by Regan Black
Though he didn’t say a word, she sensed judgment in Mitch’s silence as they made their way to the Human Resources department. Soon, armed with a corporate credit card and the contact name at the electronics store, Julia and Mitch left to fulfill Haywood’s orders.
“Well, this isn’t how I thought today would go. I’m sorry to make you drive me around town on these errands.”
“Keeping you in sight, remember?” He took her hand as they walked to his car. “You should probably report your credit cards as stolen.”
She stopped short, forcing people on the sidewalk to move around them. “I can’t.” She bit back an ugly oath. “Oh. I’m an idiot. He threatened to retaliate if I tried to get into my accounts.” Sick to her stomach, she covered her mouth with her hands as she looked back at the building. “It’s my fault.”
“What are you talking about?” At the corner, he crossed the street and boosted her up on a brick wall so she was closer to eye level with him. Caging her or sheltering her, he placed his hands on either side of her hips.
“Last night.” Her chest hurt. “My fault. I changed my pay so I could pick up a physical check and open a new account. Then...then the evacuation and the c-cops. Fake cops.”
“Shh.” Mitch smoothed a hand over her hair. “You can’t blame yourself.”
“It’s my fault,” she insisted. “Enough games. I’ll just leave town or something before he endangers someone else.” She didn’t want to contemplate what sort of move came after a bomb threat orchestrated to hide a theft.
“By that logic you should blame me.” Mitch rubbed the chill out of her hands. “I’ve been wondering if baiting him yesterday caused the evacuation and put you in danger. I got a look at his face and a couple of lackeys, too, remember?”
She shook her head. Mitch was only trying to help, to do his job. “I was already in danger.”
“The blame belongs on the jerk stalking you. Not either of us.”
“What if—”
Mitch interrupted her. “You have to trust the rest of us to take care of ourselves, Julia. He’s focused on making your life miserable.”
“Well, he’s doing an excellent job of that. I can’t believe I let Bethany drag me out of there without my stuff.”
“She did the right thing.” Mitch helped her down and slid his arm around her waist, drawing her close. “The way you explained it, that would’ve put you far too close to the person who tossed your cubicle.”
She stared up into his warm eyes, momentarily speechless. The desire in his gaze was unmistakable and her body responded with a delighted shiver.
“You’re cold. Let’s get to the car.”
Hardly. “I’m thinking,” she replied.
“You normally just scowl a little right here when you’re thinking.” He tapped the space just above the bridge of his nose.
He knew that about her?
“I’m all kinds of observant,” he said with a wicked grin, making her wonder if she’d voiced her question. “Let’s take the day one step at a time. Your boss made new technology your first priority.”
She tried to find a bright spot. “At least the creep won’t have the phone number.”
“A definite plus,” Mitch agreed.
“He has your number, though.” It felt as if the stalker had managed to put a pothole or speed bump in every possible path. “I don’t like how this is shaping up,” she admitted when they were in the privacy of Mitch’s car.
“We’ll figure it out,” Mitch said with persistent confidence as he pulled out of the parking space.
Julia withheld judgment. Although Mitch’s protection offset the distraction he presented, her job was still hanging precariously in the balance. “We need to figure out who he is. You need to meet with the sketch artist. There has to be a reason he’s operating so erratically.”
“Maybe the jerk is just crazy and confused.”
“No.” She watched the city go by, developing her reasoning. “A crazy person would have slipped up by now.” She sighed. “I can’t make up my mind if he created the bomb threat. It just won’t fit into the bigger picture. Why take the risk that his inside source would be denied further access?”
“Unless you haven’t mentioned it, you haven’t shared anything anyway.”
“He hasn’t asked for anything I’m privy to,” she said. “Although there’s dissension about a plea bargain tactic, no names have been mentioned around me, and none have been logged into the records I can access.”
“A protective measure?”
“Yes.” Her mind wandered through every encounter with her stalker. How had he known to strike at the very root of her independence? He held her finances hostage in exchange for cooperation. He wanted names she couldn’t access and seemed to know or anticipate her every move. Why had he chosen her?
They were missing a critical piece of the puzzle, and she could only hope no one would get seriously hurt before they found it.
Chapter 9
Mitch didn’t push her to talk about whatever was going on in her head. There were shadows under her eyes and her typical bravado was cracking around the edges after the encounter with her boss.
They’d known from the start they weren’t dealing with a typical stalker. This jerk wanted access to the Falk case and with her laptop, he had it. So why attempt a kidnapping? He sympathized with Julia’s frustration and confusion. If he believed walking away from the case would work, he’d do everything possible to talk her into that.
Whoever was behind this definitely understood Julia’s hot buttons. That bothered him as much as all the other details combined. She wasn’t an “open book” kind of woman. Yes, she was clearly independent and living alone, but that wasn’t a complete reason to target her. What confidence did the stalker have that Julia would cave to the pressure?
In the stalker’s shoes, he would’ve gone after someone with real secrets, someone who’d proved susceptible to greed. All of his digging into Julia’s past had only turned up adversity and problems that held many people back. Not her. She might not be proud of where she came from, and it seemed she’d cut most of her family ties, but she’d never done anything unethical.
