Safe In His Sight

His promise didn’t seem to ease any of the tension simmering in her body, but she stopped fighting against their joined hands. He studied her as the line advanced. “I came to the office for two reasons.”

“Yes?”

He started with the easier reason. “I’d like to look a little deeper into your background. I didn’t want to start without your permission.”

She leaned back, peering up at him with laser-focused intensity. “My background is irrelevant. This is connected to work.”

So much for easy. “Hardly irrelevant. What sounds good to you?” he asked, his attention on the menu.

She made her selection and he placed the order when it was their turn, handing over cash before she could pull her wallet out of her purse.

“What do you think you’re doing?”

“Picking up lunch? Your accounts are still frozen, right?”

She gave him a brusque nod. “I’ll pay you back as soon as this is sorted out.”

“You’re welcome,” he teased.

Her eyes went wide as they stepped aside to wait for the food. “This isn’t a game. And thank you.” She smoothed a hand over her hair. She’d gathered all that gorgeous hair up in a glossy clip, exposing the long column of her neck, but the breeze was teasing a few strands free. “Why are you really here?”

“I’m creating a buffer for you,” he replied, sticking closer than a polite client would. He hovered enough to give the impression he was enamored with the new woman in his life, while trying not to irritate her with too much physical contact. He wondered if she held everyone at arm’s length or just him. His money was on everyone.

“Oh.” Her lips made a perfect, rosy circle. “The camera at my building. Did you see who left me that note?”

He wished he could give her a better answer. “No,” he admitted, regretting it as the little surge of hope drained from her face. Worse, she started scanning the people milling about the park. “Searching for a certain orange cap?”

“Aren’t you?”

“No. I’m not useless to you. I know you wanted a different answer, but we’ll get there.” That brought the full force of her attention back to him. He liked it a little too much. “Your doorman and I didn’t make much progress on that front yet,” he emphasized. “But I spent the rest of the morning reviewing Falk’s arrest and events leading to it. Which is why I surprised you at the office. Again, I apologize.”

She waved it off. “I’m over it. Do you have a lead?”

His explanation was delayed by the food pickup and their brief search for a spot to eat. He could tell she felt exposed, but he figured his presence as an unexpected boyfriend would be enough to have her stalker reassessing the situation if he was out there watching.

When they were settled on a bench under a tree, he waited until she’d eaten some of her sandwich before he began. “Falk’s gang or followers or whatever you’d call them are suspected of a few arsons around the city in recent years.”

She nodded, her gaze sweeping across the people moving around them.

“None of those left enough evidence to prosecute a particular individual.”

“Which is related to my stalker how?”

“I’m a curious guy,” he replied. “After the momentary dead end in the mail room, I went looking for a better lead.” He decided not to mention his trek home for his clothes and his computer.

She blotted the sauce from her lips with a napkin, bringing his attention to her very kissable mouth. “Start making the connections. Please.”

Stay on point. It was his turn to scan the park. He didn’t spot anyone with an orange cap, but he felt as if they were being watched. A small measure of paranoia was to be expected, he supposed. “People take pictures at fires. Arson investigators gather them up when they can, hoping to find the firebug. That was my approach, comparing the media shots of fires suspected of being connected to Falk’s organization with the picture you caught yesterday, but it didn’t pan out.”

“I know it’s a lousy picture.” She shifted on the bench, crossed her ankles and tugged the rising hem of her skirt over her knees. “None of this explains why you barged into the office.”

Her unrelenting green gaze made him sympathize with any witness or client who landed on her bad side. She must be hell in a courtroom. Mitch swallowed, bracing for the worst. “Who did you share the news with when you were added to the case?”

She froze, her sandwich halfway to her mouth. Slowly she lowered the food to her lap and pulled the wrapper around what was left. “N-no one.”

“Come on, being assigned to the Falk case is a big deal. Your mom?”

Her teeth sank into that rosy lower lip for a split second. “No. We’re not close.”

“What about your friend Aubrey?”

She shook her head. “It’s not the kind of thing you share,” she said.

That startled him. Clearly he didn’t understand lawyers at all. She’d said it was a career-making assignment—wouldn’t she celebrate it? “Why not? Some confidentiality thing?”

“Sometimes,” she allowed. “In this situation, I was thrilled, but it’s a very public case and most people don’t want to see Falk get acquitted. Plenty of my peers in the office would rather take my place than pat me on the back.”

