White Collared Part Four: Passion Read Online Free PDF

she’d been on her best behavior for the last eight years, keeping her mouth shut and hiding out from the ones who’d passed judgment on her.
    Jaxon had taught her more than she’d realized in the short time they’d spent together. He’d freed her from the bonds she hadn’t known even existed, and without them, she’d rediscovered her voice. It was time for her to stand up for what she believed in and not cower behind the invented persona of Kate Martin. She didn’t have to go around announcing her past as Katerina Martini but neither was she afraid of it any longer. The tragedy and the years that followed were as much a part of her as her DNA. It made her who she was today. She just wished she knew who exactly that was.
    One more case and she would have them all put away. She picked up a thin folder, figuring she’d read through it quickly. Oddly, there was no name on the file, and inside she found only the complaint and no other paperwork. Usually there would be at least some notes and an agreement for legal services. She flipped to the last page of the complaint and discovered it was never filed with the court. Maybe the client had decided not to proceed with the lawsuit.
    Her gaze fell to the names of the defendants, and her stomach plummeted to the ground floor of the building. Reverend Pierce, the camp Angelus Tredecim, and the church where Pierce worked.
    Hands shaking, she turned to the first page. There were three plaintiffs, all listed as Jane Doe. Carefully, she read through the fifty-page complaint, paying close attention to the facts of the victims. Each woman asserted that she’d been sexually assaulted by the reverend at age thirteen. The civil claims were for assault, battery, intentional infliction of emotional distress, false imprisonment, and defamation.
    She bit her lip as she tried to make sense of the lawsuit. The facts were the same for all three women, but no personal information about who they were was given. Since the statute of limitations required the victim to bring suit within two years of the violation, the girls would all have to be fifteen or younger, but there was no mention of age.
    It was as if Nick were anticipating the victims but hadn’t yet discovered them.
    She blew out the breath she’d been holding. Of course, that must be it. After he learned about what had happened to Alyssa at camp, he must have begun preparing the lawsuit, knowing a pedophile like Reverend Pierce would have abused a number of girls throughout the years. He must intend to investigate it once everything settled down. Maybe it was his way of dealing with Alyssa’s death. A way to honor her memory by bringing to justice the man who’d abused not only her body but her faith.
    She closed the folder, wondering how she could bring it up to Nick when she wasn’t supposed to have seen the file. Hopefully, he’d assign her to help him on it. Although she’d never known Alyssa, she understood what it was like to have your future shaped by a tragedy. Even though she was dead, perhaps by protecting other girls from the reverend, Alyssa’s spirit would find peace.
    Kate scooped up all the files into her arms and started across the room to the filing cabinet when it hit her. The complaint was dated October 1.
    Almost a month before Alyssa’s murder.

Chapter Five
    A FTER QUICKLY FILING the other case files, Kate searched the firm’s database for any mention of Reverend Pierce, the camp, or the church and cross-referenced all of Nick’s assigned cases to his clients, coming up empty on all fronts. It was as if the case didn’t exist. She didn’t even know how to file it in the cabinet. For safekeeping, she slipped it in her briefcase. Then she went to go find Lisa. She’d know what to do with it.
    She stepped into the hallway and had started toward Lisa’s desk when a crash from inside Joseph’s office startled her. Who was in there? She’d thought the police had finished inspecting it. The door was