Page 65 of Desert Loyalties

She leans forward slightly.

“The less I know, the better I can protect you. But don’t lie tome, either. I need the truth so I can make the best call about what to argue and what to avoid. Do you understand what I’m saying?”

I glance at Drake. His face is unreadable. He gives the smallest nod.

“Six: no surprises. If there’sanythingout there that can bite you, and I mean anything, this is your one shot to tell me privately. If it comes up in court and I don’t see it coming, we’re screwed.”

There’s a beat of silence.

“Seven,” she finishes. “Watch everything. Say nothing. Watch the judge. Watch the DA. Learn who’s who. But you don’t speak unless I tell you to.”

She exhales slowly, brushing a loose strand of hair back from her face. “This is chess. Not bar fights. You don’t win by being the loudest. You win by staying five moves ahead.”

Drake reaches for my hand under the table. His grip is warm, steady, but I can feel the tension beneath it.

“You’ve got me,” Christina says finally. “So don’t give them anything to use against you.”

There’s silence for a moment. Then Drake nods again, more certain this time.

I shift in my seat, frowning. “Wait. So, Drake can’t talk to anyone about what happened, not even you? But… you’re his lawyer. How can you defend him without knowing the full story?”

Christina meets my eyes. “Good question. The answer’s this: I don’t need thewholestory, I need theprosecutor’sversion. My job isn’t to prove Drake is innocent beyond all doubt. It’s to challenge whether theprosecutioncan prove he’s guilty beyond a reasonable one.”

“But how do you do that if you’re in the dark?”

“I’m not in the dark,” she says. “I read discovery. I analyse their evidence. I know what theythinkhappened. That’s enough for me to poke holes, offer alternate explanations, or argue they don’t have enough proof.”

“So, you don’t need the truth?”

“I need the version that keeps him out of prison. That version can’t include things he confesses if they’re going to put him in deeper.”

“But doesn’t that mean he has to lie to you?”

“No,” she says, holding up a finger. “He doesn’t lie. He just doesn’t say more than necessary. There’s a difference. Think of it like walking a minefield, I can guide him through it. But if he starts throwing me maps I didn’t ask for, and one of them’s a confession? I can’t use that. Worse, it could tie my hands in court.”

I glance at Drake. His face is unreadable. He gives the smallest nod. “I can’t lie to you when you ask. But I’m not volunteering anything that’ll get me locked up either.”

Christina leans back. “Smart. That’s how we win.”

“Thanks, Christina,” I say softly, standing up to clear the plates. But she gathers her things and moves to follow me.

Once we’re alone, she stops and looks me in the eye. “This is going to be really hard, not just for him, but for you too. You need to lean on each other.”

I frown. “How? If we can’t even talk about it?”

Christina pauses, thinking it over. “There is one way youcantalk about it.”

I raise an eyebrow. “How?”

She leans in, voice dropping low. “Spousal privilege. It’s the one rule no judge would ever break.”

I blink, waiting for her to finish.

She smiles slightly. “All you’d have to do is... get married.”

Chapter 28

MANDRAKE