Reasonable Doubt (22 page)

“The most obvious one is money. Seventy percent of WHI’s funds are deposited into bank accounts held jointly with GEA, and all of that money is held offshore.”

“You know it’s not illegal to have an offshore account. If it was, most US corporations would be in a world of hurt.”

“It may not be illegal to store funds offshore, but it’s where the funds went after they got there that’s the problem.” Sarah put her finger on the last point of the triangle that simply said “Terrorism.”

“Don’t tell me there’s a group actually called that.”

“Very funny. It’s shorthand for the several groups that the WHI and GEA money is funneled to, all of which aid terrorist training camps in Libya and Pakistan under the guise of charitable pursuits in the Middle East.”

“This sounds a lot like the Holy Land case.” Ellery referred to a recent high profile case where supporters of a Dallas charity, the Holy Land Foundation, had been accused of sending money to Hamas sympathizers who’d been included on a terrorist watch list.

“Because it is a lot like the Holy Land case. The Holy Land defendants are doing serious time. Do you really want to go down with your former client?”

Ellery shook her head. It wasn’t that easy, but she didn’t expect Sarah to understand. The Amir Khan she knew appeared to be a patriotic American. He’d moved here years ago, and he spent considerable time and resources making his part of it a better place for both his family and the rest of his community. But there was no denying her name had made it onto that IRS filing somehow. If Amir didn’t have anything to hide, then why use her name? Who was he covering for and why?

“I don’t think it’s as simple as you’re making it sound,” Ellery said. “Before I agree to anything, I’d want to see proof that the money from WHI is being used for terrorist activity and that Amir knew about it.”

“You know I can’t tell you specifics. Some of it’s classified.”

“But you know for sure that some of this terrorist activity can be tied to the bombing?”

“There are connections. That’s all I can tell you right now.”

Ellery sensed Sarah was equivocating. Chances were the investigation into Amir’s charity was part of a scorched earth campaign to rout out suspected terrorists whether they had anything to do with the bombing or not. She tried again. “I know that if we go to trial, the AUSA will have to turn over what they know.”

“You really want to take it that far? I’m giving you an out. Tell me everything you know and help us prosecute these guys.” Sarah leaned in and placed a hand on her arm. “Come on, Ellery, you were there. You saw what they did.”

Ellery flinched at the raw edge of emotion in Sarah’s voice. The sights and sounds of the bombing’s aftermath flooded into her consciousness and the memory of what she’d seen that night made Sarah’s request seem not only reasonable, but the right thing to do.

But she wasn’t just a witness to a horrible tragedy. She was a lawyer who’d taken an oath, part of which was maintaining her client’s trust. Until she knew for sure that Amir himself had done something to violate that trust, she wasn’t going to say a word. “I’ll make you a deal. Get me whatever information you can about a direct connection between Amir Khan and any terrorist activity and give me the week to think it over.”

Sarah took a drink from her beer and set the glass on the table. She folded her hands and stared at Ellery as if she was trying to read her mind. Seconds ticked by with neither one of them saying a word as Ellery did her best to mask her thoughts. Finally, Sarah spoke. “I’ll give you until Tuesday. I can’t hold them off any longer.”

She didn’t need to say who “them” was. Didn’t really matter. Ellery knew no one had a real case against her, but fighting Homeland Security was a David versus Goliath endeavor. “And the information?”

“I’ll do what I can.”

“Fair enough,” Ellery said, but she didn’t mean it. Nothing about this was fair, not the least of which was the fact that she wished she were meeting with Sarah under vastly different circumstances. She flashed on the memory of watching Sarah through the window at Breadwinners. She assumed she was there enjoying the day with brunch and a pretty woman. She’d wanted to be that other woman. Weekend brunches, dinners out, even the simple act of drinking beer here at home without the pressure of giving up her former client to law enforcement—those were the things that she wished she were doing with Sarah instead of sitting here negotiating the terms of a surrender.

