The Defender
Cara Summers
Sassy heroines and irresistible heroes embark on sizzling sexual adventures as they play the game of modern love and lust. Expect fast paced reads with plenty of steamy encounters.Theo Angelis definitely puts the “hot” in “hotshot lawyer”. Or at least, that’s lawyer Sadie Oliver’s opinion. Even a simple handshake has her weak at the knees. If only there was time to explore the chemistry simmering between them… But there isn’t. Because Sadie desperately needs Theo’s help. Her brother lies in hospital facing a murder charge, and their sister is missing. And even Sadie herself is being followed by unsavoury-looking characters. Sadie’s not about to take it lying down (unless Theo asks, of course). She’ll play an active role in the case, disguised as a law student and Sadie will seem to be another of Theo’s male interns.But the heat in Theo’s eyes never lets her forget she’s all woman… Tall, Dark…and Dangerously Hot!
“You can fight it if you want, but we will make love.”
Theo didn’t seem able to resist any longer. He pulled Sadie against him, crushing her mouth beneath his. After a few moments his hands found the edge of her sweatshirt and slipped beneath it. “I promised myself that I wasn’t going to touch you again tonight.”
Sadie nipped his ear playfully. “Ah, but I promised myself that I’d definitely be touching you.”
“I like your promise better.” He laughed.
“You know, if your conscience is bothering you, you could just let me do the touching,” she quipped.
“Good idea.” His hands found her breasts and she arched towards him. “I’ll hold you to it next time.” Then he kissed her again.
Desperation built immediately. She could feel his hunger when his heart thundered against her palm, taste it when his tongue aggressively met hers. The heat of his response fuelled her own. Would the pleasure he gave her always be this sharp? This necessary?
He dragged his mouth away. “Why do you have to look so damn sexy in my sweatshirt?”
“You could always take it off…”
“Brilliant suggestion.” He held her tight against him as his breathing slowed. “If I had any blood left – in my brain, that is – I’d have thought of it…”
CARA SUMMERS
Award-winning author Cara Summers loves creating memorable characters. And for her, the best thing about writing for Mills & Boon
Blaze
is that the series allows her to bring to life strong women and seriously sexy men – like the Angelis brothers. “They’re smart, they’re kind, they’re hot and they each have a great sense of humour. What’s not to like?” She hopes that her readers have as much fun reading about Kit, Nik and Theo as she had writing about them. When Cara isn’t busy with her characters, she spends time with her students at Syracuse University, New York and travels south as often as she can to play with her grandchildren.
Dear Reader,
Writing about TALL, DARK…AND DANGEROUSLY HOT! men has been a challenge and a delight! I really hate to see it come to an end. Kit may have been my first love and Nik my favourite, but I have to admit that it’s Theo who will remain in my mind and heart the longest.
In the courtroom hotshot defence lawyer Theo Angelis has a winning reputation, but outside the courtroom he’s lost his edge. An incident with a stalker has him doubting his instincts. He’s even stopped dating! So the last thing he needs right now is a damsel in distress – especially one as sexy as fellow lawyer Sadie Oliver.
Sadie’s in big trouble. Her sister has disappeared, her brother is seriously injured and the prime suspect in a murder…and Sadie’s libido has just shot into overdrive, thanks to Theo Angelis. Professionally, Sadie needs Theo’s help to find her sister and prove her brother’s innocence. Personally, however, she has other needs she’d like Theo to take care of…
I hope you’ll come along for the ride as Theo and Sadie discover just what the Fates have in store for them. And enjoyed meeting the other Angelis brothers in The PI (May) and The Cop (June).
For more information about the Angelis brothers and their family, including excerpts from all three books, visitwww.carasummers.com.
Happy reading!
Cara Summers
THE DEFENDER
BY
CARA SUMMERS
www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
To my son Kevin. Thanks for your advice (which I don’t always take), your unfailing support and your pride in my work. You make the writing life a bit easier. Thanks, too, for being my biggest fan! I love you.
Prologue
Friday, August 28th—Evening
TWILIGHT WAS ONE OF THOSE special times of the day when Cassandra Angelis’ power to see into the future sharpened; this evening she needed all the help she could get. A sense of urgency propelled her along the garden path until she caught her first glimpse of the sun still hanging above the Pacific. Only the faintest shades of pink and blue streaked the sky. So there was still time.
Deliberately slowing her pace, Cass let the scent of the flowers and the songs of insects and birds fill her senses. It wouldn’t do any good to rush. She knew from experience that she couldn’t force her visions. She had to just let them come.
Psychic abilities ran strong in her family and she’d never denied or run away from her special gift. Over the years, she’d established a reputation as a psychic in the San Francisco area.
This evening, Cass had no client. She’d known for almost a month that this weekend would be a pivotal one in the lives of her family members, but it hadn’t been until midnight and again this morning at dawn that her feelings had begun to clarify into visions. She now knew the Fates would bring two of her nephews, Kit and Nik, mortal danger. And love, if they chose to open their hearts to it.
She paused near a patch of white flowers. The delicate blossoms always reminded her of the wildflowers that grew near the seashore in Greece where she’d first met her husband, Demetrius. She could still recall that moment of knowing that there was no one else, would never be anyone else, for her.
It had been the same for her sister Penelope and Demetrius’ brother Spiro. None of them had thought twice about grabbing what the Fates had offered them. She’d never regretted choosing Demetrius even though they’d only had little more than a dozen years together before he and her sister had been killed in a boating accident. In the intervening years, she’d raised Penelope’s children, her nephews Nik, Theo and Kit, and her niece Philly, coming to look on them as much her own as her son, Dino.
Leaning down, Cass picked one of the flowers and inhaled its scent as she continued along the path. Eighteen years had passed so quickly. Her children were all grown up and making their own way in the world. But it was her sister’s middle son, Theo, who’d been slipping into her mind all day.
As she thought of him, her lips curved in a smile. Even as a child, Theo had always been a bit more of a risk taker than his two brothers, trusting his luck to get him out of scrapes. Now that he was older, Theo had put those characteristics to good use as a criminal defense attorney. In fact, his reputation for winning high stakes cases had garnered him some attention from the press. A couple of months back, he’d even made a list of the ten most eligible bachelors in San Francisco and there’d been a photo of him in the Sunday paper. That photo had earned him quite a bit of razzing from his brothers. It had also earned him a spot on the invitation lists of several prominent party givers. However, there’d been a downside to his sudden fame. Theo had also picked up a stalker.
On the surface, one would never have suspected that the situation bothered him. But little by little, Cass had seen Theo withdraw into himself. Eventually, he’d even withdrawn from his family by taking what he termed a “temporary” apartment in town. Of course, he’d done it to protect them—that was Theo’s way—but in the end his efforts had failed. In spite of his precautions, the woman who’d been stalking him had followed him to his father’s restaurant one night and pulled a gun. He’d managed to talk her outside before she’d injured anyone, but in the process of getting the gun away, he’d gotten shot. Then in a move that was so typically Theo, he’d arranged for a good attorney to represent her.
Cass frowned as she watched the sun edge lower toward the water. The family had expected that Theo would move back home once his stalker had been arrested. But he hadn’t. And he’d stopped coming to The Poseidon altogether. She thought she knew what was bothering him. All the Angelis children had some latent psychic ability, but Theo’s was the strongest. He didn’t have visions, but sometimes he just knew things. As a child he’d called the ability luck. But since the incident with his stalker, he was doubting his “lucky feelings.”
She knew what he was going through. She hadn’t foreseen the boating accident that had taken both her husband and her sister, Penelope. The guilt that she hadn’t seen it, hadn’t been able to prevent it, had caused her problems for a time, but she’d finally learned to trust in her powers again. Theo would have to learn that lesson, too.
With a sigh, Cass sank onto a bench and looked out at the ocean in the darkening light. Overhead, a bird sang its heart out. Cass listened and, keeping her gaze fixed on the distant waves, emptied her mind. In front of her, the evening shadows shifted, blending together and separating, then blending again until they formed a thin mist. Through it she saw the image of a woman—tall with short, dark hair and dark, intelligent eyes.
Yes, she thought, Theo would want intelligence. The mists darkened. As if through a glass darkly, she saw Theo and the woman someplace high with the lights of the city spread out beneath them. She felt the sharpness of their fear, but she also sensed the emotions of the other person with them. The coldness of anger and the irrationality of greed sliced through her with an intensity that took her breath away. Then the image faded and she was once more alone in the garden.
The evening was warm, but Cass felt cold right to her bones. Of her three nephews, Theo would face the greatest danger. But he would also find love—if he had the courage to take it. And that love would teach him to trust in his instincts again.
