Legal Heat (31 page)

“I have to interview a witness at eleven. I didn’t want to wake you. I would have called you from the cab.”

He looked her up and down, taking in her shabby ensemble. “Like that?”

Katy grimaced. “I was going to stop at home and change first.” Her knees wobbled, and a wave of dizziness hit her. She rested her hand on a nearby chair to steady herself, hoping he wouldn’t notice.

He studied her, his face impassive. “You aren’t going anywhere except back to bed.”

She closed her eyes for a second and took a deep breath. “This is work. It’s important. The witness initially refused to talk to me and she has only given me this one window. I have to go.”

“I’m sure she’ll understand if you tell her what happened.”

A dull ache began to pound in her chest. She didn’t want a fight. Not after last night. “I can’t take the risk. I appreciate your concern, but I’m fine.”

His eyes wandered over her trembling body. “No, you’re not. Even if you make it downstairs, James is outside. He won’t let you go anywhere. In fact, he’ll probably throw you over his shoulder, carry you up the stairs and handcuff you to the bed.”

Having seen James in action at the hospital, Katy had no doubt he would do exactly as Mark said.

He took a step toward her. “Bed. Now.”

Katy didn’t move. Couldn’t move. Her body and mind at war.

“I’m not asking, sugar,” he said softly. “I promised to look after you, and I don’t break my promises.”

“If I want to go, you can’t stop me.” She willed her legs to stop shaking, her head to stop pounding and her body to stop shivering.

He walked over to her and unclasped her hand from the chair. “I won’t have to.”

Without the chair for support, her body gave up the fight. Dizziness blackened her vision and she reached blindly for support.

“I’ve got you.” He caught her and pulled her down onto his lap as he settled on the chair.

She leaned against the broad expanse of solid muscle and breathed in his scent of sleep and sex and sandalwood. “Fuck.”

He ran a warm finger over her lips. “That’s not a nice word for a lady to use,” he whispered in her ear. “My lady—who shouldn’t be hiding things from me.”

“I couldn’t tell you. First, I knew what you’d say. Second, it’s for our case and I don’t want you to know who my witness is.”

He leaned his forehead against her cheek. “There’s no property in a witness. You know that. Our duty is bring the best evidence to court. Plus I’ve withdrawn as counsel.” He circled his fingers along her inner thigh, so close to her sex she could feel the heat from his hand.

“Does Steele have a new lawyer? If not, I may still be at risk of losing my tactical advantage.” Her voice caught as his finger flicked along her folds.

“With a body like this, you don’t need any tactical advantages.”

Katy pushed his hand away. “Stop it. We’re having a serious legal discussion.”

He peppered little kisses along her jaw line and pushed up her skirt. “I think this is seriously legal in almost every country.” His hand dove between her thighs again.

Katy drew in a ragged breath. “How about a deal? You take me to the witness and I will agree to return to bed.”

His hand froze and his eyes glittered. “Considering the fact you are still recovering and likely unaware of exactly what you’re offering, I would be taking unfair advantage if I agreed to your terms.” He wrapped one arm around her and cupped her breast. “Also you cannot offer me something I intend to enforce anyway.” He pinched her nipple and her belly tightened with desire.

Katy glanced down at her watch. If she didn’t hurry this up, she’d run out of time. What did he want? The fact he hadn’t dismissed her offer told her he would take her, but what was the price?

She cupped his face between her hands, running her fingers over the rough stubble on his strong jaw. “Please come with me?” She brushed her lips over his, softly, gently.

With a grunt of satisfaction, he palmed the back of her head, pulling her closer to him. He teased her mouth open and then plunged inside, sweeping every inch, until she forgot everything but his taste, his touch and her overwhelming need to crawl back into bed with him and drown herself in the sensuous feast of his body.

Finally he pulled away, leaving her breathless and flustered. “You just had to ask.”

Fifteen minutes later, dressed and shaved, he escorted her out of the elevator and into the main lobby. “Look lively,” he said, tightening his arm around her waist. “You have one more obstacle to overcome.”

“Where the hell do you think you’re going?” James stood in the foyer, his feet braced and his arms crossed.

“I’m taking her to interview a witness. I assume you’ll have someone following us.” Mark edged them toward the door.

“You’re not going anywhere. Look at her. She’s in no condition to be running around. I was there when the doctor said she was to stay in bed. Plus, we don’t have an ID on the shooter yet. It’s not safe to leave.”

Katy crossed her arms. “I have a job to do, just like you. Mark is coming with me and you can have someone follow us, but I’m not going back upstairs.”

James stared at her and then glanced at Mark, his clear, blue eyes missing nothing. “Guess I’m joining the party.”

“Please let me go by myself.”

“No.” Mark trailed Katy through the crowded Metrotown shopping mall in Burnaby with James following close behind them. When had he last been in a mall? He eyed the brightly lit stores filled with shoppers and grimaced. Definitely not something he missed.

“I thought you were going to sit in your car,” she said, sidestepping a man weighed down with shopping bags.

Mark sighed. “I can’t watch you from the parking lot, and neither can James. Why couldn’t you meet with the witness at your office or at her home?” He dodged two women with baby carriages, so engrossed in their conversation, they didn’t realize they had narrowly missed running him over.

“Her husband is very ill and she doesn’t want to upset him by having people in the house. Apparently, he became very distressed last week when they had a visitor. She also can’t leave him alone too long so the drive to my office is out.” She smiled up at him. “Probably a good thing. Ted wouldn’t have let you into the interview room, no matter how much you growled.”

“I don’t growl.” His voice rumbled deep in his chest.

Katy laughed. “Of course you don’t.”

