Mine to Entice

by Karen Anders

  “It’s all right.”

  “No. It isn’t. Let me buy you lunch.”

  “The fingerprint.”

  “It’s still scanning,” Eric said. “Go ahead. I’ll call you on your cell phone when it’s done.”

  She gave Eric a lethal look, but he just smiled at her. “Thanks, Banner. I owe you one.”

  “No need to thank me.”

  Jericho eyed her during the exchange. With a last look toward Eric, he ushered her out the door.

  “What’s going on with Banner?”

  “Nothing, he just likes to rib me about you.”

  “He’s not interested in you…right?”

  “Eric? No.”

  “Good.”

  That brought a smile to her lips. She liked that Jericho was asking. It meant he was very interested in her and felt proprietary. She thought that was very good.

  “Where do you usually eat lunch?”

  “At my desk.”

  He sighed. “When you go out.”

  “Across the street at the deli.”

  They came out of the lab building and quickly crossed the street. Jericho ordered pastrami on rye and Kate got her usual ham and cheese. They went back outside and sat at one of the tables.

  “Do you work through your lunch hour often?”

  “I don’t mean to. I just lose track of time and before I know it, it’s six or seven.”

  “You shouldn’t go so long without eating. It’s not good for you.”

  “You sound like my mother.”

  “She’s right.”

  Kate unwrapped her sandwich, but her appetite was nonexistent. “She means well, but my mother hasn’t ever really understood me. My father, either.”

  “Why is that?” He took a bite of his sandwich.

  “I was always asking questions. I excelled in school and they truly just didn’t know how to interact with me. I think they thought some alien must haven taken their baby and placed me there instead.”

  “They must have been proud of you when you went off to college.”

  She played with the wrapper. “I think they were more relieved. I didn’t go out much. I was more interested in studying and reading.”

  “And science.”

  “Lord, yes.” She smiled. It was something that she felt comfortable with. It never made her do or feel anything she didn’t want. “I entered every science fair.”

  “And won?”

  “Of course, why else enter a contest if you don’t intend to win. What’s the point?”

  “Those are my thoughts exactly.”

  She studied him and smiled. “If you’re talking about our challenge, then you’re going to be disappointed. I’ll win, Jericho.”

  He reached out and captured her hand. Turning it over, he gently caressed her palm. “What makes you think you won’t give in first?”

  “Pure determination.” It took all her concentration to speak. “Mind over matter. I’m very good at that. What are you good at?” she threw at him.

  “Making you scream out in gut-clenching, heart-stopping pleasure.”

  6

  “GOOD ANSWER,” Kate said, her eyes widening.

  “I’ve got a bargain for you.”

  “Yeah, what?”

  “I’ll break the rules for you. Give me a week and I’ll bring out the passionate woman in you.”

  “What do you want from me?”

  “Heat, Kate. I want to see that hot woman in you.”

  “After that, things will go back to normal and we’ll be boss and co-worker again?” she asked, finally picking up her sandwich and taking a bite.

  He nodded.

  Kate’s cell phone rang. She chewed quickly and wiped her mouth before she spoke. “Quinn. I’ll be back over in a minute. Thanks.” She closed her phone. “The fingerprints are done. We can go have a look now.”

  He grabbed her arm. “What do you say?”

  “Okay. I’ll agree to that, but you have to give me something in return.”

  He narrowed his eyes at her and said, “What?”

  “I want a souvenir from you when this is all over. You see, my two friends and I made a pact. We each had to seduce a man and get a souvenir because we’re women who dare.”

  Jericho suddenly understood why it was so important to Kate to be the one in charge. This dare dictated that she become a daring woman, but her fear still held her back. He could cut her some slack. He wanted that daring woman very much. “It’s a deal.”

  They got up and crossed the street. “There is something else that you’re good at, Jericho.”

  They entered the building and he stopped near the doorway to the stairs. “What’s that?”

