Releasing the breath she’d been holding, Landis stepped away from the two men, her head spinning. She thought of the brief she’d drafted and realized everything Jack had told her was plausible. She felt betrayed. By her own heart. By the brother she’d loved. And now by the system upon which she’d based her career.
“If you believe Evan’s bank records will reopen your case, why didn’t you just wait until your appeal came up?” she asked.
“The retrial isn’t even on the docket. It could be months from now,” Jack said. “Someone already tried to put an ice pick between my ribs. The corrections officers weren’t too concerned.” He shrugged. “Sooner or later, one of Duke’s thugs would have gotten me. He’s got people in the prison system. Even incarcerated, he knew I could make trouble for him.”
The thought of Jack dying in prison for a crime he hadn’t committed shook her with unexpected force. She grappled for the cool distance of the lawyer she was. But it was the woman who felt the pain.
“Look,” Jack began, “I’m not going to waste any more of my life waiting for some lawyer or judge or jury to decide my fate. I’m innocent, Landis. If anyone can find the evidence to support the truth, it’s me. I’m a cop. I know what to do. I’ve got contacts. I’ve sure as hell got the most at stake.”
She didn’t want to believe any of it. But a traitorous part of her heart jumped with a hope she didn’t want to define. “You’re going to get yourself killed,” she said.
“That’s a risk I’m willing to take.”
Landis looked deeply into his eyes, searched his gaze. For what she wasn’t sure. He stared back at her, his eyes clear and filled with a hard determination. God, how could he look at her like that and not be telling the truth?
Suddenly overwhelmed by the weight of the question, frightened by the terrible new suspicions roiling inside her, Landis stepped away from him. “I think you should leave now. Both of you.” She looked away, unable to maintain eye contact. She wasn’t sure what her eyes would reveal. Uncertainty. Regret. There were so many feelings battling inside her she felt as if she were about to come apart at the seams.
Jack turned to Chandler. “I need a minimum of forty-eight hours. I’ll need a few hours to recuperate. I’ll spend the rest of the time digging. I’ve got a few leads to check out.”
Groaning, Aaron removed his glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Do you have any idea what you’re asking me to do?”
“I’m asking you to do the right thing.” Jack’s jaw flexed with tension. “You know I won’t come up empty-handed.”
Chandler scrubbed a hand over his jaw and shot Landis a sage look. “Are you going to refrain from speaking to anyone about this? Namely the D.A.? I can do without getting disbarred.”
Landis risked a look at Jack. The reckless light was back in his eyes. He looked dangerous as hell and…hopeful. She wasn’t sure why, but that made her sad. Maybe because she knew what it was like to hope for something that would never be. “I’m going to forget tonight ever took place,” she said.
Chandler turned to Jack. “I’ll give you forty-eight hours to come up with some evidence to clear your name. After that time, and whether or not you’ve been successful, you will turn yourself in. Understood?”
Jack grimaced. “All right.”
The attorney continued. “I’ll drop you at my summer cottage near Soldier Summit south of Provo. It’s secluded, so you won’t have to worry about neighbors. There should be some canned food and firewood. I keep an old pickup out back. Both the truck and the cabin are yours for forty-eight hours.”
Jack started to speak, but Chandler cut him off. “I can count the number of people I trust on one hand. You’re one of them, Jack. But don’t cross me. If you don’t call me so I can arrange for you to turn yourself in within the allotted time, I’ll deny this conversation ever took place, and I’ll do whatever I have to in order to protect myself.” His eyes swept from Jack to Landis. “Agreed?”
Jack nodded.
“Let’s get this show on the road.” Chandler extended his hand to Landis. “It was a pleasure, Ms. McAllister.”
She gripped his hand, but couldn’t shake the feeling that she’d just made a deal with the devil. “I don’t approve of your methods.”
Chandler smiled. “No offense, Ms. McAllister, but I don’t give a damn if you approve of my methods or not.” Without another word, he turned and walked out the front door and into the falling snow.
