“Good. What else?”
“We haven’t been able to interview all the witnesses yet. It’s our top priority. As you know, there have been some … obstacles.”
“Yes, I heard the security in this office was breached for the second time. You appear unharmed.”
Bryce wondered if anyone besides Ciara had told him. “I’m fine, but diagnostic tests took most of the day.”
“Dr. Khalil needs his own equipment in his office.”
Bryce controlled his jolt of surprise. But he should have realized Steele would know his doctor’s name. “I came through the ER, not Dr. Khalil’s office. He was required to use their facilities until I was released.”
“These security breaches concern me. A larger bomb could have a devastating effect on my case. I’d like to loan you one of my private security guards.”
Bryce held very still. Steele had no way of knowing who around him was disloyal. But Bryce couldn’t let on he knew, not with Ciara in the room.
“That’s very gracious of you, Mr. Steele, but not necessary.”
“I insist. My freedom is at stake.”
Steele had to know about the Feds. Ciara told him everything. What was he trying to do, get his own man inside federal protection? Steele already had Ciara here.
“My office manager is stopping packages at the door now. Anything even remotely questionable earns a call to the bomb squad. The bomber won’t get to me again.”
“What about at home? That Mercedes was a classic.”
Of course Steele knew about that too. Bryce was cornered, right where Steele wanted him. “Mr. Steele, you know I already have protection.”
Steele steepled his hands in front of him. “It seems a conflict of interest to me to involve the FBI.” His eyes were glacial.
Bryce’s chest tightened. So the local FBI was compromised. He wondered how badly his safety was compromised. “I assure you there’s no conflict.”
“They work for the very government prosecuting me. I don’t want them near my case. I wonder why you felt you needed them.”
Bryce found he had a white-knuckled grip on his pen. It was an order, plain and simple, with Steele’s doubt out in the open. If Steele were sure Bryce was working with the FBI, he’d be dead within a day. However, there was no guarantee he’d survive Steele’s security anyway.
So this was why Adam Steele had made a personal visit. “You’re my client,” Bryce temporized. “I’d never presume to borrow anything from you, including personnel.”
“Now we’ve cleared up that misunderstanding. My security will replace the FBI within the hour.” Steele rose.
Bryce tried to limit his risk. “You’ll handpick someone?” He spoke with an off-handed confidence he didn’t feel.
Steele pierced him with an arctic stare. Bryce wouldn’t back down on this. “All my security is handpicked.”
Bryce didn’t know if that was a yes or not. “Don’t you want to discuss your defense?”
“I pay you to handle that. I know you’ll get me acquitted. I’ll see you in court on Monday.” Steele walked out the door.
Bryce slowly unclenched his muscles. He glanced at Ciara. She was looking at the doorway.
She turned back to him. “Why did you let him replace the FBI?”
“Why do you think I did?”
“He threatened you. You could tell the FBI.”
“How long do you think I’d live if I refused his offer?”
“So you caved.”
“There is no safety in this for me. Instead of sure death, I get to play Russian roulette with my life.”
“Because of Steele’s rival.”
Bryce nodded. “Let’s get the rest of the witnesses interviewed. We need to dispute the racketeering charges.”
Ciara looked like she wanted to say something more, but she rose and strode out the door. That black knit dress did killer things for her figure — the proud thrust of her breasts, her firm tush and those long, long legs. Too bad he didn’t have time to savor her, but the clock was ticking on this case and possibly on his life.
He called Agent Pollack. “It’s Bryce Gannon. I don’t need protection anymore. You can withdraw your agent.”
“What’s happened? I haven’t heard the local cops caught the bomber.”
“No, they didn’t. I’ve got private security now.”
“I don’t understand. Why didn’t you pay for a bodyguard before?”
“It didn’t occur to me.”
“But it has now.”
“I appreciate what you’ve done for me.”
“Just doing our job. What made you think of a bodyguard now anyway?”
Ah, Pollack was suspicious. “Somebody in your office was bound to squeal to Steele.”
“Thanks a lot, Gannon.”
Within the hour a man in his early thirties presented himself in Bryce’s office. He was lean and moved like a big cat. In his eyes was death.
“Compliments of Mr. Steele. I’m Durayev.” With his sandy blonde hair he could have been an all-American man. Except for the brown eyes that were cold like the dirt on a winter grave.