1
Friday, August 28th—Evening
ST. PETER’S CHURCH looked deserted. When Sadie Oliver had driven by a few seconds ago, there’d been no one on the steps. Her sister Juliana’s note had said to come at seven, but the only indication that there was anything going on was a dark van she’d spotted blocking the entrance to the little parking area behind the church.
There’d been something vaguely familiar about the man behind the wheel but she hadn’t been able to draw up the memory. Sadie was debating whether or not to swing back and ask him to move so that she could park behind the church when she finally spotted a space just big enough to squeeze her Miata into.
She hated being late, but a glance at her watch told her she’d slipped into the tardy zone by almost ten minutes. Grabbing her purse, Sadie scrambled out of her car, locked the door and slipped her key into her pocket. She also hated feeling guilty. Maybe if she wasn’t so obsessive-compulsive, she’d have been willing to leave some unfinished work on her desk over the weekend. But she was obsessive-compulsive and late and feeling guilty.
Spotting her reflection in the driver’s window of her car, she added dowdy to her list. Just the cherry she needed to top off a very depressing sundae.
Sadie narrowed her eyes as she studied her image in the glass. Her long, dark hair was pulled back in a braid because she didn’t like to fuss with it. Her earrings and suit were definitely conservative and work oriented. She’d taken great care in the selection because she wanted to represent her family well. But the ensemble reflected in the glass didn’t make the transition to after-five easily. Not that she was an after-five kind of girl, or had been, well, ever. It wasn’t until she’d begun to work at Oliver Enterprises that she’d bought a couple of basic black dresses appropriate for the social functions that she was expected to attend as part of the Oliver family.
Finally, she glanced down at her shoes and winced. They were…well…serviceable was the best word she could come up with. Dowdy repeated the little voice in the back of her mind.
Annoyed, she turned and hurried up the street. A few months ago, she wouldn’t have given a second thought to the way she looked. Her baby sister Juliana, who’d taken after their mother, had always been the girlie-girl. Since Sadie had tried to do everything her older brother Roman could do, she’d become a bit of a tomboy. Being a woman, fussing with her clothes and her hair had always made her…uncomfortable. But she’d been satisfied with herself. Hadn’t she?
Sadie frowned. It had only been since Theo Angelis had stopped to talk to her in the courthouse two months ago that she’d caught herself glancing in the mirror more frequently and…what? Seeing herself the way Theo would see her? Dowdy, insisted the little voice.
“Stop being ridiculous,” she scolded herself as she picked up her pace. Theo Angelis didn’t see her as a woman. He saw her as a colleague. He’d sought her out to congratulate her on the way she’d handled a case, a case that she’d been surprised to learn he’d sent her way. Sandra Linton, the woman she’d defended that day, had stalked him and pulled a gun on him in his family’s restaurant. And Theo had actually been pleased that she’d gotten the woman psychiatric treatment instead of jail time. He’d said that he’d admired her work, a great compliment since she felt the same way about his work.
Just thinking about the encounter shouldn’t have her recalling his scent…soap and something a little earthier. She was tall, but he’d been taller so that she’d had to look up to meet his eyes. Dark eyes with just a hint of danger in them. Just talking to him shouldn’t have made her knees grow weak. And shaking his hand—she could still recall the way her mind had fuzzed over, as if her brain had been replaced by a vat of cotton candy. It had been hot in the courtroom. That was why she’d felt heat shoot right down to her toes; that was why her throat had gone dry.
What she’d experienced in that moment of contact had to have been some kind of aberration, no doubt due to that rush of adrenaline she experienced at the end of every trial. And that was probably the reason she’d developed a sort of schoolgirl crush on Theo Angelis—totally one-sided and very self-indulgent.
And safe, nagged the little voice. Ignoring the voice, Sadie lifted her chin. It was just a handshake, for heaven’s sake. She’d better get over it. She knew from experience that she didn’t have the…know-how or the…equipment to attract a man like Theo Angelis. The kind of man she evidently appealed to was the practical, steady kind. Someone like Michael Dano, who headed up the legal department at Oliver Enterprises. The kind of man she thought of as a mentor and a friend. Michael had waited almost six months to make a move on her…and then she’d felt nothing. Theo had made her feel more with one look. It was just her fate to only be able to feel things with a man who could have any woman he wanted.
And she’d do well to put him out of her mind. The whole San Francisco legal community was buzzing with the fact that Jason Sangerfeld, defense attorney to the stars, had offered him a job in Los Angeles.
Glancing at her watch again, Sadie broke into a run. Her sister Juliana hadn’t given her much notice. The invitation hadn’t arrived until shortly after four o’clock, and she hadn’t had time to go home and change. Not that she knew what she was changing for. Her younger sister’s note hadn’t been very specific. All it had said was: Come to St. Peter’s Church at seven tonight. Please. Juliana. And she hadn’t been able to reach her cell.
As Sadie reached the foot of the steps, she felt another wave of guilt wash over her. Juliana and she weren’t close. Part of that was due to the fact that her sister was eighteen and she was twenty-six. The eight-year difference in their ages had seemed even greater when they were kids. Juliana had still been playing with Barbie dolls when Sadie had gone East for college and law school. And when Sadie had come back home to work in the legal department at Oliver Enterprises a year ago, Juliana had been away at boarding school.
When her sister had come home three months ago, Sadie’s goal had been to get to know Juliana better. But she’d let her work and perhaps her current frustration with it interfere.
Frowning, Sadie hurried up the last steps. For the last five months, ever since the kiss, Michael Dano had seemed intent on keeping her buried in busywork—real estate deed and title searches. And when she wasn’t doing that, her father and brother were insisting on her presence at various social functions.
No, Sadie gave herself a mental shake. She was not going to blame Michael Dano or her father or brother for the fact that she hadn’t taken the time to get closer to her sister. There was no one to blame for that except herself.
Pulling the door open, she stepped into the gloom of the vestibule and felt the silence of the church envelop her. Then she heard two gunshots in rapid succession.
AFTER LEAVING A MESSAGE on Nik’s cell, Theo dialed Kit and left the same one. Then he turned his cell phone off for the weekend, strolled onto the porch of the cabin and took his first look at the sea. The tide was coming in, but the water in the little inlet was relatively calm.
The position of the sun in the sky told him that there was about a half an hour left before sunset. Still plenty of time to sit and relax and enjoy the view.
It didn’t surprise Theo that his brothers hadn’t picked up when he’d called them. They would have known the minute they checked the caller ID what he was calling about. He’d made it to their grandfather’s fishing cabin first, so it was his brotherly duty to gloat.
From the time they’d been kids, they’d always raced from their father’s car to the cabin. The winner got the first pick of the lures and poles.
Well, he’d won the race this weekend, but it hadn’t been for the choice of fishing equipment that he’d left his office early. He’d set out to beat the weekend traffic because he’d wanted some time alone before anyone joined him. There was something about being near the sea that helped him to sort things out. Perhaps it would even settle the restlessness that had been plaguing him lately. No—it was more than restlessness. For the first time in his life, he was doubting himself. In the courtroom he was hanging back, second-guessing his instincts.
A joyful bark had him shifting his gaze away from the water. Bob, a neighbor’s dog, was bounding happily toward the cabin. No one was quite sure what Bob’s actual lineage was, but Theo had always suspected that there’d been a Saint Bernard among his ancestors. He opened the door and Bob shot into the cabin. Theo heard his toenails clicking on the floorboards as he raced from room to room.
A moment later, Bob returned to the porch and Theo could have sworn that his expression held reproach.
“Ari is coming with Kit,” he said. “He’ll be here in another couple of hours.” Over the years, Bob and Ari, Kit’s dog, had become friends. Reminding himself that he wanted to have time alone before that joyful canine reunion, Theo strolled into the kitchen. He stored the whole grain bread he’d brought in the pantry and put the selection of cheeses into the refrigerator. When he turned, Bob stepped into his path, sat down and thumped expectantly his tail on the floor.
“Kit’s bringing the stuff you like,” Theo said as he reached into the refrigerator and broke off a chunk of cheese for the dog. His youngest brother always provided the more basic essentials—eggs, bacon, rolls and enough deli meat for an army. Nik, whose cupboard in his apartment was always bare, would bring what he considered essential—beer and junk food.
While Bob made short work of the hunk of cheddar, Theo unpacked the wine he’d brought. There were two dry Italian whites from different regions, a German white and a French chardonnay. All would go well with the fish they would catch this weekend.
Kit was the real fisherman of the family. Even as a kid he’d had their father’s patience and ability. Nik and Theo would throw in their lines, of course; but Nik would spend the majority of the weekend on his boat testing his skills against the wind and waves and what Theo enjoyed most about the cabin was simply being near the water and being with his family.
