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His phone rings somewhere in the distance and still, he ignores it. He rolls me to my side, and follows, reaching for the tissue, but he doesn’t let me go. He pulls out and then wraps his leg around mine, his hand settling on my hip. “I need to know you’re safe.”
“I need to know you’re safe. We have men protecting me and I’m a control freak. I will worry constantly, but I – I don’t want to affect your trial. I’ll go if Royce says that I need to go.”
“Promise me.”
“Yes. I promise, but—” I look away with a thought I don’t even want to vocalize.
He cups my face and pulls my gaze to his. “But what, Cat?”
“If she goes public and I’m gone, everyone will assume you cheated and I left. I don’t think that’s good for your reputation.”
“I’m not worried about my reputation, but I’m worried about you and us. But you’re right. It would look bad and you have to endure that when you come back.”
My hand goes to his cheek. “We’re better together.”
“We are better together. You’re right, but it’s my instinct to get you to shelter.”
“You’re my shelter. My safe place. Don’t take that from me.” I kiss him and his phone rings again.
He groans. “I better answer the damn thing.” He stands up and in all his naked, hard perfection, he walks across the room and picks up his phone, and eyes the number, his brow furrowing. “Dana. What’s happening?” He listens a minute while I pull on my bra and panties. “Yes,” he says to something. “I’ll have a car bring you here.” He disconnects and looks at me. “She wants to talk.” He eyes his caller ID. “She called four times total, one of which I don’t remember because I was distracted by better things.”
“Any idea what it’s about?”
He crosses and sets his phone on the table, pulling on his underwear and pants. “No, and as you know, no attorney wants that kind of call in the middle of a trial.”
“What does your gut say?”
“It’s a problem.”
In other words, he’s afraid she’s going to confess and he doesn’t defend guilty people.
Reid
Debbie doesn’t leave and I let her simmer while Gabe camps out on my couch, watching the conference room feed with me, on the couch in my office. We’ve just heard about the photo sent to the judge being the reason court recessed, via Royce Walker, when Connie appears in my doorway and announces, “She’s demanding to see you and not nicely. Now?”
“Yes. Now,” I say of my plan I’ve cooked up with Connie. “Tell her I’m in a meeting and offer her coffee. Try to get her to talk.”
“It’s going to be hard to be nice to that woman, but I get it. Good cop, bad cop, and all that stuff.”
“You’ll rock her world, Connie,” Gabe encourages.
She frowns. “I’d rather the right man rock mine. Hers has apparently been rocked quite well. At least that’s the story her belly tells.”
She turns and exits the office.
Gabe laughs. “One day a man is going to rock her world and you’re going to be fucked. She’ll focus on him, not her job and no one else can tolerate you. Not even me.”
I ignore him as is my way with Gabe, and I refocus on my computer screen where the feed from the conference room where Debbie waits is being fed. Connie enters. “Where is he?” Debbie demands, still standing, and ready to attack.
“He’s in a meeting,” she says. “I slipped him a note that you wanted to talk. Can I get you water or coffee?”
“I need to talk to Reese.”
“He’ll be here. You okay?”
She bristles. “Why wouldn’t I be okay?”
“You’re obviously upset.”
