More Than Meets the Eye - Page 120

“I meant, I’m not a good person to care about, Baz.My life is fucked up, and I shouldn’t have dragged you into it—”

“I love you.”The words burst out of him, too loud to be contained any longer.Their sweet taste lingered in his mouth, so addictive, he wanted to utter them over and over again.

Sami’s jaw dropped.His lower lip quivered.

Baz took a step closer, tentatively hooked his index finger around Sami’s.“I love you.I want to be in the mess with you.”

“Baz…” It sounded like a plea, but on his life, Baz didn’t know what for.Sami already had his whole heart, butchered and torn and sewn back together as it was, but all his.

“I love you,” Baz whispered again.

Finally—finally—Sami threw his arms around his neck.

Oh, thank god he had done that.Baz embraced him with all the love he felt, savored the smell of oakmoss and lime.His heart expanded to twice its size.He never wanted to let go again.

When Sami’s shoulders trembled, when his hot breath got quicker against his neck, Baz squeezed him tighter, stroking through his wonderfully thick, silky hair.He pressed kiss after kiss on Sami’s head.

Sami looked up with reddened eyes, glowing like the blood moon.He cupped the back of Baz’s head and kissed him.

“You really are an idiot,” he mumbled against Baz’s lips.From him, it sounded like the greatest compliment anyone could receive.If loving Sami was idiotic, Baz would wear that title with pride.

He kissed Sami again, simply had to.He’d do this forever, if he was allowed.Once they got rid of Damocles’s sword hanging above their heads.

“Sami… What does Ian have on you?”

“I—” Sami bit the sentence off before it could take flight, withdrew his arms.Baz wasn’t ready to let go yet.He intertwined his hands on Sami’s lower back to make a point of that, too.

A crooked smile lit up Sami’s face, fading as soon as it appeared.

“I was kicked out of law school when they caught me selling my meds.”

“I know.”Baz had long stopped caring about that.Sami had done what he needed to do.

“Before that, I was a summer associate at Ian’s firm, and I worked mostly with him.We got along.And when he heard about my arrest, he offered to bail me out.Said it would be a waste of talent if I quit and that I could work for him as a trainee-associate.One year, and I’d clear the ABA’s requirement to be certified.He promised he’d pull the strings to make it happen for me, and I was so thrilled, I didn’t think twice.But a few weeks in, he asked me to do… things.Not exactly legal things.And when I said no, he…” Sami squeezed his eyes shut.Baz stroked his cheek to ease the cramping muscles.A single tear collided with his finger.

“His face turned to stone and he said it’s too late.My name’s already attached to his schemes, and if I tried to leave or said a word to anyone, he’d make sure my next arrest would stick.”

“You’re his fall guy,” Baz realized.No wonder Sami went wherever Ian did, so Ian always had someone to blame.He truly was the devil.

“Yeah.The rules mean nothing to him, only results do.And he made it perfectly clear that he doesn’t intend for our arrangement to end any time soon.I’m trapped working for him until he loses interest or decides to destroy me.”

What if their relationship was what made Ian follow through on his threats?Why the hell had Sami risked that?No, first things first.“All that stuff in that envelope is evidence of his misconduct.Why don’t you report him?”

“I tried.I found a prosecutor at court and told her Ian threatened me.She laughed in my face.”

Hot blood rushed into Baz’s head.“She can’t do that!Who was it?”She would go down right next to Ian—

“Someone who doesn’t work there anymore,” Sami said softly.His palm cooled Baz’s cheek.“But she made it very clear she wouldn’t take the word of some law school dropout loser with a criminal record over Ian’s, the prestigious lawyer who has worked hundreds of cases that would all get delegitimized if any wrongdoing was discovered.Told me I’m lucky she wouldn’t tell Ian I tried to sabotage him, and I should be grateful to be learning from such a great lawyer.”

“That’s horrible!She had no right to dismiss you like that.”

“Maybe.It probably wouldn’t have worked out, anyway.Ian has the resources to make it look like I fabricated half of that stuff I gave you and the connections to get the other half dismissed at court.He’ll go free and I’ll be the only one left looking guilty.”

“So, you gave it to me to, what, turn you both in?”If Sami thought there was a world in which Baz would betray him so, he had another thing coming.

Sami shook his head.His thumb swiped over Baz’s jaw.“Use it as leverage to get your settlement deal.Threats are the only language Ian speaks.Your plaintiffs deserve justice.”

“No.He’ll know where it came from.”