Bob padded after him into the bedroom and sat ever hopeful as Theo stripped out of his city clothes and hung them neatly on hangers. Noticing the way that Bob was eyeing his Italian loafers, he rescued them and placed them on the closet’s top shelf. After pulling on the well-worn jeans and T-shirt that he kept at the cabin, he strolled barefoot back to the refrigerator, poured a glass of the Italian white and carried it to the porch.
Theo sank into a chair, put his feet up on the railing and crossed his ankles. As he sipped his wine, he reached absently down and ran a hand over Bob’s head. A gull cried out as it swooped close to the water’s surface before soaring into the sky. Far out in the distance, an outboard motor thrummed as a boat moved slowly into the center of the inlet. The driver already had his running lights on in anticipation of the sunset. At Theo’s side, Bob sighed.
Theo could second the sigh. He had a decision to make this weekend. The fact that he wasn’t looking forward to it didn’t mean that he could avoid it any longer. Taking a slow sip of wine, he gazed out at the water. He wasn’t usually indecisive.
His Aunt Cass believed that psychic powers ran in the family and she’d told him once that his own gift was particularly strong. He didn’t see visions the way she did, but from the time he’d been a child, there’d often been occasions when he just knew things. Most of his success in the courtroom had been due to the fact that he’d had a hunch about which strategies to implement. And when it came to making choices, he was usually pretty sure which one to make.
But that had all changed since Sandra Linton. It was that damn most-eligible-bachelor list that had started it all. After that splash of publicity, Sandra had been among the women who’d started attending his trials. His brothers had called them his groupies. Then he’d made the mistake of agreeing to have coffee with her. Why hadn’t he sensed that simple choice would lead to tragedy? For that matter, why hadn’t he sensed that she was disturbed?
For two months the woman had followed him everywhere. Reasoning with her hadn’t helped. Neither had a restraining order. He’d rented a small apartment in town to keep her away from his family and he’d taken to sneaking out the delivery entrance of his office building. He’d even changed his parking lots. Still, she’d eventually tracked him down at his father’s restaurant.
Panic slithered up his spine even now when he thought of it. They’d been in the small lobby of The Poseidon when she’d pulled the gun. His sister, Philly, had been only a few feet away and there’d been customers waiting for tables. He hadn’t needed psychic powers to know what she’d intended to do—the violence, the fury and the despair had been there in her eyes. If he hadn’t been able to convince her to leave…
Taking a sip of his wine, Theo shoved the fear of what might have been out of his mind and focused on the now. Watching the rippling surface of the sea, he repeated the little lecture he’d been giving himself for the last two months. It was high time he put Sandra Linton out of his mind. It was more than time for him to get his balance back.
Perhaps taking the position with Jason Sangerfeld would help him do that. The high-power defense attorney had called him a month ago and offered him a job—a dream job, one that any defense attorney would jump at. If Theo accepted, he would be working second chair with Jason on high-profile cases. The experience would be incredible, the money…well, it would be a lot more than he was making now. The catch was that he’d have to give up his own practice and move to Los Angeles.
Theo knew exactly what his Aunt Cass would say—the Fates were offering him a choice and his decision would make all the difference in his life. The truth was, he’d be a lot quicker about making his decision if he just had some inkling which choice was the right one. But his lucky hunches were leaving him high and dry. He wasn’t sure anymore what the right thing to do was. And he couldn’t help but wonder if this was due to doubting his instincts.
When Bob sighed again, Theo lifted his feet off the railing, rose and started moving toward the shoreline. One thing he did know: he should have put Sandra Linton behind him once she’d been arrested and he’d contacted the public defender’s office to request that they assign the case to Sadie Oliver.
Theo strolled out onto the dock and sat down. Bob stretched out beside him. For a moment, he let his mind empty and fill with nothing more than the soft sound of the waves and the sight of the sky turning red in the west. Behind him, insects murmured in the grass.
Watching the sun sink into the water, his thoughts returned to Sadie Oliver. She’d been on his mind a lot lately. His brother Kit’s best friend, Roman Oliver, had mentioned both of his sisters on occasion. He was very proud of the fact that Sadie had gone east to college and had edited the law review at Harvard Law School. His other sister, Juliana, who was twelve years his junior, had been sent away to a boarding school for high school. Theo had been aware through Kit that both sisters were back in town and that Sadie worked in the legal department of Oliver Enterprises, a multimillion dollar real estate development company that her father and her brother Roman ran.
Theo set his wineglass down on the dock beside him. His curiosity had been piqued when Kit had mentioned that Sadie was also doing some pro bono work for the public defender’s office and he’d been intrigued enough to sit in on one of her trials. She was very good. His mouth curved slightly. Her style was more conservative than his, but she had a logical mind and a cool, unflappable manner that played well with a jury. An aloof, controlled ice princess was the way he’d summed her up in his mind. Not his type. Then he’d seen her address the jury and for the first time he caught a hint of the passion that lay beneath the cool exterior. The next time he’d seen her name on the docket, he’d gone back to watch her again. It was only natural that when his stalker was arrested, he’d thought of Sadie.
Theo frowned as he picked up his glass and sipped his wine again. Something had happened when he’d talked to her after that trial. Actually, a few things had happened and they’d given him pause. As the bottom edge of the sun disappeared into the Pacific, he let his mind drift back to that meeting…
When he’d approached her, the courtroom had already emptied and Sadie was packing papers quickly and efficiently into her briefcase. He’d had plenty of time during the trial to take in the details of her appearance. She was taller than average and she always wore a conservatively tailored suit and plain black pumps. Her long, dark hair was pulled back into a neat braid that fell below her shoulders.
There was nothing in her appearance to hint at the passion he sensed when she was pleading a client’s case. For some reason, the contrast appealed to him.
He was about to speak to her when his gaze came to rest on her hands and he felt that first inexplicable tug of attraction. Her fingers were long and slender, the nails short and painted with a clear polish. They moved competently. Theo could imagine them pouring tea into delicate china cups. He could also imagine them moving over his skin. With no more warning than that, desire had snaked up his spine and settled in his gut. Where in hell had it come from?
Her cell phone rang and as she took the call, Theo took the opportunity to gather his thoughts.
“Yes?”
Even though he could only see her face in profile, he noted the frown and the way her grip tightened on the phone.
“Michael, I told you I had a trial today.” She glanced at the watch on her wrist. “I’ll be back in half an hour and I plan on working late. You’ll have my report on your desk first thing in the morning.”
Her shoulders had tensed and one of her feet had begun to tap. Whoever this Michael was, she wasn’t happy with him. Still, she kept her tone cool. He wondered what it would take to chip through her control. What would he find beneath the surface? There was definitely passion there. He could see it in that tapping foot. A man couldn’t help but wonder what it would be like when it was released.
“I’m sure that you and Daddy and Roman can mingle at the mayor’s fundraiser without me. The Olivers will be well represented.” Then she snapped the phone shut and stuffed it into her purse. Sadie was reaching for her briefcase when he said, “Ms. Oliver.”
She jumped and turned to face him.
Theo looked into her eyes and for a moment his mind went totally blank. All he thought of was her. He took in the fact that her skin was a golden shade, her scent something floral. But it was those almond-shaped eyes in a deep shade of chocolate brown that he felt he was sinking into.
“Mr. Angelis, I’m…surprised to see you here.” She secured her purse on her shoulder and reached for her briefcase.
Theo reined in his wandering thoughts and took a step to the side so that he blocked the aisle that led to the door. “You know me?”
“I’ve seen your picture.”
Theo thought with embarrassment of the most-eligible-bachelor article. Was he never going to be free of that? “The one in the paper?”
“Well, yes, I did see that one. But I was thinking of the one Roman has in his office. In it, he’s just beaten you at tennis.”
Theo winced. “He’s the best I’ve ever been up against. So far he hasn’t agreed to a rematch.”
“When he does, take advantage of his backhand. That’s what I do. It’s his Achilles’ heel.”
Fascinated, Theo eased his hip onto the edge of the railing that separated the lawyer’s tables from the rest of the courtroom and studied her for a moment. “You’ve beaten him then?”
She smiled at him. “Once. Just a few weeks ago. And I intend to do it again.”
It was the first time he’d seen her smile. In the slanted light pouring in through the narrow courtroom windows, Theo realized she was beautiful. Desire struck again like a punch low in his gut.
He had to put some effort into speaking. “Aren’t you betraying family secrets by telling me something like that?”
“Perhaps, but I figure I owe you one.”
“Why?”
She met his eyes very steadily. “I know that you recommended me for this case. But you can’t be pleased about the way it’s ended.”
“Because you got the woman who was stalking me psychiatric treatment instead of jail time? I was hoping that you would do just that.”
It was Sadie’s turn to study him. “She shot you.”
