Unlawful Attraction: The Complete Box Set: Alpha Billionaire Romance (16 page)

“I know you didn’t want coffee, but I imagine you like tea, or I wouldn’t have found so much.”

She managed a weak smile and accepted the cup, taking a small sip.

“I couldn't find any sugar,” I said.

Leayna looked away, a distracted, distant fear returning to her eyes. “I detoxed from sugar a few months ago. It’s all the rage, you know? Stop the sugar. You’ll live longer, have more energy, look better, feel better...”

She laughed, the sound harsh and bitter enough to make me wince. Fortunately, she didn't seem to notice.

“So that’s what I did. I detoxed from sugar. I missed my candy bars, but I thought maybe if I looked younger, felt better...” Her gaze came to mine. “I had a boob job and a tummy tuck. I fucking gave up chocolate, thinking it would make a difference! That he'd love me!”

Abruptly, she stood. It caught me off-guard but I jumped up, catching her arms before she could start pacing again.

“Calm down, Leayna. Just tell me what the problem is. I can help.”

“Get me a damn candy bar!” she half-shouted, eyes glistening with tears. “I gave up
everything
for him and he was going to leave me! He didn’t...he didn’t want me. He didn't love me. And now he’s gone and if I don’t...”

Her voice broke and she started to cry. She sagged suddenly, and if I hadn’t caught her, she would've ended up on the floor. I managed to get her back into her chair and crouched in front of her.

I let her cry for a few minutes, but when it became clear she was going to work herself into hysterics, I knew I needed to intervene.

“I understand the need for sugar, Leayna, but I can’t believe you killed him over it,” I said, trying to lighten the mood.

It worked.

She laughed. It was a watery, half-hysterical laugh, but still a laugh, so I was counting that as a win.

“If I’d...if I’d just let him go, maybe...” She sniffed and looked away. “Maybe he’d still be alive. I don’t know. But I’d have sugar and
chocolate and nobody would be threatening to kill me too.”

The moment she said the words, she froze.

I kept my voice gentle. “It’s okay, Leayna. I already figured that part out.” I moved out of my crouch and back into my chair.

“You...” She blinked, lowered her eyes to her lap. “You did?”

“Yes.” Taking a sip of the tea, I tried not to make a face. I never understood why some people liked drinking tea that tasted like flowers. After I put the cup down, I continued, “Why don’t we start over, from the beginning this time?”

***

“And that’s it.” With a tight smile, Leayna pushed around the pasta noodles on her plate.

We’d called for late night take out – or, I guess, technically it was early morning now – about an hour and a half ago. It'd arrived with surprising speed, half-way through her recount of the past few days.

I hadn’t interrupted, instead taking the time to eat while I listened, but now that she was done, I put down my fork and leaned forward, waiting for her to look at me.

“Why didn’t you call me from the beginning?” Despite how exhausted I was, I managed to keep from sounding annoyed.

“They...” Leayna cleared her throat and sniffled. “They said they’re watching the doors, the exits. Everything. If I called and it wasn’t because I was pleading guilty, they’d come and...and...”

Her breath started to come in hard, shallow pants, and her eyes took on a glazed look that I didn't like.

Shit. She was having a panic attack.

“Leayna!”

She didn’t respond. I said her name again, harder, louder, calling on every ounce of authority I used in other aspects of my life.

She jerked her head around and stared at me, the whites of her eyes showing.

“They won’t come after you.”

She shook her head. “You can’t know that.”

“No,” I agreed. “But we can see what we can do to protect you.” Rising, I went over to the window and stared down over the city. “You didn’t know anything about your husband’s involvement? Nothing about the men he was involved with?”

And, apparently,
involvement
wasn't only limited to business. Hence the reason Leayna had been doubly upset. I wondered if she'd had her suspicions, about that part of her late husband's life anyway. I couldn't see how she hadn't known.

“Scum,” she muttered. “That’s what they are. All of them. And no, I didn’t. Not until recently.” She made a disgusted sound. “Not soon enough.”

I nodded slowly, my sleep-deprived brain trying to put together a plan. “Okay. I need to make some calls. I want to see if I can get you some protection.”

“Protection?” Her eyes came to mine as she processed the word. “What do you mean?”

“After what you've just told me, I think your husband's ties to organized crime are what got him killed, if they didn't kill him outright,” I said bluntly. “Even if you hadn't been threatened, I'd still believe your life was in danger.” I reached out and put a hand over hers. “Let me protect you.”

Chapter 6

Dena

“What’s this?”

Bethany looked up from the report I handed her.

I'd given her Dunne's original report, or rather, a copy of it since the real one had apparently been mysteriously misplaced. Fortunately, Dunne made copies of everything, and he'd given me one early this morning. His superior was doing some digging of his own, now that several interested parties had expressed questions about how Dunne's filed report had sounded too much like the detectives' reports.

“It’s the original report from the night Leayna Mance was arrested,” I repeated what I'd already told Bethany. “From the first officer on scene. It doesn't match up with the report that was eventually filed. This one says that Mrs. Mance had called her defense attorney before the police arrived, but when Officer Dunne arrived, she willingly told him that she'd touched her husband's body to see if he was breathing. He also wrote that the blood on her clothes supported her statement. He said she was shaken and upset, appearing devastated by what happened.”

Bethany sighed. “What's your point?”

I bit back the sharp retort I wanted to give her. “Every other report from that night states that Mrs. Mance's clothes were bloody and that she refused to give a statement. That she didn't appear to be in any distress and only wanted to know when she could go to sleep. And the clothes she was wearing that night aren't in evidence.”