She looked up from her beer to see Sarah staring again, but this time her eyes signaled compassion. She locked onto her gaze as if she could morph this whole ordeal into a completely different situation. Like the night of the bombing, at the reception, when Sarah had flirted with her, but she’d been stuck with April. Or the night of the show, when Sarah had appeared in that mind-blowing red dress, but the only date they could make was to discuss the case. What she wouldn’t give to have both those chances repeated so she could get to know Sarah under different, better circumstances. The heat of her desire suddenly felt suffocating and she pushed back from the table and stood up. “Do you want another drink?”

Sarah stood up too without ever breaking her gaze. “Are you okay?”

She took a step toward her and Ellery backed up into the counter. “No. I mean, I don’t know.”

“This is a lot, I know.” Sarah’s voice was tender, soft. “You’ve probably helped dozens of people navigate these waters, but I imagine it’s different when it’s you.”

Ellery felt the touch before she saw it. Sarah’s hand on her arm again. Gentle, yet strong. Reassuring, but something else too. She should pull away now, before she drowned in the possibility of the something else. But she was frozen in place. She opened her mouth to speak, but slowly shut it before she could spoil the moment with words. Sarah’s eyes, dark and dangerous, pulled her in like a tractor beam, and she didn’t even try and resist as her body leaned forward and she gave in to the urgent need to kiss her.

Sarah’s lips were silky soft, the hint of the malt from the beer only adding to their deliciousness. She responded to the kiss with a soft groan, and Ellery circled an arm around her waist and pulled her closer, while Sarah reached up and curled her hand around the back of Ellery’s head. Her eyes were black with desire and Ellery deepened the kiss, heady with want.

The next few seconds or minutes or however long was lost to raw feeling. Pushing hard, landing soft, tasting amazing. Ellery lost her breath, her head, her way and, in those moments, she’d never felt as close to someone as she did when she surrendered to their kiss.

And then it was over and it was Sarah who broke the embrace. One second their eyes were locked and the next Sarah’s head ducked and she pulled back. Gently, but her tenderness only made the separation more stark. “I’m sorry.”

Ellery started to respond in kind, but she wasn’t sorry. It may have only been a fleeting moment, but it had been incredible and she wasn’t sorry. Not now anyway. Tomorrow, or the next day when Special Agent Sarah Flores was trying to get her to rat out a former client, she might be sorry, but right now she regretted nothing. “I’m not. Do you want to talk about it?”

Sarah smiled. “You sound like a shrink.”

Ellery smiled back. The moment might be gone, but if she tried hard, she could keep from dirtying it up with reality. “Takes one to know one.”

“True. I’ve spent my life analyzing other people’s behavior, but for the life of me, I have no idea what got into me just now.”

Ellery nodded, but Sarah’s comment pierced her gut.
You’re being silly. Just because you felt something intimate, doesn’t mean she did. And it’s pretty clear she didn’t.
It was a kiss. A searing, toe-curling kiss, but she knew better than to mistake physical arousal for something more. She couldn’t help but feel Sarah wasn’t being completely honest, but she didn’t want to hear more about her regrets. “Don’t worry about it.” She meant the words as much for herself as Sarah.

“Seriously, that was completely out of line.” Sarah’s eyes, still dark and dangerous, darted around the room as if she was jonesing to get far away as fast as she could. “If you want, I can give you someone else’s number to contact.”

“What?” Ellery had no idea what she was talking about.

“When you’re ready to talk. You can call another agent. He’s someone I trust.”

Ellery reached out and grabbed Sarah’s arm and fixed her with a stare. “Stop it. It was me. I kissed you, not the other way around. There’s no need for you to act like you violated some silly federal agent code of ethics.” She didn’t release her until she saw Sarah beginning to relax. What she’d said was only partly true. She’d initiated the kiss and Sarah had kissed her back, but she was so shaken up about it, all Ellery wanted to do was comfort her, even if it meant glossing over that part of it.

“I should go.” Sarah’s word held a trace of regret.

“If you need to.”

“Yes.”

“I’ll walk you to the door.” All she wanted to do was sweep Sarah up into another kiss, longer and slower this time, but instead she led the way to the door. She paused on the doorstep, toying with the words she wanted to say, certain they would be futile. “You don’t have to go.”

“I do.”

“Okay.”

Sarah took a step through the doorway before turning back. “Can I ask you something without offending you?”

