Page 12

She doesn’t look up from whatever document has her attention. “Unless someone’s dead or dying, I don’t take unscheduled meetings.”
“I’m neither, but you’ll take this meeting.” I settle into one of her visitor chairs without waiting for an invitation.
Now she does look up, one perfectly shaped eyebrow arching. “Gage Black. To what do I owe this unwelcome interruption?”
“I need a lawyer.”
“You have a lawyer. We’ve discussed him many times.”
“I need a family lawyer.”
I’ve got her full attention now and a smug expression settles across her face as she leans back against her leather chair. “I see you’re finally ready to listen to me.”
I don’t know what it is about Blair, but she never fails to rub me the wrong way. We’re not even five minutes into this conversation and I’m ready to leave. However, I push past that and remind myself why I’m here. Luna.
“You told me months ago that when I was ready, you’d help me.”
“Did I?” She taps a nail against her desk. “That doesn’t sound like me.”
“Quit the bullshit, Blair.”
Keeping her eyes firmly on mine, she sets her pen down with deliberate precision. “No.”
Her response is unexpected. “Excuse me?”
“No,” she repeats, like I might have trouble with the word. “I won’t take your case.”
“Why not?”
She studies me for a long moment, then says something that catches me completely off guard. “Because I refuse to help you turn Luna’s mother into a ghost.”
“That’s not what I want, and you know it. I’ve told you enough times that I don’t want to alienate Shayla.”
“Right, but here we are after a long time of you putting up with her shit. You’ve reached the end of your patience.” She leans forward. “You’re finally ready to play hardball and we all know what that means in Gage Black’s world.”
“You have no idea of what I want.”
“No?” Her gaze pins me in place. “Let me guess. You want full custody. You want to control all the decisions. You want?—”
“I want stability for my daughter.”
“And you think the best way to achieve that is by hiring the lawyer known for scorched earth custody battles?”
I lean back, studying her, trying to figure out what’s going on here. “For a woman who’s been telling me for a long fucking time to find a new lawyer, you’ve changed your tune a hell of a lot. What’s changed?”
She’s quiet for so long I think she won’t answer. Then she says, “My father controlled my mother.”
Her admission strikes me silent.
“He controlled everything. Everyone. A master manipulator. When my mother finally left him, he used every legal means possible to cut her out of my life.” Her smile is bitter. “He succeeded.”
“Blair—”
“I was twelve when I last saw my mother.” She pauses, her gaze piercing me in a way that says she wants me to pay close attention to what she’s saying. “Do you know what that does to a child? To watch one parent systematically destroy the other?”
“That’s not what this is.”
“No?” Her tone is hard. “You came to me because I’m ruthless. Because I fight dirty. Because I win.” She shakes her head dismissively. “Find another lawyer. I’m good at what I do, but what Idon’tdo is cut children off from a parent.”