LITMIR.BIZ

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that you are not reopening his case. I’ve known my brother was innocent from day one.”

      “It’s just Slate, ma’am. Slate Thompson. And I get it.”

      “And I’m Vivian. Definitely not a ma’am.” She gestured to the end of the couch. “Please sit. A little water isn’t the worst thing that’s been on that cushion.”

      “If you’re sure?” he asked, but he was already shrugging out of his jacket and hanging it over hers on the back of the door.

      When he turned around, she saw the file folder with the sleep-study report stuffed into the back of his jeans.

      “That was one way to keep it dry.”

      “Yeah.” He pulled it around front and tapped his palm with it several times. “So, this report sheds a new light on your brother.”

      “I’m not a silly, inexperienced sister, Lieutenant Thompson.” By using his formal name, she wanted to keep things a little more professional than they looked in her shabby studio apartment. “Honestly, I turned over the original report to Victor’s attorney the day after it arrived here. He said there was nothing he could do with it. That it didn’t prove anything since the prosecution had already submitted the study as proof of his guilt.”

      The momentary elation she’d felt in the coffee shop had long passed.

      “I disagree.” He leaned forward, resting an elbow on his thigh in order to look at her and handle the copy at the same time. “This isn’t the report that’s in the file.”

      Had she heard him correctly? “I’m not following.”

      “This report was written by Dr. Roberts’s assistant and sent to the participants nine months after Victor’s arrest.”

      “So it couldn’t be a major part of the prosecutor’s case, right? I’m so stupid.”

      “I wouldn’t say that.”

      “How could I have missed something that evident?”

      “Look, Vivian, don’t beat yourself up. You don’t have access to the evidence. I wouldn’t either if it hadn’t been a ranger who made the arrest.”

      She sat forward, close enough on the small couch that Slate’s heat rose like steam around him. There was no use trying to keep the relationship professional. He’d be a family friend for life when they got her brother out of jail.

      “So what happens now? Do you need Victor’s lawyer or do you have all that information in the file? I should get dressed. I want to be there when you tell him.” She stood and realized he hadn’t moved.

      He dropped his head and tapped the papers onto his palm again.

      “What? I thought you said this would clear him?” She crossed her arms and wanted to look angry, but was afraid she looked a little ridiculous in her silky lounge pants and sweatshirt. Tapping her bare toe on the old carpet didn’t present too much power either.

      His hesitation only made her angrier and more anxious.

      “Mr. Thompson, please.” She let her arms drop to her sides, afraid the tears would return and she’d totally lose it this time. “Just tell me.”

      “I’m not supposed to be here.” He finally made eye contact with her. “I work for the other side. You get that, right?”

      “And you’d want to sentence my brother to death even knowing he’s innocent?”

      “No. That’s not it.” He jumped to his feet.

      The small room had never seemed as small as at that very moment. It wasn’t that Slate towered over her. She wasn’t a short woman, but the panic she’d been warding off consumed her. It covered her like a suffocating blanket and she had a hard time breathing.

      The more air she took in, the less she could breathe.

      “Vivian, look at me. I’m not going to hurt you.”

      His hand covered her mouth. She dug her fingernails into the side of his hand attempting to remove it. It wouldn’t budge. She felt the panic of not being able to breathe but forced a small amount of air through her nose.

      “Listen to my voice. You’re hyperventilating, Vivian. I’m going to help you slow down your respirations. Try to count backward from ten in your head.”

      He tugged her one direction and went the other. Ending the move so they faced each other. “That’s it. Deeply through your nose.”

      She shook her head, feeling the panic again with the lack of oxygen. Ten.

      “In.”

      She sniffed as best as she could.

      “Now let it out.”

      The sound of her breath hitting his fingers was weird.

      “In.”

      It was broken, but she managed, catching the hint of coffee on him. Nine.

      “Deeper,” he whispered closer to her ear. “Let it out slowly.”

      She obeyed. Eight.

      “You got this. Now I’m going to take my hand away. Just keep breathing in and out.”

      Freedom washed over her as he dropped his hand and took a step away.

      “In. Out. Just think calm.”

      Seven. She covered her face, unable to look into his obviously concerned eyes.

      “You okay now?”

      “I think I can... That’s...that’s never happened to me before.”

      “I apologize for the up close and personal, but I didn’t have a paper bag in my pocket.”

      She swayed and his hands darted out to steady her. “Whoa. I think I’m a little light-headed.”

      “No surprise. Why don’t you sit again? I’ll get you a bottle of water.” He helped until the back of her knees bent against the couch and she sat.

      “Tap. Glasses...” She pointed above the sink. The dishes were on an open shelf. He wouldn’t have trouble finding them. “That was...so embarrassing.”

      Slate moved his hat out of the sink and filled a glass, then handed her the water. “Do the panic attacks happen often?”

      “Never.”

      He looked at her like that was hard to believe, but he didn’t say the words. “I figure this is a lot to take in. You’re gonna have to trust me.”

      “Does that slow-talkin’ cowboy act work on a lot of the girls?” She watched his puzzled reaction. Had she miscalculated him? Was he for real? “Look. I don’t trust anyone anymore. Victor and I have been screwed over by the best of them. Just tell me what’s wrong with this report and why aren’t we on our way to the attorney’s office?”

      “Yeah, about that.” He grimaced slightly while sucking air through his teeth. Then he arched his hand down the back of his head and scratched his neck. Then he put his hands in the air like he was stopping her from moving. “You’re not going to have another attack, are you?”

      She crossed her arms and legs in answer.

      “My buddy was checking the file to make sure everything on our end is ready to go next week. Heath might have arrested your brother, but no one in my Company had anything to do with the investigation.”

      “So?”

      “I don’t actually have permission to be working the case.”

      “Oh. I understand. You’d rather not be involved so you’re going to let my brother hang.”

      “No, that’s not exactly what I meant.” He pulled his phone from his back pocket.

      “Mr.

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