They’d parked and were nearly to the storefront doors when Mitch’s cell phone sounded. He saw his brother’s name and answered immediately.
“Hey, Stephen. Everything okay?” He stopped outside the store and Julia stopped with him.
“Not even close,” Stephen replied. “I’m at the garage and I found your new roomie’s purse and laptop in the bin out back.”
“You’re kidding. Is the computer intact?” Mitch didn’t want to give Julia any false hope.
“How the hell would I know? The wallet’s here with ID, credit cards and some cash. There’s a cell phone, too. Get down here and check it yourself.”
“Did you see anyone toss it?”
Stephen snorted. “I’m hanging up now.”
“We’re on the way.” Mitch shook his head, uncertain if his brother had heard him.
“On the way where?” Julia’s eyebrows arched.
“Good news.” Mitch smiled at her, but it only put a wary glint in that stormy green gaze. He slid the phone back in his pocket and turned her away from the door. “My brother found the things that were stolen from your cubicle last night.”
“Pardon me?”
Mitch cleared his throat, considered a white lie and discarded the idea immediately. The truth would worry her, but it wouldn’t erode the fragile trust she’d placed in him. “At the garage where we restore cars.”
She gasped.
He didn’t understand the shock. “Is that such a terrible problem?”
“Yes!” She pushed her hands through her hair. “He’s out to cause trouble for you. You don’t need more problems before the review board lifts your suspension. Grant needs to get you away from me.”
“Hey, relax.” He wanted to hug her for that burst of confidence and offer some comfort as much as he wanted t
o growl at her for suggesting he be replaced. “Let’s get over there and see what’s what before we panic about anything.” He put a hand at her back and urged her toward the car. “I want to know what kind of game we’ve been sucked into as much as you do.” He started the car and aimed for the west side of town. “Keep in mind I haven’t done anything wrong.”
“Except help me,” she said through clenched teeth. “Your brother wasn’t hurt? His property wasn’t damaged?”
“No, and no,” Mitch answered. “Stephen would’ve griped about damages.” He weaved through traffic, seeking the shortest route. “He doesn’t know anything about the state of your laptop.”
“He shouldn’t touch it. I’ll have someone from Marburg’s IT department examine it for any issues.”
“That’ll be the next stop. I thought you’d be doing backflips that you don’t have to get a new driver’s license.”
She did a double take and then laughed at the joke. “Good point, though I’m sure he didn’t leave it out of any kindness.”
Probably not. He fished his phone from his pocket and handed it to her. “Send Grant a text message and let him know what’s going on.”
“Sure.” She balanced his phone on her thigh when she finished. “He took my things for a reason,” she said quietly. “The computer, in particular.”
“Go on.” He was curious if her opinions would line up with his.
“He cracked my finances and he had every reason to believe I’d give in to his demands for info on the Falk case.”
“Bull.”
“Pardon?”
“You’ve never done an unethical thing in your life,” he stated simply.
“How would you know?”
He cleared his throat, resisting the urge to squirm like a worm on the hook. “You told me I could poke into your past. You know I’ve been digging. There’s nothing there to be ashamed of.”
“Then you didn’t dig deep enough,” she said, her fingers laced tight in her lap.
“Fine.” Mitch pulled into the gravel drive and paused at the gate that protected the garage property. Rolling down the window, he entered the code into the security panel. “Tell me why he had any cause to think you’d cave.”
“Well, I’m the new kid on the case trying to prove my value.”
A bogus argument and they both knew it. “The jerk didn’t offer to help you prove yourself, did he? Next?” he asked.
He glanced over when she didn’t answer. His chest swelled with pride when he realized she was soaking up every detail of the business he and his brothers had built. “That ploy wouldn’t have been effective,” he said, eager to make his point. She was a rare breed among attorneys, if she didn’t shatter the mold completely. Not all lawyers were corrupt, but Marburg had a particular reputation in town. In Mitch’s opinion, nothing shy of threatening the people she cared about would break Julia’s iron will or integrity. And the jerk had chosen the wrong people the first time around.
“How can you be so sure?”
“Of what?” He parked the car and released his seat belt.
“That I won’t cave despite the risks to my livelihood and reputation.”
“You came to the Escape Club for help.” He started ticking off the points in her favor on his fingertips. “You could have given in and begged or bartered to get back control of your money. You could’ve run to your bosses and hoped for the best. You held your ground and against every expectation, forcing the stalker to take serious risks to gain what he wants.”
Her lips slanted into an aggravated frown. “Do you have cameras with this security system?”
“Always on point.” Mitch swallowed a laugh. “Yes. We’ll go through it together, once you’re sure the thief didn’t take anything.”
She scrambled out of the car, clearly reenergized by the discovery of her belongings.
Mitch didn’t hear any swearing or tools going in the garage, so he led her toward the office. It wasn’t big, but it was neat as a pin, per Stephen’s extreme need for order. Mitch made quick work of the introductions.
“Is everything all right with the apartment?”
“Are you asking if I trashed your place?” Stephen raised an eyebrow.
Mitch bristled at his brother’s attitude, but Julia spoke first.