“Have you been with Mr. Steele long?” Bryce asked.
“Seven years.”
Maybe Steele had handpicked this man. “I’ll probably be here in my office all day.”
“I’ll be around.”
Minutes later Pollack called. “What the hell are you playing at, Gannon? Agent West said Adam Steele showed up and then you called me to pull the detail. It’s his security, isn’t it?”
“It’s interesting how much of what
you
do is common knowledge,” Bryce hinted to the agent.
There was a telling silence. “Are you saying we have a leak?”
“I hope my new security reports only to me.”
“I hope your new security reports only to Steele,” Pollack said. “You’re taking a big risk.”
“I’d say the odds were fifty-fifty. Are yours better or worse?”
“Bastard. I hope you survive this thing.”
“Me too.”
Pollack’s tone changed. “You need anything?”
“Will a flak jacket protect me from a bullet to the head?”
“No.” Pollack actually sounded sympathetic.
“Then I guess I don’t need anything. Thanks, Agent Pollack.”
“Call if you change your mind.”
“I won’t.”
After Bryce hung up, he felt abandoned. Now there was just him and the professional killer, who might or might not plan to kill him.
Oh, and Steele’s beautiful spy.
“The case against Adam Stele is falling apart,” Ciara told Baisden when she reported in later that afternoon. She sat in her car with the windows rolled down to let the summer heat escape.
“Witnesses are recanting. One left town without a forwarding address. I interviewed one witness myself who has no first-hand knowledge of Steele’s racketeering activities. With Bryce’s track record he might be able to get Steele acquitted if the government fails to prove at least two counts.”
“Ciara, you know in any case against an alleged mobster witnesses will become afraid of testifying the closer the court date gets. And I’m sure Steele is threatening the witnesses.”
Her free hand fisted. “It’s not right that I’m helping ruin the government’s case.”
“You think Gannon would leave any stone unturned if you weren’t there?”
“No, but I doubt he’d have covered as much ground as I have as quickly as I have. He’s not operating at a hundred percent. If it was just him, he’d be scrambling right up to court next week.”
“Ciara, be realistic. Gannon would have used his staff to do the legwork you’re doing. He’s the show, not a roadie.”
“I’m better than his staff,” she argued.
“That may be true, but he still would have gotten the interviews. The U.S. Attorney should have built a better case.”
“I met Adam Steele today.” Ciara told Baisden all about the visit.
“So you witnessed no illegal activity.”
She took a swallow of her bottled water. “No. My presence might have restrained both men.”
“It was worth a try. Keep your ears open. Have you finished your assessment of Gannon yet?”
“No. He keeps his secrets to himself. And after the confrontation with Steele over security I’m not sure about their relationship. They’re both cold, calculating men. It was like watching the clash of the Titans, even though Steele is more powerful.”
“Do you believe Gannon is in danger?”
Ciara sighed. “Yes. But I don’t think we can do anything about it.”
“Then be careful. I don’t want you caught in the crossfire.”
Ciara agreed. “Will do.”
“Only a few more days until the trial starts.”
If Bryce survived.
“And then you can come home. You’ve done well so far, Ciara.”
But after she hung up, she felt like she was failing everyone — the people, the AG, her family … and Bryce. When had she begun to feel she and Bryce were a team? He challenged her on a professional and personal level, yet she felt equal to him. She’d never felt that way before. It was a good thing she’d be going back home soon.
She had to tell Bryce what she’d learned. After calling to make sure he hadn’t left the office, she fought freeway traffic to get there. The closer she got, the more nerves fluttered in her stomach.
The first thing she saw when she entered the lobby was the man with the light brown hair. He looked up when she opened the door and speared her with a quick head-to-toe assessment. That alone would have set off all her internal alarms, but his arctic, dead eyes had her wanting to run for safety.
Ciara glanced at the receptionist.
“Welcome back, Ciara,” the young woman piped in a too-bright voice.
Ciara noted the man stopped staring at her. This had to be Steele’s security.
She halted at the reception desk. “Any messages, Aimee?”
“No.”
Ciara lowered her voice, although she wondered if the man had acute hearing. “Who is that?”
