Page 26 of Bishop

“What was there?” Diamond asked from the other end of the line.

“My gris gris…it was hanging on the mirror,” I whispered looking around.

She chuckled on the other end of the line. “I’m sure you moved it, you’ve been really stressed out."

I sighed and checked my reflection in the mirror. It was true stress had come strolling into my life quickly. I’d probably moved the little bag somewhere in a haze.

The last few days I’d been dragging ass because of trial prep.

As promised, Will had dragged me and a few other first year associates into a huge murder trial. It was all hands-on deck at the firm.

“So?” Diamond said from the other end of the line as I fluffed my hair once more before heading out.

"So what?”

My sister was never one to beat around the bush. “Have you heard from that sexy ass Zane Bishop?”

“Diamond, come on!”

She sighed. “You never told me what happened either, after I drove and picked you up!”

Reversing out of the driveway, I pulled away from my house and headed towards the law firm.

I laughed as the conversation switched over to the car’s speaker. “It’s not your business.”

“Okay the next time you need someone to pick you up from a one-night stand’s house…baby, call your mother.”

Unable to stand it I rolled my eyes. “Sleeping with that man was a lapse in judgment. I shouldn’t have done it.”

Diamond laughed. “But was it good?”

“It was so good but it was unsafe. I fell in with a man whose sexual history I don’t have the slightest clue about.”

“Girl…” Diamond’s voice went on alert.

“I know and I immediately went and got tested. I don’t do casual encounters. My last relationship was a while ago. I guess I was just caught up in the moment.”

My sister’s tone turned soft. “You’re human, Emmy. Mistakes happen.”

I merged into the heavy traffic, still nearly a good twenty minutes away. “I know but, I know to be careful. After my…”

Taking a deep breath, I finally let it out.

“After my abduction, I have really steered clear of men. That psychopath really thought I was in love with him. He was my first case as a public defender and then finally getting him out of prison.”

I took a breath and my chest began to feel tight as hell. A car behind me laid on the horn and I found myself staring ahead at the light.

The stoplight, swaying gently above the traffic, switched from a violent red to a soft green, but still, I couldn't move. Mychest had begun to feel tighter than tight as if all the air had gone out of the world.

“Em….Emmy!”

The horn behind me continued to blare. Sweat began to decorate my forehead, and I felt like my body was encased in ice at the same time.

“Emmy!”

As suddenly as it came, it passed, and I hit the gas speeding off. “Huh?”

“Are you okay?” Diamond’s voice remained soft and reassuring.

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