can’t jump off this one. I have a duty now to the DA’s office.”
He shocks me by stepping closer, so close I can feel his hot breath on my face. Unsurprisingly, he smells like booze, though I can’t say specifically vodka. “You won’t be anybody’s attorney if you stay on this case,” he states.
Suddenly, Adam is there by my side, big and broad, his presence a crackle of power. “Introduce me to your friend, honey,” he says as if we’re dating.
Rocketman smirks and eyes me. “You really want your new man in on this?”
“She might not,” Adam says, “but I do.” Adam doesn’t look at me, but he says, “Bathroom, Pri. Now.” He nudges me to the left and claims the spot in front of Rocketman.
I don’t wait around to find out what’s happening. I take off for the bathroom, walking as calmly as my quick pace allows. Once I’m down the short hallway, I find the door in question, open it and rush into the large one-stall bathroom to find that I’m not alone. Adrian is waiting on me, shutting the door behind and locking it. He drags me to him, his hard body a welcome landing spot, one of his hands on my hip, the other on my face, his mouth closing down on mine, in a fast, hot, and wildly erotic yet somehow calming kiss. “Are you okay?” he asks, inching back to study me, real worry in his brown eyes. How did I think I needed to hold a gun on Adrian last night?
“Yes,” I say. “I know him. He was my client at my father’s firm. Embarrassingly, I represented an arms dealer. He goes by Rocketman. He wouldn’t hurt me, at least not in public.”
“An arms dealer,” he repeats, his tone flat, his expression unreadable.
“Yes,” I say tightly. “It was my job. The one I left for a reason.”
“I know that,” he says. “But because of that job, you should know that you never underestimate a criminal.” His hands come down on my shoulders. “You hear me? Never.”
“I know. I’m not naïve. I’m just saying he’s smarter than to attack in public. And he’s not a killer. He’d send someone else. He meant to intimidate me. He wants me to drop the Waters’ case. Him here today, right after Logan was at my office, isn’t a coincidence. I don’t know exactly what’s going on, but it’s not what it seems.”
Adrian rotates and leans on the sink, with me in front of him. “I think he’s setting up a hit on Ed. If he dies before the election, the case may never be picked up by the next DA.”
“It will,” I say, “but it could take a very long time. There will be pressure to catch and convict the killer. There will be fear and chaos. The case against Waters will have to be rebuilt and it’s flimsy now without me.”
“If they even catch the killer. By having several criminals trying to get you to drop the case, it’s harder to pin down who might have ordered the hit. I promise you, Waters has people around him who think they are doing him favors when he’s setting them up.”
“We’re speculating here,” I say, “and I’d discourage that, if we didn’t have two dead witnesses and a series of questionable characters and behaviors involved.”
There are three fast knocks on the door. “Adam,” Adrian says, and he steps around me to let him in.
The next thing I know, I’m in the bathroom with two giant men and Adam’s got my briefcase on his shoulder. “I got rid of Rocketman,” he says, “but I didn’t want to leave behind your work, considering the case you’re handling.” Before I can thank him, he adds. “I couldn’t pin down his real agenda.”
“He’s a mouse on a wheel Waters is turning,” Adrian says. “I’m betting that he thinks he’s helping Waters. Waters is setting him up to look like the hitman that takes out Ed.”
“Are we really having a meeting in a bathroom?” I ask. “Should we go somewhere else?”
“We’ve had them in much worse bathrooms,” Adrian assures me right about the time my cellphone rings.
I pull it from the side pocket of my purse and glance at the number. “Waters’ attorney again. He apparently likes to call me early. I think I need to buy time for us to find Deleon.”
“Agreed,” Adrian says. “Time is good.”
I nod and answer the call with, “No decision yet on the deal.”
“Maybe we can