  “You’re absolutely amazing in court, riveting. I can’t keep my eyes off you or stop my heart from beating fast. It’s very exciting.”

  The praise coming from her made him warm inside, a place that craved soft, sweet words from this woman. He grabbed her arm and dragged her into the stairwell. She made a little squeak as he hauled her through the door. He pressed her back against the wall.

  “This is insane,” she managed to say.

  But he saw the desire in her eyes and it spoke to him. Then his mouth closed over hers.

  She didn’t push him away. For nearly one heartbeat, he was lost, paralyzed, struck deaf, dumb and blind. In a tidal wave, every sense flooded back, every nerve snapped, every pulse jolted.

  Her mouth was soft, as were her hands as they delved into his hair, as was her body. He felt terrifyingly, gloriously masculine pressed against her. A need he hadn’t been aware of exploded into bloom. His briefcase hit the floor with a thud as she wrapped herself around him.

  He was no longer thinking. A man would starve to death after only one taste. A man would certainly beg for more. She was soft and strong and sinfully sweet, with a flavor that both tempted and tormented.

  Heat radiated between them as the sauna-like air sealed their kiss. The din of nearby street noises, horns and tires sounded around them, along with her dazed, throaty moan.

  He pulled back once to look at her face, saw himself in the cornflower-blue eyes, and then his mouth crushed hers again.

  No, this wasn’t going to be a one-time deal.

  He pulled back again, staggered by what had ripped through him in so short a time. He was winded, weak and the sensation infuriated as much as baffled him. She only stood there, staring at him with a mixture of shock and hunger in her eyes.

  “Are you crazy? Anyone could have seen us.”

  “I know.”

  “Cops use these stairs and my co-workers.”

  “I know.”

  “But you didn’t care?”

  “No. Not at that moment.”

  Voices echoed in the stairwell and Kate extricated herself quickly and started down the stairs. He followed her, wanting to reach out to capture her tumbling hair. He was disappointed that she’d bolted. He knew there was a daring woman inside her, longing to get out. He wanted that woman.

  But he understood her more than she knew. It was hard to let yourself feel, once you’d stuffed it so deep inside that you’re afraid you couldn’t find it again.

  He’d done that when he’d worked at his uncle’s law firm and saw the inequities every day until he couldn’t stomach it anymore. Now in court, he could let his passion show. He could do something about the lying scumbags who filed through his courtroom on a daily basis. People like Danny Hamilton who were too cowardly to admit to what they had done. Hiding behind his handicap wasn’t going to save him. He could get to the truth by digging as deep and as long as he wanted.

  And he intended to prove that Danny Hamilton killed Marie LePlante.

  THE MAN WAS INSANE. That was the only explanation for kissing her like that in the stairwell. And she was skirting along the sanity line herself. She’d lost herself there in the stairwell. She hadn’t been able to breathe. For the first time in her memory, she could do nothing but feel. And the feelings had come so fa
st, so sharp and strong, they’d left her in tatters.

  She wanted to get these fingerprints read and to get Jericho out of her work space before she did something completely foolish.

  Eric was standing next to the computer screen, leaving the chair open for her. Kate sat and looked closely at the fingerprints. Her heart sank.

  “Do they match?” Jericho asked.

  “Yes. Danny touched the candlestick.”

  Jericho put his hand briefly on her shoulder and squeezed. She turned to look up at him and the compassion in his eyes made her want to curl up in his arms.

  Danny had his hand on the candlestick. There was no mistaking the print that was taken when he was booked and the one that was lifted from the metal of the candlestick. She would have sworn on a stack of bibles that Danny couldn’t hurt anyone. Ever. It shook her resolve. So Mrs. LePlante may have been struck with the candlestick, but that didn’t mean that Danny had strangled the woman in her own bathroom.

  Why would Danny hit her in the first place? It didn’t make sense to Kate. Danny was a gentle soul. She’d seen him pick up a stray kitten once and he’d been as gentle as a child. What could have led him to pick up the candlestick and hit Mrs. LePlante?

