Convicted: A Mafia Romance Read Free

as we walked to a quiet little meeting room. The Innocence Project didn’t have a lot of space to work with, but we made do. With over two hundred active cases and a team of a dozen or so lawyers, we had a hell of a load. I waved a hand at an empty chair and watched the chunky man take a seat, cracking the seal of his drink and downing almost half in one swallow. Wiping his mouth on his sleeve, he sat the bottle on the table.
    “Miss Foster. I have a case that I think you would find appealing. Before we get into that, I want you to know I did everything I could to win the case… but something just doesn’t add up.”
    “I see. I know who you are, Mr. Jackson. I’ve followed your career for years.”
    “May I ask you a question?” he asked.
    I nodded, wondering what this was about.
    “My client isn’t guilty of the crime he’s been charged with.” He flashed me a weak smile. “But that doesn’t mean he’s innocent of other things. Would it interfere with your fighting for his innocence if a man was a known criminal?”
    “It most certainly would not. Where are you going with this, Mr. Jackson?” I asked, arching a brow.
    “My client is in need of a fresh set of eyes to look at his case. His hope is that this new person will see whatever it was I missed during his trial. Would that interest you?” he asked as he rooted through his briefcase.
    “I’d have to see the case in order to make a decision. A good lawyer doesn’t just jump in without checking the water. I’m sure you understand.”
    Jackson nodded as he pulled a folder from his briefcase. “I do. Here’s the case in question. Feel free to peruse at your leisure. If you are interested please let me know as soon as possible. Time is of the essence.” He slid a thin file across the desk towards me, his business card on top of the folder. He pulled himself up from the chair, thanked me for my time, and waddled out the door. Watching him go, I had to contain a giggle as an image of Danny DeVito in Batman Returns popped into my head.
    Back at my cramped little desk, which was covered in stacks of open cases, I stared at the file folder in my hands. I glanced around the room, then back to the file, wondering why a high-powered attorney like Mr. Jackson would come calling on me.
    Hell, I had almost zero experience and had never taken on a high-profile case on my own. It just didn’t make a damn bit of sense at all. Flipping open the folder, I slipped on my glasses and began reading.
    “Holy shit!” I squealed. Heads popped up, everyone’s eyes glaring at me. “Sorry. Just a spider.” I offered weakly. Several of my colleagues shook their heads at my outburst and returned to whatever daunting tasks they were working on. Me? I went back to the file.
    I remembered this case. I mean, how the hell could anyone not remember it? The State of Texas vs Sebastian Christakos in the murder of his wife. Damn. It was a monster of a case. Jackson had put up one hell of a fight. I’d had to tear myself away from the television coverage to take my bar exam and missed a good portion of it.
    It might make me sound a little like a glory hog, but I wanted a big case like this, a case that would propel me into legal stardom. But was I willing to help represent a known mobster? Thinking back to my short meeting with Jackson, I now understood why he had asked if I could see past the fact his client was a known criminal.
    “Hell yes, I’m interested,” I mumbled under my breath. The people here wouldn’t dare touch this case with a ten-foot pole. Ever. It was too dangerous and, in the end, could crush everything the organization stood for. Nobody had intended for this operation to help a known felon, even if he was innocent of the crime that put him behind bars. But I wanted to know more.
    Grabbing my briefcase, I thrust the file inside heading for the front door. I said goodnight to the receptionists and stepped outside into the humid evening air. Sliding my thumb