Shattered Secrets. Jane M. Choate
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felt a frown take hold before she could stop it. That had been part of the problem, her fear that he would consume her, that her own sense of self would be eroded if she stayed within his orbit. Not even the most expensive of suits could help with that.
Had she done the right thing in calling Sal for help? She knew of his work for S&J Security/Protection, knew he would protect her with his own life, but could she afford what that protection involved? Inviting him back into her life spelled trouble, if not disaster.
He’d broken her heart when he walked away. If it happened again, she wasn’t sure she’d survive.
“This case you’re trying, is there anything about it to make someone threaten you?” he asked, breaking into her thoughts. The pensive quality in his voice told her he was trying to make sense of the attack, just as she was. The knowledge that he was on her side warmed her.
“You mean aside from the millions of dollars it’s going to cost the company if we win?”
“Yeah. Besides that.”
Deep lines scoured Sal’s forehead. Despite that, he was more attractive than ever. His appeal came from something that went much deeper than superficial good looks to the very core of the man. The steadiness in his gaze, the acceptance of who and what he was, would always set him apart from other men. There’d been a time when her heart had raced when she looked at him.
His large body blocked much of the light given from the desk lamp, but even in that muted light, she could detect the near black of his irises. They were a compelling color. Just like the man himself.
“I’m looking for something more personal. Anything that would give someone a score to settle with you.”
“I’m the lawyer of record. Another member of the firm could have handled it, but I wanted it.” After twenty-one children had died as a result of the company substituting fake medicine for the real thing, the parents had retained Chantry & Hammond to represent them in the deaths. Her lips drew tight in silent fury at the thought that children had died due to greed.
Olivia pushed her chair back from the desk, stood and started to pace. “Parents are depending upon me to get justice for their children. I have no intention of letting them down.” Or herself.
“You care about the kids who died, their parents.” The quiet understanding in Sal’s voice was balm to her soul.
A few disgruntled colleagues, two in particular, had accused her of wanting a big payoff as her part of the settlement. Olivia hoped the settlement the parents received would be generous, but no amount could make up for the loss of a child. She planned on donating any fee she made to the families, many of whom were still paying off medical bills.
Tears leaked from her eyes over what the parents had endured. No parent should lose a child.
Sal rose, started to move toward her, then paused.
Olivia noticed an odd expression in his eyes and wondered what had caused it.
He didn’t give her the opportunity to puzzle over it. “What’s Chantry been working on lately?”
The abrupt change of subject startled her, causing her to stop midstride as she thought about it. “He’s been spending more and more time away from the office. He told me he’s practicing for when he retires.” A half smile touched her lips before slipping away. “I teased him that he wouldn’t know how to retire. He gave me this funny look and said I might be surprised.”
“Funny? How?”
She lifted her shoulders. “I don’t know. Just different.”
Though Sal seemed disappointed that she couldn’t be more specific, he didn’t press the issue. “Okay. Let’s try another tack. Tell me about him. What he likes. What he doesn’t. Who he hangs out with.”
“You can’t believe Calvin has anything to do with this.” She couldn’t keep her irritation from showing. He didn’t know Calvin the way she did or he wouldn’t be asking questions like this.
Tension crackled.
“You said the men mentioned your boss,” Sal reminded her.
“So I did, but like I told you, Calvin would never have anything to do with men like that. He’s too—” she searched for the right word “—refined.” Her stomach rumbled, and she flattened a hand against it with an embarrassed laugh. “It’s been a long time since lunch.”
“Come to think of it, I’m hungry, too. I’ll run out and get us something. Is Thai all right? I saw a restaurant advertising genuine Thai cuisine around the corner. We can talk while we eat.”
“Perfect.”
In truth, she welcomed a few minutes to herself. Sal’s presence filled the small office, as though the very air was absorbing his unflagging energy and unflinching courage. She wanted to breathe it in, that potent mix, and take it inside her. At the same time, she felt almost light-headed as the strength of his personality threatened to consume her. And then there were the disturbing questions about Calvin.
She leaned back, closed her eyes and felt some of the strain of the last twenty-four hours leave her body.
It was then that the call came, the call that sent her world into a freefall and her emotions into a frenzy of fear.
“We have your boss.” The mechanically altered voice, giving no hint as to who was speaking, sent a chill of foreboding skittering down her spine. “Wait for further instructions. Do not go to the police or FBI, not if you want to get Calvin Chantry back alive.” A breath-stealing pause. “If you tell anyone about this, you will both pay the price.”
Olivia’s thoughts raced, even as her heart did a double beat. The threat was clear: talk and she’d put her life as well as Calvin’s in jeopardy.
She wasn’t a coward, but right now, she was scared right down to her toes.
After spending ten years in the mountains of Afghanistan, Sal was still adjusting to being home in Georgia, with its supercharged humidity and honeyed air. Though he’d been back in the States for over three years, he was still struggling with the difference in climate. The heavy smog that had hung over the city was absorbed into the darkening sky and was only a memory, but the humidity hung in the air and played havoc with his right shoulder, which still carried pieces of shrapnel from enemy fire, a souvenir from his days as a sniper’s spotter. Even in the air-conditioned offices, he felt the clamminess that clung to his skin like cheap polyester.
But it wasn’t the heat or even the energy-stealing humidity that caused him to go on high alert. Something was wrong. His senses flared in alarm at an unknown threat.
He felt it in the tension that pulsed in the air, saw it in the drawn lines that had moved into Olivia’s face in the short time he was gone to pick up dinner.
“What is it?”
She turned away for a few seconds as if gathering her thoughts. When she faced him once more, she smiled brightly. No doubt she believed she’d successfully hidden whatever was bothering her, but it wasn’t good enough to fool him. “Nothing. Why do you ask?”
On the surface, she sounded calm, even convincing, but something was off. Her smile was too wide, her voice too determinedly cheerful. Her eyes were full of turmoil that hadn’t been there thirty minutes ago. She’d barely picked at the plate of steaming food he’d set in front of her.
“Something happened. You might as well tell me because I’m not going anywhere.”
“What? Are you my keeper now?” The harsh words appeared to have surprised her as much as they did him.
“Olivia.” He kept his voice soft. He didn’t want to spook her. “What happened?”
“I’m