“Mr. Steele sent him to protect Mr. Gannon. He makes me nervous.” Aimee darted a quick glance at the man.
He made Ciara nervous too. “Just keep in mind that as long as he’s here, Mr. Gannon is safe.” She hoped.
“I’m trying.”
Ciara walked down the hall to Bryce’s office and knocked on the doorframe.
Bryce looked up from his stacks of books and papers and signaled her in. He’d taken off his suit jacket, leaving him in his bright white shirt. She could see the inhaler in his pocket and was surprised he’d let it show at work.
“You were gone a long time.” He didn’t hide the question implied in the statement.
Ciara set her briefcase in a chair and pulled out papers. “I saw four witnesses and spent several hours trying to track down several more. One skipped town.” She sorted the papers and handed him the witness’s dossier. “His landlord said he moved out. His employer said he quit.”
Bryce looked at the paper and jotted notes on his legal pad.
“These two witnesses recanted.” She handed him the pages.
“Recanted?” His golden brows lifted.
“Yes. They didn’t witness any illegal activity and they don’t want to testify.
“Here are the other statements. I’m afraid those witnesses confirmed their earlier depositions.” She handed those to him.
“But we’re in better shape than we were this morning.”
“I thought you’d be pleased.”
“I am. Good work. If you plan to stay late, I’ll order in something for us to eat.”
“Thanks, Bryce, but I can’t stay tonight. I have something personal I need to do.” She had the divorce papers in her briefcase.
“Oh, that’s okay.”
“Did you need me to work late?”
“No. I would have been happy for the company.”
A little thrill ran through her. “I wish I could. I could take some things home with me and work on them later.”
“No. I don’t want the case spread out in too many places.”
She didn’t think he’d told her the truth, but she didn’t know why he’d lie about it either. “Then I’ll see you tomorrow morning. You should go home to work. That way you can relax a little.”
“I’m perfectly comfortable here.”
“It won’t be long until it’s just you and Steele’s security in the office. How comfortable will you be then?”
“If he’s going to kill me, he won’t care where.”
“Then if you turn up dead tomorrow, we’ll know who did it.”
“Steele’s hit man. What a perfect setup to take Steele down.”
“You should have stuck with the Feds.”
“I couldn’t. You know that better than anyone.”
Ciara didn’t want Bryce dead, but no argument of hers would sway him. This fatalism seemed out of character to the man who’d cheated death and worked from his hospital bed. She knew some people suffered depression after a near-fatal trauma. Maybe that was Bryce’s case.
She studied him. He didn’t seem depressed. He studied her in return, calm and detached, in control of his domain. No, she didn’t have to worry about that with him.
“Did you find what you were looking for?” he asked.
“I think so.”
His lips quirked in a smile. “Good. Save that thought for tomorrow night’s dancing.”
Unable to speak as awareness prickled her skin and sped her pulse rate, Ciara nodded and escaped.
• • •
When she left, Ciara drained the light from the room and Bryce felt let down. Since this morning he’d been looking forward to sharing dinner with her. Damn, what sort of personal life did she have in town? Did she have a date with the man from the picnic after all? Bryce’s hands fisted around his pencil.
He was sure if it had been a family thing Ciara would have said so. Was she meeting Steele? God, he couldn’t stand the thought of the two of them together. His muscles tightened in protest and the pencil snapped.
Bryce threw the pieces away and thought about the case instead. He’d expected witnesses to recant. But with the discredited testimony and the witness skipping town, as Ciara said, Steele’s case was looking like a winner. Bryce couldn’t let that happen. If Steele were set free, he’d haunt Bryce’s life forever.
Ciara would report Bryce’s successful movements and thus keep Steele from sensing Bryce’s true intentions until too late. He only needed some privacy to find the answers, and to survive until the trial.
After his staff left, Bryce packed up his briefcase and sought out Durayev. “I’m heading home.”
“I’ll make sure the way is clear.”
Bryce waited while his bodyguard checked the hall, then he locked the office and set the security system. Durayev walked him to his car, where the bodyguard dropped to his knee and checked under Bryce’s rented Audi sedan. Bryce’s neck and back itched, like he had a big target painted on him. He wiped clammy palms on his slacks. He glanced around, but saw no snipers and no mad bombers. Damn, he hated this.