“Watch it,” Ethan warned softly. “I get real particular about the way people speak to Sophie.”
Lex turned his head and met the guy’s glare with his own fury. “And I get real particular about people putting her in danger. Daniel tried to kill her and you! So what, you just expect Sophie to go in there and have a little friendly chat with the guy? Show him the error of his ways?”
“I’ll handle Daniel,” Ethan said confidently. “I just need Sophie to take care of the ADA. Convince the guy that Daniel is just spouting bullshit.”
Lex’s temples were throbbing. “Sophie, seriously, this is a bad idea.”
“I have to do my job.” She held his stare a moment longer, then glanced toward Ethan. “Don’t say anything else in front of Lex. You’re my client. He has no ties to you at all.”
The woman was telling Ethan to shut the hell up before he incriminated himself. Too late, sweetheart. Lex had already realized that Ethan was a killer.
He’d put all of the pieces together. The fierce way Sophie protected the guy. The bond that was so strong between them. Sophie’s father had hurt her, over and over, and that abuse had only stopped once the man was dead.
Lex knew exactly who’d killed Sophie’s father. The cops might not have a clue, but he knew. He suspected that Daniel Duvato did, too.
Ethan Barclay had saved Sophie from her nightmare, and Lex realized that—now—Sophie was determined to protect the other man, at all costs.
***
Sophie had been at the police station more times than she could count. Some days, the trips there were to talk with cops—informants that she had carefully cultivated on the force. Other days, she was there to sit in on interrogations as she did her best to protect her clients.
Today, she was there for one very basic reason.
To save Ethan’s ass.
Lex was at her side. He’d insisted on traveling with her, and she had to admit, she was glad he was there. After that near run-in with the black SUV the night before, having a bodyguard at her side really eased the fear.
“I guess you heard about last night…”
At that feminine voice, Sophie glanced to the right and found Detective Faith Chestang strolling toward her. Faith was smart with a hard-edge that Sophie respected. The two women didn’t always see eye-to-eye, mostly because Faith was usually trying to get Sophie’s clients locked up, but the lady was a good cop.
Faith’s skin was a warm caramel, her hair a perfect black. She was pretty, but Sophie knew that Faith tried to downplay her looks at the police station. Like that was going to work. Sophie used the opposite tactic. She tried to let her looks distract as much as possible. If men didn’t take her seriously enough, that was their own idiotic fault. It made moving in for the kill so much easier.
“Last night?” Sophie repeated carefully. She often liked to let the cops talk first because they tended to overshare that way.
Faith nodded grimly. Her gaze slid to Lex, then back to Sophie. “When Daniel Duvato killed a guard and drove a fountain pen into his lawyer’s throat.”
Lex swore.
Sophie rocked back on her heels. “No, no, I didn’t hear about that.” She was suddenly very glad that she’d convinced Ethan to wait outside. If he’d busted in there with her and heard this news… Or does he already know? Is that the real reason he came looking for me? “I’d been told only that Duvato and Clark Eastbridge were talking about a deal, a deal that might impact my client, Ethan Barclay.”
Faith glanced away. “I might’ve heard that too.”
And had she been the one to tip of Ethan? Sophie hadn’t thought that Faith and Ethan were close, but maybe Ethan had been holding back on her.
Faith shrugged her shoulders as her gaze slowly returned to Sophie. “They were having a little deal talk last night, right before Duvato showed the ADA just how much of a menace the guy is.” She shook her head. “The ADA is crazy on this one. No one should offer Duvato a deal. The guy needs to stay locked up forever.” Her head cocked as she studied Sophie. “I’m sure you, of all people, feel the same way.”
She’d tried to style her hair during the ride over. Worked to make it look like less of a night-after-tangle. She’d also used her hair to hide the scar that Daniel Duvato had given to her when he smashed a lamp over her head. “I think Daniel has nothing useful to offer anyone. A swift trial and a trip to a maximum security prison should be the only thing in his future.”
Faith pointed down the hallway. “Instead of maximum security, he’s in holding back there. Two officers are with him. He’s cuffed, hands and feet. The bastard isn’t going to be making another attempt to hurt anyone.”
Good. That was good.
“Where’s Clark?” Sophie asked. She had to stop him from going in that room and talking with Duvato. Or at least, she had to convince him that anything Duvato said was total bull.
“He’s with Duvato now.”
Dammit, no. “Then so am I.”
Lex grabbed her arm. “Sophie…”
She tossed back her hair. Tried to look like she had this situation totally under control. “I have a client to protect.” Surely he didn’t notice that her knees were shaking.
He leaned in close. “And I want to protect you.”
The last thing she wanted to do was go in that holding area. “I’ll be right back,” she promised.
“Sophie…”
She pulled away from him. Her heels clicked on the tiled floor. Her knees were still shaking.
***
“I think that woman might have balls of steel,” Faith said as she turned her head and watched Sophie stride away.
She’s got a protective streak. She’s doing this for Barclay. Right then, Lex could have cheerfully beat the hell out of that guy. “I want back there, Faith.”
She laughed. “Right. Cause you’re a cop and all…”
“Come on, get me back there. Into an observation room. We both know there’s one back there. I just need to be close to her.”
Her face held a bit of suspicion as she studied him. “I heard about that hit and run last night outside of the courtroom. I also heard that—all of a sudden—you two are real close.”
He stared back at her.
“Bodyguard?”
He didn’t confirm or deny.
“I told her she should get someone to watch after her. Glad she listened to me.”
So was he.
She crept a bit closer. “If I do this, VJS totally owes me. And so does Ethan. Make sure he
knows that. I’ll be calling in these debts.”
He knew she would, but Faith wouldn’t want money. She’d never been on the take. Never had, never would be. In her business, knowledge was power. VJS and Ethan Barclay had plenty of knowledge to give her. Contacts that she could use.
He nodded.
“Then come this way because I wanted to keep my eyes on that bastard, too.”
***
“Clark.” Sophie had just thrown open the door to that holding room. The cop outside had let her march right in—he knew her well. A handy contact.
Clark’s head jerked up at her voice. “Sophie, what are you doing here?”
“Sophie…” Daniel jumped to his feet. “Sophie, I’m sorry.”
What? She turned her furious stare on him. Daniel was dressed in garish orange, and the wanna-be beard that he was growing looked like shit. “Sorry? For trying to kill me? And Ethan? For killing his fiancée? For—”
“For hurting you,” Daniel said, his shoulders slumping. “You’re the only part I regret.”
This was insane. No, Daniel was insane.
“You’d been hurt enough,” he added.
Her chin shot up. “Clark, I need to talk with you outside. Right now.”
Clark was already closing in on her. “You can’t be in here. The cops should never have let you inside. This is private, against every code—”
“He killed a guard last night. Attacked his lawyer. And you know what? I bet Daniel doesn’t care that I’m here at all. Do you, Daniel?” Sophie challenged, raising her voice.
“You can be my lawyer, Soph,” Daniel shouted back. Two guards were shoving him back into his seat. “You can hear everything I’ve got to say about Ethan!”
No one would hear what he had to say.
She glanced at the uniformed cops holding him. One met her stare, the guy on the right—the one with dark brown hair and a hard hazel gaze. Their eyes met for a brief moment, a moment when she saw his rage—rage directed at the prisoner he held so tightly. Sophie nodded. That cop would do his job.