Wolf at Law by Heather Long Read Free Page B

and tucked into her bed.
    Giles forbade her from ever letting Alexis sleep with them. It might get in his way if he came home and wanted sex. Even when Alexis had a fever, she wasn’t allowed to sleep in their bed. He’d dragged Tiffany out by her hair once to prove to her how wrong her decision had been. While he’d never raised a hand to their daughter, she couldn’t risk that he wouldn’t.
    Not anymore.
    Swiping her hands against her cheeks, she went to check her stash beneath the floorboard of the closet. She’d hidden away about three thousand dollars, tip money mostly, but a few dollars here or there. She’d been saving since Alexis had been born. At first, it had been a secret fund to do something for her daughter.
    Now it was their escape hatch. If she could find an attorney—any attorney willing to tangle with Giles Taglioni and his insane family—she could escape and get Alexis to safety. Then they could build a life together.
    A real life.
    The shuffle of feet on the wooden floors warned her before Alexis stopped at the entryway to the bedroom. “Mama?”
    Glancing over her shoulder, she smiled at the beautiful little girl with her braided pigtails. Sleepy, washed and in fresh pajamas, she was the most perfect sight in the world. All the fear in Tiffany’s soul bled away. It didn’t matter what she had to do, she would protect her daughter. “You want to watch a movie, baby?”
    Alexis bobbed her head, but didn’t come into the room. Giles didn’t want their daughter in there and even the sweet little cherub understood the instructions. “Can we watch Beauty and the Beast ?”
    Not surprised by the choice, Tiffany rearranged the shoes on the floor so not one was out of place then climbed to her feet. “How about I make popcorn for our movie?”
    Eyes widening, Alexis clapped her hands. “Can I get Petey?”
    Petey the Pillow was the child’s version of a best friend. The fuzzy pillow had been a dollar store find and became Alexis’ favorite toy. “Go get him!” Ten minutes later, with a bag of microwave popcorn in their lap, they curled up together. By the time Beast saved Belle from the wolves, Alexis had gone sound to sleep. Stroking her daughter’s hair she continued staring at the movie.
    She had a list of attorneys to try the next day. What would she do if they turned her down?
    Blowing out a breath, Tiffany closed her eyes. Keep trying, that’s what I do. I need a plan. Once we have a plan, I can get her safe.  
     
     
    The next day, after dropping Alexis off at her day school, she headed uptown to her first appointment. She spent four hours running into a brick wall after brick wall after brick wall. By the time she took a seat at a sidewalk café and ordered a sandwich and some coffee, it was everything she could do not to burst into tears. Refusing to give in to the anguish, she pulled out the wadded yellow pages from her purse.
    Using a pen, she marked off the attorneys who’d turned her down that day. Two told her she didn’t have a case. The other two told her that, while she might have a case, the Taglioni fortune could pay for five attorneys to every one she might be able to find. The last attorney? He said he’d get her a divorce, but she’d never keep custody of her daughter.
    No college education—hell, she didn’t even have a high school diploma. In the last month alone she’d seen more than fifty lawyers. The most polite let her know their case load wasn’t tenable while the rest did everything they could not to laugh her out of their offices. It was Chicago. Chicago belonged to the Taglionis, just like Tiffany did.
    If she couldn’t hire a lawyer, maybe she could just run. Pack up Alexis, get on a bus, and not look back.
    But to where?
    The yellow pages were crumpled in a dozen places, so she tried to smooth them out and pick out who she would call next. The city had to have thousands of attorneys—at least one had to find merit in her case.
    “You need a