Page 80 of Black Jack (Advantage Play 5)

Covering my mouth, I ignore the burning behind my eyes, while trying not to lose my shit. “What?”

“I’m so sorry, Bianca, but he’s gone.”

“But I just––” I bite my tongue to refrain from telling him that we’d spoken a few hours ago on the phone. “How? When?”

“There was a confrontation between him and one of the other cell mates. His throat was slit.”

As if my lungs have forgotten their purpose, I hold my breath and replay Embry’s words in my head over and over again like a broken record.

He’s gone.

The last of my flesh and blood is gone.

I really am all alone in this world.

“I’m so sorry, Bianca––”

“It’s fine,” I return in a hollow voice.

“You’re allowed to mourn your brother.”

Feeling his gaze from across the room, I reply, “And I will when I don’t have an audience. Is there anything else?”

“Actually, yes.” He clears his throat. “Can I be frank, Bianca?”

“I’d appreciate it if you were.”

“With Dominic’s death, I’m afraid that Reed’s chances of being set free are…”––pausing, he rubs his hands along his thighs––“higher than I’d like them to be.”

“What are you saying, Wallace?”

“I’m saying that I don’t think your relationship with Reed needs to ruin everything.”

“Too late,” I counter sarcastically.

He ignores my remark, and asks, “What do you know about Reed?”

Everything.

With my lips pulled into a thin line, I state the obvious. “So, that’s why you’re here. Your star witness is gone, and you’re looking for a new one.”

“I’m trying to keep a very bad man behind bars and throw a Hail Mary that could save Jack’s job at the Bureau.”

“What do you mean by keeping a bad man behind bars?” I ask, ignoring the part about Jack. I’m not sure I’d be able to say his name without breaking down and would prefer to keep my heartbreak to myself without a witness.

“Without Dominic, the prosecutor isn’t sure that the evidence we’ve collected will be enough. Reed’s lawyer is claiming that the video evidence your brother gave to the authorities is faulty.”

“You’re joking, right?”

“I’m not. There’s a chance it’ll be thrown out, and without Dominic to testify….”

“Reed will go free,” I finish for him.

“He’s been very careful to cover his tracks with the exception of the photographs that include you, the sister to the deceased witness. They’ve been submitted as evidence, Bianca. I know that isn’t what you want to hear, but I feel like you deserve the truth.”

The blood drains from my face. “Photographs?”

“Yes.”