I’d been inside her, damn it, and now, she was trying to pretend like I hadn’t made her come so hard that her whole body trembled.
I snatched the keys out of her hand and thought about not unlocking it until she acknowledged that we’d had sex last night.
But she was already opening the door. Of course she had already unlocked it.
I stomped over to the driver’s side and got in. “Put on your seat belt,” I snapped.
She narrowed her eyes at me as she pulled the belt over her. “Jeez, someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning.”
Maybe because someone was rude and snuck out of it first.
I thought it but didn’t say it. She would use it as an excuse to get into a fight and not talk to me. And I wasn’t going to let her pretend like we hadn’t fucked all night.
I kept my eyes on the road as I started Maddox’s SUV and backed out of the parking spot. “Nah. I was just up all night, handing out orgasms like they were fucking candy.” I smirked as I put the vehicle in drive. “But then again, there’s nothing new about that.”
14
Olivia
I opened my laptop with a sigh. I knew that Tommy was upset, but I didn’t have time to coddle him.
My assistant, Derek, had woken me up with an important text at five in the morning, concerning the case I’d won last month. I’d thought it was over until I got that message. It was a good thing we were already going to Des Moines; otherwise, I would have gone on my own.
I was keeping my promise to Addison that I would come back, but there was a strong chance I’d have to convince Tommy to let me stay longer than half an hour.
“I was thinking, why don’t you drop me off at my office while you go and pick up the windows? Since you don’t need my help.”
He turned his head and scowled at me. “You get a half hour, remember?”
I’d had no idea men could be so touchy about sex. But I also couldn’t tell if he wanted me to acknowledge how great he was in the sack or if he didn’t like the fact that I’d left before he woke up.
There was no way I was going to tell him that he had given me the best sex of my life. Absolutely not. I was not going to feed into his ego. Men were born with spoon-fed egos just for being men, but I could explain to him why I had left so early. I did realize that men also had feelings, and I might have hurt Tommy’s.
“I know that’s what we agreed upon, but something has come up at work. I might need a little more time.”
His jaw clenched, and I knew I was going to have to explain further to get him to understand.
“Recently, I had a case where a young man was wrongly accused of killing his girlfriend. She was sixteen, and he’s seventeen. Despite everything pointing to someone else committing the crime—DNA didn’t match, fingerprints didn’t match, my client had an alibi—her family was—is—convinced that he did it. And they will not let it go even though we won and he can never be tried again because of double jeopardy.”
My client, Tate Garrett, had been accused of killing his girlfriend, Annabelle Scott. Her father, Gary Scott, had a lot of pull. Tate’s case reminded me a little bit of Addison. Her father was rich and hated Maddox, just like Gary and his wife, Miranda, hated Tate. Thankfully, Addison hadn’t been a victim though.
I waited for Tommy to tell me no, but he asked, “If there was so much evidence against him, how did he get arrested and charged in the first place?”
“Her father’s a rich white man. He’s friends with the mayor and the district attorney.”
“Ah. And I’m guessing your client isn’t white?”
I chuckled. “No, actually, he’s white, too. I can sometimes get passionate about that particular subject because I’m a woman of color.” I shrugged. “No offense.”
“None taken. I’m not white.”
I looked him up and down and laughed. “Yes, you are.”
“Actually, Miss Know-It-All, I’m part Native American and part Filipino.”
“That explains the dark hair and eyes.”
“Well, I’m also Italian and Greek, so there’s that, too.”
“Now, if only we could take care of the man part, then you’d be perfect,” I joked.
He snorted. “You didn’t seem to mind the man part last night when it was deep inside you, sweetheart.”
A flush started in my cheeks and went down to my toes. I was embarrassed and turned on. A memory of waking up a few hours after we’d gone to sleep made its way to the forefront of my brain. He had woken me up with his rough hands and then rolled over and gently slid into me—
“So, you said the girlfriend’s dad is rich and obviously has connections, but your client can’t pull the same strings, I take it?”
Thank God he’d interrupted my thoughts. I didn’t have time to think about sex.
“Yes. His mom and stepdad have decent jobs and a nice home, but they certainly don’t have anything left over to keep paying attorney fees. And they definitely aren’t friends with the mayor or anyone else political. I took his criminal case on pro bono, but now, her family is suing him. He can’t afford that. Which is probably why they’re suing him. Her parents are awful.”
“What are you going to do?”
“I’m certainly not going to let them win.” Not after everything that family had done.
“Are you going to represent him again for free?”
“Yes.” I grinned like a Cheshire cat. “And then, when we win, I’m going to countersue for emotional damage and damage to his reputation.” And any other charges I could come up with. “He lost a scholarship to college because of this case. The girlfriends’ parents smear his name on the news every chance they get.”
Tommy shook his head. “I will never understand that. With all the evidence, they have to know he’s innocent. Yet they continue to go after him. Meanwhile, the real predator is still out there. Sometimes, they continue committing crimes. It makes me sick.”
