by C. J. Lyons
The judge banged her gavel once again, and a sudden silence descended over the room. Voorsanger slowly pushed himself upright, leaning heavily against the podium as he caught his breath.
“Your Honor, we request a recess to discuss options with the prosecution,” Voorsanger said, his voice hoarse, his chest heaving with each word.
“Wise decision, Mr. Voorsanger. I’m declaring an immediate mistrial with no prejudice to the prosecution. Mr. Cruz, you may refile charges at your convenience, but it is my sincere hope that we do not have a repeat of this mockery of justice. At least not in my courtroom. Do I make myself clear, gentlemen?”
Both lawyers nodded, appearing sheepish. The judge turned to the jury. “Ladies and gentlemen, you are dismissed. Thank you for your time. We are adjourned.”
With a regal swish of her robe, she disappeared into her chambers. Everyone else filed out, leaving only Manny Cruz, Jacob Voorsanger, Rossi, and Ryder gathered in the no-man’s land between the defense and prosecution tables.
“Glad I gave up my lunch hour,” Ryder said, the heel of his hand caressing the empty holster on his belt like an amputee scratching a phantom itch. Damn new rules insisted only courthouse security officers carry inside the courthouse. Those bozos weren’t any better than mall rent-a-cops. “Nice show you guys put on.”
“This is ridiculous.” Manny wheeled on Voorsanger. “If I have to go through this shit again, I’ll bury Littleton’s ass deeper than the last coal they dragged out of the Cambria Mine. I swear I will.”
Voorsanger was worrying at his neck, now blossoming with red marks, ignoring the other men as he stared at Rossi.
“You okay?” she asked, placing her hand on his arm, giving it a reassuring squeeze. Ryder had the feeling she wasn’t talking about Voorsanger’s neck. It was obvious Voorsanger’s last question hadn’t been a mere slip of the tongue.
Voorsanger gave her a slow nod. “I’m fine.”
“So, what do you think?” Manny went on in his usual breathless way, ignorant of or ignoring the exchange, excited by his sudden reversal of fortune. His no-win case had just turned into a slam-dunk conviction. “That asswipe going to roll finally? Because now he’s facing assault and attempted murder with you and Judge Shaw as my star witnesses.”
“You’ll need to offer his new attorney a good deal,” Voorsanger said. “I don’t know details, but as you know from Mr. Littleton’s previous statements, the men who coerced him to assault Ms. Nelson are rich, connected, and vicious. They’ll kill anyone who gets in their way or threatens them. Just like I’m assuming they killed her.”
The four of them exchanged glances. Ryder shrugged. Dealing with animals was his main reason to crawl out of bed in the morning. Manny nodded, a single jerk of his chin. The three men stared at Rossi.
“I saw Tymara,” Rossi reminded them. “What they did to her. We need to get them off the streets. Whatever it takes.”
<<<>>>
DEVON PRICE WAS late for his breakfast date. It was twelve thirty-eight, a few hours shy of what he considered a civilized time of day. After spending the morning trying to find a line on who killed Tymara, he wasn’t moving at full speed. If it hadn’t been for the trial, he’d still be in bed. But, turned out, as lousy as the morning had been, he was glad he’d taken the time to talk to the Tower residents. He hadn’t learned anything new about the Brotherhood, but his conversations had raised more questions. Questions he hoped Angela would be able to answer tonight.
Always borrowing trouble. That’s what the Tower women who’d raised him had told him. This time he hoped they were right, that he was seeing trouble where it didn’t exist. But the itch along his spine told him otherwise.
He stood inside the entrance to the chic Pan-Asian restaurant, ostensibly to remove his sunglasses. In reality he was waiting for the pause, that micro-moment of hush when women raised their gazes to admire him while their male companions straightened to acknowledge the competition. Not that anyone here could dream to compete with Daniel Kingston’s son, illegitimate or not.
