Take Me (Take Me 1)

He took a step closer to her. “You’re angry, Kate.”

“No, Jude,” she said on a quavering breath, tears pooling in her eyes. “I’m furious. And I’m heartbroken. For you.”

Kate was the one crossing boundaries now. Completely eradicating them, actually.

She took several small sips of wine, then returned her glass to the wet bar. She paced alongside it, wringing her hands. Then halted and raised those hands in the air, in surrender.

“I shouldn’t have said that, Jude.”

“Why?” he inquired, his irises darkening further, until they were shimmering obsidian stones peering shrewdly at her. “Because you don’t want me knowing you have feelings for me, Kate? Newsflash, honey…that ship of yours has sailed. I felt everything you felt the other night. Get it?”

“We’re not addressing the sexual aspect. We’re—”

“Impossible not to. Right, Doc?”

Her gaze narrowed on him. “Don’t take liberties with me, Jude. The bottom line is, I have always commiserated with Annalise’s plight, once I’d read her journal. I have also always comprehended that what she did to you, while proving to be an act of desperation, also served as a selfish reaction meant to hurt you. Detrimental to both of you, but in the end… She escaped the consequences. Leaving you with all the demons. I know you contend I don’t judge, Jude, but in this instance… I’ve struggled with… I’ve hated that… I’ve wanted to…”

Kate’s fists balled at her sides as her frustration mounted.

She was a professional, yes. She also felt things for this man. And every injustice she bore witness to on his behalf, every ounce of his torment she absorbed rocked her to the core.

Kate shook out her hands. Tried to breathe.

“This is going in all kinds of wrong directions,” she confessed, striving for that stability everyone lauded her for. “What needs to be addressed right now, Jude, is your case. Your closing argument. You have to give one. The correct one, for your client’s sake. You are obligated to do so, not just professionally, but ethically. Morally.”

“I’ve urged Stevens to take the settlement from the beginning, Kate,” he said, still eyeing her as though he might pursue their other line of discussion, but for the moment, latching onto this one. “It’s a ridiculous sum of money. No one I’m associated with wants to shortchange this man or sweep him under the rug. The problem is—”

“Admitting fault when there is none on their part can damage your clients’ reputations. Can undermine the security their customers have in their products. Can look suspicious on so many levels.”

“Yes. And I have a fiduciary duty and legal responsibility to safeguard all of that.”

“While supporting, in a humanitarian way, someone you fully identify with.”

They stared at each other again.

Kate’s brow arched. “Yes?”

“Yes, Kate.”

“Okay. So… Find another way to help this man while fulfilling your obligations, Jude.”

“What the fuck…?” His shoulders bunched and his hands lifted.

“I know, I know…” She sighed. “A lot to process. But, Jude. You’re being paid to do your job. Do it. Then find a workaround to save Mr. Stevens in some capacity. I will certainly help. But beyond therapy, he needs a reason to continue on.”

“Such as?”

“Such as…” She wracked her brain. “Such as…”

“Kate, he doesn’t want the money. He wants justice.”

“There is no justice here!” she vehemently reminded him. “Unless one of those multitude of experts can conclusively pin blame on your client, there is no blame. These things happen, Jude. Insane anomalies. They exist. And we mere mortals have to cope with them. So find another way to…to… Wait! Okay…hold the phone.”

She started to pace, her mind working quickly.

Kate said, “What the hell does this man have left, right this very second? The memory of a beautiful woman. The memory of his life with her. The memory of all their past pains…and future hopes and dreams. Things that will never come to fruition or be fully realized. For them. But for someone else? For several someone else’s…?”

She got right in Jude’s face, gazed up at him and said, “Find out everything about this woman that you can. Her hobbies. Her passions. Her talents. And then consult with her husband. Be open with him, Jude. Be honest. Be genuine. Tell him you want to help him start a foundation in his wife’s name. The money your clients were offering… Come on, Jude. If they were willing to go to such an extreme when they knew they had a case they could win, you can be damn sure they’ll put up at least a portion of that money for a great cause.”