She stared after him, keenly aware that Jack was standing just a few feet away. Even without looking at him, she knew he was watching her. She felt his gaze like a physical touch. Knowing she couldn’t put off the inevitable, she turned to him.
“This is…crazy,” she said.
He shrugged. “There’s no other way.”
Landis wished she had an argument, but she didn’t. She didn’t know what to say, what to feel. If he were innocent…
The reality that he was leaving, that she would probably never see him again should have pleased her. This was the moment she’d been waiting for. She could wash her hands of him. Strangely, the only thing she felt was a new concern for his safety and a boatload of regret.
“Be careful,” she said.
He glanced out the door. Beyond, Landis heard Chandler’s Mercedes start. She knew she should turn around and walk away before she did something impulsive. Before Jack did something impulsive. But neither of them moved.
“I know you don’t want to hear this,” he began, “but you and I have some unfinished business.”
“No, we don’t.”
“You can deny it all you want, but I’m not buying it. Judging from the way you’re looking at me, neither are you.”
“It’s not the first time you’ve misjudged me. I want you to leave.”
He started toward her. “That’s not what your eyes are telling me.”
Landis knew he was going to kiss her an instant before he moved. Dread and a unsettling pang of anticipation skittered through her. Her heart went wild in her chest. She could feel the tempo of it in her pulse. The heat of it streaking through her veins. Her brain screamed for her to turn and run, but her legs refused the command.
He crossed the distance between them in two strides. His eyes were level and cool and focused on her with an intensity that sent a shiver through her. She jolted when his hands closed around her biceps.
“Jack…”
He didn’t ask for permission. One instant she was rigid and on the brink of running. The next she was flush against his hard-as-steel body and all the oxygen was being sucked from her lungs. She was still trying to get her brain around the idea of his touching her when his mouth came down on hers.
The contact went through her like a jolt of electricity. Her gasp of protest came out as a sigh of pleasure. His lips were warm, demanding, and devastatingly clever as they claimed her mouth. He’d always known how to kiss, how to tease her mouth into submission, how to drive her crazy with wanting. He was doing it now in a war of give and take, and it was a battle she was quickly losing.
Desire crashed through her, an avalanche tumbling down a mountain, gaining momentum and crushing everything in its path. She’d forgotten what it was like to be kissed by Jack LaCroix. To have her mouth possessed by his, her senses heightened to a fever pitch. He kissed her with a no-holds-barred sexuality that scrambled her thoughts and left her trembling and disconcerted as hell.
Before even realizing she was going to respond, her arms went around his neck. She could feel him trembling, feel the tension in his muscles. He smelled vaguely of soap, her shampoo and his own unique brand of masculinity. Growling low in his throat, he wrapped his arms around her, pinning her against him until they were chest to chest, thigh to thigh, body to body.
A shudder went through her when she discerned the hard ridge of his arousal against her belly. She closed her eyes against the knowledge that he wanted her, against the disturbing knowledge that she didn’t have the strength to pull
away. She told herself it didn’t mean anything. It couldn’t mean anything. Not to him. Certainly not to her.
But her body had never been able to lie when it came to Jack. Her breasts grew heavy and full. She wanted to deny it, but she could feel the ache in her womb. The sudden dampness between her legs. She tasted need and frustration, not sure if it was his or her own. For a wild, fleeting moment, the world around her ceased to exist. She was aware only of Jack, his mouth against hers, his body straining to get closer.
Every nerve ending in her body jumped when he tested her with his tongue. Her intellect told her not to let this go any further. She knew how easily she could get swept up in his kiss. But the protest in her throat came out as a moan when he slid his tongue between her teeth. Vaguely, she was aware of his hand at the back of her head, the other at the small of her back. She wanted to pull away before this tumbled completely out of control. Instead, she responded with the kind of wanton abandon she didn’t know she possessed.
