Legal Heat (10 page)

“Tell me an elephant joke and I’ll give you a name.”

James growled. “How about I tell you the joke about the reporter who got his head shoved up an elephant’s ass? Give me the name.”

“Jimmy Rider.”

James froze and steeled himself to hide his surprise. “Her boyfriend. Currently in jail. Tell me something I don’t know.”

“He’s connected to Garcia.”

“How? You’re dying to tell me. Go ahead.”

“You haven’t given me anything worth printing.” Keegan tapped his notepad. “I have a deadline. This is going to be in tomorrow’s paper with or without your comments.”

James racked his brain to think of a way to satisfy Keegan without compromising the case. “There may be third party interest in this one.”

“A bit obscure.”

“I have every confidence you’ll figure it out. Come by the station and let me know when you do.” James swung the door closed forcing Keegan to jump out of the way. He pulled away from the curb and rolled down the window. “Hey, Keegan. Don’t forget to bring the popcorn.”

“Is that your idea of a first date?”

Mark looked up, bleary-eyed, as James appeared in front of him and gestured toward Katy asleep in the crook of Mark’s arm. Two o’clock in the morning and the Vancouver Main Street police station was buzzing with activity. He hadn’t even heard James approach.

“Where have you been?” he snapped. “We’ve been waiting here for hours. Your colleagues wouldn’t let us leave until we gave you a statement. Friendly types. They haven’t said a word to us since we got here. Didn’t even offer us a cup of coffee.”

James chuckled. “You probably scared them off. Your scowl would unnerve even the hardest of men.”

Katy stirred in her sleep and Mark tightened his arm around her, pressing her soft, warm body closer to his side.

“I thought you told me at the bar the other night you had a conflict.” James raised a questioning eyebrow. “You don’t look too conflicted to me.”

Mark sighed. “I feel conflicted. I would drop the damn case in a second but the client’s work is the only thing keeping the firm afloat.”

Shouts echoed down the corridor. An intoxicated teenager stumbled toward them seemingly oblivious to the commotion behind him. Seconds later he lay face down on the floor, his hands cuffed behind his back by two angry policemen.

“What about her?” James didn’t even look over when the teenager threw up in a wastepaper basket. “Can she drop the case?”

Mark shrugged. “I think her firm gave it to her as a partnership test case. If it was me in this economic climate, I wouldn’t drop it, and I don’t think she will either.”

“Conflict.”

“Exactly.”

James gave him a sympathetic look. “Why did you take her to the apartment?”

“She’s acting for Val’s boyfriend in a criminal case. I think Val was his alibi, but she didn’t turn up at Katy’s office to sign her statement. Katy came with me in case Val was at home.”

“I didn’t like that guy,” James said. “I met him a few times when he came to pick up Val. There was something off about him. I never understood why she didn’t throw him out when she found out he was screwing around on her.”

Mark stroked his fingers along the curve of Katy’s waist. “She lost perspective after he dragged her into the drug scene. Tony was helping her clean up her act. I haven’t told him yet, but he’s going to take it hard.”

James scrubbed his hand over his face and looked down at Katy. “I’m surprised her firm would give her the case. He’s got some pretty serious charges against him. Apparently he has a reputation for charming women into his bed, roughing them up and then stealing from them. Not someone I would trust around a young, pretty female lawyer.”

Mark agreed, and he wanted to know which of her partners had given her the case. She deserved to know that her supervising partner wasn’t looking out for her best interests. Plus, he had a few things to say to the bastard after the case was done.

James’s phone buzzed and he checked the message. “I’ve got to make a quick call. Bring her down to my office in five minutes and we can get those statements out of the way.”

Mark looked down at Katy’s silken hair spread out over his chest and tightened his arm around her. “I’ll be there in half an hour.”

“You’re making it worse every minute you sit there with her in your arms.”

“I can handle it.”

“Like you handled Claire?” James lowered his voice. “You’ve spent ten years on your own because you couldn’t deal with your guilt and you weren’t to blame for her death. This time, if you’re both sanctioned by the Law Society, the guilt will be real.”

“Back off,” Mark growled. He didn’t want to be reminded of the conflict, or the repercussions. He definitely didn’t want to be reminded about Claire. He just wanted to sit and think. He wanted to mourn the loss of his friend. And he wanted to hold Katy in his arms as long as he possibly could.

James took one last look at them and shrugged his shoulders. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

Chapter Six

“What are you doing here?” Katy froze, her hand on the door to Courtroom Five. She had almost missed Mark standing in the shadow of the nearby greenery, but when he detached himself from the wall, there was no mistaking the broad shoulders and the tailored, wool suit draped over taut muscles and skirting his trim waist.

“I believe the customary greeting for opposing counsel is hello.” His dark eyes crinkled and he walked toward her.

Ambush
.

Infuriated, she folded her arms and glared.

Mark stopped a foot away, his lips curling into a smile. “Something wrong, sugar?”

Not trusting herself to speak, Katy pulled open the heavy oak door and stormed into the courtroom.

“You’re looking a little flushed,” Mark murmured, following close behind her.

Katy gritted her teeth and dropped her briefcase on the counsel table at the front of the courtroom. While Mark unpacked his briefcase, she emptied her supplies pencil by pencil, paper by paper, until she had her betraying body under control.

“You still haven’t answered my question.” She turned to glare at him. “What are you doing here?”

“You still haven’t said hello.” He perched on the edge of her table and examined the spread before him. “That’s a lot of stationery for a five-minute hearing.”

Katy slammed the last pencil on the table and tried not to think about waking up in his arms in the police station or the gentle brush of his lips on her forehead when he told her James had finally arrived.

Enemy. Enemy. Enemy.