Theo shrugged. “It wasn’t a fatal wound and she’s a very sick woman.” If he’d sensed the problem in time, he might have prevented it. “Jail time won’t help her. Mind if I ask a question?”
“Go ahead.”
“Why are you doing pro bono work for the public defender’s office? Don’t they keep you busy enough at Oliver Enterprises?” He thought he saw a shadow flicker into those brown eyes and he recalled the conversation she’d just had with this Michael.
“I want the trial experience.” Then she extended her hand. “I have to go, but I want to thank you for the recommendation.”
He took her hand in his. In that first instant of contact, they both went perfectly still. Theo was glad that he was still half-sitting on the railing because his knees went weak. It was at that moment he knew—the way he knew a lot of things—his path and Sadie’s were going to cross again.
Theo drained the last of his glass and watched the sun disappear into the ocean. He’d been very careful not to go back and watch her in court again, but he hadn’t been able to get her out of his mind. Was it Sadie Oliver who was interfering with his ability to make a decision about the Los Angeles job? he wondered. Was she the cause of the restlessness that had been plaguing him lately?
It was a long time before he got up from the dock and went back into the cabin.
2
GUNSHOTS? In a church? Could she have been mistaken? In the dim light of the vestibule, Sadie swallowed hard, reminded herself to breathe and took a cautious step toward the double doors leading into the church. She’d nearly reached them when she heard footsteps pounding in her direction.
A man built like a linebacker exploded into the room. Her heart leaped to her throat and blocked her scream. He was wearing a black T-shirt and jeans; she made out the gun in his hand as he pounded up the circular wrought-iron staircase to the choir loft above. An instant later, another man burst through the doors. She recognized this one.
“Roman?”
When her brother whirled to face her, she saw that he was carrying a gun, too. “What’s going—”
He grabbed her by the arm and shoved her into the shadows beneath the staircase. “Stay out of sight. Don’t let anyone know you’re here.”
She’d barely processed the words when more shots sounded from inside the church. Even as terror streamed through her, another gunshot exploded overhead. Her ears were ringing with it as Roman took the stairs two at a time. She wanted to go after him, stop him, but fear had her pressing herself even deeper into the shadows. She did the only thing she could think of. She pulled out her cell phone and dialed 911.
“Juliana, are you all right?” Roman shouted.
Horror paralyzed Sadie, preventing her from speaking to the 911 operator. Had her sister been shot?
Above her, she thought she heard someone—a man—answer, “Yes.”
Roman spoke again, but she didn’t catch what he said because she was breathlessly giving the 911 operator the location.
Overhead, she heard pounding footsteps and the sounds of a fight—thumps and muffled cries. Peering up through the circle of steps, she saw two figures locked tight in a fierce struggle at the top of the stairs before one of them pitched over the railing.
It happened so fast. One minute he was falling…then she heard the sickening thud as the body smacked against the floor and she felt the shock of the impact beneath her feet. In the dim light, she saw his face. Roman. His eyes were closed, his body so still. Her heart simply stopped.
She wanted to go to him, but her legs refused to work. Footsteps pounded down the steps and hit the floor running. Sadie registered the sounds, the blur of movement. In the light that entered the vestibule as the person pushed through the front doors, she recognized the man Roman had chased up the stairs. Blood streamed from his shoulder.
All of those details registered; still, she couldn’t move. She couldn’t breathe. All she could do was stare at her brother’s body on the ground. There was absolute silence in the church. Then the panic that had frozen her blasted free and galvanized her into action. Lunging out of the shadows, she cried out, “Juliana? Juliana, are you all right?”
No answer.
Her purse dropped unnoticed to the floor as she sank to her knees and pressed two fingers to her brother’s throat. There was a pulse—weak but steady. Running her other hand over his head, she felt the wet stickiness of blood. “Roman,” she murmured, leaning closer.
His eyes fluttered open.
“It’s Sadie. I’m right here.” She squeezed his hand. “Don’t move.”
“Can’t…see…”
“It’s all right. You fell.”
His eyes closed again. “You’re in danger…get out.”
“Where’s Juliana? What’s going on?”
“Secret…wedding.”
Sadie barely caught the words above the ragged sounds of his breathing. “Juliana…Paulo…Carlucci.”
Juliana and Paulo Carlucci? No, that simply couldn’t be. The bad blood between the Oliver and Carlucci families went back generations, and the fact that Oliver Enterprises and Carlucci Ltd. were currently competing over a lucrative land deal involving a strip of Orange County coastline had brought that blood to the boiling point.
If her baby sister had indeed planned a secret wedding to Paulo Carlucci and the news had leaked out… Fear knotted hard in her stomach. It had leaked out, hadn’t it? Roman had certainly gotten wind of it. And there’d been that man he’d been chasing. And those gunshots from inside the church.
Another possibility had her blood going cold. Had her father found out about the wedding plans, too? Mario Oliver had a reputation for knowing everything. And who knows what he would have done to prevent his youngest daughter from marrying his enemy’s son.
“…Wanted…to stop it…”
She could all too easily imagine that Roman would have wanted to stop the wedding. They knew from watching their father that marriage was not an easy path, even in the best of circumstances. Their mother had died shortly after Juliana’s birth; Mario Oliver was on his third marriage. Sadie had a suspicion that Deanna Mancuso Oliver would not be his last. And Juliana was barely eighteen, Paulo perhaps a year or two older. They were babies. She squeezed her brother’s hand. “Don’t try to talk.”
“Shot…Paulo.”
Sadie’s stomach sank. Roman had shot Paulo? Had he come here to stop the wedding and…? No. Violence was not Roman’s way. He didn’t have their father’s ruthlessness. She couldn’t have heard him right. She lowered her head so that his lips were nearly brushing her ear.
“Make sure…Juliana’s…safe.” Roman tightened his grip on her fingers. “Trust…no one…go…to…Kit.” He paused to let out a breath. Panic threatened to swamp her. Not his last breath. Please. His fingers went lax in hers. No. Please.
Fear knifed through her as she checked his pulse again. It was still there, and the rise and fall of his chest told her he was breathing.
For a second, she sat there, her mind numb. Think, she told herself. Do something. She pressed her fingers to her temples. Roman had said to trust no one. To go to Kit. Taking her cell from her purse, she scrolled to Kit Angelis’s number and pressed it in. Kit and Roman had been best friends since college. Maybe he could…
She heard the sound of a siren just as Kit’s answering machine picked up. Leaving her name and number, she dropped her phone back in her purse and struggled to gather her thoughts again. A new fear had her jumping to her feet. Roman had also said to make sure Juliana was safe. She recalled that shot she’d heard from the choir loft. What if Juliana…?
Sadie hit the stairs at a run, stumbling and coming down hard on the third rung. Pushing herself to her feet, she raced up the rest of the steps. One glance told her the choir loft was empty, but there was an open door directly in front of her. Heart pounding, she stepped into a small, windowless room. There was enough light for her to see that it, too, was empty. Her relief was short-lived as she took in dark stains on two walls. Blood? Then she saw the bouquet of white flowers lying on the floor.
Sadie drew in a deep breath and fought back the terror that had been dominating her actions so far. A good attorney never let emotions rule. She looked at the facts. And the fact she was staring at right now was a wedding bouquet.
Evidence of a secret wedding? Her sister and Paulo Carlucci’s? Sadie was still trying to get her mind around that. Roman’s words came back to her. “…Wanted to stop it…shot Paulo.” She stared again at the dark stains on the wall. Who had shot Paulo? Roman? This time, she ruthlessly shoved the rising hysteria down. Roman would not have shot Paulo. Yes, he would have been upset to learn about the wedding plans. Yes, he would have tried to talk Juliana out of it. So would she if she’d gotten here in time.
But she’d heard those two gunshots when she’d first entered the church, hadn’t she? She’d seen the gun in Roman’s hand. He could have fired them.
The siren was drawing closer and Sadie could hear more in the distance. Turning, she stepped back into the choir loft and hurried to a window in time to see a red convertible with a flashing blue light on its hood careen around a corner and pull into the parking lot at the back of the church. After sending up a prayer that one of the other sirens belonged to an ambulance, Sadie reminded herself to think. The church was an old-fashioned one where the choir loft extended along both sides, as well as the back. She shifted her gaze to the exit signs marking the far ends of the loft and forced her mind back over the facts.
She’d heard Roman call out, “Juliana, are you all right?”
And she’d heard someone answer, “Yes.”
Then the fight had broken out and she’d heard running footsteps. So while Roman was fighting with someone—the man in the black T-shirt with the gun—whoever was in that small room could have run along the side of the choir loft and exited through the back of the church.