“Okay.” He obviously didn’t know how to think like a defense attorney. “Does it bug you that your stalker knew you had the assignment even though it’s not public knowledge?”

“Of course.”

“Me too. I think it’s an important clue.”

“You think the stalker works at Marburg?” She pressed her fingers to her lips. “Am I safe at the office?” she asked behind her hand.

Hearing her voice, thin and frightened, pissed him off and his self-control started to unravel. When he found her stalker, he’d wring the bastard’s neck. His free hand flexed and fisted. Bullying a woman was a coward’s game. Mitch put his arm around her shoulder, wishing he could make this go away with a snap of his fingers. “That very concern is what had me barging in and scaring you. Let’s do hourly check-in texts. I want you to let me know the minute anything makes you nervous.”

“All right. Though now I’ll probably be jumping at every shadow.”

“No problem since I’ll be close by. My earlier overreaction aside, I think you are safe there,” he said. Unwrapping the cookie that came with his meal, he offered half to her. “None of the pictures were from inside. I think if he had that card to play, he would have done it.”

“That’s something, I guess.”

“Eat up and I’ll walk you back.”

He downed his half of the cookie while she nibbled around the edges, watching people go by. He could almost see the wheels turning in her head. “Do you think your stalker holds the kind of clout to pull strings and get you specifically assigned to the case?” He felt terrible that the question made her tremble just as she’d started to relax.

“Choosing me makes no sense.” She jerked back, putting a little more distance between them. “Anyone with real clout would ask for someone more important or more informed. All I know about Falk came from media reports and the case files I’ve been allowed to see.”

“Anything sensitive?”

She glared at him, refusing to answer. “Why would anyone believe I’d cave to this kind of intimidation?”

He preferred the defiance in her eyes. “Every contact so far implies the stalker intends to use you as an inside source.”

“Yeah, I got that loud and clear.” She pursed her lips. “We both know I can’t do what he wants. What happens then?”

“We’ll burn that bridge if we get there.” Somehow he’d make sure the stalker didn’t push things that far. “You won’t have to face that dilemma.”

“Hmm. Your confidence is impressive, Mr. Galway.”

He shot her a grin. “Hopefully it’s contagious, too, Miss Cooper. Take all you want.”

She smiled, genuinely amused despite the lingering worry shadowing her green eyes. “Thanks.”

As they walked back, she slid her hand into his. That expression of budding trust slipped over him, made him feel ten feet tall and invincible. This wasn’t the first time he’d made a promise with no foolproof plan for how to back it up.

He wouldn’t let this be the first time he let someone down.

* * *

With his hockey team ball cap turned backward today, Leo Falk watched Miss Cooper exit the Marburg offices with a man he didn’t recognize. They looked cozy heading down the same route she’d used on every clear day for her lunch break. In another deviation from her regimented schedule, today they stopped at a food truck. Watching the new guy pay the bill, he gave her credit for finding someone to ease the bite of the cash flow crisis he’d created.

He’d followed her for two weeks straight before deciding the young associate could expedite his plans and assist in his brother’s acquittal. She’d proved to be more work than play, keeping her nose to the grindstone at Marburg except for short jaunts to the park for lunch and three visits each week to her health club. She lived alone, didn’t have regular contact with family by mail, phone or email, and, until now, her social life had been limited to only two obvious friends, both from the law office.

He’d assumed the trek to the nightclub last night had been an effort to blow off steam after he’d seized control of her finances and convinced her to cooperate. The idea that his careful investigation of her life had missed a detail as big as a boyfriend troubled him. He preferred to view this as some demonstration of her resourcefulness.

How unfortunate for her if this new man turned out to be someone significant, someone she cared for. He’d chosen Julia because her loner tendencies and lack of a support network worked to his advantage. His plans to help his brother beat the multitude of criminal charges could work regardless, but her isolation had been a distinct benefit to their unified cause.

Now, when he was ready to advance, he had to pause and reassess the angles and potential pitfalls of his plan.

He used his phone to snap a few pictures of them in the park before moving along to find a better vantage point for their return to Marburg. When they walked into his view, he used his camera and telephoto lens to get better close-ups for his investigator’s benefit. They needed to know everything about this man as soon as possible.

Who is your new friend, Miss Cooper? Leo’s thumb hovered over the send button for a long moment. Rethinking his approach, he deleted the text.

No sense wasting a move too early in this game. He’d wait until he understood what sort of player she’d added to the board.

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