It never failed. Devon wasn’t used to it, but in the month since he’d returned to Cambria City and had taken over Kingston Enterprises, he’d learned to expect it. All part of the game he had to play, which was to maintain the illusion of power and control the Kingstons had cultivated for generations. He gave the other diners a lazy glance, basking in the glow. So very different from the way his father had treated his bastard son as a child. Or the way he had treated Devon’s mother.
Chuckling beneath his breath at the irony, he followed the hostess in her tight silk dress. She stopped and indicated a private booth at the rear of the restaurant, dark enough that his weary eyes wouldn’t be subjected to glare.
Before she left, he slipped his card into her palm. Not his business card. His personal one. She jumped, her porcelain calm shattered, her expression bordering on fear.
“Er,” she stuttered, “I’m sorry, Mr. Price.” He folded the card into her palm as he raised her hand to his lips, kissing the flesh immediately above her wedding ring. A promise as well as a performance for the others watching.
“Keep it,” he murmured, staring her down.
“But—” She was shuffling, too polite to yank her hand free, anxious to get away.
“I’ll expect you tonight.” He released her, and she ran away, teetering on high heels, his card crumpled in her sweaty grip.
“Hope you’re not going to torch the place if she refuses,” said Gena Kravitz, his dining companion, her chopsticks waving in the air. “I like the food here.”
He hid his irritation that she’d ordered and begun without him. Knew it was one of her power plays. Why was it everything in this city boiled down to a few people in power playing games? At least when he’d worked with Philly’s Russian mob, they’d been honest about their brutality and the consequences of failing to meet their expectations.
“For you, I’ll simply organize a kitchen-worker strike,” he said with a gracious flutter of his hand. “Most of their busboys and dishwashers come from the Tower.”
If it came from Kingston Tower, then Devon controlled it. As soon as he dealt with men like Eugene Littleton and his partners in crime. People needed to understand that no one trespassed on what was Devon’s. No one.
Gena slurped her tea, almost dunking her outrageous blonde curls in the process. Despite being a beautiful woman with a body she loved to flaunt, Gena was a slob when it came to table manners. No appreciation for the finer things in life, she was ruled by her passions—passions that, from the rumors Devon had heard, ran to the extreme. Enough that she’d left a top-tier firm in Philly to come here and open a solo practice.
“And then you’ll extract a personal payment for ending the strike, right?” she asked, her eyes gleaming. “One custom-made ego trip ready for carry-out. What will it be, Devon? A night spent with you? Will you make her husband watch?”
Without him needing to order, a young waitress appeared with a tray laden with succulent specialty items, none from the menu everyone else ordered from. Only the chef’s best for Daniel Kingston’s son. The chef whose wife worked as hostess.
Devon nodded to the girl as she poured tea for him, her arms moving in graceful arcs. She finished her task and left, never once making eye contact with him. He eased his elbow along the top of the bench as he watched her walk away.
“Oh,” Gena said in a breathless voice that made Devon wonder about the attorney’s own proclivities. “A mother-daughter double feature. Wouldn’t that be sweet?”
“Need you be so crass, Gena?” He kept his tone light, maintaining the facade of boredom, hiding a frown. She had no idea what he had planned, and if Devon had his way, she never would. He cast a lazy glance around the crowded restaurant. None of them would.
“It’s my nature. Besides, you like having me around, someone who sees what you do and can appreciate it without judging.”
“Speaking of judges—”
“Heard about the m
istrial.” She made a tut-tutting sound. “So disappointing. I know you were counting on an acquittal. Especially after what happened this morning. Do the police have any leads?”
Devon scowled. “No. My men saw nothing out of the ordinary, not even the ones I had patrolling Tymara’s floor.”
“No cameras?”
“The original system hasn’t worked in decades. I’m in the process of updating it, rewiring the entire Tower, but the work won’t be done until after the New Year.”
“Too bad. A mistrial means your buddy—”
“Eugene is merely a tool, a means to an end,” he corrected her.
“Whatever. He gets to go through all that again. Plus facing whatever new charges the DA drums up.” She jammed a wad of rice noodles into her mouth, didn’t bother to swallow before speaking again. “Which means he stays behind bars. Without talking, just like he has for the last six months. My bet? He won’t last long. The Brotherhood will get to him first.”
