8. Chapter 8

eight

Athena

“ T hank you, Mary,” I said when she slid my BLT down in front of me.

“You’re very welcome, honey. Why don’t you have your handsome young man with you for lunch?”

“That wasn’t my boyfriend, that was my stalker,” I exaggerated with a smile.

Mary shook her head. “Well, whoever he was, bring him back soon. Easy on the eyes, and a great tipper!”

I rolled my eyes. Of course Blake would tip well. He was so condescending and patronizing that he would think it was his duty to give unto the lower classes. I found my ten dollar bill stuffed in my purse when I got home yesterday. He had to be in control of everything so much that he couldn’t even let me pay for my own brunch yesterday, the asshole.

I was just working myself up into a proper spiral of rage when Mary leaned in conspiratorially. “Whether he’s your stalker or your boyfriend, he’s back for more. Just look at that man walk! Whew!” she exclaimed, fanning herself.

I looked up to the door and saw Blake about to enter, the wind pulling at his unbuttoned blazer, his stride sure and focused. He pulled the heavy door open with ease, taking off his sunglasses as he entered, tucking them into his chest pocket. I almost expected him to take off the blazer and dangle it over his shoulder so he could strike a pose. The man looked like a freaking runway model.

When his gaze met mine I rolled my eyes, but scooted over on the bench, expecting him to come sit next to me again.

“How did you know I was here?” I asked when he sat down.

“Lucky guess. I wanted to get some lunch and figured you would as well at some point.”

“What can I get you, hon?” Mary asked, slipping him a menu.

He gave it a quick browse. “Can I get a chicken Caesar salad with dressing on the side and a cup of your soup du jour?”

“That’s tomato bisque today. You want anything to drink?”

“Water would be perfect. Thank you.”

“I’ll have that out lickedy-split so you two can eat together again,” she said, retreating to the kitchen with a wink.

I took a big, intentional bite out of my sandwich. We were not eating together on a lunch date. “Why do you look so smug?” I asked, not bothering to cover my mouth as I chewed. Maybe it would gross him out enough to leave.

“I’ll tell you in a minute,” he smirked, nodding to Mary as she puttered around behind the counter, getting his order together.

I shrugged, hurrying to eat as much as my sandwich as I could before she returned with his food. I wasn’t afraid of being petty. I finished the whole thing before she got back, and I was damn proud of it.

“What’s such a big deal that felt you had to track me down again? Do I need to reconsider finding a supervisor and telling them you’re following me without cause?”

“That’s the thing, Athena. We found cause.”

I stilled. What did they find? Depending on where their trail picked up I could be in a lot of trouble. Not just slap-on-the-wrist trouble, but prison-time-lose-my-license-to-practice-law trouble. Drugging a person was a felony offense.

I picked up my glass of sweet tea, feigning a calm I didn’t feel. “Oh yeah? What is it you think you found?”

“I found your mother.”

My breath hitched for a moment, but I forced it out again. “She’s not that hard to find. Her headstone tells you exactly where she is at all times these days.”

“Your mother was an accountant for Carlo Morelli.”

“You keep talking about these Morelli people. I don’t know who they are or what they have to do with me.”

Blake continued as if I didn’t say anything. “Your mom was an accountant to the mafia before she died. You’re a criminal defense lawyer. You both did work for the bad guys. You, especially, are known for bending the rules and getting your guys off on a technicality.”

I wanted to roll my eyes. That’s what all defense lawyers did. I just happened to be better at it than others.

“I don’t ‘work for’ bad guys. I offer constitutionally protected legal assistance to people. Everyone, no matter their crime, has a right to an attorney, and it’s my job to make sure that the system processes everything correctly. If some cop made a mistake and misplaced evidence, that’s not on me.”

“Misplaced evidence?” he asked sharply.

“Or forgot to Mirandize my clients, or interviewed a minor without parental consent or a child advocate present or a million other reasons. Whatever. It’s not my fault that you ‘good guys’—” I used air quotes around his stupid lingo “—don’t always have your shit together. That’s your problem, not mine.”

He glared, but I glared right back.

“But don’t you dare try to say anything against my mom. You didn’t know her. You have no right to judge her.”

