The Defender. Adrienne Giordano

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СКАЧАТЬ not sure she’d have done even that. He said he’s watching her, though. Maybe he took a shot and got lucky.”

      “Yeah, well, that lucky shot just earned him extortion and obstruction charges to go with his landslide of financial-fraud issues. And if I can prove it, murder. The reporter died this morning.” Penny reeled back and he held up a finger when Guy Hawkins, one of his squad mates on the CID—Criminal Investigation Division—answered. “Voight here. Where are we on those marshals for Penny and Gerald Hennings?”

      “They’re on their way over. Should be there anytime.”

      At his hip, the door lever moved. Someone trying to use the john. “One second,” he said to the person on the other side. He went back to Hawkins. “Good. Thanks. Put me through to Everly.” Russ looked back at Penny, who stared at him with dead eyes. The reporter thing rattled her. Rightly so. “Trying to reach my ASAC. Voice mail.”

      Not a break to be had. He left a message. Only thing to do.

      “Okay,” he said. “We’ve got to get out of this bathroom. I’m not taking you out the front door. Who the hell knows where Heath is, but he had a view of the entrance. We know that.”

      “And what? We’re going out the back?”

      “I’ll have one of the marshals pick us up in the alley. Wherever Heath is, he won’t see you leave.”

      “Where are we going?”

      “To find Elizabeth. We’ll stash her away somewhere. This guy is soiling himself over whatever she knows. And if he orchestrated that shooting, she knows enough to put him away.”

      The person in the hallway knocked. “Only one bathroom, chief,” a man said.

      Russ turned, yanked open the door and flipped his badge up. The young guy, the one he’d spotted reading a Sports Illustrated when he’d walked in, stared at the giant letters that read F-B-I and his eyes widened. “Oh, wow.”

      “Yeah,” Russ said. “Give us a second.”

      The kid nodded and Russ shut the door again. Sometimes his love of flashing his badge was borderline perverse.

      “I totally need an FBI badge,” Penny cracked.

      “It’s handy. You ready?”

      She nodded and Russ opened the door. Sports Illustrated guy looked at Penny, then to Russ and back to Penny again. His mouth curved into a sarcastic grin that Russ would have liked to pound away at, but hell, two people spending extended time in a single bathroom conjured all sorts of thoughts. Nothing he could do about that.

      Penny stepped into the hallway and jerked her head at the young guy. “All yours. Chief.”

      Nice. Why he was surprised at her sarcasm, he’d never know. Despite being followed, threatened and shot at, Penny Hennings still had fight in her.

      If he could get over the fact that she put criminals back on the street, she might be the love of his life.

      Penny stopped in the hallway and turned to him. She bit her top lip, then blew out a breath, and that was so not good.

      Ushering her out of the path, he leaned one shoulder against the wall. “You’re thinking. What about?”

      “My family. He could go after them.” Her voice squeaked like the last neglected wheel.

      No, no, no. She was not turning tail on him. Not Killer Cupcake, who never shied away from conflict. At least, not that he knew of. He’d worked too long and hard to nail this guy. Between the fraud charges and conspiracy to commit murder, this guy was toast. All they had to do was prove it. The widow’s testimony would help them win this. And he wasn’t about to let Penny—the defense attorney—wreck it.

      “You’re not backing down on me, Penny. This case is too important. We’ll get all of you protection.”

      Her mouth dropped open. “You think I’m backing down? That’s what you think? I happen to be tired. Doesn’t mean I’m letting that nutcase dictate how I should live, but I need my family safe. That’s what I’m thinking.”

      Could be he blew that call. Could be? With the cremating stare she gave him? Yeah, he’d definitely blown it.

      Sports Illustrated guy came out of the john, spotted them and averted his gaze. At least he’d learned his lesson about the beautiful blonde and her sharp tongue. He didn’t want any piece of her now.

      Neither did Russ. By his estimation, he needed damage control here. He nodded toward the guy. “I think you scared the hell out of him.”

      Penny rolled her eyes and boosted off the wall. “Don’t even try it, Russell. Admit you screwed up. Feeding my ego won’t replace that.”

      Sick bastard that he was, this could definitely be love. “I screwed up. Shouldn’t have assumed. And you know what else?”

      A noise from the café drew her attention for a second and her ponytail flew over her shoulder when she came back to him. “What?”

      Gently, he swept the blond strands over her shoulder, let the backs of his fingers linger a second. Maybe two.

      She shifted and he smiled at the punch of physical attraction. Or maybe he needed sex. Hot, sweaty, knock-him-sideways sex that he hadn’t had in way too long. Getting busy with a woman had never been a problem. Getting busy with the right woman proved to be a challenge.

      Penny Hennings—defense lawyer or not—might be the right woman.

      She shifted again, made snoring noises, and he ducked his head closer. Slowly, she lifted her chin, and if he pushed it, if he nudged a little farther, he’d be close enough to kiss her. “Yeah, you might be the right one.”

      Drifting closer, she blinked up at him, those big blue eyes questioning. “I’m sorry?”

      A shrill beeping filled the hallway. Phone. The boss returning his SOS call. He shook his head and let the annoying beep get him back in line before he did something beyond stupid.

      Sex with Penny Hennings. He’d never survive.

      Chapter Four

      Once in the unmarked car driven by Brent Thompson, her newly assigned U.S. marshal, Penny and Russ were driven to an FBI safe house near New Buffalo, Michigan, for crying out loud. Hey, boys, I have nothing whatsoever going on today—let’s drive to Michigan. Anything happening at her office would have to wait. It wouldn’t make her clients happy, but her choices were limited.

      They’d spent over an hour looping around the lake, and now, as they drove along this quiet road, miles and miles of sparkling Lake Michigan water laid a perfect path against a bright blue sky. It seemed all that water led straight to Heaven. She didn’t visit the beach often, but driving along this road, watching sunbathers and toddlers playing in the sand, the sunlight shimmering off the lake, all of it gave her a sense of calm she didn’t often feel. Maybe she should make more of an attempt to spend time at her parents’ lake house in Wisconsin.

      “You’re too quiet back there,” Russ said from the front СКАЧАТЬ