  The answers to those questions could come from only one source. Danny himself. Kate needed to talk to him.

  “I’ll get this information to Parker and Sanders,” Eric said as he exited with copies of the prints.

  “This pretty much seals Danny’s guilt,” Jericho said.

  “Mrs. LePlante didn’t die from the blow.”

  “No. True. She died from strangulation.”

  “It doesn’t prove that Danny strangled her.”

  “Kate. Danny had means, motive and opportunity. I can make a case on the witness who saw him fighting with Mrs. LePlante on numerous occasions, heard him arguing with her that night. He was at her apartment at the right time she died. The coroner confirmed that last night.”

  “I still don’t think he’s capable of killing anyone.”

  “Even someone he hates?”

  Kate leaned forward, jaw set, eyes narrowed. “No. Not even then,” she said vehemently.

  “It’s time to close this case.”

  “But I still haven’t analyzed the glass evidence, the fibers in the shower and the blood.”

  “I don’t want you to waste time on this case. Move on.”

  “Even if an innocent man’s life is at stake?”

  “Kate, they’re rarely innocent. It’s a sad fact, but it’s true.”

  Jericho’s cell phone rang and he pulled the instrument off his hip. “I’ll be right there.” He looked down at her. “I’ve got to go.”

  She shook her head and turned to stare at the computer screen. Facts were never wrong and this one was extremely damaging. Kate knew she wasn’t wrong. She seldom was. That was fact. Although she would have to admit that challenging Jericho to a match of wills might have been a bad idea.

  The man played to win. Why, oh, why, had she agreed to this souvenir dare? She wasn’t as brave as she thought she was and surely not as brave as she wanted to be.

  Something shivered along her skin. Something elusive and out of reach. Would he make her rise to the challenge and if and when she did, how would that feel, how would she deal with those feelings, and what would she do if they got out of control?

  THE CLANG OF THE CELL at her back was loud in the air as she faced Danny.

  “Miss Kate! I’m so happy to see you. Did you come to get me out?” He threw his arms around her and hugged her tight.

  “No, Danny, I’m sorry I didn’t, but I’ve come to visit you and see how you are doing. Is everyone treating you all right?” She hugged him back tightly.

  “I guess so. It’s scary in here especially at night.” He sat on the cot and Kate sat next to him.

  She put her hand on his arm and smiled. “How about I go to your apartment and get something of yours for you?”

  Danny nodded enthusiastically and clapped his hands together. “Yes. That would be very good. You’re a kind lady.”

  “Danny, do you know what’s going to happen tomorrow?”

  “No. Not really.”

  “You’re going to have to talk to the judge. It’s called your arraignment. You will be informed of the charges, advised of your rights, and the consequences of your plea and asked to enter a plea. Do you know what a plea is?”

  “No.”

  “You will tell the judge that you’re not guilty.”

  “I’m not. I didn’t kill Mrs. LePlante.”

  “Just tell him you’re not guilty. You don’t have to say anything else.”

  “Will you be there?”

  “Yes, Danny, I will.” She squeezed his arm. “Now before you plea, the judge is going to inform you of your rights. You have the right to confront any witnesses.”

  “Confront?”

  “Yes, if someone says something about you, you have the right to say whether that is true or not,” she told him gently.

  He frowned and said, “Oh. Some people get mad when you tell them they’re wrong.”

  “I know, Danny, but you won’t have to talk to the witnesses. Your attorney will talk to them for you.”

  “Good. I don’t like yelling.”

  “The judge will also tell you that you have a right to a speedy jury trial. You have the right not to incriminate yourself.”

  “I don’t know some big words.”

  “Like incriminate?”

  “Yes. That’s a big word.”

  “Incriminate means that you don’t have to tell your side of the story if it will show that you are guilty.”

  “So I can lie silently.”

  She smiled at his naiveté. “Sort of, Danny.”

