Just Evil (42 page)

“Yeah. And there’s history there.” He went into a brief
explanation about Collin’s behavior in the past. When he saw the skeptical look
on Holloway’s face, he said, “Check it out, if you don’t believe me. She’s
called the police on him twice.”

“I’m sure you’re aware the Boyd, Geller, and Gatz families
are very powerful, not just in this city but the entire state. I need to make
certain that this accusation isn’t motivated by some vendetta you two have
cooked up to get back at the Boyd family for whatever reason.”

Red fury ran through Jake like a swift current. He inched
further into Holloway’s space. “Do your job, Detective, that’s all I’m asking.
For once, stop thinking about the political power the family wields and go
after the bad guys.” With that, he turned on his heels and went back inside
Kit’s room.

When Kit looked up and saw he was alone, a smile brightened
her bruised face, and she asked, “Where’s Holloway?”

“Gone.”

“You got rid of him?”

He wiggled his eyebrows up and down and then grinned at her.
“Sure, was there ever any doubt?”

Oh God, but she loved this man. The drugs made her blurt
out, “My hero. I dreamed last night you told me you loved me.”

Gently, he sat back down on the bed, putting both of his
hands down on opposite sides of her pillows. Leaning over her, inches from her
mouth, he whispered, “It was no dream.”

Kit swallowed hard. Dry mouth took over. The drugs were
coursing through her veins. This really was a fantasy. She was dreaming again. That
had to be it. She’d play along. “Okay. So if you really feel that way, I’m
awake now. Say it again.”

“I love you, Kit.”

How long had she waited to hear him say that? It seemed like
forever. As if absorbing the shock of it, all she could say was, “No one’s ever
told me that before.”

“You know, I may be relatively new at this, but when I tell
you I love you, I’m pretty sure there’s something you’re supposed to say back
to me.”

“Well. Geez.” She threw her one good left arm around his
neck, drew his mouth down to hers, and planted a sloppy kiss on his mouth. When
she pulled back, she told him, “I thought you knew already. I love you. I’m
pretty sure I’ve loved you since I was fourteen.”

He kissed her mouth, lingered there, and then rested his
forehead on hers. “That thing at fourteen was a crush. I hope you aren’t going
to tell me you still feel like that.”

“It’s the real thing, all right. You don’t think I could
have fallen in love with you at fourteen?”

“Not a chance.” He had so much love stored up for her that
it scared him. His head was telling him to take a step back, but his heart was
saying go for it. And since he’d never felt this way before, he decided to
follow his heart straight over the falls. His mind had wandered and he realized
she was talking.

“Why? Because I was too immature to know my own mind or
because you were such an arrogant ass back then?” Seeing the surprised look on
his face, she laughed. “Well, you were an ass; don’t even try to argue the
point.”

 “Arrogant? Maybe. An ass? Never.” He grinned. “That was a
long time ago though. I’ve never felt this way about anyone before.
This…it’s…scary.”

“Scary? Now that’s what every woman wants to hear when she’s
come out of a mini-coma. Scary isn’t very romantic.” She giggled. “Next, you’ll
be telling me that maybe there’s an antidote out there somewhere and you’re
leaving on a crusade to find it.”

She’d no sooner spoken when she saw the hurt look in his
eyes. She tried to lighten the mood. “It’s the drugs. They’re making me say
things I normally wouldn’t say, think crazy thoughts.”

“I admit your being in the hospital isn’t exactly the ideal
time to tell you for the first time I’m in love with you. I should have said it
sooner.”

“You’re sure what you’re feeling is love then and not pity?”

“Are you sure what you’re feeling isn’t the drugs talking?”

“Okay, fair question. I’m a little loopy, but I’m in love
with you right back. We’re in love with each other. I like the sound of that.”

Just then, the door to Kit’s room opened and a man walked in
that Kit had never seen before. Great. Just what they needed was another cop to
drag this special moment down into a deep abyss. But Jake calmly looked over at
the man who was dressed in an Oxford shirt and dress pants on a Sunday
afternoon and said, “Took you long enough.”

Reese wasn’t comfortable watching his friend hover over the
blonde. In spite of the purple bruises and the bandaged look, it didn’t take a
blind man to see how attractive she was, and how, according to Dylan, Jake had
taken the fall―again.