He frowned at the melodramatic nickname the street had bestowed on the men he hunted. Wondered, not for the first time, if they’d christened themselves in an effort to feed their egos. “No. I want him alive.”
“Good luck with that. No way in hell is he going to get bail, not after what he did today.”
“You defend him. Get him released.” He sipped at his tea, enjoying the faint undertones of jasmine. “Now that the public defender’s office must recuse themselves, you can take it on pro bono. A service to the community, defending the rights of a poor, defenseless man victimized by the system.”
“Pro bono?” Her chuckle ended abruptly when he nodded. “Do you have any idea what I’m paid for my time?”
“You’ll be well compensated.”
“Damn right.”
Devon smiled, letting it reach all the way to his eyes. He enjoyed her look of appraising curiosity. Time to cement their partnership. He set his cup down delicately so that the fine-boned china saucer didn’t even quiver. “Of course, you do know who the prosecutor is, don’t you?” He waited a beat until he was certain he had her attention. “Your new favorite plaything.”
She dropped the shrimp she’d so painstakingly picked up with her chopsticks. It slid across the plate, dangling over the edge. “How did—” Her face tightened. She looked over her shoulder before returning her gaze to him and lowering her voice. “I’ll do it. But you need to leave Manny out of it.”
“Of course, of course. Far be it from me to interfere with true love.” He smirked as he skewered the wayward shrimp and popped it into his mouth. When would she learn? It was the one thing he shared with his father: Devon always got what he wanted.
Always.
Chapter 11
“C’MON, DETECTIVE, LET’S get our new friend tucked in,” Manny said to Ryder, walking past me.
Jacob had his back turned, shuffling his papers and files at the defense table. Ryder waited a beat, raising one eyebrow as he stared at me, his expression hungry. I couldn’t help smiling in return, heat burning my cheeks.
First day back at work after getting shot and he got to tackle a guy and hopefully get a lead on Tymara’s killers. Of course his hormones were raging worse than a teenage kid’s. Ryder allowed his hip to nudge against my backside as he strolled past, following Manny.
Leaving Jacob and me. Our marriage had been dead and buried long enough that we could be friends without worrying too much about hurting each other. We knew each other’s vulnerable spots and we both cared enough to avoid them.
I joined him at the table. The scuffle with Littleton had left his carefully organized files in a jumble. He was compulsive enough to keep his tea bags alphabetized; he wouldn’t rest until the files were back in order. I arranged the ones in reach, working in silence beside him, listening to him breathe, shallow and fast, as if he were still fighting with Littleton. “You did good today.”
“Did I? Did I really?” His tone was bitter and defeated. He wasn’t struggling because of his wrestling match with Littleton. It was the harder fight, the one with his conscience.
Knowing that reminded me why I had fallen in love with him. If Atticus Finch had had a grandson, it would be Jacob Voorsanger.
“If you got Littleton off, you’d be condemning another woman. More than one. This way, with his help, we can nail the others. Pretty good for a day’s work.”
“I’m not proud of what I did.” He stood, facing me, his files forgotten. “And you shouldn’t be either.”
For once, I was unable to read his expression. His tone implied I was at fault for his betrayal of his values. “You did this for me? I don’t understand.” He winced and I knew I’d hit the bull’s-eye. “I didn’t ask you to do this, Jacob. I never asked—”
“No, you never ask for anything, do you, Angie?”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Nothing. As usual, I have nothing to do with anything in your life.” His focus zeroed in on an imaginary speck between his shoes as he avoided eye contact with me and shook his head, small shakes of anger and frustration.
“Exactly how is any of this my fault?” I asked. “Are you angry because of what you did? Or because I was here to see it?”
He opened his mouth, closed it again. This was the first time I could remember seeing Jacob speechless. He turned to shove the rest of the files haphazardly into his satchel. “I wish to hell I knew.”
He stalked away from me.
The door opened before Jacob reached it, and Ryder reappeared. Ryder held the door as Jacob faltered, sending a last look over his shoulder to me. My stomach clenched as if something terrible and important had just happened, but I wasn’t sure what.
