Love Irresistibly (FBI/US Attorney #4)(23)

And that would be the sound bite every one of those reporters would take out of this arraignment.

Because Cade knew how to play this game, too.

A low murmur rippled through the crowd at this revelation. Clearly unsettled by the news of the impending avalanche of evidence Cade soon would be dropping on them, the defense attorneys all fell silent for a moment. One of them, Torino’s lawyer, literally broke out in a sweat.

Then four of them hightailed their high-powered asses up to the podium to request that their clients’ cases be severed from the senator’s.

And so it begins, Cade thought as the judge set a date for the lawyers to present their arguments for separate trials. It was only their first court appearance, and the four codefendants were already distancing themselves from Senator Sanderson. Given the substantial evidence, it was only a question of if, not when, their lawyers called him to discuss a possible plea.

After the hearing, he left the courtroom feeling satisfied that his case was off to a good start. He checked his watch. Three o’clock. Time for a coffee run. At the elevators, he nearly pushed the up button, thinking he’d make a pit stop at the office to see if Rylann, one of the other AUSAs in the special prosecutions group, wanted to join him—and then remembered that she was in trial this week.

Cade headed downstairs solo and cut through the lobby, past the metal detectors and the security guards. Once outside, he’d gone about a block when his cell phone rang. He pulled the phone out of the inside pocket of his suit coat and checked the caller ID.

Brooke Parker.

A slow smile spread across his face.

A jackhammer pounded away on the opposite side of the street, so Cade stepped into a Mrs. Fields cookie shop to get away from the noise.

He answered the phone. “Ms. Parker. What a pleasant surprise.”

A throaty feminine voice. “I knew it was a corruption case.”

Cade grinned. They hadn’t spoken for two weeks, yet of course that would be her opening line. “So you’re calling to brag that you were right. Imagine that.”

“Actually, I’m calling about that favor you owe me.”

Interesting. “I still don’t recall ever agreeing to that.”

“Give it a moment,” she said. “I’m sure it will come back to you.”

There was a long pause, until Brooke spoke again. “Hello? Are you there?”

“Sorry. I was giving it a moment. Nope, still no recollection.”

She sighed. “I woefully underestimated how painful this conversation was going to be.”

Cade laughed, realizing he really had missed bugging the hell out of her like this. He could picture her, sitting at her desk with her hair pulled back, all long legs and high heels and sexy I-mean-business skirt.

It was not an altogether unpleasant image.

“What kind of favor?” he asked.

“The kind I’d rather not discuss over the phone, since it’s a sensitive matter. Perhaps if you’re free, we can meet this evening at Bar Nessuno on Grand? Say, six thirty?”

Admittedly, he was curious. For more than one reason. “Did you just ask me out on a date, Ms. Parker?”

“No.”

“Are you sure? Because I—”

“Still no. I need something, and you’re the one guy who can give it to me.” She cut him off before he could even say the words. “Yes, thank you, I’m aware of how that sounded. I’m hanging up now, Mr. Morgan. Six thirty. Bar Nessuno.”

With a smile, Cade hung up the phone, thinking that she’d sounded a little frazzled when he’d brought up the subject of their having a date.

Good.

* * *

CADE STEPPED OFF the elevator at the twenty-first floor of the Dirksen Federal Building, Starbucks cup in one hand, bag of Mrs. Fields Nibblers in the other. As he rounded the corner that led to the reception area of the U.S. Attorney’s Office, a tall man with light brown hair bumped into him, seemingly in a rush.

“Oh, shoot. My bad,” the guy blurted out.

Cade righted the coffee without spilling it—his shoulder might be shit, but having quick football reflexes still came in handy from time to time—then looked over and saw that the person who’d bumped into him wasn’t a man, but a teenaged kid.

The boy’s blue eyes widened, then he swallowed. “Um, sorry. I wasn’t watching where I was going.” He shifted uncomfortably. “Obviously.”

Cade gestured amiably with his cup. “No harm, no foul. Just try to keep it under sixty in the hallways.” Moving on, he made his way through the reception area and into the main office space.

The office was bustling, per usual, with the inner cubicles and desks occupied by secretaries and paralegals. The prosecutors’ offices ran along the perimeter, with the largest corner office belonging to Cade’s boss, Cameron Lynde, the U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Illinois. Cade made a pit stop at his secretary’s desk before heading into his office.

He held open the bag. “Cookie?”

“Yum.” Demi, his secretary, stood up and peeked inside. “Wow. How many did you get?”

“I was in the shop, there were all these good smells, and a cunning salesclerk mentioned something about a sale if I bought a dozen. I didn’t stand a chance.”

Demi looked at him shrewdly. She’d been his secretary during the entire eight years he’d worked for the U.S. Attorney’s Office, and they knew each other well. “You’re in a good mood this afternoon. I take it the hearing went well?”