Two flight attendants making their way inside glanced in Alex’s direction, clearly interested. The corners of his mouth lifted in a wry smile. He noticed the shapely legs on one of them, but his interest was minimal.
“Hellloooo, ladies,” Cole said, lifting his hand in a wave.
The women visibly grimaced as they looked him over. “Eww,” one said softly, raising a hand to whisper rapidly to her friend. Cole was a good-looking guy when he gave a shit.
Alex flashed a snow-white grin in Cole’s direction. “See? Now don’t you wish you had at least showered?” He laughed.
“Hey!” Cole called after the women as they disappeared through the double doors.
“You don’t live in the hood, so dress appropriately, please,” Alex admonished.
“Well, you smell like a girl.”
A smile broke at his brother’s smart-ass remark. Despite their disagreements, they were still good friends.
“I need you to focus. This is very important, so no whoring around this week,” Alex added as he turned away, trying to squash his grin.
Cole’s face crinkled in protest and groaned. “Why?”
“Because I said so,” Alex insisted, handing a twenty to the baggage claim attendant.
“No pussy for you then, either. Fair’s fair!” Cole retorted loudly, not caring where he was or who overheard. He shoved his hands in the pockets of his khaki shorts.
“Nice. Your eloquence slays me,” Alex mocked dryly, but laughing despite himself as he left the curb and turned to walk into the terminal. His thoughts flashed to long silken strands wrapped around his fist and a soft, luscious mouth wild beneath his own, the scent of vanilla and muskiness, and fiery heat wrapped tightly around his cock. Angel.
He was astonished that, on this occasion, he was definitely on-board with that restriction.
Definitely no pussy.
Angry. Apprehensive. Worried. Violated. Scared. All words that described the feelings flooding through Angel and she couldn’t ignore any of them. So many emotions convoluted the situation and how she was able to deal with it.
After last evening’s surprise visitor, Angel had contacted building security hoping that the attendant could describe him or that he was on lobby cameras. No such luck. All that could be seen was a black fedora as the man kept his head lowered. He was medium height and husky. Not much to go on besides he had the most hideous voice she’d ever heard.
And now we know where your boyfriend lives, too.
It ran through her brain again. What would Alex think? He’d laugh at the label. He was no one’s boyfriend, but he’d be pissed that someone would be throwing threats around. Shivers rushed over the skin of her arms, causing goose bumps to break out under the navy blue Christian Dior suit. Despite his declaration of taking it slow, and her protests to letting it happen, Angel sighed at the inevitable. She liked him. A lot. Her first instinct was to pick up the phone after that asshole buzzed her apartment and call Alex. She didn’t. He had enough on his plate, and telling Alex would be too much like admitting they were something.
Angel walked through the polished glass doors that led into the government office building across from the courthouse, her high heels clacking loudly on the marble floors. It had been several weeks since Angel spoke with Kenneth, but she needed his advice; he knew the case, even if he wasn’t working on it personally. That fact allowed him to speak to her about it, off the record.
“Dr. Hemming! How nice to see you! Is Mr. Gant expecting you?” Ken’s assistant popped her head up from her computer screen. She was fresh and pretty, a law student on internship with the firm.
Pain shot through her lower lip as she bit it too hard. “Um, no, Carrie. Is he busy?”
“He has court in about an hour, but it’s only an arraignment, so he should be available.”
“I should have called first. Please extend my apologies.” Angel paced back and forth in front of the desk, uncharacteristic of her usually cool demeanor. The minutes ticked by until a smiling Kenneth came out to greet her.
“Angel! You look gorgeous.”
Angel felt the wet warmth of his partially open mouth as he bent to kiss her cheek and his hand lingered as he ran it down her arm. Kenneth was an attractive man. Bright blue eyes, well-kept blond hair, and clean-shaven. He wasn’t as tall as Alex and his muscles less defined. He was thinner, less broad through the shoulders. Angel shook herself out of the comparison.
Kenneth ushered her into his office and closed the door behind them. Despite the high-powered position he held, his office was sparse, the furniture dated and cluttered with papers. Angel’s brow crooked in sarcastic bewilderment.
“I don’t get how you can win so many cases, given your disorganization. How do you find anything?”
Kenneth smiled as she settled into one of the hard, wooden chairs and he went around the desk. “Ah! I love my chaos. I know where everything is.”
“I bet your assistant wants to shoot herself.”
“So, what do I owe the pleasure? You haven’t been around much lately.” Kenneth’s softly spoken words were loaded with hidden meaning. He knew it. She did, too.
“Yeah. Really busy. The radio show and everything.”
“Yes, I heard it once or twice.” He threw a pen down on his desk and shuffled some papers out of the way. “Stupid people.”
Angel flushed and her back stiffened. He just didn’t get it. He never did. “Everyone has problems, Kenneth. Even you,” she said pointedly.
“Pfft. My biggest problem is when I get to see you. I’ve missed you.”
“You’re seeing me now,” Angel dismissed, not wanting to get into the discussion of why they were no longer having sex. “And, it’s me with the problem. I need your advice.”
Kenneth leaned back in his chair and studied the beautiful woman in front of him. She was elegant and composed, her dark tresses smoothed back in a professional chignon that her manicured hand reached up to check, make-up perfect. “What’s this about? Swanson?”
Angel’s eyes widened in surprise. “How’d you know?”
He shrugged and began to roll down the sleeves of his white dress shirt and tighten the red and grey tie in preparation for his court appearance. “The guy’s scum. Everyone knows he’s guilty as sin, but it only matters what we can prove. That’s where little wonder-Angel comes in.”
“Wonder-Angel? I can’t prove a damn thing as it stands now. The tests aren’t infallible, and I can’t manufacture answers. The only thing I can think to do is tell him the files got deleted and we need to re-administer them. He cheats the tests, but maybe if we rattle his cage and make him think we’re fishing, he’ll crack.”
“We are fishing. Have you spoken to Stacey about this? She’s the one prosecuting the case.”
“I have a deposition tomorrow, but I’m not ready. If I go in now, I’ll have to say the tests were inconclusive at best. It’s not enough. We need more.”
“His lawyer, Felix Mann, is a shark. He’ll eat you alive.”
Angel’s chin jutted out in indignation. “I can handle anything that bastard dishes out, but there’s more. After the test session, Mr. Swanson told me to make sure he was innocent, and now some thug’s after me. Last night…”
“What?” Ken exploded.
“Calm down. Nothing’s happened yet. Just words so far.”
“Angel! Stop being so blasé about it!” He moved to sit in the chair next to her and take her hand. “Tell me what happened!”