Bethany's eyes narrowed. “Listen to me, Ms. Monroe, you can’t let this woman get to you. She’s a manipulator of the highest order. A trophy wife who couldn't handle that she was about to be traded in for a newer model. I've dealt with her, and she thinks all she needs to do is spin a sad sob story and we'll all automatically believe her.”

“Actually, I haven't spoken with her,” I replied, careful to keep my tone even. “I’ve only spoken with Officer Dunne about how the official report we received doesn't contain a copy of his actual report. We’re prosecuting a woman based, in part, off evidence and information gathered from the official report, but the information we had
isn’t
completely accurate. It can’t be because we’ve got two conflicting reports. Not to mention missing evidence.”

Bethany tapped a finger on the file I'd given her. “This isn’t the official report, Dena. And Officer Dunne is something of a loose cannon. Look...” She sighed and leaned in, as if she was confiding in me like we were friends or something. “You’re new. I get that. You don’t know how all of this works. But Dunne, he’s had some problems, and with his uncle not here to clean up after him, they're getting worse. Why do you think he's still in uniform rather than behind a desk or working a shield? You can't rely on what he says without corroboration.”

Bullshit.

I thought it, but knew better than to say it. Bethany could have a foul mouth sometimes, but I was trying very hard to be professional. I didn't want to give her anything she could try to use against me.

“I know Officer Dunne too.” Giving her a tight smile, I put the report back into my briefcase. “I might be new to the DA’s office, but I’m not new to New York, and I’m not
new to law. I know plenty of cops, and I’ve had to have some on hand when I went to pick up a client. And sometimes I needed them when I had to bury a client because this office failed to keep an abuser behind bars.”

Bethany’s face went red. “Now you listen–”

“I’m afraid I can’t,” I said sweetly. “I have a job to do, remember? You wanted me to dig up skeletons on Mrs. Mance, anything we can use against her. Don't worry. I’ll continue keeping an eye on things since you and Pierce seem so...” I raked her up and down. “
Busy
. I'll keep you posted.”

Turning on my heel, I stormed out.

So much for hoping that Bethany wasn't deliberately obtuse.

Pierce was standing in the doorway of his office when I passed.

Jerking up my chin, I glared at him. “You got something to say?”

His head jerked up, as if I'd startled him. He looked distracted, and, for the first time since I met him, he wasn't wearing that sleazy expression on his face. It almost looked like something was bothering him.

“Uh, no. No, I didn't have...” He glanced down the hall. “I have to go. I'll see you later.”

I frowned as he went, but didn't bother trying to figure it out. He was probably trying to think of a new place for he and Bethany to fool around. You know, since they didn't really have anything else to do.

***

“It’s bullshit!”

Leslie Calvin, one of my best friends, sat across from me and sipped from her water, green eyes dancing. “Come on, honey. Tell me how you really feel.”

I threw my hands in the air. “The reports don’t match, Leslie. At all. And then she acted like I was some...” I let my voice trail off.

What was the point in continuing to complain when it wasn't going to do any good? It was venting some of my anger, but the frustration knotting my stomach wasn't going anywhere.

When Leslie had asked if I wanted to meet for lunch, I’d told her no at first. Mostly because I was in a bitch of a mood and didn't want to take it out on her. When she pushed, I’d told her exactly that.

She’d just laughed and said, “All the more reason to meet me. You need to vent.”

And had I ever. But now I was winding down, and I didn't know where to go from there. I was just glad she'd picked a place with an outdoor patio. I was way too keyed up to be inside.

Leslie's eyes narrowed and she leaned forward. “Listen to me, Dena. You're where you've always wanted to be. You aren’t going to let some ignorant piece of work chase you out. If you can’t make
her
listen, then you find somebody who will.” Her red hair tumbled into her face as she tossed her head. Impatient, she pushed it back and fixed me with a determined look.

“But,” I started to protest.

“No!” She held up a finger, the expression on her face forbidding. “Look, there’s no denying why I went into law. I’m in it for the bucks.” She shrugged, an unrepentant look on her face. Then she reached out and caught my hand. “And we both know why you're in it. You believe in justice, in all of it. So, here’s what you're going to do. You’re going to deal. You will not let her chase you off. You will not ignore this. If the reports aren’t right, then somebody's fucking with things. They are messing with the justice system. You’re too good a lawyer to ignore that, right?”

Huffing out a breath, I stared at her.

But the knot in my gut began to unravel, and I smiled.

“Yeah,” I agreed.

“Yeah.” She nodded at me, a firm smile curving her lips. “It's like you told her. You're not some novice. You know how the law works. We both do. If the police reports don’t match, if evidence is missing, what does that tell you?”

Sighing, I reached for my glass of tea. “I know. I know.”

“Good.”

We lapsed into silence as the server brought out our food, and over our meal, we shifted to talking about small, inconsequential stuff while I mulled over the right direction to take with my work dilemma.

“So are you?”

Glancing up, I realized Leslie had asked me a question. “Am I what?”

“Seeing anybody?”

“Ah...” Arik’s face leaped to mind.

Shit. Definitely didn't want to go there.

“Ohhhhh...” She beamed at me. “You are! Spill.”

“There’s...look.” I shook my head. “I’m not dating him. It’s a guy I hooked up with at the club. That’s all.”

I kept my voice as nonchalant as possible, but I couldn't control the hot flush creeping up my neck.

“But you’re blushing over him.” She sounded delighted. “You don’t want that to be all there is, do you?”

“It’s sex,” I repeated. I took a sip of water to cool my burning throat, trying to ignore my racing heart even as everything in me went hot and ready. All from thinking about him. “It’s seriously amazing sex,” I admitted. “Some of the best I’ve ever had, but it’s still just sex.”

Her eyes glittered. “Uh-huh.”

Chapter 7