The kiss shattered her resolve not to feel. Emotion and intellect tangled with physical sensations. Dangerous, forbidden thoughts thundered through her, frightening her with their unleashed power. All the while his mouth worked dark magic on hers. Like a mind-altering drug that left her head reeling, her body aroused, her senses crying out for more.
As quickly as he had assailed her, he broke the kiss. Landis blinked at him, aware that his hands gripped her upper arms, that they were both breathless and shaking and shocked as hell.
“You taste the same,” he growled. “Better than I remember.”
Landis didn’t trust her voice to speak. She was shaking on the inside. On the outside. And every place in between. Even as she cursed him, cursed her own weakness, another wretched part of her wanted just one more taste of that unforgettable mouth.
“This doesn’t change anything,” she managed after a moment.
One side of his mouth curved. “It changes everything.”
“I can’t let it mean anything.”
“You’re not in charge of the way we feel.” Dropping his hands from her arms, he backed toward the open door.
“Maybe not, but I know right from wrong. This is wrong.”
“Go ahead and believe that if it’s what your conscience needs. But we’re not finished with this. Not by a long shot.” He reached the door, looked back at her. Finality stabbed through her as she realized this was probably their final goodbye. She couldn’t bring herself to say it, but she wished him well.
He crossed the threshold.
She whispered his name, wanted desperately to say something about fate and forgiveness, but it was too late. Instead she stood there with her heart pounding, her body on fire, and watched him disappear into the darkness like a phantom.
Chapter 5
L andis jerked awake to the sound of the doorbell. She bolted upright, disoriented, vaguely aware of the gray light slanting in through the window above her bed. The first thought that hit her befuddled brain was that the police had come to her door with questions about a certain escaped convict.
Scrambling out of bed, she slipped on her robe and hit the floor running. Her feet barely touched the steps as she ran down the stairs. Heart pounding, she reached the foyer and looked out the peephole, half expecting to see a dozen deputies standing on her front porch. Relief bubbled through her when she found only her younger brother, Ian, looking boyish and handsome in his crisp blue uniform.
Reassuring herself that no one could possibly know about Jack’s illicit visit the night before, she opened the door and hefted her best smile, hoping it looked genuine. “Ian,” she said breathlessly.
“Hi, Landy.” Leaning forward, he kissed her cheek then stepped back as if to get a better look. “I woke you.”
“It’s okay. I…overslept.”
“Late night?”
“I was…working on a case,” she said quickly, wondering suddenly why he’d stopped by. “Come in.”
He stepped into the foyer. “I don’t have to be at the station until ten.” Looking at her oddly, he swept by her then turned to face her. “Not working today?”
The question seemed casual, but Landis knew her younger brother well enough to know there was nothing casual about the question—or the visit. A jab of trepidation shot through her. “I took the day off. Still reveling in my big win from yesterday, I guess.”
“I heard. Congratulations. You’re building quite a career for yourself.” An affectionate grin softened his expression. “Got time for a cup of coffee with your kid brother?”
“I always have time for my kid brother.”
Ian followed her to the kitchen and seated himself at the table. It was the same chair Jack had used the night before, Landis remembered, trying to ignore the nervousness spearing through her. Her mind raced with explanations for her brother’s visit as she scooped coffee and filled the carafe. Could Ian possibly know Jack had been to see her?
“So what brings my favorite brother all the way from Salt Lake City to Provo on such a cold morning?” To hide her anxiousness, she busied herself with the creamer and sugar.
His hesitation sent another bolt of tension to her already tight nerves. “Did you know Jack LaCroix escaped from prison two days ago?”
“I heard it on the news yesterday.” Concentrating hard on keeping her hands steady, she reached for the carafe and poured two cups of coffee. “Why do you ask?”
“Did you know Aaron Chandler well?”
Her gut clenched at the mention of Chandler. Walking to the table, she shoved a cup in front of him then took the chair across from him. Ian was beginning to make her very skittish with his line of questioning. “I know of his reputation, but I’ve never met him.”