The siren was close now and when she shifted her gaze to the street, she saw a police car slow as it crossed the intersection near the front of the church, passing a dark van. She was turning, intending to go back down the stairs and back to Roman, when suddenly, she blinked and leaned closer to the window. If she hadn’t been standing right there peering through the glass at that particular minute, she would have missed it.
Two blocks down, a taxi had stopped at the curb and three people had crowded around its open passenger door.
One of them was Juliana. Even at this distance, Sadie was sure of it. Her sister’s long, straight, dark hair was unmistakable. A second woman, a petite blonde carrying a dress bag and a tote, climbed into the taxi. A moment later, the taxi pulled away from the curb, leaving Juliana and the man standing on the curb. Sadie got a look at him in profile before he took Juliana’s arm and disappeared around the corner. Paulo Carlucci. She also saw the dark stain on his upper arm. Blood?
Below her, the church doors opened and she hurried to the loft railing in time to see two policemen kneeling over Roman.
“The pulse is steady,” one man said. “Blood on the back of his head.”
“Look’s like he fell,” the other said. “Be careful not to move him until the EMTs get here.”
Sadie hesitated, torn between her desire to go down the stairs to be with her brother and her fear for her sister’s safety. Roman was in safe hands now, she told herself. It was Juliana who needed her.
With that one thought in mind, she rushed quietly along the side of the choir loft and hurried down the stairs. The room at the bottom was small. At its center stood a marble fountain in the middle of a shallow rectangular pool where baptisms would be performed. Sadie skirted it and raced for the exit. Once out on the street, she sprinted toward the corner where she’d last seen Juliana.
An ambulance rushed past, but she paid it no heed. The police on the scene would make sure the medics took care of Roman. She had to get to Juliana, make sure she was safe. She was half a block away from the corner when she saw the dark van pull through the intersection. She might not have paid it any heed if the driver’s window hadn’t been open. But it was—she recognized the driver and the van as the one that had been blocking the parking lot entrance when she’d first arrived.
Possibilities raced through her mind and she didn’t like any of them. She thought of the man Roman had chased into the choir loft, the one who’d left through the front door with blood running down his arm. Had the man in the van been waiting for him? Were they, too, looking for Juliana?
Heart pounding, she put all her energy into reaching the corner. But when she turned it, there was no sign of Juliana or Paulo.
And no sign of the dark van.
3
BY THE TIME SADIE MADE it back to St. Peter’s Church, there were four squad cars blocking off both Skylar Avenue and Bellevue. She’d run a few blocks trying to catch sight of Paulo and Juliana, but she hadn’t even glimpsed them and she hadn’t seen the van again, either. A glance at her watch told her that it was 7:30, roughly fifteen minutes since she’d heard those first shots and seen Roman fall over that railing.
A shudder moved through her as the image filled her mind. She couldn’t let herself dwell on it. She had to hold it together. Roman was depending on her.
Two ambulances were now parked in front of the church, and uniformed policemen were stationed at intervals by the tape that had been strung along the sidewalks to keep the curious at a distance. She would have to get past them to get back into the vestibule and check on Roman.
As she made her way through the small crowd that had gathered on the sidewalk across from the church, someone tugged on her arm. Turning, she glanced down to find a tiny woman with bright blue eyes and a mass of curly white hair smiling excitedly up at her. The thought that popped into her mind was that this was what little orphan Annie might look like at seventy.
“Did you hear the shots, dear?”
“No, I didn’t,” Sadie lied, looking for an opening in the police barricade.
“I heard the shots. I live in the house right next to the rectory. At first I wasn’t sure. I thought it might be a car backfiring. But altogether I counted six of them. Way too many for a car. Figured they had to be gunshots.”
Six, Sadie thought. That roughly tallied with the number she’d heard. Two when she’d first come in, three from inside the church, then one overhead. “Did you see anything?”
The woman shook her head. “Not while the shooting was going on. I’d looked through the window earlier and I knew that a wedding was happening the minute that catering truck pulled into the rectory parking lot. Father Mike is hitching up a lot of couples lately. He has a way with young people and St. Peter’s is turning out to be the in place for weddings. He’s brought new life to the neighborhood.”
There was pride in her voice.
“But there was something odd about this one,” the woman continued.
“What?” Sadie asked.
“Very few guests. Usually, the cars fill that little parking lot behind the church, guests hang out on the front steps before the ceremony and they cover the front steps with a long white cloth—to protect the bride’s dress, I guess—and the bride arrives in one of those big stretch limousines. But not tonight. I saw her come in a taxi with a little blond woman and I think the wedding dress was in the bag the blond was carrying.”
Juliana had arrived in a taxi with a blond woman. The woman she’d seen get into the taxi had been carrying a dress bag. Sadie felt a little stab of guilt. She had no idea who the woman was, no idea who any of her sister’s friends were.
“A young man had arrived a bit before that with a big bruiser of a fellow. Figured one of them had to be the groom until the other man arrived. Handsome as sin, that one. I was thinking the bride was one lucky gal if she was tying the knot with him. He looked a bit familiar, too, but I couldn’t place him. I will, though. It will come to me when I’m not expecting it. After the handsome one went inside, I went downstairs to catch Wheel of Fortune.”
As “Annie” continued to talk, Sadie glanced at the front of the church. Nothing was happening. She started forward again.
“Figured it must be one of those hush-hush affairs,” Annie was saying. “Maybe a pair of celebrities or something like that. Whatever it was, someone got wind of it and put a stop to it. I just hope that it wasn’t Father Mike who got killed. Of course, I wouldn’t want it to be the bride or the groom, either.”
Sadie turned back to the tiny woman. “Someone got killed?”
“I heard the cops talking a few minutes ago. I’ve got pretty good ears.” She leaned close to Sadie and spoke in a tone only she could hear. “They said one dead and two injured. Someone in there definitely bought it.”
Not Roman. Sadie glanced back at the church doors. Please, not Roman. “I have to get in there.” She lifted the tape.
Annie laid a hand on her arm. “They won’t let you past this point.”
“But I have to—” She broke off when a young uniformed officer blocked her path.
“Miss, I have to ask you to lower the tape and step back from it,” the officer said.
“You don’t understand. I was here earlier,” she said. “I need to talk to someone who’s in charge.”
An older man in his late forties moved toward them. “Problem, Jerry?”
“She wants to talk to someone who’s in charge.”
The older man turned to Sadie. He was on the short side but he had a solid, muscular build and eyes that gave away nothing. “Right now, that would be Officer Carter here and me, and our orders are to keep everyone out. The only people allowed in the church are the crime-scene team and the medics.”
“You don’t—” Sadie began. But she stopped when the doors of the church opened and two medics carried out a stretcher.
“Oh, thank heavens,” Annie said. “That’s Father Mike. I was so worried about him.”
“How do you know he’s alive?” Sadie asked, unable to tear her gaze away from the stretcher.
“They’re putting him in the ambulance,” Annie explained. “The coroner’s van will pick up the dead one.”
Sadie’s stomach clenched. Was that why they hadn’t brought Roman out yet? She was about to step forward again, when the doors opened and another stretcher emerged. Relief streamed through her when she saw that it was Roman.
“They’re taking special care of him,” Annie commented. “They’re using what looks like a back brace. And see how they’ve got his neck protected?”
Sadie did see and her stomach sank. “How do you know all this?”
“I watch a lot of TV and there’s all those crime shows. Beats watching that junk they call reality TV.”
As soon as they’d loaded Roman’s stretcher into the ambulance, a uniformed policeman climbed in behind him and another one climbed in the passenger seat.
“They’re sending cops with him,” Annie said. “They didn’t send any with Father Mike.”
No, they hadn’t, Sadie thought. The fact that two policemen were accompanying her brother wasn’t a good sign.
“He must have been involved in the shootings,” Annie echoed Sadie’s thoughts.
As Sadie reached to lift the tape again, she recalled Roman’s words—“…shot…Paulo.” If he had, he hadn’t killed him. The moment she closed her hand around the tape, Officer Carter said, “Ma’am, you have to step back.”
“But that’s my—”
Sadie found herself gripped firmly by the arms. “You have to stay here,” Carter said. “Otherwise, I’m going to have to take you into custody and put you in one of the patrol cars.”
Sadie could see in his eyes that he meant it. And beyond his shoulder, she could see the first ambulance pulling away from the curb.
“Jerry?” the older officer called.
Jerry turned his head. “Uh-oh.”
Sadie followed the direction of his gaze to where a truck with Channel Five painted on the side had pulled up to one of the patrol cars blocking the intersection. Both Carter and his partner moved quickly toward the truck as an attractive woman climbed out.
“Good heavens,” Annie said. “That’s Carla Mitchell from Channel Five News.”
