THE DEFENDER

by Adrienne Giordano

  “It’s glass. From the door. I kicked off my shoes to...”

  To run. She shook her head and that capped it. Ignoring the fact that Brent watched, Russ wrapped his arms around her, held her and breathed, because he’d never been so terrified of losing someone. She squeezed him tight and a chunk of that fear broke away. “You’re okay, right?”

  “I’m fine. Just my feet.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  She dropped her head against his shoulder. Resting.

  “Thank you, Russ.”

  He ran his free hand over the back of her head and laughed. “That’s twice now you’ve called me Russ.”

  He stepped back, smiled down at her. “I got you to call me Russ.” He turned to the man—the extremely dead man—that had consumed him for over a year. It’s over. He’d wanted his case closed, but wasn’t yet sure how he felt about this ending.

  Having Penny next to him was what mattered. That, he knew. Maybe this was what taking a life did to people. Made them think too hard about too many things.

  Around them, cars and vans and BearCats screamed to a stop, and men dressed in tactical gear swarmed. Zac was relieved of his post, his prisoner brought to a squad car while Brent tended to freeing Zac’s hands. Pulling Penny closer, Russ kissed the top of her head, breathed in the scent of her shampoo, and something flicked inside him. Fear releasing. Whatever it was, he didn’t care. She was alive. “Go see your brother. We’ll talk later.”

  Chapter Twenty

  Using the code Russ had recited over the phone, Penny opened his garage door. She took that as a good sign for their big talk. After all, if a man wanted to dump someone, he wouldn’t part with his garage code. Plus, she’d floated the trial balloon of bringing dinner and he’d agreed. Garage code plus dinner, in Penny’s mind, equaled hope.

  Adding to the positive vibe was the fact that he lived minutes from her parents. In a two-story Colonial. Russell Voight, suburbanite. Who knew? The door slid up and revealed his bureau car parked on the right of the two-car garage.

  Carrying two grocery bags with the fixings for dinner, she strode to the entry door, where a mudroom—an incredibly organized mudroom with a built-in wall unit—greeted her. Russ was an organized man. Another plus in a long list of pluses.

  She moved through the mudroom to a roomy kitchen where guests could easily gather. Maybe the counters looked a little sparse and the farm table needed a centerpiece, but the area was tidy and the scent of lemons hung in the air. Which led Penny to believe one thing: Russ had a cleaning lady.

  Oh, this man. Organized and a dedication to cleanliness. I will love him fiercely. If he’d let her. And when had she become a woman who waited for a man to let her do anything? She didn’t know. Didn’t necessarily believe it, either, because she’d walked away from plenty of men in her life. Plenty.

  With Russ, she didn’t mind that there were times—like now—she’d be willing to take a chance on him demolishing her heart. Maybe, with the right man, a man who wouldn’t use vulnerability as a weapon against her, it wasn’t a bad thing.

  For once, she cared enough to allow herself to be vulnerable. To fight for him. To be humbled.

  To a point, she’d suck it up. If he booted her, that would be it. She wouldn’t beg. Not ever. She’d simply stab him and leave.

  Good plan, Penny.

  In the kitchen, the sliding glass door led to a cement patio and—look at that—a swimming pool. She’d fallen in love with this man despite not knowing he lived in the suburbs in a wildy traditional house with an inground pool. Hopefully, she’d continue to learn interesting things about him.

  She set the bags on the counter, slid the door open and stepped into the yard, where Bruce Springsteen’s voice drifted from speakers at the corners of the patio.

  Russ sat in a floating lounge chair, his head back, eyes closed and a can of pop drooping precariously in his hand. He wore blue swim trunks with white trim and his skin and hair dripped with water. Just took a swim. He looked...peaceful. Instantly, as if it had reached out and wrapped itself around her, that peace melted into her and made her normally hyperefficient body loosen.

  “Special Agent Voight, are you sleeping?”

  He lifted his head and a slow smile spread his lips. “Barely.”

  “Good. How was your day?”

  Last night, as part of the investigation into Heath’s death, Russ had immediately been given time off. Procedure, he’d assured her, seeming unconcerned about the incident being cleared. After the destruction Heath had caused, she couldn’t imagine Russ suffering repercussions for his actions.

  “I’ve had an exciting day of floating,” he said, light on the sarcasm.

  Like her, he wanted to be part of the action. She’d probably be irritated, too. “Did you hear from your office?”

  “My supervisor called. They scored big-time at Heath’s office. He’s been running scams all over the country with at least twenty-five other people in on it. They’re all in custody. And the guy we took out at the quarry? He was Randy Jones’s brother.”

  Penny closed her eyes, let the feeling of total relief overtake her. It’s over. They’d confirmed the man as the courthouse shooter. Now Elizabeth and Sam could get on with their lives. Penny opened her eyes again. “You promised me you’d get him and you did. Thank you.”

  He shrugged. “Team effort. Sorry about your assistant.”

  “Yeah. That was a shocker. Poor thing is devastated over putting us in danger. She had no idea who Heath was, but technically, she broke privilege by sharing firm information. It’s an ethics violation. Now we have to decide what to do with her.”

