Page 20 of Out of Control

I picked up my glass of sweet tea, feigning a calm I didn’t feel. “Oh yeah? What is it you think you found?”

“I found your mother.”

My breath hitched for a moment, but I forced it out again. “She’s not that hard to find. Her headstone tells you exactly where she is at all times these days.”

“Your mother was an accountant for Carlo Morelli.”

“You keep talking about these Morelli people. I don’t know who they are or what they have to do with me.”

Blake continued as if I didn’t say anything. “Your mom was an accountant to the mafia before she died. You’re a criminal defense lawyer. You both did work for the bad guys. You, especially, are known for bending the rules and getting your guys off on a technicality.”

I wanted to roll my eyes. That’s whatalldefense lawyers did. I just happened to be better at it than others.

“I don’t ‘work for’ bad guys. I offer constitutionally protected legal assistance to people. Everyone, no matter theircrime, has a right to an attorney, and it’s my job to make sure that the system processes everything correctly. If some cop made a mistake and misplaced evidence, that’s not on me.”

“Misplaced evidence?” he asked sharply.

“Or forgot to Mirandize my clients, or interviewed a minor without parental consent or a child advocate present or a million other reasons. Whatever. It’s not my fault that you ‘good guys’—” I used air quotes around his stupid lingo “—don’t always have your shit together. That’s your problem, not mine.”

He glared, but I glared right back.

“But don’t you dare try to say anything against my mom. You didn’t know her. You have no right to judge her.”

“Evidence speaks for itself, Ms. Kane,” he spat, saying my name like it was a curse.

“The evidence, huh? Any of that evidence get misplaced recently?” He looked like he was going to explode, so I figured I read his discomfort at my words correctly. “You guys must not be very bright if you can’t even keep your evidence lockers safe. How are you going to convict…What did you say the name was again? The Morellis? Your little mob family? How are you going to convict them if you can’t even—”

Blake abruptly pushed out of the booth, cutting me off with a rough grunt. Hopefully Mary wouldn’t be offended that he didn’t even touch his food.

“I’m leaving. You enjoy the rest of your day.”

“Admitting defeat so quickly? I thought you liked sparring with me. I guess you can dish it out, but you can’t take it!” I called, getting up and following him to the door. We werecausing a scene, but at least there weren’t too many customers around.

“I’m doing you a favor, Ms. Kane. I’m leaving before you can say anything to implicate yourself.”

I scoffed, catching the door before it could slam closed behind him and following him outside. “Implicate myself in what?”

“Obstruction of justice. Tampering with evidence. Colluding with known felons. Racketeering. You name it,” he practically spat. He turned and took a step away, but whipped back around when I followed, yelling back at him.

“You can’t be serious. I’ve been in town for a couple weeks. When would I have had the chance to do any of that?”

He stepped closer and the way he towered over me made me aware of his height in a way I hadn’t been yesterday. I wasn’t scared of his much bigger frame, but I definitely felt how much taller he was than me when I wasn’t wearing three-inch work heels.

“You tell me. Or don’t. But I suggest you get yourself a lawyer.” Whether he was trying to intimidate me with his size or not, it just made me angrier. I took another step forward to show that I wasn’t a person who backed down or backed away.

“I am a lawyer,” I said, punctuating each word with a harsh poke to his chest. His stupid, firm chest.

“Then you should know better than to hide things from me,” he countered, grabbing my finger in his hand. “It’ll all come back to bite you in the ass when this all goes to trial.”

I felt a burn on my lips as I remembered what happened the last time we stood this close. I could see the flecks of green in his fierce eyes, feel the heat coming off his skin.

We weren’t pushed up against a wall this time. We were standing out in the open. There was no building forcing me to stay near to him when he leaned his body closer to mine. I had the ability to walk away, or even just push him away again if I wanted to. He would listen. He did last time.

His eyes flicked down to my lips and back up. He remembered it, too, but he couldn’t possibly think I wouldn’t push him away again.

The last kiss was an accident. I wouldn’t even really call it a kiss.

He wouldn’t think I’d react favorably after everything he accused me of. I saw his tongue peak out to lick his lips—just like yesterday—before darting back into his mouth. I wet my own lips in response. I couldn’t help it, even if I did NOT want to kiss him back. It was instinctual. My mind hated him more every minute I spent with him, but my horny-bitch side wanted me to taste his lips, too.

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