“Evidence speaks for itself, Ms. Kane,” he spat, saying my name like it was a curse.

“The evidence, huh? Any of that evidence get misplaced recently?” He looked like he was going to explode, so I figured I read his discomfort at my words correctly. “You guys must not be very bright if you can’t even keep your evidence lockers safe. How are you going to convict…What did you say the name was again? The Morellis? Your little mob family? How are you going to convict them if you can’t even—”

Blake abruptly pushed out of the booth, cutting me off with a rough grunt. Hopefully Mary wouldn’t be offended that he didn’t even touch his food.

“I’m leaving. You enjoy the rest of your day.”

“Admitting defeat so quickly? I thought you liked sparring with me. I guess you can dish it out, but you can’t take it!” I called, getting up and following him to the door. We were causing a scene, but at least there weren’t too many customers around.

“I’m doing you a favor, Ms. Kane. I’m leaving before you can say anything to implicate yourself.”

I scoffed, catching the door before it could slam closed behind him and following him outside. “Implicate myself in what?”

“Obstruction of justice. Tampering with evidence. Colluding with known felons. Racketeering. You name it,” he practically spat. He turned and took a step away, but whipped back around when I followed, yelling back at him.

“You can’t be serious. I’ve been in town for a couple weeks. When would I have had the chance to do any of that?”

He stepped closer and the way he towered over me made me aware of his height in a way I hadn’t been yesterday. I wasn’t scared of his much bigger frame, but I definitely felt how much taller he was than me when I wasn’t wearing three-inch work heels.

“You tell me. Or don’t. But I suggest you get yourself a lawyer.” Whether he was trying to intimidate me with his size or not, it just made me angrier. I took another step forward to show that I wasn’t a person who backed down or backed away.

“I am a lawyer,” I said, punctuating each word with a harsh poke to his chest. His stupid, firm chest.

“Then you should know better than to hide things from me,” he countered, grabbing my finger in his hand. “It’ll all come back to bite you in the ass when this all goes to trial. ”

I felt a burn on my lips as I remembered what happened the last time we stood this close. I could see the flecks of green in his fierce eyes, feel the heat coming off his skin.

We weren’t pushed up against a wall this time. We were standing out in the open. There was no building forcing me to stay near to him when he leaned his body closer to mine. I had the ability to walk away, or even just push him away again if I wanted to. He would listen. He did last time.

His eyes flicked down to my lips and back up. He remembered it, too, but he couldn’t possibly think I wouldn’t push him away again.

The last kiss was an accident. I wouldn’t even really call it a kiss.

He wouldn’t think I’d react favorably after everything he accused me of. I saw his tongue peak out to lick his lips—just like yesterday—before darting back into his mouth. I wet my own lips in response. I couldn’t help it, even if I did NOT want to kiss him back. It was instinctual. My mind hated him more every minute I spent with him, but my horny-bitch side wanted me to taste his lips, too.

His eyes flicked down to my lips again, but I watched the fire in his eyes turn to confusion as his gaze fell lower. I held my breath when he raised his hand to my collarbone. I dropped my head down to where he was looking and saw him use gentle fingertips to brush something off: a little green dot.

His fingers were almost tender as they glided across my skin, but I forced the feelings rising in my chest back when the dot didn’t come off. After the second brush I saw that it was from some sort of laser, the light landing across his fingers as he rested them against me. A scope.

“Shit,” he said at the same time as I gasped. He grabbed my arm and pushed me down to the ground as I dove for the base of a car parked along the sidewalk. The sharpshooter’s bullet fired just as we cleared the area, shattering Mary and Ed’s large front window, broken glass flying everywhere.

I screamed as a couple more bullets fired, hitting the side of the car, but thankfully not penetrating through to our side. Blake shielded me with his body, folding himself over me in case another shooter took aim from another angle. His arms wrapped over mine, hands covering my head. I’d never felt so safe while being so utterly terrified in my life.

After a full minute of silence I registered the sounds coming from around us. The car alarm was going off on the vehicle we were huddled against. Pedestrians were screaming, crying. At least one person was on the phone, presumably with 911 dispatchers. Was anyone hurt?