  “Can you trust her?”

  “That’s the million-dollar question. My father wants to fire her. And he has every right to. He told me to sleep on it and we’ll discuss it in the morning. I feel bad for her. She got duped by the guy, but I can’t get beyond what she did. I think she has to go. What kind of message does it send if we keep her?”

  “That it’s okay to talk about clients to nonemployees. You can’t have that.”

  “Exactly.” She shook her head. “I’ll figure it out.”

  Russ pointed at her feet. “Do they hurt?”

  She looked down at her flat shoes. With the condition of her feet, she might never wear heels again. “They’re okay. The glass is out.”

  “Why don’t you ditch those clothes and jump in here with me?” He waggled his eyebrows. “I’ll help you forget the pain.”

  Another good sign. “I didn’t bring a suit.”

  “You need a suit?”

  At that, she laughed. “Russell!”

  He whirled his index finger. “Privacy fences. The neighbors can’t see.”

  She glanced to either side. A red ranch sat on one side and a two-story home on the other, but that one was angled away from Russ’s yard, so only the side of the house was visible. The side with no windows. She turned back to him. “You devil. Besides, we’re supposed to have our talk.”

  “We are talking. Now help me christen this pool. I’ve never had a naked woman in here.”

  Did she really need to hear that? “TMI, Russell. TMI. How long have you lived here?”

  “Six months.”

  “The pool was here?”

  “Yep. When I was a kid I always wanted a pool. I guess you could say the house came with the pool. I want you to be the first—and only—woman who gets naked with me in here.”

  Such a pig. “I have to put dinner together.”

  He grinned. “You’re cooking?”

  “Of course.”

  “You said you’d bring dinner. You didn’t say you were cooking? Killer Cupcake cooks?”

  “Killer Cupcake? What the hell?”

  Russ laughed. “Forget it. Come in here with m
e. We’ll float around. Relax a little. You do relax, don’t you?”

  Not usually. But suddenly, relaxing seemed like a great idea. Particularly with him.

  “I have to say, I’m a bit shocked you live in the suburbs. I pictured you living downtown.”

  “Okay,” he said. “I’ll play. I like the burbs. It’s quiet. I don’t get a lot of quiet in my line of work. With the quiet, I like to float in my pool. A pool I want you to be in—naked—with me because, crazy as this might sound, I’m nuts about a smart-mouthed, high-strung defense attorney who probably won’t give me a second of peace.”

  “I’m high-strung?”

  “After that speech, you’re latching on to high-strung? And, please. You know you’re high-strung. But so am I. Sometimes. I think it’ll work. I think we’ll work. But I’m not saying that because I want you naked—although we have established that’s my goal here.”

  Penny cracked up and he smiled a lightning-quick smile that told her he knew he was winning. A half-full water bottle sat on the edge of the pool. She picked it up, checked its weight and hurled it at him. It smacked him on his upper arm, splashed into the pool and floated next to him. He let it be.

  “You’re a pig, Russell.”

  “I’m a man. We’re all pigs.”

  She shook her head. Slowly gave in to the idea that before the night was through she’d be naked and in this pool. “Some truth to that. I take it by the whole getting-naked thing you’re not dumping me?”

  He paddled his way to the side of the pool. Finally, he’d relieve her of this misery.

  She squatted down and he tugged on a strand of her hair that had fallen loose. “In the kitchen. Check the cabinet next to the slider. I left you something.”

  “What is it?”

  “Will you just do what I say for once? Shut up and go look.”

  Penny stood tall, backed up a few steps in case Russ got playful and tried to splash her. “I’ll be back.”

  In the kitchen, she opened the cabinet. The top shelf held canned goods. The second shelf a variety of boxed items and snacks. The bottom shelf, a shelf a person of her diminutive size could reach—points for that, big boy—was lined with jars and jars of...white gummy bears. What did he do? She slid one jar out. Behind it was another jar. And another. Three rows, five across, of white gummy bears.

  She dropped her chin to her chest and let her head hang while her system adjusted to the weightlessness of the past days being gone. This man. So right for her. She grabbed one of the jars and squeezed it. He must have been separating gummy bears for hours.

  For her.

  “Did you find it?” Russ yelled.

  Oh, I found it. She took the jar back to the side of the pool and squatted again. “How long did it take you?”

  He shrugged. “I couldn’t sleep. It happens after a big case. I get jumpy. The sorting settles my mind.”

  “You’re amazing. Thank you.”

  “You’re welcome.” He grabbed on to the side of the pool to keep from floating away and held her gaze. “Look, it’s early yet for us. I can’t promise a lot. I’m stubborn as hell and I screw up sometimes. I’m not a romantic. I’ll never remember to send you flowers on the anniversary of our first date. I won’t snuggle when the Bears, the Sox or the Bulls are on, and you can bet I won’t carry your purse under any circumstances. I’m not that guy. But I can promise that I’ll take care of you. I will go to war for you when you need it, and I will love you inside and out. No question. Whatever happens, I know, I know, any mistakes you make are made out of passion and love. So, yeah, there will always be a jar of white gummy bears waiting in that cabinet for you. That’s the guy I am. The one who knows what moves you.”