As the elderly woman hurried toward the TV truck, Sadie moved through the crowd in the opposite direction. She’d just go down to the middle of the block, cross the street and circle back. She had to get to that ambulance.
She’d reached the edge of the crowd when Roman’s ambulance pulled away from the curb. Sadie broke into a run. If she could just beat it to the corner…
As she sprinted toward the intersection, she thanked her lucky stars for her practical shoes. Dowdy they might be, but at least she could run in them. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the ambulance increase speed. It was gaining on her as she reached the corner. Without stopping, without thinking, she careened into the intersection, waving her arms.
The siren sounded once, but when Sadie didn’t move, it pulled to a stop. The officer in the passenger seat rolled down the window. “Lady, get out of our way.”
Panting, she moved quickly to the side of the ambulance and placed her palms flat against the door. “You’ve got my brother in there. I want to ride along to the hospital.”
“That’s not possible,” the officer said. “He’s a suspect in a possible homicide.”
Homicide? Sadie’s heart lurched. “At least tell me where you’re taking him. He’s my brother.”
The officer hesitated, then said, “You got some ID?”
Realizing that she didn’t have her purse, Sadie shook her head. “No, I—”
“Then I can’t help you.” Even as he rolled up the window, the ambulance shot forward, its siren piercing the night air.
Time for plan B. Sadie spotted her car half a block away and ran toward it. Thank heavens she’d developed a habit of carrying her keys in her pocket because of all the time she’d wasted plowing through her purse for them.
Her purse. She thought briefly about it as she slipped behind the wheel. She’d dropped it when she’d raced up those stairs to look for Juliana. There was no time to go back and get it now, not if she wanted to keep that ambulance in sight. The police probably had it tucked away all nice and safe in an evidence bag.
As she shot away from the curb, she recalled the policeman’s words. “He’s a suspect in a homicide.” She had to find out exactly what had gone on in that church.
IT WAS NEARLY TEN O’CLOCK when Theo slipped out of the cabin and nearly stumbled over Bob.
The dog rose and wagged its tail.
“Ari’s still not here.”
Bob merely looked hopeful.
“Okay.” Theo opened the door. “You can go in, but no more treats until I get back from my swim.”
Sleep had been eluding him. At the end of the dock, Theo paused. The moon was bright and full, the water black and fairly calm. His grandfather’s cabin had been built in the center of a little inlet. A half mile to his right, he could see the clear outline of a row of rocks that jutted out into the ocean. When they were younger, he and his brothers had frequently raced to it and back. If he managed a couple of laps, he ought to be able to catch a good five hours of sleep before sunup. There was nothing he knew of that could drain away his tension more easily than a swim.
Theo stretched his arms skyward, tucking his head between them. Then, bending his knees, he bowed his body slightly forward and shot cleanly into the water. The shock of cold sang through his body. He swam underwater for as long as he could hold his breath, then surfaced and struck out for the rocks. Within minutes, he sank into the rhythm of it, keeping his kick steady and strong, pulling with his arm, turning, breathing and pulling again.
He wondered if Sadie Oliver was a swimmer. She had the sleek, lean body for it. He could almost picture her swimming beside him, matching the rhythm of her strokes to his, kicking those long legs as they sliced through the water together. He imagined their legs scissoring, their bodies stretching, flexing almost as if they were making love.
The water no longer felt cold, Theo noticed. He wasn’t sure whether it was the exercise that had raised his temperature or the thoughts of swimming with Sadie Oliver.
He picked up his pace. It wasn’t just his career path that he was going to have to make a decision about. He was going to have to make a decision about Sadie Oliver, too. And he was beginning to think that the two choices were related.
4
IT WAS CLOSE TO ELEVEN when Sadie parked her car next to a silver SUV that was a couple of shades darker than her Miata. The small parking area was exactly where Kit Angelis’s Aunt Cass had said it would be, a little ways in from the road. But she’d expected three cars.
When she’d tried to reach Kit from the pay phone at the hospital, she’d gotten his office answering machine again. Then when she’d called his house, his aunt had picked up and told her that Kit was joining his brothers for a weekend of fishing at their grandfather’s cabin.
That meant that Theo would be here, too.
The fact that she’d thought of that more than once on the drive annoyed her. She was twenty-six years old—way beyond the age of silly crushes. And she had far more pressing concerns. Her brother was injured and a suspect in a homicide and she didn’t know where her sister was. When she reached to open the glove compartment, Sadie saw that her hands were shaking. Reaction was setting in. She couldn’t, she wouldn’t, fall apart yet. Closing her eyes, she drew in a deep breath and willed the shaking to stop. This time her hand was steady as she pulled the flashlight out and climbed from the car.
According to the directions she’d received from Cass Angelis, the last half mile to the Angelis family’s fishing cabin had to be traveled by foot. She located a path on the far side of the SUV. It was narrow, but appeared to be well used when she shone the light over it. The full moon was bright overhead and there were all those stars. Still, she hesitated. Leaves rustled in the wind and she thought she heard the sounds of some small animal scurrying through the brush. At least, it sounded small. Were there bears in this part of California?
Suppressing a shudder, Sadie gave herself a mental shake. Walking down a strange path through the woods at night might not be her cup of tea, but this was no time to be having second thoughts. She could have turned back at any point during the hour’s drive from San Francisco and she hadn’t. Because she wasn’t going to let her brother down. She’d made her decision even before she’d seen her father and stepmother and Michael Dano arrive at the hospital. She’d made it the moment that Roman was being wheeled away on that gurney. Ever since she’d been little, her big brother always seemed so strong, so capable. But as they were taking him away for tests, he’d looked so…vulnerable.
She felt her throat tighten. She’d wanted so much to stay at the hospital, to be with him. But when she’d waylaid one of the attending physicians and asked if she could see Roman, he’d told her that her brother’s condition was currently listed as stable, but that they were concerned about a skull fracture and would be doing tests for some time. If she’d stayed at the hospital, all she could have done was wait.
If Roman weren’t injured, he’d be moving heaven and earth to find out what had happened to Juliana and what had gone on at that church. So she was going to step into his shoes.
Drawing in a deep breath, Sadie started down the path, shining the light back and forth across it. Thank heavens the ambulance had brought Roman to St. Jude’s. Her father had donated the new trauma center there and as soon as the head nurse had found out who Roman was, she’d called in their top specialists.
She’d made herself scarce at the hospital because she hadn’t wanted to draw the attention of the two cops who’d accompanied Roman. After all, she’d left her purse in the vestibule of the church. Sooner or later, someone was going to figure out that she’d been there. She might be suspected of having something to do with whatever had gone on.
So she’d slipped away without talking to Michael Dano or her father. She was going to follow her brother’s advice and trust only Kit Angelis.
No. That wasn’t completely true. Sadie drew in a deep breath and let it out. It wasn’t just because of Roman’s words that she was walking down this dark path near the midnight hour. Deep in her heart, she knew that she’d come here to ask Kit for his help because her deepest fear was that her own father had something to do with what had happened at St. Peter’s church. Her sister Juliana was the apple of Mario Oliver’s eye. If he had learned that she planned a secret wedding to Paulo Carlucci…
Sadie had had plenty of time to think while she’d been waiting at the hospital and while she’d been driving. Roman might have tried to stop the wedding, but someone had sent another man to prevent it, too. And if it was their father who’d sent that man Roman was chasing? Well, it would have been just like Roman to take their sister’s side. Of course, there was also the possibility that Paulo’s father had gotten wind of the wedding, too.
Something shot across the path about ten feet in front of her, and Sadie jumped and nearly screamed. Pressing a hand against her chest, she tried to keep her heart from pounding right out of her body. Then she felt foolish when she realized that the animal she’d seen had been tiny, probably a field mouse or a chipmunk. When her heartbeat settled, she moved forward.
The woods seemed darker now and the trees on either side pressed more closely to the path. The wind seemed to have picked up and over the rustling of overhead branches she heard a noise. One animal calling to another? Wolves traveled in packs, didn’t they? Bobcats and coyotes also crossed her mind. She had no idea what kinds of wildlife lived here.
Nerves knotted in her stomach. Perhaps ignorance was best in this instance. Sadie gave herself a mental shake. Think positive. A half a mile wasn’t very long. She had to be at least halfway there. It would take her just as long to get back to the car as it would to reach the cabin. But the pep talk she was giving herself didn’t prevent her from picking up her pace and, after a few strides, she broke into a flat-out run. She’d been on the track team in high school and college, but her shoes, however serviceable, were not designed for running over rough terrain. She stumbled, managed to keep herself from falling to her knees and slowed to a fast walk.
