by AE Jones
“Nothing.”
Julian scoffed. “I see the way you look at her, Dev.”
“That doesn’t mean there’s anything going on.”
“You two make a good team.”
Devin took a sip of the whiskey. He welcomed the slow burn down his throat. “I don’t need anyone else on my team.”
“Then take her to bed and be done with it.”
Devin’s anger erupted, and he barely stopped himself from shattering the glass in his grip. “She’s more than a quick roll in the hay.”
The wattage of Julian’s smile increased. “You care for her. Why are you fighting it?”
“A simian grabbed her at the gargoyle wedding. She could have been hurt badly.”
“But she wasn’t.”
Devin plowed on, ignoring him. “I’m going to tell her she can’t help with the investigation.”
“How, exactly, are you going to keep her away? She’s stubborn and tough.”
“Stubborn, yes. But, tough?” Devin shook his head. “She passed out when you flashed your fangs at her.”
“She passed out because we yanked her perception of the world out from under her. She appears to be doing fine now. You might as well accept the fact that she’s not going anywhere.”
If he threw her off the case, she would just go out on her own. And that was a very scary proposition. Devin drained the rest of the whiskey from his glass in one swallow, letting the heat burn a trail down his throat. But the sensation was short-lived. A bottle—hell—a case of whiskey wasn’t going to erase Alex Bennett from his thoughts or his life.
Lorinda’s Wedding Tip: The bride and groom will disagree over some wedding detail. Remind them that one of the perks of fighting is making up afterward.
Chapter 21
What was going on in that brain of his?
“Why are we at the courthouse?” Alex asked when Devin pulled into a parking space.
“I have an appointment to talk to the werewolf lawyer who almost drank out of the silver-rimmed glass at his wedding. He asked me to meet him here since he has a trial scheduled today.”
“I’m surprised you let me come with you. After the wedding disaster, I thought you would have done your best to keep me out of this.”
“Would it have stopped you?”
“No.”
Devin grinned. “Then I would rather have you where I can keep an eye on you than running around loose and getting into trouble.”
She gritted her teeth before responding. “I would not get into trouble.”
“Really? Should I call the anura for you and see if he wants a date? Or maybe we can find the simian and let him take you home. You’re a regular troublemaking supernatural magnet.”
Alex glared at him. The last thing she needed was a laundry list of her mistakes. “It’s a good thing you’re a powerless human, or I’d have you under my thumb as well.”
“Yes, it is.” His smile disappeared. “Let’s get inside and find our lawyer.”
Their lawyer ended up being Assistant District Attorney Jonathan Godfrey, or so the brass plaque next to his office attested. Devin knocked on the doorframe, and Godfrey glanced up from a stack of files on his desk. “Can I help you?”
“I’m Devin Cole, and this is Alex Bennett. I believe you were expecting us?”
He nodded and gestured for them to come inside. “Please close the door.”
Devin guided Alex through the door by resting his hand on her shoulder, and she was surprised at the warmth that spread through her from that small contact. Scolding herself for behaving like a twelve-year-old girl, she selected one of the guest chairs in front of Godfrey’s desk and sat down.
Godfrey closed the file in front of him. He was lean, with dark hair and almost-black eyes that appraised them while they took their seats.
“Sorry to bother you at work,” Devin began.
“My schedule is hectic right now, so this was the best place to meet. Besides, my curiosity won out. You wanted to discuss my wedding and some sort of sabotage?”
“Yes,” Devin replied. “We think the incident with the wedding toast was not an accident.”
Godfrey clasped his hands on the desk. “Why?”
“Because there have been a number of similar incidents at other weddings.”
“Such as?”
Devin hesitated and Godfrey nodded. “You can speak freely here. I have the room swept for bugs regularly.”
Alex gaped at him and blurted, “Supernaturals bug your office?”
“No. But defense attorneys are another animal altogether.” He grimaced. “You’d be amazed at what they’ll do to find out what the prosecution has in store for them. Go ahead.”
Devin continued. “There have been a number of attacks aimed at specific supernatural weaknesses, like the silver rim on your glass. It would help to have any information and observations you recall from that day. Is there anyone who would want to hurt you?”
Godfrey chuckled. “I’m an ADA. My life is full of people who want to hurt me, Mr. Cole. I just don’t know if they’re the type of enemies who would know that silver makes me sick.”
Alex pulled the computer tablet out of her purse and turned it on, flipping to the composite pictures and handing it to him. “Have you seen either of these two before? The larger one is a simian demon.”
He stared at the screen and then shook his head. “I’m really good with faces, and I don’t remember seeing either of these men at my wedding. Or elsewhere.”
“Would you describe what occurred?” Devin prompted.
“The wedding was fine, no problems. At the reception, we were directed to the head table, and we settled down for the meal. When it got closer to the toast, the glasses were brought out and placed in front of us.”
“When did you know something was wrong?” Alex asked.
