Desperate Girls (Wolfe Security #1)(53)

Mark looked at his brother.

“With all due respect,” Liam said. “It seems like you’re not getting the gravity of the situation here.”

“Actually, I am.” She gave a thin smile. “I’m definitely getting it. Because in exactly”—she checked her watch again—“six minutes, I have to be in a courtroom to defend an innocent teenager who stands to spend his life in prison for something he didn’t do. What happens this week will affect his entire future, as well as the lives of his family members. And every day of his trial, I’ve been distracted by threats from a homicidal maniac who has somehow eluded every cop in the state.” She glanced at Lindsey, then Liam. “So yes, I’m fully aware of the gravity of the situation and the consequences if any one of us here fails to do our job.”

She stood and looked at Mark. “Thank you for coming and for sharing your analysis with us.” Then she looked at Erik, who was already on his feet. “Could we get back now? The last thing our client needs today is the judge finding his lawyers in contempt of court.”

Erik had no trouble keeping up with her long strides as she navigated the crowded hallways back to the courtroom.

Brynn was shaken, and despite her glib comments and casual shrugs, Erik could see the truth. He’d learned to read her. He’d picked up on all her little tells—the tap of her fingers, the twitch of her mouth. She tried to appear confident, but Erik could see she was scared.

He wanted to pull her out of the traffic flow and tell her that yes, the danger to her was very real, but he’d protect her.

And what would that get him? Probably an angry shove and a thorough tongue-lashing.

She sliced through the crowd, glancing at him as they neared the courtroom. “What?”

He said nothing.

She looked back at Ross. “Come on.”

Erik paused beside the door and caught her arm. “Shake it off, Brynn. You’re ready. You’ve got this.”

She gave him a puzzled look. “How would you know?”

“Because I do.”





THE AFTERNOON was a marathon, and by the time Linden dismissed everyone, Brynn was tapped. Erik had disappeared somewhere, so Jeremy accompanied both her and Ross down to the prisoner bay, where the SUVs were waiting.

Erik was behind the wheel of the Tahoe. He got out and reached for Brynn’s door as Ross and Jeremy slid into the Expedition.

“Just you?” she asked him.

“That’s right.”

“I’d rather ride up front, then.”

She walked around to the other side and stashed her attaché case on the floor. Erik wasted no time getting them moving and navigating the congested route out of the parking garage. Brynn kicked off her heels and leaned her head back against the seat. Her feet were screaming, and her shoulders were in knots. She was craving a cold margarita or a hot bubble bath.

Or a massage from someone with strong hands. She glanced at Erik’s on the steering wheel and sighed.

“Rough afternoon?”

“Horrible,” she said. “The state rested its case.”

“Already?”

“I should have seen it coming. I knew they were haystacking us—”

“Haystacking?”

“Putting so many names on the witness list. We didn’t know who they were going to call, but we knew they couldn’t possibly call everybody. The prosecutor made a clever move by calling only a handful of people so he could wrap up on a Friday, which means jurors have the entire weekend to ponder his case against Justin before the defense has a chance to put anyone on the stand.”

“Sounds bad.”

“It is. And today was Conlon’s best day. This afternoon, he put up evidence of gunshot residue on Justin’s hands and trace amounts of the victim’s DNA on Justin’s shirt.”

“I thought it was a drive-by?”

“Not exactly.” She closed her eyes and squeezed the bridge of her nose. “It was a drug deal gone wrong. The victim was standing right beside the car when he got shot, so it happened at very close range, hence the blood—according to Conlon. The bottom line? It’s not looking good for Justin.”

It was an understatement. In truth, it looked dismal. Because of Conlon’s slick timing, the jury was going to spend the entire weekend mulling the evidence of Justin’s guilt.

Feeling deflated, Brynn stared out the window at the sidewalk crowded with evening pedestrians. Downtown cleared out early on Friday afternoons, but people drove in, too, for the nightlife.

Erik cleared his throat. “So. I had an idea.”

“What?”

“You up for a run?”

“A run?”

“Yeah, I was thinking you might want to blow off some steam, and we could go jogging. I know a nice outdoor track in a secure area.”

Her eyebrows shot up with surprise. “Outdoor?”

“Yeah. With birds and trees and fresh air,” he said, parroting her words from Sunday. “You up for it?”

“Um, yeah, but I don’t have any clothes with me.”

“I grabbed your workout gear from the chair in your bedroom.”

He’d gone all the way back to the apartment? Now she really couldn’t say no. Plus, she was sick to death of being cooped up. It was making her stir-crazy. She looked over her shoulder at the back seat, and sure enough, there was a shopping bag she recognized, alongside a duffel that probably belonged to him.