  He’d forgiven her. She’d nearly destroyed his case and he’d just forgiven her. I will love him fiercely. She reached out, ran her hand over the dark swirly hair on his chest. “Maybe I need that guy.”

  He glanced down at her hand, grabbed it and linked his fingers with hers. “I love you. I think I loved you that first day when you tore me up on the stand. A woman who could do that and still make me want her? I knew you were special.”

  He loved her. She leaned forward, kissed the back of his hand still joined with hers. For months they’d been circling each other and had finally figured it out. “I love you, too. Even if you don’t like defense attorneys.”

  “Hey, I like one. And she’s the important one.”

  Penny stood, left the gummy bears on the side of the pool and slid her unbuttoned suit jacket off. She tossed it on one of the lounge chairs. Russ watched her unbutton the sleeves of her blouse and a thousand small tingles zipped up her arms.

  “You’re coming in?”

  “After the gummy bears? You bet I am.”

  Russ tilted his head. “What about dinner?”

  “Are you starving?”

  “Not for food.”

  Penny laughed and stripped off her shirt. “Special Agent Voight, you’d better not break my heart. I’d have to stab you if you did.”

  “Talk about romance.”

  “Just warning you.”

  Using one hand, he pushed himself away from the side of the pool, splashing a bit of water as he went. She took it all in, the man, the water, the quiet, and imagined him in ten years—twenty maybe—gray hair at his temples. Balding? How funny that would be. All that thick dark hair gone. She might like it. Either way, he’d be home. That place where she could be vulnerable and it wouldn’t hurt or weaken her.

  Slipping off the last of her clothing, she walked to the edge of the pool, felt his gaze on her as she went. “You’re it for me, Penny. We’ll get old together.”

  Yes, they would. At least, if they didn’t kill each other first. “Count on it, Russ.”

  * * * * *

  Keep reading for an excerpt from WEDDING AT CARDWELL RANCH by New York Times bestselling author B.J. Daniels.

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  SPECIAL EXCERPT FROM

  Read on for a sneak peek of

  WEDDING AT CARDWELL RANCH

  by New York Times bestselling author

  B.J. Daniels

  Part of the CARDWELL COUSINS series.

  In Montana for his brother’s nuptials,

  Jackson Cardwell isn’t looking to be anybody’s hero.

  But the Texas single father knows a beautiful lady in distress when he meets her.

  “I’m afraid to ask what you just said to your horse,” Jackson joked as he moved closer. Her horse had wandered over to some tall grass away from the others.

  “Just thanking him for not bucking me off,” she admitted shyly.

  “Probably a good idea, but your horse is a she. A mare.”

  “Oh, hopefully she wasn’t insulted.” Allie actually smiled. The afternoon sun lit her face along with the smile.

  He felt his heart do a loop-de-loop. He tried to rein it back in as he looked into her eyes. That tantalizing green was deep and dark, inviting, and yet he knew a man could drown in those eyes.

  Suddenly, Allie’s horse shied. In the next second it took off as if it had been shot from a cannon. To her credit, she hadn’t let go of her reins, but she grabbed the s
addle horn and let out a cry as the mare raced out of the meadow headed for the road.

  Jackson spurred his horse and raced after her. He could hear the startled cries of the others behind him. He’d been riding since he was a boy, so he knew how to handle his horse. But Allie, he could see, was having trouble staying in the saddle with her horse at a full gallop.

  He pushed his horse harder and managed to catch her, riding alongside until he could reach over and grab her reins. The horses lunged along for a moment. Next to him Allie started to fall. He grabbed for her, pulling her from her saddle and into his arms as he released her reins and brought his own horse up short.

  Allie slid down his horse to the ground. He dismounted and dropped beside her. “Are you all right?”

  “I think so. What happened?”

  He didn’t know. One minute her horse was munching on grass, the next it had taken off like a shot.

  Allie had no idea why the horse had reacted like that. She hated that she was the one who’d upset everyone.

  “Are you sure you didn’t spur your horse?” Natalie asked, still upset.

  “She isn’t wearing spurs,” Ford pointed out.

  “Maybe a bee stung your horse,” Natalie suggested.

  Dana felt bad. “I wanted your first horseback-riding experience to be a pleasant one,” she lamented.

  “It was. It is,” Allie reassured her, although in truth, she wasn’t looking forward to getting back on the horse. But she knew she had to for Natalie’s sake. The kids had been scared enough as it was.

  Dana had spread out the lunch on a large blanket with the kids all helping when Jackson rode up, trailing her horse. The mare looked calm now, but Allie wasn’t sure she would ever trust it again.

  Jackson met her gaze as he dismounted. Dana was already on her feet, heading for him. Allie left the kids to join them.

  “What is it?” Dana asked, keeping her voice down.

  Jackson looked to Allie as if he didn’t want to say in front of her.