Love Irresistibly by Julie James

Author:Julie James [James, Julie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Romance, Contemporary, Fiction, General
ISBN: 9781101617410
Google: OtjWEEub9-YC
Amazon: B0090UOIW2
Publisher: Berkley
Published: 2013-04-01T22:00:00+00:00

Eighteen

A WEEK LATER, Cade sat across a conference table from Charles Torino and two of his defense attorneys. As the federal prosecutor who’d filed the charges against Senator Sanderson, Torino, and the other three defendants, Cade had made certain predictions to himself as to who the first defendant would be to approach him about a guilty plea. He’d gone with Torino, mostly because he’d guessed that a hospital CEO who lived in a four-million-dollar home would try to do anything to avoid serving time in a federal prison. And the fact that his lawyer had literally broken out in a sweat during the arraignment made Cade think that the Torino defense team wasn’t feeling all too confident about their case.

His suspicions were confirmed that Friday morning.

“We’d like to talk about the charges our client is facing,” said Owen Lockhart, the lead defense attorney for Charles Torino, who’d called Cade earlier in the week to request a meeting.

“Conspiracy to bribe a government official,” Cade said matter-of-factly. “And as I told you on the phone, Mr. Lockhart, I’m afraid there isn’t much for us to discuss.”

Lockhart gestured. “My client is considering changing his plea.”

“A wise idea, given the evidence,” Cade said. “We can call the clerk’s office and set up a change of plea hearing anytime you’d like.”

“But what am I going to get in exchange?” Torino blurted out, ignoring the looks of his attorneys.

Cade rested his arms on the table. “I apologize if this wasn’t made clear to you, Mr. Torino, but I’ve already told your lawyer that I don’t intend to cut any deals with respect to the charges against you.”

Torino’s other attorney, James Wheeler, was younger and seemingly more aggressive than Lockhart. “We know your primary target is the senator, Morgan. You seem to have a hard-on for politicians these days.”

“What I have a hard-on for, Mr. Wheeler, is making sure that justice is met against those individuals who willfully and flagrantly break the laws of the United States.”

Lockhart jumped back in, quick to appease. “What my colleague means to say is that Mr. Torino is a small fish in the very big pond that is this case. According to the FBI reports, you guys have been building your case against Senator Sanderson for months. Perhaps we can assist you in getting your big fish.”

Cade’s tone remained polite, but firm. “With all due respect, gentlemen, I already have everything I need from Mr. Torino.” He turned to address the hospital CEO directly. “I have recorded conversations between you and the senator, both on the phone and at Sogna. On top of that, we’ve got a video of the two of you at the restaurant, literally shaking hands as you agree to pay him two hundred thousand dollars in exchange for keeping Parkpoint Hospital open. That’s more than enough for the jury, regardless of whether or not you testify.”

Torino looked at the window and shook his head, as if he couldn’t believe any of this was happening. After a few moments, he spoke in a subdued tone.

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