Then Jacob was gone, leaving Ryder and me alone in the cavernous hall of justice.
Sunlight glinted through the stained-glass windows, casting red and gold diamonds on the marble floor. Ryder leaned against the heavy oak door for a long moment, staring at me, his thumbs hooked in his waistband. Appraisal laced with longing. Seconds ticked past, and he didn’t blink, simply drank me in until I was surprised to find myself blushing. I couldn’t remember the last time that’d happened. Funny how, with only a look, he could transform my mood. Make me forget everything.
“I’ve got time while they get Littleton processed.” He jerked his head in the general direction of the jail wing. His expression softened. “You sure you’re okay? Finding Tymara, then facing all this.” His nod took in the courtroom.
I looked away to the stained-glass window where Justice always prevailed no matter what happened inside the walls she protected. Despite standing up to Jacob, I couldn’t shed all my guilt. “It was my fault. She never would have agreed to testify if I hadn’t talked her into it.”
He stepped forward, placed his palms on my hips, and lowered his face until our foreheads touched and our gazes locked, shutting out the rest of the world. “I wasn’t there for the initial case, never met Tymara, but after a decade of doing this job, I can assure you her death is not your fault. Stop feeling sorry for yourself and start thinking of anything she told you—even if it wasn’t in the official medical record—that might help me catch these guys.”
I straightened, annoyed at his suggestion that I might have overlooked anything that could have saved Tymara. “If there was anything, I would have told the police already.”
“Then there’s nothing. You’re off the hook. And officially off the clock. Seems like we have some time on our hands.” He slid his lips down to meet mine, in no hurry, his gaze fixed on my eyes, never wavering, waiting for me to respond. I pulled him closer, my arms wrapping around his neck. After the emotional upheaval today had brought, being in his arms was a relief.
Life with Ryder was a constant adventure. He enjoyed pushing the limits and bending the rules as much as I did. We both liked taking control, both had shadowy, soft spots best to avoid, both respected each other enough to take pleasure in the physical without probing too deeply into the feelings or the personal shit.
<
br /> Just the way I wanted it. No, be honest, it was the way I needed it. The honorable thing to do would be to end things now before they got too messy, before anyone got hurt.
Right now, this minute, my doomsday clock ticking away the seconds, I wasn’t feeling particularly honorable. Right now, I needed to forget, to block out the visions of Tymara’s body, of the blood and pain that threatened to drown me.
I needed Ryder.
He slid one palm from my hip slowly up along my waist to my breast. Taking his own sweet time with the caress, the fabric of my blouse whispering against my skin. His hand was hot, searing through the silk that separated us.
I didn’t care that we were in a court of law, didn’t care that anyone might walk in and find us, didn’t care about anything except what he had to offer. An escape from reality.
The kiss deepened, but instead of the heat I’d been expecting, it turned tender. He stroked my hair, cradling my head with a gentle caress. We broke apart, and I ended up leaning my weight against him, my face pressed against his chest, swallowing the sudden sob that ambushed me. I was a fool. We’d moved way past the point of harmless sex where no one got hurt.
“About this morning…” I started, surprised by the way my voice had grown hoarse. “We should talk—” I trembled with panic at the thought. Telling Ryder the truth of what was happening to me, it would change everything.
He traced his fingers down the back of my neck. “We will. When you’re ready. I’ll be here.”
I blinked, trying to deny the tears his words brought. Before I could gather my strength to tell him about my diagnosis, his phone went off.
“Shit.” He breathed the word, but his hands didn’t release their grip on me. “Manny has a lousy sense of timing.”
The phone rang again. He blew his breath out with a muffled curse. I untangled myself from his embrace and straightened my clothing, liking the way his gaze followed my every movement. It was one of the things I loved about Ryder, the way he could focus so intently, making me feel as if I was the only person in his universe. Unlike Jacob, who was always lost in clouds of intangibles like justice and ethics and morals. Ryder knew how to simply…be.
