Unlawful Attraction: The Complete Box Set: Alpha Billionaire Romance (32 page)

“That’s...dammit, Dena!” He started toward me.

I held up my hands. “Don’t. I’m not ready to talk about this now. I have a job to do, and it doesn’t involve getting fucked on the taxpayer’s dime. Dammit!” My voice broke. “I’m no better than she is.”

“That’s not...Dena!”

Grabbing my bag and briefcase, I hurried through the door and practically ran for the elevator. He was right behind me, but as I darted inside the elevator, I looked at him. “Don’t, Arik. I can’t do this right now. I mean it.”

He stopped, but I could see how much it cost him to do nothing. The pain on his face nearly destroyed my resolve, but what I'd done was still too clear in my mind.

I let the doors close.

Chapter 4

Dena

I ate lunch while I was out.

Well, it was sort of lunch. I didn't think that a giant pile of French fries and a milkshake
really
counted as food, but I needed comfort in the worst way, and I wasn't in the mood to talk to anyone. Even my friends.

I'd done the stupidest thing imaginable. No, I hadn’t realized Arik was a defense attorney right off the bat, but once I
had
known, I should have ended things, period. Completely and totally.

But I hadn’t.

I could do it now, but I didn’t want to.

I let myself brood over that for a short while as I splurged on my sugary, salty, junk food lunch, and then I made one more stop before heading back to my office.

I had to get new underwear.

There were flowers on the table by the door when I arrived back in my new office. Knowing it was probably rude, but past the point of caring, I took them to the nearest trash can and threw them out. I was allergic anyway. I left the vase sitting on a long table just outside my office. I had no idea who the flowers came from, but I left a note inside my office.
No flowers, please. Allergies.

Not even five minutes passed before the phone rang.

Massaging my temples, I closed my eyes as I answered, “Dena Monroe.”

There was a brief pause, then Bethany’s voice, far more friendly and warm than I’d ever heard from her, came over the line. “Good afternoon, Dena. I was just wondering how you’re settling into your new office.”

The tone threw me off balance for a moment, but I was too used to her personality to be lured in by a couple of kind words. Besides, I was a lawyer. People changed their faces in this business as often as they changed their underwear. Probably more in some cases.

I flushed at the thought of underwear and forced aside the memories that quickly followed.

Tapping my pen against the blotter on my desk, I opened my eyes and stared at the mostly empty calendar. “It’s fine, thank you. Is there something you need?”

“No – well, yes. I was wondering if you’d like to join me for lunch. We could go over what you learned at Mrs. Mance’s apartment.”

“I picked up lunch on the way back, but I can tell you what I learned. Nothing. He was just there to pick up a few personal effects for Mrs. Mance, just like he said.” I lied without batting an eyelash. “We didn’t talk much.”

That
wasn’t a lie.

The connection between us buzzed, followed by a high-pitched noise that was like an icepick in my already aching head.

“Was there anything else, Bethany?” I asked, determined now to get off the phone. I needed to take something for this damn headache and get to work. Maybe then I wouldn’t think so much about everything that happened today. Or the past several days.

“No,” she responded, her voice cooler now, as short and sharp as I’d come to expect from her.

Maybe I hadn't been as appreciative of her olive branch as I was supposed to have been.

Oh, well. Of all the things I'd fucked up recently, that was near the bottom of my list.

“Okay, then.” I hung up without another word and grabbed my purse. I dry-swallowed a couple of over-the-counter painkillers and focused on the files on my desk.

Work.

I’d just focus on work.

***

Hours later, I threw my pen down and shoved back from the desk.

I didn't know how many phone calls I’d made, but it hadn't made a difference. I hadn't been able to find any motive for murder. No affairs, no money issues...at least nothing on her side. The victim, however, he'd been far from squeaky clean. I didn't have anything substantial, but there was definitely more to his story than anyone had said.

Then there were the forensics.

Leayna couldn’t have killed her husband. There was no way.

The crime scene reports showed that no blood or fibers or anything had been found in the sinks, bathroom drains, or anywhere else in their home. She would have had to wrap herself completely up, including her face, and dispose of whatever she’d worn during the attack.

All before the cops arrived.

Before Arik had gotten there.

I tried calling the cops to ask if they’d done a search of the dumpsters and trash cans within a mile or so of her home, but they said they'd been instructed that such a procedure wasn’t necessary.

When I'd asked why, they'd told me to talk to my boss.

“I'm second chair on this case. That means following up on this very line is my job, Detective,” I'd said, pacing the room as I continued to talk into my Bluetooth.

“You’re basically an errand girl,” the detective on the other end had said, clearly disinterested. “Lawton was the errand boy, now you’re the errand girl. Why don’t you take it easy and wait for your boss to tell you to fetch some donuts or something? Leave the detective work to the professionals.”

He hung up then.

I'd debated over it long and hard, and had finally decided that while it would be fulfilling to talk to Detective Dumbass’ superior, it wouldn’t have been the
wise
thing.

I’d been here only a short while, and had already filed one complaint. It had been justified, yes, but word got around. I didn’t want to become known as the woman who was constantly making problems. Even if there were actual issues. The more I made of each problem, the worse they’d become.

There were real problems with this case, but since Bethany refused to pay attention, and it seemed that the cops weren’t all that interested, I’d have to continue to see what I could dig up.