She wasn’t going to panic. She’d kept her nerve at the church and again at the hospital and she wasn’t going to lose it now. Still, when the path opened up into a clearing, relief streamed through Sadie. For just a moment, she stood there, forcing herself to take in air for a count of ten so that her breathing would level. The breeze coming in from the sea was brisk. The moon was full and bright and the dark water reflected even more light. The scene and the sound of the waves pushing into the shore immediately began to calm her.
A wooden dock jutted out from the shore for about forty feet and she could make out the dark outline of a small boathouse at the far end. She could also see the cabin. It was a compact one-story structure with a wide screened-in porch at its front. Light glowed from one of the windows.
Hopefully, someone was up. Sadie strode forward and when she reached the screened porch door, she knocked. The sound seemed loud to her ears and was immediately answered by movement inside the cabin. She had her face pressed close to the screen when a figure rushed through the door and hurled itself against the mesh. Barely suppressing a scream, she stumbled backward and nearly fell down on her backside. The huge creature barked once, backed up and made another lunge at the screen.
A dog. But Sadie didn’t feel relieved. It was a very big dog and it was doing its best to get through that screen. Deciding not to wait until it succeeded, she moved quickly around the side of the cabin to the window that was spilling light out into the night. It was open and the ledge was just above her eye level. Rising to her toes, she peered into the room.
Empty. But the bed showed signs of having been used. The patchwork quilt was turned back, the pillows had been propped against the headboard and there was a paperback book lying on the nightstand. Perhaps the occupant had heard the racket the dog had made and was even now on his way to the porch. Circling back around to the front of the cabin, she caught sight of the dog through the screen. He raced down to meet her and kept pace with her as she walked toward the door. He didn’t lunge this time. The animal looked even bigger standing on all fours but at least he wasn’t barking. She waited for about ten beats. When no one appeared, she approached the screen door and knocked again. The dog whined. She let another ten beats pass, then drummed up her courage and tried the door.
It opened with a loud creak, but she still hesitated. The dog was wagging its tail and managing to look friendly. With a quick prayer that the creature wasn’t sandbagging her, Sadie stepped onto the porch.
THEO WAS LYING ON HIS back in the water, enjoying the gentle movement of the waves. He’d lost track of the number of laps he’d swum, but his muscles were weak, his mind finally relaxed. He was about to climb onto the dock when the silence was broken by a sharp, staccato knocking sound. Then he heard Bob hit the screen door. Grabbing the dock with one hand, he glanced toward the shore. He couldn’t imagine either Kit or Nik knocking on the cabin door. A tree was blocking his view, but he clearly heard Bob bark and launch himself at the door again.
Bob was not the best watchdog. In spite of his size, he had the people-loving instincts of a golden retriever and viewed any stranger as a possible source of either petting or food, hopefully both.
Staying very still in the water, Theo waited and a moment later saw a figure move around the side of the cabin. He had a quick impression of height. But the build was more slender than either of his brothers. He’d left the light on in his bedroom, and when the figure turned to face the window, he had a clear view of a profile. Female, he thought. The light wasn’t strong enough for him to see her features, but he made out that she was wearing a skirt.
Annoyance and frustration streamed through him. Following the arrest of his stalker, he’d convinced his little fan club—the women who’d been attending his trials for the past few months—to stop. And they had. One of them had even confessed to being embarrassed by her behavior and apologized. For the past two months, he’d thought he’d gotten his life back to normal.
But he couldn’t think of another reason why a woman would have come all this way in the middle of the night. He wasn’t currently dating anyone. He hadn’t dated anyone since Sandra Linton had begun to stalk him. And this woman was too tall to be his sister. Besides, Philly would have walked right in. She and Bob were old friends.
The figure had moved back toward the front of the cabin. Her knock was louder this time. Theo thought of calling out to her, but didn’t. Instead, moving quietly, he swam toward shore and, once he got his feet beneath him, he walked slowly out of the water. He was still twenty yards away when he saw her open the screened door and walk in. He had to give her points for courage. Bob might be a pushover, but he did have that size thing going for him. To his surprise, he saw her crouch down and speak to the dog, but the sound of the waves behind him muffled her words. Okay, so she had guts and she liked big dogs. She was still in a place she had no business being. Technically, she was breaking and entering.
She’d already gone into the cabin by the time he reached it. Carefully, he opened the porch door and turned sideways to slip in before the hinge creaked. She’d left the inner door to the cabin open. In the darkness of the kitchen, he could only make out her silhouette as she stood peering out the window in the direction of the lake.
Annoyance streamed through him again. Bold as brass, he thought. Not only had she followed him out here to a place that he’d always considered a refuge, but she’d walked right in. It didn’t help his mood one bit that Bob was sitting at her feet, beating his tail against the floor, evidently pleased as punch at the new visitor. At the very least, Theo figured he owed her a good scare.
He flipped on the light. “What the hell do you think—”
She whirled and her scream blocked the rest of his sentence.
“Sadie?” His first thought was that he’d conjured her up. His second was that in another moment she was going to slip right to the floor. Cursing himself, he strode to her. She’d gone pale as the moonlight on the water. “Are you all right?” Stupid question when he could see that she was anything but. Taking her arm, he eased her into one of the chairs at the table. Then he moved to the refrigerator, retrieved the bottle of wine he’d opened earlier and filled a glass. She was still trembling when he set it in front of her, so he took the chair next to hers and covered her hand with his to help her lift the glass.
She took a sip and swallowed. Then their eyes met and held over the rim of the glass. He was touching only her hand and yet there was that intensity, that same connection he’d felt when he’d clasped her hand in the courtroom. Suddenly, Theo knew. Not merely that their paths would cross again, but that she was the one, the one woman for him.
No. Panic shot up his spine and nerves knotted in his abdomen. He wasn’t ready. He forced himself to take a deep breath as he reminded himself that he still had a choice. The Fates only presented choices.
But as Sadie lifted the glass for another sip, he didn’t remove his hand from hers and he couldn’t seem to take his eyes off of her. Her lips were parted and moist from the wine. He very badly wanted to taste that mouth. Even as lust curled into a tight, hot fist in his stomach, he let his hand drop and eased back in his chair. He had to get away before…
Rising, he strode toward the adjoining hallway. “Drink the wine while I change. Then you can tell me why you’re here.”
5
SADIE LET OUT THE breath she hadn’t even been aware she was holding and barely kept the wineglass from slipping out of her hand. Very carefully, she set it on the table. Her head was still foggy, still spinning. And it wasn’t merely because he’d scared her. It was because he’d touched her again. All he’d meant to do was to help her steady the wineglass, just as all he’d done in that courtroom was shake her hand.
How was it that each time he put a hand on her, even in the most casual of ways, it was as if he’d touched her all over?
She pressed her fingers to her temples, willing her mind to clear and her thoughts to settle. When she’d whirled to see him standing in the doorway, he hadn’t looked like the Theo Angelis she’d seen in court. He’d looked larger than life, like some god from the sea—his dark hair slicked back, his darker eyes with that dangerous gleam. And all that damp, tanned skin. Even now she was astonished at just how much she’d wanted to touch him, wanted to taste him. No, more than that—she’d wanted to devour him.
No man had ever affected her this way. With hands that were still trembling, Sadie reached for her wine and took another swallow.
She was overreacting. There were too many emotions pounding at her—Roman, Juliana, the walk through the woods. She had to get a grip. She’d come here to ask Kit Angelis to help her. She couldn’t afford to fall apart.
“I’m sorry I gave you a scare.”
Startled, she whirled in her chair to watch Theo pour himself a glass of wine. Then he reached into the refrigerator and pulled out a plate of cheese. He was wearing old jeans that had faded at the seams and hem and an equally ancient T-shirt. She could barely make out the word Stanford across his chest. The casualness and general rattiness of the clothes surprised her. Theo had always been so impeccably and fashionably dressed in his court appearances.
“These are my lucky fishing clothes.”
Sadie’s gaze flew to his face and she saw a gleam of humor there. Could the man read her mind? Was she that transparent to him?
His lips curved as he moved to the table and set the plate of cheese between them. Then he sank into his chair. “I’m not the best fisherman in the family, but I’ve been wearing this outfit ever since I was in college and I never fail to catch the biggest fish on these weekends with my brothers. Nik has his special pole and Kit has a lucky hat, but neither has ever beaten this outfit. My brothers are hoping that one day soon the cloth will just disintegrate and fall off of me.”
In her mind, she pictured them doing just that—first the T-shirt, then the jeans. Was he wearing any briefs beneath them? As heat pooled in her center, Sadie ruthlessly focused her attention back to what had brought her here. She was not going to get anywhere if she continued to imagine him naked.
What in the world was wrong with her? She had to get away from him. Rising, she said, “I have to find Kit. Where is he?”
