His eyes narrow, apprehension in their depths. “A, Pri. I’m option A.”
“Then A,” I say. “I choose option A. And can you kiss me already?”
He drags me down to the bed and settles me under him, the delicious weight of him on top of me, his mouth closing down on mine. And for just a little while, with rain pelting the windows, we escape, just me and him. And there is a shift between us, a passion that is deeper, richer, warmer in ways that have nothing to do with our naked bodies. We’ve made a commitment to each other and no one, not even the Devil himself, can take that from us. We won’t let him.
Chapter Thirty-Nine
PRI
Adrian and I shower and dress, and with a limited wardrobe, I end up once again in black jeans and a black T-shirt, but they are at least clean. Adrian dresses in distressed jeans, and a blue AC/DC T-shirt, paired with boots, and he’s freshly shaved, aside from his neatly trimmed goatee. He looks good, relaxed even, but his mood is somehow a mix of light and dark. And I get it. He’s unburdened after our talk last night to some degree, but he’s still on edge, and how can he not be? We’re in a bubble, in his apartment, but nothing has changed in the outside world. We are still hunted.
And as much as I disagree with freeing Waters so Adrian can kill him, more and more I understand that Waters is not even slightly under control. And more and more, I realize that I don’t have an answer to fix that problem.
Adrian and I have breakfast delivered as his kitchen is not stocked, at least not with perishable items, and we choose egg-white omelets and fruit. We settle into comfortable conversation, and he tells me all about designing the apartment. We’re almost done with our meal when my cellphone rings with Ed’s number on the caller ID. I show the screen to Adrian. “I need to take this. He called once before and he’s still my boss when this is over. Maybe. I don’t know. He’s my boss.”
I answer the call, “Hi Ed,” as Adrian pushes to his feet, grabbing the coffee pot to refill our cups.
“Do you have a slug of whiskey handy?” Ed asks. “Because you’re going to need one.”
“Oh God,” I say, glancing at Adrian as he fills my cup with cream and arches a brow, as I add, “That doesn’t sound good.”
“It’s not,” Ed says. “I was served papers today in the Austin office. I had one of the staff open the envelope and fax me the contents of the documents. Your father’s firm is suing our office for fraudulent activity on all of Ian Shelton’s cases. In other words, any charges filed by Ian will be in question.”
“Oh my God,” I say and I can feel the blood drain from my cheeks, and at this point, Adrian is sitting next to me, watching me, concern in his face. And the concern is appropriate. We all need to be concerned right now because Ian was the ADA who was in charge of the Waters case before he left and I took over. “Tell me the lawsuit has no merit,” I say. “Please tell me it has no merit, Ed.”
“I’m looking at the documents supplied with the filing,” he says grimly. “It doesn’t look good, Pri. I believe we’re in trouble. If Waters’ defense takes this to the judge—”
“You think he’ll dismiss the case? I’m back to please say no.”
“He won’t have a choice,” Ed argues. “I’m flying back to Texas to face this. I’m already on a plane.”
I frown. “Did Walker approve you traveling?”
Adrian nods and holds up his phone, clearly being updated by text as I am by phone.
“What if this is a ploy to get you out in the open, Ed? To kill you?”
Adrian gives me a look that says he agrees.
Ed, however, blows off the worry. “Walker is escorting me,” he assures me, “but I can’t stress enough that my actions are necessary. As I said, I saw the documents. This is the real deal. And for the record, it sucks that your father is behind it. This is the end of me. There’s no question about it.”
I swallow hard, hating that my father did this. Hating that I can’t even call it wrong. I mean, his job is to protect his clients. If the documents are legit, then Ian is the one who did everyone dirty. “I don’t know what to say right now,” I murmur.
“What is there to say?” Ed asks. “Nothing. We’re fucked. I’ve got to go, but don’t be surprised if you hear from the judge. Call me if you talk to him before I do.”
“Should we call him and give him a heads up?”