“My wife noticed they had brought the wrong glasses because she had special ones made for the toast, and the ones provided weren’t the ones she’d ordered. She stopped me from drinking out of mine, and while I was holding it, my fingers started to burn, but I couldn’t loosen my grip. She smacked the glass out of my hand and then went back to the kitchen and raised holy hell. At the time we thought it was a stupid mistake. There are a lot of gold and silver-rimmed champagne flutes out there.”
“Who brought the flutes out to the table?”
He closed his eyes. “A young woman with red hair pulled back in a ponytail and wearing black pants and a black jacket like the rest of the Bennett team.”
Alex leaned forward. “That’s the same description that Wilson gave me of the woman who directed him to the freezer.”
Devin turned to Godfrey. “Do you think you could help us create a composite of her?”
“Absolutely. I’m going to see my wife in a few minutes. I’ll ask if she remembers anything else.”
Alex picked up the tablet. “Are you meeting her for lunch?”
“No. I’ll see her in court. She’s the defense attorney on my next case.”
“Doesn’t that make your married life…difficult?” Alex asked.
“Not really. Since we duke it out in the courtroom, we make up for it in other ways.” He smiled, and for the first time Alex caught a glimpse of the wolf in him.
They walked out of Godfrey’s office and down the hall, Devin chuckling all the way. “They must be an interesting couple.”
“I’d think it would be exhausting being at odds all the time. But I guess lawyers like to fight.”
He grinned. “And make up.”
“Dev!”
They turned. A woman waved at them from the opposite end of the hall. As she came closer, Alex’s stomach twisted. It was the woman she’d seen with Devin outside Bennett Bridal. She was dressed to kill again, in a gray suit this time, and lugging a designer briefcase. Not a hair out of place.
She came to a stop in front of them. “I’m glad I ran into you. What are you doing in my neck of the woods?”
�
��Hello, Jules. Just working on a new case.” Devin hesitated for an awkward second.
Was he going to introduce them or let her stand there?
“Julia Davis, this is Alex Bennett. I’m working on a case for her.”
Julia stuck her hand out and smiled brightly, “Lovely to meet you.”
“You too,” Alex replied automatically.
“Do you have a couple of minutes to talk?” Julia asked. “My client’s trial has been delayed, and I have some news for you.”
He turned to Alex. “Do you mind?”
“Not at all.” Liar, liar. “Why don’t you give me your keys, and I’ll wait for you in the car.”
She grabbed them out of his hand and stalked away. It was none of her business anyway. He had his personal life and she had hers. Just because most of her nights were spent alone staring at florescent stars on her bedroom ceiling didn’t mean she was lonely. She groaned. Stop thinking about beds! But it was too late. Were Devin and that woman a couple? Did they spend a lot of time fighting and making up? She shook off the thought. She didn’t care what he did or who he did it with.
Liar, liar.
* * *
Devin led Julia into an empty meeting room and closed the door. “What’s the news?”
Julia narrowed her eyes on him for a second. “Since when do your clients come with you when you’re working a case?”
He shrugged. “Alex is helping out a bit.”
Julia’s eyes twinkled. “She’s pretty.”
There was no sense denying it, because Julia was like a bloodhound. The lawyer in her sniffed out even the tiniest lie. “Yes, she is. She’s also waiting in the car for me.”
“Fine. I just want to let you know that after reviewing your case, I think the charges don’t have merit. Marina was killed while on assignment. You didn’t order her into the bar that night. In fact, I’m not sure why this case has gotten as far as it has. If this was in a human court of law, it would have been dismissed.”
“A psych evaluation would have been ordered if this case was in a human court.”
Julia patted his hand. “That, too. Anyway, this is just to let you know I’m putting together a request for dismissal. I’ll let you know what the Tribunal says. We’ll get you your powers back, I just know it.”
He doubted it would be as easy as that, but if it helped him regain his powers more quickly, he would be that much closer to finding out who killed Thomas and why.
He hadn’t yet shared his suspicions about her husband’s death with Julia. He didn’t want to upset her until he was able to identify the killer or killers and bring them to justice.
He owed it to Julia, his brother, and himself. He couldn’t move forward with his life otherwise.
Lorinda’s Wedding Tip: The best man is more than a drinking buddy. Task him with keeping the groom (and sometimes the bride) on the right path.
Chapter 22
Was it too much to ask for a little peace and quiet?
Devin ignored the voice behind him and jogged along the trail. He’d just started a run to clear his head, and Charlie showed up.
“Wait up!” Charlie called again, running up beside him and, after a couple of seconds, matching Devin’s rhythm.
“Didn’t you hear me?” Charlie asked.
“Nope.”
“What crawled up your butt today?”
“Nothing.”
They jogged in silence for a couple of minutes before Charlie spoke up. “If you don’t tell me what’s wrong, I’ll sing country songs the whole trail.”
“I think Alex is pissed at me.”
“What did you do?”
“For once, I didn’t do anything.”
Charlie shook his head. “You did something. Why do you think she’s pissed?”
“On the ride back to the office she was real quiet, and when I tried to talk to her, she gave me one-syllable answers.”
“Okay, that definitely doesn’t sound like Alex. Tell me what you did today.”