“I’m assuming this is an ambush, in which case you do not deserve a greeting of any kind.” She had hoped for a few minutes alone to prepare for the hearing. Now it seemed unlikely she would even have a minute of peace.

“Clever girl. Yes, it’s an ambush but it doesn’t mean you can’t observe the usual social niceties.”

She straightened the pencils into a neat line, ensuring they all faced the same direction. “Don’t be condescending. You said you weren’t going to oppose the motion. I just want to interview a few people from Hi-Tech. It’s a simple request. You don’t need to be here.”

He shrugged. “I changed my mind.”

“You changed your mind? At the last minute? I’m not prepared to argue the motion. I don’t have any cases with me, and no evidence. I thought it was going by consent.”

“That is the point of an ambush.” He chuckled. “Are you afraid of me, sugar? Don’t think you can handle me? Maybe we should call in the partner on the file. Your office isn’t far away.”

Katy closed her eyes and took a deep breath. No one, not even Steven, had ever riled her up as fast as Mark did in court. “Here we go again. Do I threaten you? You seem to have great difficulty believing I am capable of running the case.”

“If I had any doubt about your ability to run the case, I wouldn’t have bothered to come. I would have sent an associate. You should be flattered I’m here.” The teasing note in his voice did little to placate her.

“Do I look flattered?” She pressed her lips together and glared.

“You look hot,” he murmured. “Like you did when we spent the night together.”

Katy sucked in a sharp breath. “We were in a police station. I fell asleep on a bench. You can’t read anything into that.”

His eyes softened. “Speak for yourself.”

Katy drew in a ragged breath. Although she would never tell him, she hadn’t wanted those precious moments in the police station to end. For the first time in as long as she could remember, she had felt safe, content. She would have been happy to stay in his arms all night long. Unfortunately, James had had other ideas.

“We can’t do this. You said it yourself.” She gave him a questioning look. “Unless your client wants to settle? I’m sure my client would consider a fair offer.”

Mark closed the distance between them. “As he said in the discovery, he thinks your client is a spy. He won’t settle.”

“So we’re back where we started.” Her heart drummed erratically in her chest as his scent, spicy and masculine, surrounded her.

He looked behind him at the empty courtroom and then cupped her cheek in his warm palm, drawing her close. “No, sugar. The more I get to know you, the harder you are to resist.”

Katy shivered, confused by his brutal honesty and her own heated response to him. Who was this sinfully sensual man? All she knew for certain was a desire so sharp it hurt. She covered his hand with her own, lacing her fingers between his, intending to pull his hand away. But the fierce hunger in his eyes drew her in. She turned her face into his palm and pressed her lips to his heated skin.

“God, Katy.” His voice broke and his fingers curled around her jaw.

The door opened and he released her, pushing her away with a sudden thrust. Katy staggered back and gasped at the sudden loss of contact. She gripped the thick oak table to steady herself and took in a ragged breath.

Maybe his advances were simply a ploy to throw her off balance. Maybe he played young, female associates every day, winning case after case as women toppled like dominos in a lust-induced haze. After all, who could resist a man who smoldered like a glowing coal?

“I guess I’ll just have to teach you how to respect me in court,” she muttered as he walked across the aisle to his seat. “So lace up those gloves and get ready for a fight.”

“Mark. Please. Wait.”

Katy hurried down the corridor and slipped into the elevator before the doors slammed shut. Mark had left the courtroom so quickly after their hearing she had almost lost him in the hallway. The elevator began its slow ascent to the top level of the courthouse, and Katy swallowed hard.

“I want to apologize. I didn’t know you’d just come from Valerie’s funeral until you told the judge. Why didn’t you ask for an adjournment? I would have agreed. I’m not without compassion.”

Mark looked down at her, a curious mix of sadness and amusement in his eyes. “I’m not so sure about that after your performance in court this afternoon. I’m heading over to the hospital after my next hearing to get all the bruises treated.”

Katy blushed. “It wasn’t personal.”

“Really?” Mark rubbed his knuckles over her cheek. “You went out of your way to slice and dice me. Although I deserved it. I would have done the same if you had ambushed me.”

“Are you okay? After the funeral, I mean? I know Valerie was a friend.”

Mark shrugged. “Death is never easy, but it was especially hard because she was young and she had turned her life around. And Tony…he and Valerie…” Katy wrapped her arms around him and gave him a hug. “I’m so sorry.”

He drew her into his embrace and rested his cheek on her head. For a long moment, they didn’t move. She breathed in the spicy scent of his cologne and for a few glorious seconds, she knew nothing but him and the quiet
ting
of the elevator counting floors.

With a gentle touch, he loosened her grip and dropped his hands. “I’d better go before I take advantage of your compassion and destroy both our careers.”

“Drop the case,” she pleaded.

His face tightened. “I can’t, sugar.”

The elevator doors slid open and three lawyers entered, gowned and ready for court. One of them greeted Mark and when he turned to shake hands, Katy slipped out of the elevator.

What the hell was she doing? She didn’t need another man in her life. In fact, she had promised herself after the divorce she would enjoy her freedom. Her visits to the club had been part of that promise. She wanted a life unencumbered by the give and take of a relationship. She wanted to find the real Katy, repressed after so many years.

A man would just get in her way.

Or would he?

“How did the hearing go?”

Mark flinched when Steele dropped his briefcase on the boardroom table of the firm’s largest meeting room with a loud bang. Always one for a dramatic entrance, Steele didn’t care if his audience consisted of one person or one hundred.

“I’d call it a draw. The judge agreed to let Ms. Sinclair interview two people from Hi-Tech’s senior management because they could speak directly to her client’s job performance, but I was able to convince him not to accede to her request to interview anyone who ever worked at Hi-Tech.”