Desperate Girls (Wolfe Security #1)(73)

“We’re all set up. They adjusted the cameras so they’ve got some angles on the street now.” He glanced down the hallway, then back at Skyler. She wore jeans and a black Wolfe Sec shirt. Her clothes looked fresh, but her eyes were tired and bloodshot. Since Ross’s attack, she’d been demoted to tech duty, but she was keeping a stiff upper lip about it and had thrown herself into the task of improving their surveillance capabilities.

“Anything going on here?” Erik asked.

“She swam laps upstairs, then took a shower.”

He heard Brynn’s voice in the bedroom.

“Who’s she talking to?” he asked.

“Reggie.”

“In her bedroom?”

“On the phone.”

Erik stepped past her and opened the refrigerator. He surveyed the contents, wishing he could grab a Coke for a jolt of caffeine. But he’d already blown his toughest rule, so the least he could do was stick to the easy ones. He grabbed a water, and when he turned around, Skyler was watching him with a concerned look.

“What?”

She cast a glance at Keith and lowered her voice. “Are you keeping your eye on the ball, Erik?”

“Yes. Why?” He swigged his drink.

“I’m worried about you.”

“Don’t be. How’d it go at the hospital? How’s Ross?”

“Good,” she said, not sounding convinced. “At least, that’s what the doctors say. Personally, I think he looks terrible.” She shook her head.

Erik didn’t bother trying to persuade her this wasn’t her fault. She wouldn’t believe him, just as he wouldn’t believe her if anything happened to Brynn.

“You’re here until midnight?” Skyler asked.

“Yeah. Brynn said she had some trial work to do and wanted to order dinner.”

“Oh, yeah? You better talk to her about that, because I think she’s getting ready to go out.”

Erik glanced down the hall. Brynn was still on the phone, but the door was open, so he figured she’d at least be dressed.

He went into her bedroom—the room he’d been in just before dawn today. All the lights were on now, and the room smelled like Brynn right after a shower.

She stood in front of the bathroom mirror, fully dressed, hair in soft waves around her shoulders. She had a mascara brush in her hand and her cell phone perched on the counter.

“Can we prove who bought the plane ticket?” she was asking. She caught Erik’s eye and didn’t seem surprised to see him there. He walked over and leaned against the doorframe.

“Bulldog’s working on it,” Reggie said over the phone.

“Because I’d really love to nail the guy.”

“I’ll let you know.”

Brynn looked Erik up and down, and something in her expression made his pulse pick up. Or maybe it was her clothes. She was in jeans and a tight black T-shirt. No heels, just bare feet.

“But Perez isn’t the reason I’m calling, Brynn.”

“What is?” She leaned closer to the mirror and did her thing with the mascara.

“I hear that Judge Linden knew Jen. Under the circumstances, you could probably persuade him to give you a two-day recess.”

“Why?”

“Why? Because one of the defendant’s lawyers is in the hospital, and the other one’s under threat of assassination.”

Brynn leaned back and surveyed her reflection. “I don’t want a recess. I’m ready now.”

“You’re a nervous wreck.”

“Bullshit. I’m ready, Reggie.”

“If you’re not nervous, you should be. I would be, if I were in your shoes.”

“Well, you’re not me.”

Erik sipped his water, enjoying the debate.

“I’m not asking for a recess,” Brynn told him. “My client’s been rotting in jail for five months.”

“He’ll be rotting a lot longer if you drop the ball this week.”

She reached for Erik’s water and took a swig. “Who’s dropping the ball? Our star witness is here and ready to testify, thanks to Bulldog. I’ve got a world-renowned forensics expert who just flew down from New York. Momentum is shifting, Reggie, and I’m ready to do this. I don’t want delays. I want to defend my client and get him his life back.”

“Momentum helps, but it won’t get you all the way there.”

She handed back the water bottle. “Reggie, come on. We both know this case reeks. It’s rotten to the core. Even Conlon knows it. He realizes he could lose.”

“You’re under stress, Brynn. Which means you may not be seeing this clearly.”

“No, I am. I’ve seen the jurors, and you haven’t. They don’t like Conlon. He’s coming off as smarmy and overconfident. They think he’s a snake-oil salesman, and they’re waiting for me to prove them right. These jurors are looking for reasonable doubt, and I’m going to give it to them.”

Reggie didn’t respond. Brynn looked at the phone. Then she looked at Erik.

“Reggie?”

“I’m here. It’s your call, but you know where I stand.”

“Thank you.”

“Call me tomorrow.”