“No,” Julia replied with far more patience than his brother deserved. “I wanted to be sure the creep hassling me didn’t give you trouble.”
“He didn’t.”
She smiled weakly. “My place is really small. Are you sure you’ll be comfortable there?”
Stephen visibly relaxed. “It’s a great address and a nice place despite the size. Mitch said switching for a while helps you out, but it helps me, too. Thanks.”
Mitch gawked at him. That had to be the longest speech unrelated to cars that he’d heard his brother deliver in over a year.
While they continued reviewing the pros and cons of her apartment, Mitch glanced around for Julia’s purse and laptop. “Where did you stow her things?” he asked.
His brother tilted his head toward the bottom drawer of a filing cabinet. “Didn’t know how long you’d be. Seemed better not to leave them out.”
Mitch bent down and opened the drawer for Julia. She withdrew the items and went through everything. “It’s all here,” she said with a relieved smile. “Let me call my boss and—”
“Leave it off a bit,” Mitch said. “The guy knows where he dumped your things. Let’s keep him guessing as to exactly when you found them.”
Her relief dimmed. “Okay.”
“Want to tell me what the hell is going on?” Stephen’s jaw was set as he glared at Mitch. He wasn’t going to be put off any longer. “How did her purse and computer land here?”
“They were stolen last night from her office during a bomb threat evacuation.”
Stephen sputtered, shifting that hard glare to Julia. “You’re with Marburg?” His fury made Mitch cringe. “A little warning might’ve been nice.”
“It’s irrelevant,” Mitch replied evenly.
“Like hell.” Stephen swore again. He pushed back from the desk and stomped out of the office.
“I’m starting to understand why associates work eighty hours a week,” Julia said. “It keeps us sheltered from our adoring public.”
Mitch leaned back against the old metal desk. “My brother’s an ass.” He wouldn’t coddle her, but this wasn’t her fault. “We lost two completed cars to Falk’s organization last year.” That wasn’t nearly the whole of Stephen’s issue with Marburg lawyers, but he wasn’t about to burden Julia with the story of how her law firm had successfully defended the man who’d killed his brother’s fiancée. Although Stephen had good reason to detest Marburg, Mitch wouldn’t allow his brother to dump that grief on Julia.
“The cars were stolen from here?”
“No. Stolen from clients.” Mitch tapped his fist over his heart. “Still hurt. All that work, vanished.”
She gazed up at him, her eyes wide and curious. “You weren’t going to say anything.”
“Like I told my brother, it’s irrelevant. You didn’t steal those cars.”
Her eyes moved to the wide window that overlooked the yard where several cars were in various stages of repair. “No, I just represent the man who did.”
“You’re working a job you love.” Mitch bent forward. “I get that. Hell, I think that’s the only way to live.”
She dipped her chin, but not before he caught a glimmer of tears in her eyes. “Everything’s here,” she repeated. “As for the computer...” Her voice trailed off.
“Do you want to take that back to the office?” he asked after a long moment of silence.
“I don’t know.” She gave a little growl of exasperation, her hands fisting around her purse strap. “I just don’t know. He’s toying with me, Mitch, and I’m tired of it.”
“I understand that, too. Let’s take a look at the cameras.” He gently tugged her to her feet and pulled the c
hair around to the working side of the desk. “Have a seat,” he said as he logged in to the garage computer system. “We put this in a few years ago when Stephen decided to turn our hobby into a profession.”
“This is the cleanest garage I’ve seen.”
The warm scent of her hair drifted toward him as she leaned closer to peer at the four views on the monitor. Mitch cleared his throat. “Have you spent a lot of time with mechanics?”
“Enough. My mother could only afford beat-up cars and she dated mechanics whenever she needed repairs.”
Mitch refused to comment. She’d spoken without any emotion, as if that part of her life belonged to another Julia Cooper.
“Wow, your brother works late,” she said, extending a finger toward the time showing on the video record.
“It’s a habit by now.” One he didn’t expect his brother to shake anytime soon. He kept pushing the video feed faster, past the midnight mark, as the motion-sensor lights stayed dark on the camera aimed at the front gate. “Well, he didn’t come in the front.”
“Ugh. The idea of someone going through my things makes my skin crawl.”
“Are you talking about my brother or the stalker?”
She bumped her fist lightly on his shoulder. “You know I’m talking about the stalker. I want to string this guy up by his toenails when we catch him.”
“I agree with the sentiment, but I’m not sure that’s a legit tactic for the police department.”
“Oh!” She pointed to the screen. “Is that him?”
Mitch enlarged the picture as a man in dark clothing and gloves climbed halfway up the chain-link fence and tossed Julia’s computer and purse into the open garbage bin early that morning. “Being pretty careful about it. Almost six thirty. If he’d waited another twenty minutes, he would have run into Stephen,” Mitch observed. “No way that’s the guy who wears the orange ball cap.” The man on the fence was skinny enough to be called bony. The stalker’s voice and face had shown more age, his body older. “Does he resemble the man who broke into your floor?”
“Hard to tell,” Julia said. “He seems smaller through the shoulders, but I didn’t get much of a look at him last night.”