What was it about a beautiful woman with a great
looking-body that turned a smart, successful man into a blithering idiot who
couldn’t or wouldn’t protect his own interests? Reese didn’t trust the woman.
And now it seemed she was days away from being arrested for murdering her own
mother. In Reese’s estimation, Jake had taken a giant step down from the
gold-digging Claire. Reese wanted nothing more than to keep his distance while
at the same time inject Jake with a little common sense serum, make him see what
she was really after…his money. But at some point today things had changed.
Reese found himself getting pulled into the middle of the fray by an old
nemesis. He was less than pleased with the turn of events.

Kit noticed the man looked slightly annoyed and seemed
tense, but what came out of his mouth alarmed her.

“Apparently, I came by to meet my new client. Maybe I should
tell you about my very interesting morning. First, Dylan called, said I might
want to stop by, talk about you putting Jordan Donovan to work. Then I was just
pulling into the hospital parking lot when I got a call from a very pissed off
Max St. John not five minutes ago wanting to set up an interview the moment
Kit’s well enough to leave the hospital. He figures if she’s well enough to go
home, she’s well enough to talk to the police. Officially. I had to wing my
response, which of course was not only clever but brilliant. I didn’t have a
clue what he was talking about. But since I’m the best damn criminal lawyer in
southern California, I told him I had everything under control.”

As he watched Jake plant a kiss on Kit’s bruised lips, he
added, “When you’re done with her mouth there, Jake, I need to confer with my
client.”

“Meet Reese Brennan, your lawyer.”

At the news, Kit’s face lost all color…again. “I need a
lawyer? Oh my God, they do plan to arrest me.”

“Not if I have anything to do with it,” Reese said
emphatically. And he meant it. He might not trust Kit Griffin, but he disliked
the bulldog detective Max St. John ten times more. After Reese had spent two
years sparring with St. John over Jake’s troubles, when Jake had called
earlier, he’d thrown down a brand new gauntlet of sorts. Reese had no intention
of walking away from a fight.

“That’s why I’m here. That’s why…St. John…” But Quinn
entering the room had Reese completely distracted.

In mid-sentence, his preplanned speech derailed as he gaped
at the exotic resident doctor he’d seen only briefly last night.

The woman had an athletic body, long black hair, and the
biggest brown eyes he’d ever seen. He stared at her as if he’d been on a desert
island for a year and she was the only available sustenance. He had trouble
speaking and actually stammered, “…uh…uh…”

“Just wanted to check on you before I start my shift,” Quinn
said, as she came all the way into the room. The moment she realized Kit was
upset, her gaze landed on the man who couldn’t finish a thought. Immediately
giving him a sharp look, she asked accusingly, “What did you do to upset her?”

He found he could speak after all. “Me? Not a thing. I’m
here to save the day. We haven’t met. I’m Reese Brennan, Kit’s attorney.”
Impeccable manners had him holding out his hand to the resident in polite
introductory fashion.

All Quinn heard was that he was Kit’s attorney. At the news,
her eyes went wide. Ignoring the outstretched hand of the attorney, Quinn
automatically grabbed hold of Kit’s.

Confused about what was happening, she turned to Jake. “Why
does she need a lawyer? Collin tries to kill her with a car and she’s the one
who needs a lawyer. That’s bullshit.”

“Holloway was here. They still won’t come off the idea that
she killed Alana.”

 “When I inherit her money, I’m their best bet, Quinn. I’m
the most likely suspect.” Kit said.

Quinn turned icy eyes on the lawyer. “What are you going to
do about this? You can’t just let them arrest an innocent person. She had
nothing to do with Alana’s death. If you can’t make them understand that, then
you aren’t much good to us, are you?”

She let go of Kit’s hand long enough to poke Reese’s chest.
“She didn’t murder Alana. If you’re any good, you need to hire an investigator,
dig into Alana’s past, and keep Kit the fuck out of jail.”

For an instant, the passion he saw in those chocolate brown
eyes had him wanting to make promises he might have trouble keeping if St. John
had his way. One thing a criminal lawyer learns early on is not to make
promises he might not be able to keep. Instead of promising her anything, Reese
simply said, “I’ll do everything within my power to keep her out of jail. But
St. John wants an interview the minute she’s released.”