Devin scowled at him. “We went to the courthouse and spoke with the were lawyer, Godfrey. He’s going to work on a composite so we can get an idea of what the woman who switched their glasses looked like.”
“That’s a good thing. Alex should be happy about that.”
“She seemed to be,” Devin agreed.
“Then what happened?” Charlie pushed.
“While we were there I ran into Julia. She’s been reviewing my case.”
“And?”
“She doesn’t think the charges have merit. Marina was killed while on assignment, and I didn’t order her into the bar that night.”
“No, you didn’t. I seem to recall that you told her not to go in, since there was a chance her cover was blown. She defied orders.”
Devin ran faster. “I won’t drag Marina’s name through the mud on this. She’s not here to defend herself.”
Charlie caught up to him. “No. But you also don’t need to take the fall for her decision, either. Did you talk about this in front of Alex?”
“Give me a break, I have some common sense.”
Charlie chuckled. “Did she meet Julia?”
“Yeah. I introduced them, and then I asked Alex if she would mind letting me talk to Julia alone.”
“How did you introduce Julia?”
Devin slowed down and started to walk. “What’s that have to do with anything?”
Charlie walked alongside him. “Just humor me. Did you tell Alex that Julia is your sister-in-law?”
“No.”
“Did you tell her that Julia is your lawyer?”
“Absolutely not.”
“So you introduced Julia to her without explaining your relationship.”
“Yes. Are you suffering from heat stroke? I already told you that.”
“And what did you tell Alex when she started asking questions about Julia?”
Devin shrugged. “She didn’t ask me any questions about Julia.”
Charlie stopped walking. “We are talking about the same person, right? Alex Bennett didn’t ask you any questions?”
“Yeah.”
Charlie shook his head. “When I met Alex, she asked me more questions in the first five minutes than most people ask in years.” Charlie laughed. “You’re an idiot, Devin.”
“Why don’t you enlighten me then, oh wise ass.”
“Alex thinks you’re dating Julia.” Charlie smiled at him.
“Why would that stop her from asking questions?”
“Because she’s jealous.”
Devin’s mouth fell open and Charlie’s shit-eating grin widened.
He couldn’t be right, could he? There was no room in Devin’s life for a relationship. At least that’s what his brain told him. But his emotions weren’t listening. In fact, he was ashamed to admit that he was more than a little happy that she might actually be jealous. Way happier than he had a right to be.
* * *
Self-esteem, paging self-esteem, call on line one.
Alex stared at the computer screen in front of her, but couldn’t focus. Instead, she pictured beautiful, smart, successful, glamorous Julia Davis and Devin together. Ms. Perfect and Mr. Cocky Pants. They would have flawless babies. She laid her head on the desk. She was officially certifiable.
“What’s wrong?”
Alex groaned at the sound of Sheila’s voice. “Nothing,” she said, her head still on the desk. “I’m fine. I’m just resting.”
“Right,” Sheila chuckled. “Talk to me.”
She pulled her head up off the desk. “It’s Devin.”
Sheila interrupted her. “Would you just go ahead and jump his bones? If he’s not going to make the move, then you do it.”
“Not so easy. He’s got some beautiful lawyer he’s dating.”
“He told you that?”
She shook her head. “I’ve seen them together.”
“Where?”
“Here and at the courthouse.”
“What
did Devin say about her?” Sheila asked.
“Not much.”
Sheila placed her hands on her hips. “You didn’t ask, did you?”
“No! It’s not my place to butt into his business,” Alex answered, squirming under Sheila’s relentless gaze.
“But you don’t know for sure if they’re dating, and you’ve got your panties in a twist because of it.”
“First of all, my panties are not in a twist,” Alex sputtered. “Secondly, I don’t have any claim on Devin Cole.”
Sheila nodded with a smirk, and her eyes took on a predatory glint. “Fine, if you don’t want him, I do.”
Alex gritted her teeth. “The hell you do.”
“That’s my little spitfire,” Sheila laughed. “Go get him, already.”
Alex had fallen right into her trap. “Why are you pushing so hard about Devin?”
Sheila sat down next to her. “This is the first time I’ve seen you interested in someone since Steve-the-loser.”
Alex shook her head emphatically. “I’ve dated since then.”
“Yes, but never someone you could develop a serious relationship with.”
Alex’s blood pressure rose. “That’s not true.”
“I don’t want you to be afraid to find someone to love.”
“I’m not afraid to love again,” Alex protested weakly, but she almost choked on the words. “It doesn’t really matter. He’s involved with someone anyway.”
Sheila shook her head. “You’re not going to get off that easy. Let’s find out for sure.”
Alex bit her lip. “I’m not talking to Devin about this.”
“Fine. Give me your phone.”
“Why?”
“Because if you’re so chicken, I’ll call Devin.”
“No, we’re not in junior high passing notes, I’ll call him.” Alex’s stomach fluttered while she placed the call. Did she really want to know the truth?
When the voice answered, she looked down at her phone. “I called Devin’s line. Why are you picking it up, Charlie?”
“Devin’s in the shower. What’s up, buttercup?”
“Nothing, I’ll call back later.”
“Just ask him,” Sheila hissed.