I’d had no idea he would be so passionate about something. “Maybe you should go into law enforcement like Maddox?”
He looked at me like I was nuts. “And live in a small town like him, too? No way. Brook Creek is fine to visit, but I’d go stir-crazy, living there. I grew up in New York. I need to be in a city of some sort.”
“Where in New York?”
“Staten Island. And you? Have you always lived in Des Moines?”
“I was born in South Korea actually. My parents adopted me when I was about nine months old, so I’ve lived in Des Moines ever since, minus the years I lived in Iowa City for undergrad and law school.”
“Have you ever thought about living anywhere else?”
I rolled it around in my brain. “Not really, no. You?”
He shrugged. “No. Right now, I’m still in Virginia, and I know I probably won’t stay there. Not now that I’m retired. But I don’t want to go back to New York either. I haven’t decided what I’m going to do yet. All I know is that nothing will compare to being in the Navy.”
I felt bad for Tommy. It was hard enough to figure out what you wanted to do for the rest of your life when you were young and idealistic. But giving up a career you loved and then trying to find a second career that you were never going to like as much would be even harder.
“I’m sorry,” was all I said.
He smiled way too big. “Hey, don’t feel sorry for me. I’ll get it all sorted.” He looked down at my computer. “Why don’t you get to work? You have a client who is counting on you.”
15
Tommy
I decided to be the nice guy and dropped Olivia off at her firm before I went and picked up the windows. It didn’t take me very long, so I ran a few more errands before I went back to her office. There was a little something I wanted to buy before Olivia and I got naked again.
When I arrived back at her office and went up to her floor, I had to admit, I was impressed. For some reason, I always pictured a small office—perhaps because of Addison—but
Olivia had a whole firm with receptionists at the front desk, people buzzing around, and a sign up above that said Mayer, Hastings, & Lee.
“Can I help you?” a woman behind the desk asked.
“Oh, sorry. Name’s Tommy, and I’m here for Olivia Mayer.”
“Please have a seat while I call her.”
Almost fifteen minutes later, a nicely dressed man came into the waiting room, and I could tell he was headed straight for me. Olivia had already left me hanging with no word from her, and it looked like she was going to pawn me off on someone else.
“Thomas Morelli?”
“Uh…” No one called me Thomas, and it sounded strange. “You can call me Tommy,” I said as I stood.
I towered over the guy, but he still looked up to me and said, “Mr. Morelli it is.” He spun on his heel. “Right this way.”
We made our way past several offices and conference rooms until we got to the corner office.
The man knocked on the door and opened it before she could respond. “Mr. Morelli is here to see you.”
I walked in as Olivia was standing behind her desk, shuffling papers around.
“Who’s the suit?” I asked.
She paused long enough to look up at me. “Huh?”
I pointed behind my shoulder. “Who’s the suit? The guy who brought me here.”
A piece of hair had fallen over her face, and she stuck her lower lip out and blew it to the side. “Oh, that’s my assistant, Derek. Didn’t you meet him when we came for Maddox’s case?”
“No.”
“Oh. Okay.” She went back to her search.
“I told him to call me Tommy, but he refused.”
“Yeah, he thinks it’s a ridiculous name for a grown man. I told him he could call you Tom, but I wasn’t sure if you’d answer.” She pulled out a stack of papers paper-clipped together. “Yes. I found it.”
I walked further into her office. “You don’t think my name is ridiculous for a grown man, do you?”
She was flipping through her pile, licking her fingers every few pages for a better grip, yet she still managed to hear me. “Kind of. It makes me think of a kid. But I suppose I know you now, so it kind of fits who you are.”
“Gee, thanks.”
She stopped and looked up at me. “I’m sorry. When I’m working, I either don’t hear when people talk to me or I answer really honestly.”
I laughed. “Good to know. And I happen to like Tommy. Thomas is too formal, and Tom was my grandfather.”
She smiled. “Tommy it is then. Like I said, it suits you.”
I looked at my watch. “So, are you about ready to go? I’ve given you almost two hours. Addison is going to be mad.”
She winced. “I’m almost done, I swear. I think I found what I needed. I’m going to have Derek and Anita start working on things while I’m gone, so I can jump right in when I get back.”
“Who’s Anita?” I didn’t know why I’d asked. It wasn’t like it mattered.
“She’s one of our investigators,” Derek said as he walked in behind me. “And don’t listen to her. She’s never ‘almost done.’” He used air quotes. “She’ll stay here all night if you let her.”
“That’s not true,” Olivia said to me. She looked at Derek. “What do you have there?”
“With everything going on, I forgot to tell you that I’d picked up your mail from home yesterday. I didn’t know if you wanted to look at it or for me to save it until you came back from your vacation.”
“Save it,” I said at the same time she said, “I’ll look at it now.”
“Olivia,” I said.
“It’ll only be a minute,” she said to me, and her assistant handed her the mail and walked out.
She started flipping through it. “Junk, junk, junk, bill that is auto paid, junk, junk—oh…what’s this?” She set down all her mail, minus one piece. It looked like it had fancy writing on it.