But Quinn demanded more. “Are you any good?”

Reese wasn’t insulted, but took the question as an
opportunity to tout his own abilities. “They never arrested Jake, now did
they?”

Puzzled, Quinn looked down at Kit. “Why would they want to
arrest Jake?”

Kit’s head wanted to explode. She suddenly felt tired and
looked into Jake’s eyes, found the go-ahead to tell Quinn about Claire. If
Quinn needed to hear about Jake’s troubled past, Kit thought it might sound
better coming from her. So she went into a brief account, telling Jake’s story
for him.

When she’d finished, it sounded to Quinn as if the two were
mirrored bookends. Having watched Kit over the past two weeks struggle with
being a murder suspect, Quinn looked at Jake now with newfound respect.

And an idea blossomed.

Turning to Reese, Quinn suggested, “So if St. John wants an
interview whenever she leaves the hospital, what say we arrange to keep her a
few extra days until we can prep her, get her ready for the best damned
interview of her life?”

Jake stood up a little straighter. “You mean keep her in the
hospital until she’s stronger, more confident, and ready to face St. John on
our terms. That’s not half bad, Quinn.”

“In the meantime, we start with a strategy session here and
now, today. We’ve got the lawyer here and who knows when that will happen
again.” Quinn gave Reese a disgusted look that said she didn’t care much for
his profession, glanced at her watch, and said, “I have to go on the clock in
thirty. You’ve got me for half an hour before I have to be in the ER. After
that, you can page me and I’ll come up on a need-to basis. If we don’t finish
today then we set up another round for tomorrow and the next day.”

She smiled at Kit. “It’ll be just like cramming for an exam.
I’ll call Baylee; get her on board with the plan.”

To Jake, she reminded him, “We’ve been there with her
through most of it. We’ll get Kit in top form so she’ll be ready to go one-on-one
with this St. John guy.”

Quinn turned to Kit and softened. “I know you’re reluctant
to tell the police everything, but girl, it’s time to kick a little ass here.
You have to set this St. John straight about all of it. If you can’t do it
alone, then Baylee and I will insist on being with you during the interview,
verify everything just the way we did with Dr. Strasburg.”

Upbeat now for the first time since walking through the
door, Quinn added, “Dr. Strasburg would be another good source, a go-to guy for
the defense if it comes to that. He’ll be more than willing to testify on Kit’s
behalf.”

Kit laughed, feeling somewhat better about her situation.
“Guys, meet Super Quinn. Hard to believe she gets her degree in three years,
goes to med school, graduates with honors, and now, she’s the newest resident
at the ripe old age of twenty-five.” 

“Twenty-five?” Reese looked stupefied.

Ignoring the interest she saw in his eyes, Quinn gave the
lawyer a go-to-hell look she’d honed over the years to ward off all comers.

Jake, on the other hand, wasn’t so forgiving after Reese’s
comments yesterday. He’d watched Reese become a blithering idiot the minute
Quinn had walked into the room, so he went around the bed, slapped Reese on the
back, whispered in his ear, “Don’t even think about it old man, she’s clearly
way too young for you, don’t you think?”

Reese’s response was an elbow shot to Jake’s ribs, which he
managed to dodge like a boxer. The minor scuffle caused raised eyebrows from
the women, a purely female reaction that said there was too much testosterone
floating around the room. 

Reese continued. “Well, I’d hoped this initial meeting would
be a bit more private, but I can see that isn’t going to happen. The truth is
we’ll make more progress when everything’s out in the open anyway. And the more
I know, the better I can serve my client. I have a ton of questions, though, so
let’s get started.”

Over the next three hours, Reese wasn’t sure what he’d
expected Kit to say, but he certainly hadn’t expected to hear the story she
told about her childhood. All the jokes they’d cracked in the attic the day
before about the porn queen didn’t come close to portraying Alana Stevens as a
mother. At times Reese had trouble keeping up, but with Quinn backing up Kit’s
story whenever necessary from the third grade on, Reese sat there appalled by
what he heard.

And when Quinn had to leave to start her shift, whenever Kit
needed help remembering some essential detail there was Baylee Scott, the
petite brunette with the baby from last night, picking up the narrative and was
able to go even further back than Quinn to when Kit was age five, providing
more confirmation.