Free Wild For Mr. Wrong by Virna De Paul Page B

 Good people committed murder all the time.  “But does that really matter?  The evidence wasn’t there.  Not according to the jury.  Guilty or innocent, the evidence has to be there to convict.”  
    She raised herself up on her elbow and looked into his eyes.  “Don’t second guess yourself, Daniel.  You did what you felt was right.  Bad things happen all the time.”  She sighed.  “It’s the way of the world.”
    Daniel caressed her hair.  “What bad thing happened to you?”
    Bryn immediately tried to pull back, but Daniel grabbed her arm.  “Shhh.  It’s okay,” he said. “I just want to help.  I want to understand why you disdain defense attorneys so much.”
    “ Nothing bad happened to me, Daniel.  I’m the lucky one.”  She swallowed the lump in her throat, the same lump that formed every time she thought of that night.
    “ The lucky one?  What does that mean?”
    She hesitated.  Remembered how important it had been to her to give him shelter in her arms.  Was it possible he wanted to give her the same thing? And that she could actually take it?  She cleared her throat.  “When I was younger, I was a little more wild.”
    He lightly touched the tattoo on her breast, seemingly fascinated by the heart-shaped scroll work.  “Is that when you—”
    “ I got it before I started law school.”  
    He smiled and kissed her softly.  “Judging by the last hour you spent tangling my sheets, you’re still a little wild, Justice.  And I like it.”
    His compliment filled her with heat and, interestingly enough, none of the guilt she’d expected.  She forced herself to continue.  “My sister was sexually assaulted by a date one night.  I—I could have stopped it.  Instead, I was in a car having sex and smoking pot.  I was acting foolish while Carl Pageant attacked my sister.”
    She waited for him to say something, but he didn’t.  Fearfully, she looked up at him.   He stared back at her silently, his expression stoic.  “You’re not going to say anything?”
    “ Why?  You already know what I’d say to that bullshit.”
    Frowning, she pulled back.  “It’s not—”
    “ Let me ask you something, Bryn.  Does your sister blame you?”
    Did she?  Carin had repeatedly told Bryn that what had happened wasn’t her fault, but she’d never taken her words seriously.  And what did it matter what others thought?   She’d known who was to blame.  
    “ Okay, I can tell by the mutinous expression on your face that you don’t find that argument persuasive.  So let’s talk about something you will.  Let’s look at the evidence.  Where did this happen?”
    She shifted, feeling like she was suddenly being cross-examined.  “At a local dance club.”
    “ And how old were you?”
    “ I was 23, she was 21.”
    “ An adult.”
    “ That doesn’t matter,” she began hotly.
    “ And where was she when this happened?  In the club?  A place where there were witnesses?”
    She saw where he was going and tried to stop him.  “She was in his car with him, but none of that matters.  It doesn’t make what he did okay.”
    “ Of course not, Bryn.  What it does mean is that your sister was an adult who has to take responsibility for her own actions.  And what that guy did to her was horrible and wrong, but she wasn’t to blame and neither were you.  He was.”
    For the first time, the words held some sway over her.  She didn’t believe them yet, not completely.  But she wondered if someday—maybe—that would change.
    She pushed her thoughts away.  She was here to comfort him, not the other way around.  “Have you eaten?” she asked.  “How about I make you something?”  
    Bryn stood.  Daniel clasped his hands behind his head and watched as she pulled on her white thong and lacy bra.  
    “ You know, if I’d known what kind of underwear you wore, Lady Justice, there’s no way I would have resisted as long as I did.”
    Bryn turned her back to hide