Page 42 of Courting the Consequences

“In the meantime, I’ll look over everything that Danvers has and we’ll get your defense going. We’ll have to name my father to bring him in. That could get messy if I’m on counsel. Danvers will be primary and I’ll help from the background. I won’t be able to get involved publicly.” Kara sighed.

Mac nodded. “Whatever you can do to help, I appreciate it.”

Kara smiled wryly. “I can only do so much, but I don’t see why we can’t have hope.”

Kara headed back to the office after she left the county jail. She swung by a sushi joint on her way and picked up lunch. She texted the group chat that something had come up at work and she would be working late, cancelling their plans for dinner.

She knew once she started digging she would lose track of time, and she didn’t want to have to worry about being late for dinner with Johnny. He had wanted to take her on a date, just the two of them, to catch up on her day with his dad and then to get to know each other better. She had thought it was extremely sweet, but after learning the bombshell that Mac had dropped during the interview regarding her mother… she needed some alone time to process.

What would have happened if Carlita hadn’t cheated on Mac? Would Kara still be here? Would Mac be her father? Johnny her brother? The what-ifs would drive her crazy, so she pushed them to the back of her mind.

She ate her sushi in her office and placed a call to the off-site document storage facility and ordered back every single box they ever sent. The woman she spoke to had been utterly shocked, but Kara had insisted. She gave them an address for a warehouse that Kara herself owned but rarely used. She would have the boxes delivered off-site so as not to raise suspicion from anyone in the office. She still didn’t know whom she could trust and who was loyal to her father.

The lady had warned her it would take several weeks to organize a move that massive, as there were thousands of boxes, but Kara had assured her it was fine. She didn’t have much of a choice but to wait.

Once that was organized, she started digging into the Granger files on her computer. She pulled up the billables and got lost in the financials. Case Holdings showed up multiple times but only as a charge for research.

Hours later, after hitting brick wall after brick wall, she called it quits.

Case Holdings was still as much of a mystery as it was that morning. Sure, she might now know who initially started the company. But how was her father using it now? Was he embezzling money from his own clients? From his own company?

Kara sighed when she finally logged out that evening. There really was only one way of knowing… and that was to ask her father outright.

Therein lay the problem. She and her father had a rocky relationship at best. They had worked well together when Vince was still in the office as long as she followed his lead. He was all for her making a name for herself and being ambitious, but it had to also be for the good of Carmichael and Associates as a whole.

They often fought over pro bono work and her volunteering at free legal clinics. She tried to give back to the community as much as she could. And while Vince loved the good publicity for the firm, he preferred her to be paid for her efforts and often tried to squash any attempts at her seeking too much pro bono work. Since his retirement, she hadn’t had the time either—probably another idea of his.

She glanced at her phone and saw it was going on seven. Kara gathered up her purse and briefcase, with her laptop in tow, and headed for the door. Since it was Friday night, she decided to swing by the clubhouse, and see what her boys were up to. Maybe they could get a late dinner and head back to her place for some much-needed relaxation.

The clubhouse was more packed than Kara had ever seen it. There wasn’t a place to park, so she pulled up in front of the row of bikes. Vagabond was sitting at the picnic tables beyond the bikes, so she headed his way.

“Hey, doll,” he greeted her with a smile. “You staying a while? I can get one of the prospects to park your car out back.”

“I’m not planning on it. Just passing through. What’s the occasion?” she asked, motioning around at the extra people.

Vagabond grinned brightly. “Fight night. We’re ordering the fight later and everyone is here to party and watch it. Fight starts at midnight our time, ten p.m. in Vegas.”

Kara grinned. “Sounds fun. Have you seen Johnny or Derrick or Kevin?” she asked.

“’Round the pool table, last time I saw them,” he nodded toward the clubhouse.

She grinned and headed that way. “Thanks Vagabond!”

She entered the smoky clubhouse and was taken by how packed it truly was. The music pumped through the speakers as scantily clad bodies writhed on a makeshift dance floor. The bar was packed two deep, while each booth and table were also full. The pool tables and dartboards had people hanging around, and Kara could barely make out her boys near one pool table at the back of the room.

She walked along the bar. Dressed in her work clothes and with her hair still up in a fancy chignon, she looked as out of place as she possibly could.

Kara didn’t realize just how tired she was until a headache sprang up between her eyes and seemed to pulse with the heavy beat of the music.

She was almost at the back of the room when a woman wearing a bikini top and miniskirt that barely covered her ass stepped away from the bar. She looked Kara up and down and laughed. “Honey, you’re gonna need to lose some clothes if you wanna hook up with anyone in this place.”

Kara smiled easily and shrugged. “I’ll take my chances,” she said and pushed past the woman.

She got held up at the end of the bar when a girl fell off a barstool in front of her. Kara hadn’t been close enough to reach her, but she had to wait to pass while a group of people helped the woman back up.

While she waited, she overheard a couple girls talking at the bar. “Have you tried talking to Mayhem tonight?” one asked.

Kara didn’t turn to see the women. She didn’t care who they were, but she listened. “I tried walking over there while they were playing pool. He told me he was busy and walked away. I figured I would try again later. I’m sure he’ll need some relieving before the night is over.”

---