Before She Dies by Mary Burton Read Free Book Online Page B

stalked her constantly. Her world became smaller and smaller, and she’d begun to feel quite alone in it.
    Perhaps it was that self-imposed isolation that had driven her to Rokov and why being with him was exhilarating and addictive. If she still saw her analyst, he’d have had quite a field day with her choice to finally break a four-year dry spell with a cop—a protector.
    She found her receptionist grinning like a little girl. Iris was a fifty-plus, silver-haired woman who dressed in pinks and madras. Generally stoic, she was efficient and had the office organized down to the last paper clip.
    “Hey, boss.” Iris was grinning when she offered Charlotte her standard morning greeting.
    Charlotte paused, taken back by the unexpected grin. “Whose birthday did I forget?” She didn’t celebrate holidays and often forgot her own birthday. Consequently, she wasn’t good about remembering most milestone events that were so important to others.
    Iris grinned. “No birthday.”
    “There is something. What did I miss?”
    “You didn’t miss anything. Angie decided to surprise us.” Iris handed her a half-dozen pink message slips.
    She wasn’t fond of surprises. “Why?”
    “Relax, surprises can be good, Charlotte.”
    She flipped through the messages. “So you keep telling me. So what is the good surprise?”
    “Angie has brought in a cake and we’re having a minicelebration.”
    “The celebration is for?”
    “Her fund-raiser for the American Cancer Society. She just received several pledges late yesterday that are going to put her near the million-dollar mark.”
    Angie, a cancer survivor, had suggested a fall Halloween fund-raiser for the children’s cancer ward at Alexandria Hospital. To make the event happen, she’d twisted arms, including Charlotte’s, and called in favors. She’d transformed a once sleepy event into a big costumed Halloween party that was going to be not only a moneymaker but The Event of the year.
    “So we eat cake.”
    “We do. Now put down your bag and get into the conference room. And don’t tell me you have work. You always have work.”
    Charlotte rarely took time to celebrate milestones like this. So consumed with success that the instant she reached one hurdle, she set her sights on the next. Angie was teaching her to slow down if only a little, every so often.
    She slipped into her office, set down her briefcase, and touched up her lipstick. She found her staff in the conference room. Angie Carlson Kier stood at the head of the table wielding a knife over a large pumpkin-shaped cake. Beside her was Zoe Morgan, their new paralegal. Tall, lean, with black hair that grazed her shoulders, she had been a dancer in her teens but had suffered an injury that had ended her career. She’d worked for several nonprofits but had accepted a job here five months ago. So far, she was turning into a real asset.
    Charlotte smiled and tried not to calculate the billable hours idling in this room.
    Angie’s smooth blond hair hovered around her jaw line. She wore a simple cream-colored suit and a white blouse. Since Angie had adopted her son, David, she’d cut back her hours to forty a week, part-time for a lawyer. Angie had declined partnership on the heels of Charlotte losing her original partner, Sienna James, to a lover in Texas. Sienna’s buyout, Angie’s inability to buy into the firm, and the lost billable hours to the White case had created the crippling cash flow crunch.
    “I can hear the wheels turning in your brain, Charlotte,” Angie said. “We will take just a few moments to have this minicelebration and then it’s back to work.”
    Charlotte relaxed her shoulders and eased the tension from her face. “No rush.”
    Everyone laughed.
    “I don’t see the humor,” Charlotte said.
    Angie grinned. “You not rushing is funny. And by the way, you did a stunning job with summations yesterday. You’ve the makings of a great criminal attorney.”
    She’d been pleased with her