She was smiling as she cut open the envelope, but as soon as she opened the letter inside, her smile vanished. She dropped the piece of paper and stepped back until she hit the wall. And her face was pale.
I immediately marched over to her desk and picked up the letter.
“No, don’t—” she started but stopped when I gave her a hard look.
No way was I going to stand there while something had obviously upset her.
Dear Ms. Mayer,
I have asked you several times to stop helping Tate Garrett, but you just don’t seem to listen. And now, he’s free, you stupid bitch.
You just couldn’t keep your dumb cunt nose out of this case. For that, you will PAY.
Maybe not today and maybe not tomorrow, but I will get you when you least expect it.
There was no name at the end.
“Who sent this to you?” I asked.
She shook her head. I didn’t know if it was because she didn’t want to tell me or because she didn’t know, and I didn’t want to press her when she looked so scared.
“Derek,” I yelled.
Olivia’s assistant showed up in the doorway. “Shh. This is a place of busi—oh crap, what’s wrong?” he said as he came into the room and shut the door.
I handed him the letter. “Do you know who this is from?”
Derek quickly read it and shook his head. “No, but this isn’t the first time she’s gotten one. It’s been going on since the case started.”
I looked over my shoulder at her, and she muttered the words, “Here. Always here.”
“Shit, was this in the pile of mail I brought you?” Derek asked, his eyes wide.
“Yes,” I answered for her.
Derek grimaced. “He’s never sent anything to her home. It’s always come to the office.”
So, now, this piece of shit knew where Olivia lived.
“Who is he?” I demanded.
Derek shrugged. “We don’t know. We don’t even know if it’s a he. We’ve just been assuming it’s a man.” He lowered his voice. “She won’t say it in the exact words, but we both think it’s Tate’s girlfriend’s father.”
I walked over to Olivia and pulled her into my arms. Even with the letter, I thought she would maybe push me away, but instead, she fisted my shirt in her hands and buried her face in my chest.
I noticed that Derek looked surprised, but I quickly put it out of my mind. We had bigger things to worry about than me comforting his boss.
I rubbed my hands over her arms and back. “We need to call the police.”
16
Olivia
I wanted to stay in Tommy’s arms and forget about the stupid letter that had been sent to my home. I wanted it to be last night—when we had been alone and in his bed, when the worst thing I’d had to worry about was how I was going to sneak out in the morning.
Not how someone had gotten my home address and sent me another threatening letter.
I should have listened to Addison and not come to the firm today.
“Olivia, did you hear me?” Tommy’s chest vibrated against my ear. “We need to call the police.”
I took a deep breath and stepped back. “No.”
He looked at me like I had grown an extra limb. “You can’t let this go. Someone sent you this.” He picked up the envelope and jammed a finger at the stamp. “They mailed it. That could make it a federal case.”
I snorted. “I hardly think the Feds are going to want—”
“Where are the other letters?”
“I threw them away.”
Fire burned in his eyes, and he looked like he wanted to kill me. “Why? Why would you do that? Why did you not tell the police sooner?”
I snatched the envelope out of his hand in anger. “Because that’s what they want. They want me off my game. They want me worrying about my safety instead of my client’s future.” I stood on my tiptoes to try and get in Tommy’s face even though he was a good half a foot away. “I’m not going to let that happen. I’m not going to sacrifice my client like that.”
His jaw clenched. “You could have given the case to someone else.”
“But that’s what they want. I’m one of the best attorneys—no, the best attorney—and they are doing this to mess with me. And I’m not going to let them win.”
Tommy raised his hands up in the air and fisted them in frustration. “Olivia, you said yourself, the case is over. Yet they’re still threatening you. At home.”
I shook my head. “But they’re suing now. They didn’t get me to quit before, so they’re upping their game.”
“May I interject?”
Tommy and I both turned to look at Derek. I’d forgotten he was there.
“I still have the letters,” he said.
“What?” I asked.
“I…still have the letters.”
“Thank God. Someone with some sense,” Tommy said. “Put that letter”—he grabbed the envelope back from me—“and this envelope with the others and go call the police.”
“Don’t you do it, Derek,” I said through clenched teeth.
“Don’t listen to her. She’ll thank you later.”
Derek ran out of the room.
“If you call 911, I’m firing you.”
Derek didn’t come back.
I looked at Tommy again. I knew I’d only seen him a couple of times. Maddox’s case and then Maddox and Addison’s wedding, but this was the first time he looked angry.
It was a whole different side of him.
“You’re making a big deal out of nothing.”
“If it’s not a big deal, then why did you almost pass out after reading the note?”
I narrowed my eyes. “I didn’t almost pass out.” It was the truth. But I also wasn’t going to admit that it had scared the piss out of me. I knew that it was most likely Annabelle’s father, and he wasn’t actually going to hurt me, but this is the first time a letter had been delivered to my home.
Derek came back to the room. “I called the police.”
Take Me in the Dark (Take Me #2) Page 7