Did she know how much pleasure her laughter gave him—especially when he had thought he would never hear it again? Would she still be laughing when she found out Ted was going to pull her from the case because of him? Would she believe he had been motivated solely by his desire to protect her?

After seeing her at the courthouse, covered in blood, only the stronger need to stay by her side had kept him from seeking Ted out right then. He knew Ted well enough to genuinely fear for Katy’s safety when she returned to work. The bastard wouldn’t hesitate to throw her back into the fray. If she uncovered something at Hi-Tech, the publicity would be even greater than the shooting itself, and Ted never turned his back on free publicity.

Katy led him into a coffee shop. “I’m meeting her in the café opposite this one. You’ll have to content yourselves with spying on me from here, but I’ll buy you both a coffee first.” She reached for her purse, but Mark grabbed her wrist.

“No.”

Katy rolled her eyes. “It’s the twenty-first century. It’s okay if I buy you a coffee. No one will think you’re any less of a man.”

“I don’t care what anyone thinks.”

“Fine,” she said.

Mark’s surprise at her capitulation gave way to concern when she looked around and pointed to a nearby chair. “I just need to sit for a minute.”

“We shouldn’t have let her come,” James said, echoing Mark’s thoughts.

“Damned if I could stop her.”

He watched Katy weave her way through the tables and chairs, her hips swaying gently as she walked. What it would be like to see her every day? To make her laugh, share her stories and play with her kids? To know she would be in his bed every night?

“Mr. Richards?”

Mark spun around, recognizing the woman in the blue coat at once. Julia Davidson.

She gasped and stepped back, her hand flying to her mouth.

Suddenly Katy was beside her. “Julia Davidson? I’m Katherine Sinclair. Is something wrong?”

Julia’s eyes narrowed. “What’s he doing here? I thought you said it was just you?”

“You know him?”

“Hi-Tech’s lawyer? Yes, I know him. He came to our house last week. He’s the reason Peter became so agitated.” Julia shuddered and glared at Mark. “I don’t know what kind of game you’re playing, Mr. Richards, but I didn’t say anything to anyone and you won’t trick me into saying anything now.” She whirled around and ran out of the café.

“Julia, wait.” Katy took a step and staggered. Mark grabbed her around the waist to steady her.

“I thought I could trust you.” Katy’s accusing glare shriveled his heart.

“You can,” he said. “I don’t know what the hell is going on, but I’m going to find out and we aren’t leaving you until I do.”

“I take it that was the witness.” James motioned them over to a free table and Mark helped Katy to her chair.

“Mark got to her,” Katy said. “He told her not to talk to me. Just like last time.”

James raised an eyebrow and settled himself at the table. “Doesn’t sound like Mark. Sit. We’ll sort it out.”

Mark raised his eyebrows at the tone in his friend’s voice. A tone he hadn’t heard in a long time. Although he was older than James by two years, his friend had always managed to gain the upper hand with the force of his will, the strength of his conviction, and that tone his voice.

Mark joined Katy and James at the table. Katy rested her head in her hands but wouldn’t look his way. Her body trembled as she struggled to stay upright, and Mark had to fight the urge to put his arm around her, knowing she would just shrug him off.

James fixed them both with a cold, hard stare. For a moment Mark felt as if he was back in the principal’s office after a schoolyard fight.

James sighed. “Right. I understand you have restrictions on what you can disclose but the coincidence seems hard to believe. You said it happened twice, Katy?”

She nodded.

“Same case?”

“No.” Mark shook his head. “I went to see the other witness on a matter unconnected with the case we’re working on together.”

Katy looked over at him and her eyes widened. “How can it not be connected? Two random people, two random cases? I don’t buy it.”

“Neither do I.” James pulled out his notebook. “Usually when trouble comes calling there’s no such thing as coincidence. How did you find the witnesses?”

Katy drew in a ragged breath and glanced over at Mark. “I can’t tell you with him here.”

“I’m off the case,” Mark said. “The papers were filed with the court the day before your…accident. If you want me to whip up a non-disclosure statement on one of the napkins and sign it, I will.”

Katy frowned. “Maybe I should call Ted first.”

“No.” Mark’s voice rose almost to a shout. The last thing he needed was for Ted to tell her over the phone she was off the case. “If you don’t trust me or you’re uncomfortable with a name or detail, then write it down on a napkin and give it to James.”

“Good idea.” James pushed a few napkins in Katy’s direction and handed her a second pen. “Okay. Shoot.”

“The two witnesses were on a list my client got from…” She wrote a name on the napkin and handed it to James.

“Fuck,” James muttered as he stared at the napkin. “It’s all connected. This is why I needed to speak to witnesses right away. Now I have a possible motivation for the killing.”

“I thought the motive was pretty clear.” Katy cut herself off when two women walked past their table.

Mark’s mind raced. That one wasn’t hard to figure out. Martin. Was this what Steele had been referring to when he had complained about Katy poking her nose into his business? Did he know about the list?

James scribbled furiously in his notebook. “Who else is on the damn list?”

Heat flushed Katy’s cheeks and she wrote on another napkin and slid it across the table.

“Christ.” James slammed his fist on the table. Coffee sloshed out of the cups, spilling across the worn surface. “Did you not think that was information I needed to know?”

“James.” Mark growled a warning, his frustration and anger boiling over.

Katy mopped up the spilled coffee with a napkin. “Sorry I didn’t tell you at the hospital. Things have been a bit overwhelming.”

Reeling at the possibility she might be even more involved than he had thought, Mark grabbed the remaining napkins and crushed them in his fist. “We’re done here.”

“I want that list,” James said to Katy. “I don’t give a fuck what the partners in your firm think. If I don’t have it today, I’ll get a warrant to search your damn office.”

“She’ll get it for you,” Mark said. “Calm down. We’re all doing our best to sort this out.”