Ellery laughed. “As if you hadn’t already? The whole idea that I might be involved in a plot to bomb innocent people is pretty offensive on its own, don’t you think?”

Sarah cracked a tiny smile. “Yes, but this is personal.”

“Shoot.”

“April Landing. I don’t get it.”

Ellery sighed. “The short version is she’s a remnant of the kind of life I used to have.”

“And the long version?”

“I guess the long version is the story of why I left that life, but it’s definitely not the kind of story you tell standing in a doorway saying good-bye to a beautiful woman.”

Sarah blushed. “You shouldn’t say things like that. You’re killing my badass FBI cred.”

“Oh, I doubt that.” For a split second Ellery considered telling Sarah everything, baring her soul. She’d never told anyone the real reason she’d left her law practice, and the very idea she would choose this woman, her adversary, to share her story was mystifying.

It was the kiss. Every electric sensation of the kiss lingered, shocking the good sense right out of her.

“I should go,” Sarah said again.

Ellery nodded. Sarah was right. Their attraction was a powerful force, but while Sarah held the key to whether or not she would be prosecuted, it was too dangerous to yield. She should let Sarah go now, before she lost her head and her heart along with it.

Sarah jerked upright as her eyes tried to focus. Her room was dark, but the sounds of the city trash truck told her Monday morning had arrived. She hadn’t been able to fall sleep until just before dawn, and even then her memories of Ellery and their unexpected kiss had morphed into a series of crazy dreams.

In the first dream, she’d been in D.C. with Trip and the rest of the BAU team. They’d just returned after closing the Atlanta Strangler case with an arrest. They had a DNA match for the suspect, and they’d found souvenirs from each of the victim’s homes in a chest in the suspect’s attic. The team was celebrating their victory when a call came in about a new victim. Same M.O., but the death occurred after their suspect was already in custody, casting doubt on their entire investigation.

In the next dream, she and Ellery were at the basketball game the night of the bombing. Ellery left their seats in the arena to get them something to eat. Moments later, the blast from the explosion tore through the arena in the direction of the concession stand. Sarah raced through the crowd toward the rubble. She had just begun digging into the debris with both hands when the loud beeping of the city trash jerked her from sleep.

The painful sense of loss she’d felt in the dream clung to her as she stumbled into the kitchen and punched the button on her Keurig. She’d made a huge mistake letting Ellery kiss her, and an even bigger one returning it. She should never have agreed to Trip’s plan to get close to Ellery, especially since she seemed incapable of setting aside the attraction she’d felt from the moment they’d met. She didn’t care that Ellery was a person of interest, that her accounts were frozen, that she was infuriatingly loyal to her former clients to her own detriment. Despite of all those things, Sarah wanted her. She was handsome, smart, loyal, and passionate. The memory of the dream echoed, and Sarah had no doubt if Ellery were trapped in a burning building, she’d rush in to save her.

She sipped her coffee and contemplated what the revelation meant in terms of her job. What dumb luck. She’d gotten this transfer so she could have a life and she’d wound up investigating the one woman who’d captured her interest. Was she doomed to have only small pockets of personal life sandwiched between cases? Was the point of the first dream that the job would always come first? That its pull was never-ending?

She cared as much as anyone about finding the people responsible for the bombing, but all they really had were allusions to activity, but no actual proof. No one group had taken responsibility, and any evidence that Ellery’s client had supported a terrorist group, while illegal, didn’t automatically translate into any tangible acts. Just because Ellery was associated with the organization didn’t necessarily mean she knew where the money was ultimately going after it left WHI. But she had to admit, it looked bad. Suddenly, Sarah wished she were tracking serial killers again. Dead bodies equaled bad acts—there was no gray area. Were the nightmares of her former life more palatable than the murky questions of moral turpitude she currently faced?

An immediate solution would be to tell Trip she was done with this little side project. She’d continue her regular work at the fraud unit. Surely there were some straightforward schemes she could investigate, shady real estate investments, doctors ripping off Medicare. Something, anything that didn’t put her in such close proximity with a woman she couldn’t have. And later, after Ellery’s case played out and she was absolved, they might be able to explore finishing what they’d started yesterday in Ellery’s kitchen. Deep, slow kisses without the added dose of conflict.