my brother’slife? I pull away and sit at my desk, still with my back to him. I’m trying to hide how upset I am, but I know Gabriel will see through that.
“I’m trying to walk a very fine line here, Emily,” he says, frustration starting to creep into his voice.
“I know,” I say.
And I do know.Goddo I ever.
I know that I’ve been a fool.
Gabriel never made any promises. He never lied to me. He told me right from the beginning that it might come down to this.
“Emily,” he says, then hesitates. “Sweetheart. I don’twantthis, but I can’tnotdo it. If I don’t move ahead with things, either prosecute your brother or get him to plead out, then I’m going to get fired.”
And there it is. The job comes first, yet again.
* * *
