The Defender. Adrienne Giordano
Читать онлайн книгу.
she said. “I’ll bring him in. I’m not letting you guys parade my client in front of a bunch of news cameras. He’s a businessman, for crying out loud. Get over it.”
Even after getting shot at, she continued to do her job. Viper status aside, he admired that. Sick, demented man. He wasn’t the only one, because the poor schmuck on the other end of Penny’s phone call obviously didn’t realize he wouldn’t win.
Russ paused outside the half-open door. Not to listen, but to get his head together and organize his thoughts and emotions. To shake off the exhaustion sitting on him like solid cement. What a damned day.
Penny had almost gotten blown away. If one of those rounds had connected, that pretty head of hers would have disintegrated. Poof!
Gone.
Incinerating heat zinged up the back of his neck. He couldn’t be emotional about her. Not when it might give her, the lawyer defending a woman who could be a key witness in his multimillion-dollar fraud case, the upper hand.
“Fine,” Penny said. “Get back to me. I can have him down there tomorrow. No perp walk. He’ll just quietly turn himself in.”
A smack—the phone hitting the base—came from inside the office.
“Idiot,” she muttered.
He knocked lightly and pushed open the door. “Hey, I saved your life today. Don’t call me an idiot.”
Shockingly enough, those perfect bow lips eased into a smile. “Not you. Idiot.”
Russ grinned and stepped inside the office. She sat back, rested her head against the cushion. Her perfume, something light and fresh, not flowery or overpowering, hung in the air and he tried to place it. No idea. He liked it, though. Reminded him how much he loved a woman’s scent.
Her red suit jacket—that blazing target that almost got her killed—hung on the back of the chair and she’d pushed up the sleeves of her white blouse. A few strands of long blond hair had busted free of her hair clip and hung down the sides of her drawn face. The look suited her, gave her an edgy, just-rolled-out-of-bed appearance, and Russ decided thinking about Penny and a bed at the same time could get a man in trouble.
He dropped into the fancy leather guest chair in front of her desk. “You okay? Relatively speaking.”
“I’m not in the morgue, so I guess I’m okay.”
“Scary as hell.”
She rolled her lips together and breathed deep. “I froze. How ridiculous.”
After what she’d been through, she questioned her reaction? Killer Cupcake didn’t just shred witnesses—she shredded herself. “You were terrified. I’ve seen seasoned agents react like that. Don’t think too hard on it.”
“How’s the reporter?”
“Still in surgery.”
“That poor woman. And the shooter? Did they find him yet?”
Russ shook his head. “No. The crime-scene guys are on it. We’ll find him.”
“You think so?”
“I’d be a crummy FBI agent if I didn’t.”
She shrugged.
“How’s your dad?”
“Rattled, but fine. My brother came by and we double-teamed him. Forced him out the door.”
She stared straight ahead, blinked a couple of times—uh-oh—and slapped one hand across her eyes. Damn, he didn’t want to see Killer Cupcake cry. He resented the hell out of it that some psycho reduced this fiery woman to tears. “Penny—”
She held her other hand up and Russ stopped talking. Finally, she slid her hand away and focused on him with an intensity that had him shifting in his seat. He’d seen that look five months ago from the witness stand.
“I’m sorry, Russell. I almost got you killed today.”
Not what he’d expected. Score one for her on the surprise attack. “That’s not on you. You were standing on the steps. How is it your fault some nut decided shooting innocent civilians would solve his problems? Whatever the hell they are.”
“But—”
“Penny. Stop.”
She closed her mouth. No. Really? If he’d known it was that easy to keep her quiet, he’d have done it months ago.
She threw her hands up. “Russell, I was trying to take responsibility for my actions.”
There we go. Much better. Killer Cupcake returns. “I don’t want to hear you apologize. Not for this.” He grinned, shifted forward and focused on those hot blue eyes of hers. “If you want to apologize for something, apologize for beating the hell out of me in court five months ago. My ego still hasn’t recovered.”
She scoffed, “Never. Besides, that was an excellent cross. Probably my best work.”
“Congratulations. I was the victim.”
She scooted forward in her chair, her smile drifting wide. “You held your own. As I recall, you rather enjoyed the battle.”
Some truth there. Maybe he would have enjoyed it more had he not been the guy in the witness box, but in a seriously twisted way, he got off watching her stalk around the courtroom, hurling impossible, well-developed questions at him.
“You’re tough, Penny, but I’m not afraid of you.”
“Too bad. I suppose.”
He cracked up—couldn’t help it. Wanting this woman was a death wish. Simple as that. Also a damned shame, because he couldn’t have her. Not when her job required her to dismantle months—sometimes years—of work that guys like him busted their tails on. He wholeheartedly believed every American deserved a fair trial, but at the end of some seriously rotten days, he wondered how defense lawyers justified getting murderers off.
“Anyway,” she said. “Why are you here? More questions?”
“No. We never had our meeting from this afternoon.”
Before the shooting, they were scheduled to meet after her court appearance to discuss a deal for a witness Russ needed on a stock-fraud case.
In one smooth motion, Penny bolted straight and threw her shoulders back. Battle mode. “Elizabeth Brooks. You still want to discuss it after today?”
“If you’re up for it.”
Penny cocked one of her perfect eyebrows. “Oh, Russell, I’m always up for it.”
Didn’t that get him thinking about things he shouldn’t be thinking? Things like Penny Hennings sprawled naked in his bedsheets. Sick, demented man. And what was up with the Russell business. She always called him by his full name when everyone else called him Russ. Or various other four-letter words.
He smacked his hand on his armrest. “Then let’s do it.”
“You’re on. Elizabeth is willing to testify, but she’ll need protection.”
“She’ll give me everything?”
Penny nodded. “All she knows.”
As defense lawyers went, Penny Hennings was as smart and slick as they came. Worse, she was beautiful and knew how to manipulate men. An all-around excellent package. Had she not earned a living trying to decimate his cases, he could probably love her. But if he gave her even the slightest edge, she’d gut him.
A sly, sexy grin spread over Penny’s mouth. “You don’t trust me?”
“Not one bit.”
She batted her eyes. “Oh, Russell. Flattery will get you everywhere.”
At that, he had to laugh. “You’re