Page 60 of License to Kill

“Mr. Hemshaw doesn’t want you involved with the trial at all, interestingly enough. He saw how the Thomas family reacted when you fainted in the conference room, and claims you have questionable motivations.”

I picked up the bottle of orange juice, twisted off the cap, and took a sip. “Humor me, please.”

“I have the security footage, complete with sound, if you’d rather watch.”

“I think I can live without watching myself faint and making an idiot of myself in front of a client, three FBI agents, my boss, and another attorney.”

Mr. Desjardins chuckled. “Your mother-in-law’s overreaction scared the liver out of most of us. I had no idea it was possible to draw a gun that fast.”

Pauline Thomas, the mastermind of my misfortunes, just couldn’t leave me alone, could she? Even when she wasn’t present in body, she still found some way to fuck with my life. “Ah, I’d been told I had dropped like I’d been tapped.”

“Tapped?”

“Shot in the head. Collapse is immediate. It’s rather messy, too.”

“Yes, you did fall so fast no one had time to react. You were on the floor before your husband made it to you, and while your mother-in-law is quick, he made it around the table before I realized you had fainted.”

Damned Fenerec and their unnatural reflexes. I really hoped my boss didn’t expect an explanation I couldn’t give him. “Do I want to know what Sebastian did?”

“Blinked, looked at his wife, and started laughing. He then shrugged and asked your husband if you were all right. That’s when the creative cursing began. Between curses, your husband called for an ambulance and had it pegged as dehydration, although I had no idea how he figured that out just from looking at you for a few moments.”

I held up my hand and pinched the skin, which returned to its appropriate place in short order. “Skin elasticity changes when someone is dehydrated. He probably pinched me, saw the symptom, and made an assumption.”

In reality, Jake probably had taken a few sniffs and figured out something was wrong with me just from my scent.

“I found it very interesting Mr. Hemshaw had a strong and immediate dislike of those presenting the starting evidence for the case.”

“Most would interpret that as someone having something to hide. Why isn’t the defense attorney trying for a better bargain—or better, an acquittal?”

“Bribed by Mr. Hemshaw?”

“Ever thought of picking up a career as an attorney, Mr. Desjardins?”

My boss stared at me as though I had grown a second head. “And to think I believed you didn’t have a sense of humor.”

“I give it CPR on occasion.”

“Good to know. If you figure out anything, let me know.”

I returned to my work. Cursing my inability to let go of a case involving a child, I pulled out a blank legal pad and began sorting through all the evidence I had on the Hemshaw case in my search for the truth.

For the first time since being hired, I worked overtime, staying three hours later than normal so I could organize my thoughts and start doing independent research on Mr. Hemshaw, his wife, and their daughter. I grumbled the entire way home, let myself into my apartment, and yipped my surprise when I came nose-to-nose with Jake.

“You’re late,” he growled.

“Don’t scare me like that, asshole!” Easing my way inside, I closed the door and willed my heartbeat to slow to something a little saner.

Jake Thomas was not good for my health.

“Are you all right?”

I breathed until my heart no longer threatened to abandon ship and run away without the rest of my body. “Aside from you almost scaring me to death, I’m fine. I needed to get some work done.”

Apparently, Jake didn’t believe me, as he decided he needed to do a very thorough investigation of my mouth with his tongue. Shock and surprise kept me in place until I developed a severe case of raging hormones only he could address. I meant to protest, but instead of pushing him away, I twisted my hands in his shirt and held on for dear life so I wouldn’t forget how to stand.

When he finally let me go, I gasped to catch my breath. With one kiss, he’d undone the work I’d put in on reining in my racing heart. He also managed to revive its traitorous tendencies, joining forces with my body, which was quite ready to surrender and enjoy everything Jake had to offer. I dug into my last resort: the truth. “I’m still mad at you.”

“I know.”