Theo took a sip of his wine while he met her gaze steadily. “Are you dating my brother?”
“What?”
“It’s a pretty straightforward question, counselor. Are you dating my brother Kit? Is that why you’re here?”
“No.” Puzzled, she narrowed her eyes on him. “Why would you think that? I’ve only met him a few times. And why are you asking?”
“Curiosity. You came all the way out here in the middle of the night and you want to know where he is.”
“I need his help. It’s about Roman.”
“Roman?” Theo straightened. “What is it?”
“I have to find Kit.”
“Why don’t you sit back down tell me what’s wrong?”
“Roman told me to go to Kit.”
His brows rose. “There’s an expression that sailors use—any port in a storm. You said it was urgent and since Kit isn’t here and I am, why don’t you tell me what made you drive up here at this time of night?”
He was right. She was letting his effect on her and the difficulty she had handling it interfere with what she needed to do to help Roman and Juliana. She had to tell someone what had happened and figure out what to do next.
In spite of Roman’s advice to trust no one but Kit, she trusted Theo Angelis. Sadie sat back down at the table and told him everything she knew.
WHEN SHE WAS FINISHED, Theo leaned back in his chair and studied her for a moment. She was bearing up very well considering the kind of day she’d put in. No wonder she’d nearly slid to the floor in a dead faint when he’d scared her. He was still kicking himself for that. He’d promised himself while he was changing out of his bathing suit that he wasn’t going to upset her again. And his resolve had only grown stronger now that he knew what she’d been through.
She had an attorney’s mind and laid the facts of her case in a logical order. He’d only stopped her once to take her back over the sequence of gunshots that had been fired and the locations of each of them. She’d heard two when she’d first entered the church.
“So Roman could have fired those before he burst through the vestibule doors in pursuit of the guy he chased up the stairs into the choir loft.”
She clasped her hands together in front of her on the table and her knuckles went white. “Yes. Roman could have fired those shots.”
“And the lady you met outside, she said that she’d heard the cops talking about one dead person.”
“Yes, but—” She cut herself off and met his eyes. “Yes. And you’re going to say that Roman could have killed that person. That could be why he’s the suspect in a homicide. But the man he was chasing could be the killer, too. He had a gun, and there was more gunfire from inside the church after Roman and that man came out. So neither of them fired those shots.”
Theo nodded. He had to give her points for control. He wondered if he would have done as well if she were cross-examining him about the possibility that one of his brothers might have killed someone. “From what you’ve described, more than one person came to that church prepared to stop your sister’s wedding and prepared to use force to do so. That could include Roman. He did bring his gun.”
Sadie leaned forward. “Roman always carries a gun. My father insists that all his executives be armed because his father had always insisted on it. Even Michael Dano who heads up the legal department has a gun. I think it goes back to a time when my family wasn’t so…let’s say legitimately connected.”
“Do you carry a gun?”
“No. I’m not employed on the executive level at Oliver Enterprises.”
There was something in her tone that caught his attention. Was it disappointment? Hurt? Resentment? Before he could pursue it, she hurried on. “I’ve never known Roman to use his gun.”
“Perhaps the need never arose before.”
Temper flared into her eyes, turning them almost black. But she reined it in. Here was the passion he’d glimpsed in the courtroom. And Theo knew that he wasn’t going to be able to walk away from it easily.
“You’re right. That’s exactly how the police will see it. He’s—” She broke off and her knuckles turned even whiter.
“Roman’s in trouble on two fronts,” he continued for her. “He may have serious injuries from the fall he took, but he also may be the prime suspect for what went on at that church. That’s what you want to see Kit for. You want him to investigate and find out.”
“I also want Kit to help me find Juliana. Roman thought she was in danger.”
Theo studied her for a moment. “From what you’ve said, she’s with the man she loves, Paulo Carlucci. Don’t you trust him?”
“I don’t know. I’m not even sure that Paulo and Juliana got away. That van may have been following them. Maybe they got her. If the Carluccis learned of the wedding plans, they’d want to stop it as badly as—”
“Your father and Roman would.”
Her chin lifted and she drew back a little in her chair. “If I had gotten to the church on time, I would have tried to talk Juliana out of getting married, too.”
“The difference being that you didn’t bring a gun.”
“Yes.” She met his eyes. “But as I said before, Roman wasn’t the only one who came to the church armed. And I had some time to think on the drive up here. I received my invitation to come to the church at around four o’clock. It was signed: ‘Please, Juliana.’ What if Roman received a similar note? I had no idea that the invitation was to a wedding, let alone that Juliana intended to marry Paulo Carlucci. What if Roman was in the same situation? I’m not saying that he wouldn’t try to stop the wedding. But he would only have used his gun in self-defense.”
Theo didn’t know Roman Oliver as well as Kit did. But ever since Roman and Kit had roomed together in college, he had been a frequent visitor at both their home and the restaurant his father ran, and Theo was inclined to agree with Sadie. Roman, like his sister, had a temper, but he knew how to control it. Keeping his eyes on Sadie’s, Theo sipped his wine. “Let’s bottomline it. You suspect your father sent some men to stop the wedding, don’t you?”
Her chin lifted. “Did I say that?”
“You didn’t have to. Actions speak louder than words. You avoided your father when you were at the hospital.”
Temper flashed in her eyes as she slammed a hand down on the table. “What was I supposed to do? Go up to him and ask him if he’d sent men to shoot up the church and stop the wedding? Not that he would have answered any of my questions—my father plays his cards very close to his chest. Sometimes he doesn’t even let Roman know what he’s doing. Roman never knew about it when he—” Stopping, Sadie reached for her wine and took a sip.
“When he what?” Theo prompted.
“It happened a long time ago. I haven’t thought about it in years. Perhaps it’s because the circumstances are so similar.”
Theo raised a brow. “Did your father stop you from marrying someone?”
“No.” She ran her finger around the rim of the wineglass. “I was a year younger than Juliana is now. I’d begged to come home from boarding school and finish my senior year here in San Francisco. I took a theater class and ended up playing Rosalind in As You Like It. The male lead was Jackson Rayburn, and we started seeing each other. The short version of the story is that I fell in love the way that you do when you’re that young and you think that everything is possible.”
“Were you lovers?”
“No.” Her chin lifted. “But we would have become lovers. We’d already made plans for the future. I was going to apply to the same college that he was going to so that we could be together. Then I made the mistake of bringing him home to meet my family and my father took immediate action.”
Theo poured more wine into both their glasses. “What did he do?”
“Nothing violent. Nothing even illegal. He simply approached Jackson’s father and gave him a business offer that Mr. Rayburn couldn’t refuse. It all happened in a matter of days. Jackson and I were supposed to meet the following weekend. When he didn’t show up, I went to his house and discovered from neighbors that the family had moved away. Just like that.” She snapped her fingers. “Poof! I was so angry. When I confronted my father and he refused to tell me where, I got even angrier. I cried. I screamed.”
A part of Theo wished he could have been there just to see the real Sadie, without her carefully controlled facade. Another part was much too aware of the hurt in her eyes and wanted to just pull her onto his lap and hold her.
“Temper is never the way to handle my father. It’s cool logic that impresses him. I never saw Jackson again. He never called. He never even sent me an e-mail, a letter. Nothing. My father is nothing if not thorough.” She picked up her wineglass and took a careful sip.
“Your father bought him off.”
“Yes. He acted the same way he does in a business deal. When he wants to eliminate a potential problem, he does it with the efficiency and skill of a surgeon. And Jackson let himself be bought. That’s when I decided to go east for college. I wanted to be somewhere far away where my father couldn’t interfere with my life.”
“Did it work?”
“I thought so until—” She cut herself off with a wave of her hand. “That doesn’t really matter now.” She leaned forward a little. “I know that my past relationship with my father could be affecting my objectivity here, but there’s something else that’s been bothering me. The man driving the van—the one that was blocking the driveway and later might have been following Paulo and Juliana—there was something familiar about him. I just haven’t been able to place where I saw him before. I can’t help but wonder if it was at my family’s estate or at Oliver Enterprises.”
For a moment, neither of them spoke. Theo angled his chair so that he could stretch his legs out and cross them at the ankles. “If your suspicion is right and your father did get wind of the planned wedding, does what happened at the church tonight seem like his work?”
When Sadie met his eyes this time, hers were clear and focused. “You’re thinking it’s messy.”
“Not only that, but from the way you’ve described him and the way Roman has talked about him, sending armed gunmen to stop his daughter’s wedding—that just doesn’t seem to be Mario Oliver’s style. Of course, I don’t know him as well as you do.”
Theo continued to study her as she thought about what he’d just said. He could almost hear her mind working. Her face and her eyes were so expressive that he could tell the moment that some of her tension began to ease.
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