  “But I’m not lying.”

  “Then you have nothing to worry about.” Kate smiled to reassure him. “Danny, I need to ask you a question. Did you hit Mrs. LePlante?”

  Danny ducked his head and refused to meet her eyes. “She was a mean lady.”

  “I know. But did you hit her?”

  Danny’s face contorted and he covered his face. Kate’s stomach clenched. She put her arm around his shoulders.

  “You can tell me, Danny. Did you hit her?”

  “Yes, but I didn’t mean to. She was yelling at me because there was water all over her floor and she was expecting her daughter for dinner. I didn’t do anything wrong when I fixed the sink. She shoved something too hard against the pipes and it made a leak. She tried to blame it on me. She told me that she was going to tell Mr. Mitchell that I was good for nothing. I tried to leave, but she wouldn’t stop. She wouldn’t get out of my way. So I hit her and I ran when she fell.”

  “Was there anyone else in the apartment?”

  “No, she was just coming home from the store and she was running late, she said. She called me on the phone and made me come to her apartment. Her face was red because she was really mad.”

  “You’re absolutely sure no one else was there?”

  “Not that I saw. I was trying to get away from her.”

  “Were you ever in her bathroom?”

  “No. I didn’t like working there very much, so I tried to do her jobs fast.”

  “So she never had any bathroom problems and you were never in there?”

  “No. Never. Can I go home now?”

  “No, not yet, Danny. I’m going to call a friend of mine to help you. His name is Stephen Castle and he’s a very good defense attorney.”

  “Thank you, Miss Kate. You won’t forget to bring something from my place, will you?”

  “I won’t forget, Danny. I’ll come back to see you soon.”

  As she stepped out of the cell, she knew that handling Danny’s case wasn’t a good idea. It could really mess up Jericho’s prosecution, but she knew in her heart that Danny wasn’t responsible for Mrs. LePlante’s death. She was going to prove it.

  She had no doubt that Stephen would handle Danny’s case. Another
violation against her sworn duty as a criminalist in service to San Diego, but she also couldn’t go against her conscience that dictated to her that if she turned her back on Danny right now, he’d be convicted of the LePlante murder and be sent to prison. She couldn’t let that happen to him, no matter what the repercussions meant to her job or her personal life.

  Danny was all alone and had nobody to look out for him. That left her and if she buckled under the pressure of her job or Jericho’s orders against what she believed, who would that make her?

  Not anyone she would like at all.

  IT WASN’T WHAT she’d expected, Kate thought as she ascended the stairs leading to the two-story brownstone’s front porch. The beds of begonias and marigolds that lined his walk surprised her. Jericho didn’t seem the type to notice small things like flowers. The wooden swing hanging by chains from the porch was also a surprise. Relaxation didn’t seem to be a word in Jericho’s vocabulary; his intensity was part of his genetic makeup, like his hair and eye color.

  She found out that Jericho didn’t do anything by halves. Something inside her made her want to push him beyond that tightly controlled persona to show what was inside him. Peel away the layers until she found the man beneath.

  She walked across the porch and then paused in the spill of white light from a crystal and black wrought-iron lamp. She was almost certain that he was home; a sleek, black Mercedes that pegged him to a T sat in the driveway. All the house windows were dark except for a small amount of light that peeked out of a basement window.

  Her mother had taught her never to show up on someone’s porch step. But she hadn’t wanted to give Jericho a head’s up. It was late, sometime after midnight, and she could have waited to tell him that she should be removed from the case.

  But it was more than confessing to him that she wasn’t fit to continue with this investigation and certainly shouldn’t be put on the witness stand. She’d craved him all afternoon. Her desire gnawed at her.

  Kate slid her hand to the tight muscles in the back of her neck. Her mind should be on what she had to do, not on Jericho the man. She was putting herself on the line for Danny because she believed in his innocence. It was in direct conflict with her job. He had to know that she was compromised and not objective at all.