Ian reached for his cup. “Chandler was found dead in his office this morning.”
Shock jumped through her with such force that she jolted. “Oh my God. How did it happen?”
“He took two .38 slugs in his chest.” He stirred his coffee, studying her with his watchful cop’s eyes as if he suddenly found her every move fascinating. “Ballistics aren’t back yet, but one of the detectives told me it was Chandler’s own gun. His paralegal told the cops he keeps it in his desk drawer. You know the kind of scum he defended.”
Because her hands were shaking, Landis didn’t pick up her cup. “Do they have any suspects?”
“This isn’t official yet, but one of the detectives told me there was an overnight bag found at the scene.”
A deep, gut-wrenching fear clamped around her chest. She stared at her younger brother, knowing what he was going to say next and dreading it with every fiber of her heart.
“What was in the bag, Ian?”
“A set of prison-issue clothes. The lab hasn’t confirmed it yet, but they think the clothes were the ones LaCroix was wearing when he escaped. They’d been washed, but there were traces of blood. Lab boys are typing it as we speak. They’ll run DNA. I’m sorry, Landy, but you know they’ll get a match.”
She barely heard the words over the relentless pounding of her heart. The only thought that registered was that Jack was a suspect—and she knew he couldn’t have done it. Aaron Chandler had called her from his office in Salt Lake City after dropping Jack at his summer cabin in Soldier Summit some forty miles away. Her lawyer’s mind accepted the possibility that Jack could have driven to Chandler’s office at some point during the night and shot him, but deep down, she knew Jack wasn’t responsible.
“I’m sorry, but I thought you should know,” he said.
“It’s okay.” Unsure what her expression was revealing to her brother, she started to rise only to knock over her mug. She looked down to see coffee spread over the table-top. “Damn.”
Ian rose and crossed to her, his expression concerned. “Easy sis.” He took her hand, squeezing it gently. “Jesus, Landy, you’re shaking. Are you—”
“I’m fine. I just…need to get this cleaned up.” Easing her hand from his she walked on unsteady legs over to the counter
and tore off several paper towels.
“I know you and LaCroix had a thing. I know how hard you’ve worked to get over him. I’m sorry he’s putting you through this again.”
“Jack and I have been finished for a long time.”
“I hope someone takes down that son of a bitch. He’s hurt our family enough.”
Landis closed her eyes against the quick slice of pain. Ian had taken Evan’s death particularly hard. Afterward, he’d made no effort to hide his hatred for Jack. Ian wore that hatred like a medal, proudly and with conviction. She wondered how he would react if he knew she’d offered Jack a few hours of refuge the night before. If he knew she’d kissed him and liked it…
“Dirty damn cop. Gave up his partner—”
“Don’t.” Landis picked up her cup and moved away, needing a moment to gather what little composure she had left. She didn’t want to lie to her brother. Ian didn’t deserve lies. But, she couldn’t tell him the truth. Aside from the killer, she was the only person who knew Jack hadn’t murdered Chandler. But how could she come forward without incriminating herself?
“Don’t what? Remind you of what a scumbag he is?”
Landis carried her cup to the sink and rinsed it. “I don’t need to be reminded, Ian. But my relationship with Jack ended a year ago.”
“Why am I getting the impression that you’re not too terribly upset that he’s out of prison?”
“Because you’re letting your need for revenge cloud your judgment.”
“He murdered our brother, for chrissake. He turned Casey into a widow and left our nieces without a father. How can you stand there and defend the bastard?”
Landis felt sick inside. Cold to the bone and scared to her core. In her mind’s eye she could see the way Jack had looked at her when he’d walked out the door. She’d spent half the night ruminating everything he’d said. By dawn, she’d decided the only thing left for her to do was delve into his case herself.
The decision startled her, sent her heart into a wild somersault. “I’m not defending him. I’m just trying to sort through the facts objectively and deal with it the best way I can.”