I opened my mouth to say as much, but Larry started talking.

“Talon Steel was just arrested today. As far as I know, he’s next door in lockup at the police station. I’m sure one of his rich brothers will bail him out any minute now.”

I gasped. At least he was safe. Where had he been? He must have been taken in after I left for work this morning. My skin prickled. I couldn’t stand the thought of him in a dank little cell.

“Mr. Wade—”

“Larry, please.”

I nodded. “Larry, you know I’m staying at the Steel ranch. And I feel I’m under obligation to tell you also that the alleged victim in this case, Colin Morse, is my ex-fiancé. So clearly, you can see how I have a conflict of interest here. I don’t think I can work on this case.”

“Nonsense. In a small town like this, there’s always some kind of conflict one way or another. We all know each other.”

“But I—”

“This isn’t anything different than what we see all the time around here. You will take the case. Mr. Morse is staying in a hotel in Grand Junction. His contact information is in the file. I don’t know if Mr. Steel has retained counsel, but if you want to go next door to the police station and speak to him, now might be a good time.”

I couldn’t believe this. Perhaps Larry didn’t feel what he was doing was unethical, but I sure did. Yes, I got that in a small town the potential for conflict was pretty great, but I had conflict on both sides of this case.

“Larry, I’m asking you as a professional. Please don’t make me take this case.”

“Jade, I’ve known the Steels since they were kids. I have just as much conflict as you do. But someone has to take this case.”

“No, you don’t have as much conflict as I do. I have conflict on both sides. I was engaged to the alleged victim, for goodness’ sake. And I was a witness to the attack.”

Larry’s face turned red. Had I crossed a line? I did want this job, and I was thrilled that he was giving me the opportunity.

“If you’re unable to take the work that I assign you, I will have to find another attorney for the position.”

Yup, I’d crossed a line. I knew an ethical violation when I saw one. but I needed the job. I couldn’t hang out at the ranch forever. And he did have a point about conflict being rampant in a small town. Plus, this way, I could make sure Talon wasn’t too harshly punished. For some reason, turning over control of Talon’s fate to Larry or anyone else didn’t feel right to me. I’d make sure Talon got an attorney, and any attorney worth his license would make sure I was removed from this case.

“No, you don’t need to find another attorney. I appreciate the opportunity to work here. I will take the case.”

“I think that’s a wise decision. But I’ll advise you, Jade, if you want to keep his job, do not question my ethics again.”

I nodded. I had no doubts. From what I learned in legal ethics class, Larry was definitely violating ethics by putting me this case, and consequently, I was as well. But this was a small town. What he said made a lot of sense. If we were that stringent about conflicts, we’d have to bring in outside counsel to prosecute every case. That wouldn’t be feasible. So I would work the case to the best of my ability. I didn’t want Talon to go to jail. I could see that he paid restitution and got community service or something.

I walked out of the building, and Marj met me with some takeout.

“I grabbed us some food. I thought we could eat in the park. Such a beautiful day. Might help us take our minds off Talon.”

Talon. Why did I have to be the one to tell her?

“Talon came back,” I said.

She smiled. “Really? Where is he? What happened?” Then her happy face fell. “Oh, God.”

I swallowed, nodding. “Marj, I can’t have dinner with you right now. I have to go next door. I have a case to work on. Talon has been arrested. Colin filed charges against him for assault and battery. That’s why the cops were looking for him last night.”

Marj clamped her hand to her mouth. “What are we going to do? I’ll go with you.”

I shook my head. “I need to go alone. This is business.”

“But he’s my brother.”

“That’s exactly why I need to go. You’re too emotionally involved.” What a crock. I was just as emotionally involved, if not more so. “Besides, it’s my job.”

“But you’re working for the city attorney. That means…”

I nodded. “Yes, that means I’m working against Talon. But don’t worry. I’m going to take care of this so that he’s in as little trouble as possible. I promise you.”

“I need to walk over to the firm and get an attorney for him,” Marj said.

I nodded again. “That’s a good idea. Hurry. It’s almost five. They might be closing soon. I’ll let him know another attorney is on the way.”

Marj ran off, still carrying our food, while I plodded over to the police station.

Fifteen minutes later, I was sitting in a witness room across the table from Talon. Even in orange, the man was a god. He made prison garb look like Armani.

He didn’t speak, clearly on edge. Tense. It was written all over his face, from his pursed lips and clenched jaw to his wrinkled forehead.

I cleared my throat softly. “Talon, I want you to know that you can have an attorney present during this meeting.”

“You mean you’re not my attorney?”

I shook my head. How I wished I were. “No, I’m the assistant city attorney. Larry Wade just hired me and gave me this case.”

Talon rolled his eyes. “Oh, for the love of God…” He glared at me, his eyes black and angry.

“You’re not thinking anything I haven’t already thought myself. But this will be all right. I can make sure everything turns out okay. The first thing we need to do is get you an attorney.”

“Jade, you have to get me out of here. I don’t want an attorney.”

“If you want to get out of here, you need one. Marj is heading over to the firm right now to find one for you.”

“Those jokers? I wouldn’t pay one of them to represent me.”

“Talon—”

“I plead guilty, damn it. I fucking plead guilty. Send me off to prison.”