I tried to move out of my crouch, but Blake tightened his grip. “Not yet. He could be waiting for you to go out in the open again. Just wait.”

I nodded, knowing he’d feel the movement. “Okay. You know, maybe I’ll accept your offer of protection.”

He chuckled, the asshole.

Having a unit tailing me would definitely hinder my mission, but I figured it was better than dying before anyone was ever put to justice. Besides, I could lose a tail easily enough if I needed to.

“Good, because you’re already an official person of interest after what I found out last night. I already got permission from my higher-ups to follow you around until you gave up the goods anyway.”

If I wasn’t literally using his body as a shield from a gun-toting incel reject I would storm off. I didn’t know it would be him doing the following. “Don’t you guys usually contract that out to lower ranked guys? Why you?”

“Because I can actually handle every insult you throw at me. I know my job and I know what the limits of acceptable behavior are. You…We don’t need you trying to charm anyone out of doing their job.”

Did he know about my date with Leo? My intent with Antonio? What the hell was he implying?

“Oh, so you weren’t just about to try to kiss me just a minute ago? That wasn’t you staring at my lips like I was a tall drink of water and you were dying of thirst?”

“Nope. You misread my expression. I was reminding myself exactly how much you annoy me. You’re the last person in the world I ever want to get physical with.”

I rolled my eyes. I wasn’t an idiot. He was either lying to me or to himself, but it didn’t matter. I could hear the sirens announcing the calvary’s arrival.

I figured his denial was a lot like mine: his brain was saying no, but his other body parts were telling him yes. I wondered which part was winning. What would have happened if there wasn’t any danger? Would he have kissed me?

Would I have let him?

He drove me crazy—and not in a good way—but he was insanely good looking. I never really had boyfriends, I had dates; some ended pleasantly, some ended with annoyance, but they were always over before the sun rose. I didn’t have the time or inclination for anything else.

Would I be willing to think of something similar with FBI Special Agent Lucas Blake? I’d never had hate sex before, but there was a first time for everything.

I turned my head in his grip when I heard a few car doors slamming. Cops would be rounding the corner any second now.

“Are you okay? For real?”

I could feel his hot breath against my neck, and I dared to turn my head, looking up at him. The concern in his voice was reflected in his eyes. He cared about my safety, shielded me with his own body, so he knew I wasn’t physically injured. He was asking about my state of mind, how I was feeling.

Dammit.

Despite all the asshole behavior, all the douchey assumptions, Lucas Blake was a good, caring guy underneath it all. He was just committed to his job and had trouble keeping his annoyance in check when things didn’t go his way. No wonder he always had a new girlfriend lined up: this was a relationship type of guy, the kind women wanted to bring home to meet their parents.

No, I wouldn’t sleep with him if I had the chance.

I wasn’t a relationship type of girl. I didn’t develop deep feelings for men and I didn’t stay with them long enough for them to catch feelings for me. I wouldn’t be with someone long enough to fall in love, meet their parents, and live happily ever after.

Those didn’t exist. Love always equaled loss, and I couldn’t take another hit to my heart .

Plus I couldn’t start anything that would make me second guess or distract me from my mission: putting Carlo Morelli behind bars. And I needed inside information to find all his dirty laundry. Blake already proved he was only interested in following the rules, something that I didn’t have time for.

“Athena. Are you okay?” he repeated.

“I’m fine. In shock maybe?” I added to cover for my late response.

“Good. You!” he shouted to one of the uniformed cops who rounded the car. He pulled his badge out of his pocket, identifying himself. “The shots came from the direction of that building. We need it checked out. And we need a bullet-proof vest for her. She is the intended target, and we are not leaving from this spot until we know she will be safe when we do.”

I shuddered. There was that weird feeling of safety again, that with this man here next to me, nothing could go wrong. Blake had this. He had control of the situation, and he’d do what needed to be done up to and including covering me with the whole of his body to take a bullet for me. I was protected.

I met his eyes again.

“Don’t worry. We aren’t moving an inch until I know you will be safe.”

My heart beat hard against my chest. I might have been two inches from death for the second time this week, but I never felt safer in my entire life than this moment, when he held me tight in his arms.