The good little lawyer in me reminded me that I needed to update my superior.

The good little lawyer needed to shut the hell up and leave me alone, but I didn’t see that happening any time soon.

So, grudgingly, I packed everything up, save for the few notes I’d kept in my notebook. I did most everything digitally, but sometimes I just focused better if I wrote things out.

The notes I held were the bits and pieces of the case that didn’t add up.

I’d hoped that if I wrote them down, I could find some magical way to make them make sense, or some string that would connect them that I just hadn’t seen yet. That miracle hadn’t yet occurred.

The holes were obvious, too, so I was going to show everything to Bethany, and then head on out.

That was the plan, anyway.

When I stepped out into the hallway, an almost ghostly silence greeted me. It was nearly seven, but I hadn't noticed it until that moment when I flicked a look at my phone and saw the time glowing up at me. The lights had been dimmed in the lower corridors, and I sighed as I hurried toward the stairs. Bethany wasn’t buried down here in the tombs liked the rest of us plebes, so I had to walk through several equally darkened hallways to reach her.

I knew they did it to conserve energy, but I didn’t really like walking down dimly-lit corridors of mostly empty buildings. Especially cavernous ones that made every step echo.

I spent far too much time watching zombie shit, I thought as I made my way down the corridor to Bethany’s office. She might not even be here. It was way past the time somebody as important as
Bethany McDermott
would work. Especially when she had such a capable ADA to help her.

Smirking, I shook my head.

And then a sound caught my ears.

Oh, for crying out loud.

Those low grunts, the moaning.

She was like a fucking cat in heat.

Immediately, though, I flushed in self-reprisal. Had I really been any better? So I hadn't done it in my office. Did that really make a difference?

I paused outside her office, glancing toward the window automatically.

She hadn’t even completely closed the blinds. It was like she almost
wanted
to be caught.

I guessed that meant Pierce hadn’t stayed that mad at her, because there they were, Bethany bent face down over her desk, while he stood behind her...

Wait.

That wasn't Pierce.

The man bent down and fisted a hand in her hair, yanking roughly as he pulled her up high enough for me to see more of her breasts than I wanted to.

She whimpered, her face screwed up as a passionate moan escaped her. By contrast, the guy slamming into her looked detached. Almost disinterested. Then he straightened, and I found myself staring at his face.

He had a cold face, sharply cut with long, hollow cheeks, and a mouth that might be considered sexy. But he was...cold.

To say the least.

Shivering, I backed away, moving far more silently than I had earlier.

I didn't know why, but I didn’t want them to know I was there. And it had nothing to do with Bethany and everything to do with that man.

For the first time in my life, a man truly scared the shit out of me.

Chapter 5

Dena

I made two stops on the way home.

After the day I’d had, I needed two things: sushi and sake.

I placed the order for sushi from my mobile before getting on the subway, and after I picked it up, I hit the liquor store and got a bottle of sake. Unsurprisingly, the guy behind the counter carded me, then hit on me when he saw I was twenty-six.

I was going to have to show some serious willpower not to overindulge and show up to work hungover tomorrow.

Juggling my food, liquor, and briefcase as I rode the elevator up, I barely heard the buzz of my phone.

My heart leaped. Stupid of me, but every time it had done that today, I thought it might be Arik. Yes, I told him I needed time and I did, but that didn’t mean I wasn’t thinking about him. Constantly.

Once inside, I emptied my arms as quickly as possible, and then grabbed my phone, but it had already stopped ringing.

The call log showed a missed call alright, but it had been from Bethany. Boss Bitch had called nearly an hour after I’d seen her fucking some guy – or rather some guy fucking
her
over the desk in her office. I had to push the catty thoughts out of my head, though. I’d lost the right to get all snide and condescending on that one when I'd let Arik fuck me on the clock.

Did the location really matter?

Not so much in my mind.

The phone buzzed a moment later, signaling an incoming text.

As her name came up, I sighed, then forced myself to read the message.

Came by your office, needed to discuss a few pertinent details about the case with you. You weren’t there. Did you leave already?

I fought the urge to hurl the phone. I hated how much she screwed with my temper. I was usually a level-headed person, but Bethany brought out the worst in me.

I didn't even want to think about what Arik brought out in me.

Before I could say something stupid, I grabbed a piece of paper and scrawled down all the mean things I wanted to say, and then I shot her back a quick, professional response.

I left about an hour ago. I didn’t think you’d still be there. Sorry. Can it wait until tomorrow or should I call?

There. Nothing like the
bite me, bitch
that I wanted to say.

It can wait, of course. See you in the morning.

After reading the text, I turned off my phone, something that might end up causing problems if anything important happened during the night, but I was the second chair, not the ADA actually trying the case. That's why they paid her more.

Once that was done, I got my sushi and my sake and flopped down on the couch.

A few minutes for myself, I thought. I just wanted a few minutes for myself.

***

Silken, warm water lapped against my skin.

Arik’s strong arms wrapped around me.

His lips slid down my neck, and I sighed in pleasure as the jets from the tub had the water frothing all around us.

“This case doesn’t make sense,” I told him.

“Don’t talk about the case.” Arik caught my ear between his teeth and bit down. “Take a few minutes for yourself.”

For myself? I looked down at the bubbling water, at the tanned arm that held me tight against a hard body. “Isn’t that what this is?”