“You don’t need to be concerned. I have it covered.”
Tyler Everson heard his boss’s voice as he walked past his office. He frowned. What was Gene doing here? Gene Landis, one of the most sought-after lawyers in the city of Chicago, had supposedly left three hours earlier to attend one of his wife’s benefit dinners. He shrugged. It was none of his business. Tyler knew as well as anyone that law was a demanding career. Those who wanted to succeed had to be willing to make sacrifices.
He should know that. He’d lost his wife and child because of his job. Annabelle. He missed his wife still. And his sweet little Bethany. She’d be five by now. Did they ever miss him? A familiar ache spread through his chest. Unbidden, the memory of Annabelle leaving him came to mind. Her accusations of how he had become withdrawn and was no longer the man she had married echoed in the recesses of his mind. She was right, but not for the reasons she had thought. Tyler had wanted to run after her, to plead with her to stay. But he hadn’t. Because due to his job, there was the possibility that she and Bethany could be put in danger. Tyler could never prove it, but he believed that her life had been threatened once before. There had been an accident that had left her with severe injuries. He had never believed it was an accident. Tyler had received threats after he had sent a man to prison for life. Threats that culminated in a runaway truck smashing into their home and injuring his wife. He still had nightmares about it. Annabelle had been horribly injured. Her legs had suffered extensive damage. Every time he had looked at the scars on them, he knew he had been to blame for not taking the threats seriously until it was too late.
She had been in the hospital while the police had investigated the incident. The police had looked into the threats, as well, but had been unable to find evidence against the man he suspected. In fact, they had concluded that the threats and the accident were unconnected. Annabelle had accepted their findings.
Tyler believed differently. Six months later, the man who had threatened him died of a heart attack. He still couldn’t get over his fear.
What if someone else came after him? He had made a lot of enemies on the job. Tyler knew that he couldn’t allow his family to be in danger. And so, even though they lived only an hour away, he stayed away.
He shook his head, trying to clear the dark memories. They were better off without him. He couldn’t change what had happened. Most days he worked so hard that he could barely think by the time he reached his apartment. And that was the way he preferred it. Otherwise, the memories of the family he’d lost would hound him.
He couldn’t regret his decision, though. He knew that he’d done what he could to protect them.
No, it was better this way. How many people got the opportunity to be up for partner at a prestigious firm such as Landis Law at the age of twenty-nine?
Tyler continued to the parking garage, his mind full of the case he was preparing to prosecute. It would be a tricky one. Would the witness’s testimony hold up? He had his doubts about the woman. She’d waffled on a couple of details. Part of him dreaded putting her on the stand. And not only because of her weak testimony. In his gut, he wondered if she was being honest. Having someone swear under oath was a serious thing—at least it was to him. His reputation depended on his providing credible witnesses.
Arriving at his car, he unlocked it and placed his briefcase on the passenger seat. Then he remembered the brief. He unlatched the black briefcase and searched through it. His heart sank. The brief he’d printed out to review that night before tomorrow’s court case was still on his desk.
With a sigh, he shut the car door and jogged back to the elevator. It would only take five minutes to go and retrieve it, but he hated inefficiency. His schedule was too jam-packed for him to be wasting time.
Tyler returned to his office. There it was. He picked up the brief he’d printed out and flipped through it to make sure all the pages were present. If he had to come back for something else, he would not be pleased.
Finally, positive that he had everything, Tyler switched off his light and headed out again. Gene’s light was on. That man worked even harder than Tyler