Dark and Deadly 00 - Secrets Exposed (2 page)

Mark’s lips turned up with a confident smile. “I like to win, if that is what you mean. I have little tolerance for obstacles.”

“And my father was an obstacle,” she stated in a toneless voice. Even as she said the words, they didn’t make sense. What obstacle would her father offer that would bother Mark? Her father could be impossible at times, not listening to new thoughts and methods. Mark could have easily gotten tired of walking around his idiosyncrasies.

Lindsey crossed her long legs and watched as Mark’s eyes shifted and followed the path from her hem to her shoes, and then back up again. She should have been insulted . . . instead, she found herself warm with awareness. She swallowed. It had been forever since she had wanted a man. Why, now, was she responding to Mark?

“Look, Lindsey.” His voice was different now. She could tell he had decided to explain. “His priorities became skewed. At first I thought he was just distracted and would get back on track, but that wasn’t the case. Your father lost his business sense. I take my work very seriously. There are things I can deal with and things that I won’t tolerate. There are distractions, and there are obstacles. Distractions can offer a needed break, while obstacles impede progress.” He paused, looking a bit torn about his next words, before adding, “Your father became an obstacle.”

She could understand his point, but it didn’t change her position. “He’s no longer capable of being an obstacle.”

Mark shook his head. “He’s still an obstacle I can’t overcome, and you know it. He would cause me unwanted grief I’m simply not willing to take. Good thing you’re an attorney, Lindsey. He always wanted you to follow in his footsteps and take over for him. Now you can.”

“I’m not an attorney any longer,” she stated firmly.

“I know you’re still licensed to practice law.”

She frowned, wondering how he knew that. “Only for convenience,” she clarified.

“Are you afraid you’ve lost your touch?” The words were spoken softly, and were packed with far too much truth.

Lindsey felt the heat of her emotions like a pinch, sharp and quick. She ignored his question. “I don’t want the firm. Don’t you understand that?”

He gave her a level stare. “Seems you have no options.”

Lindsey breathed in and out deeply. “Mr. Reeves . . .” she started to say, but he interrupted her.

“Mark,” he corrected.

Her teeth ground together. “Mark, I want you to take over the firm.”

He stared at her a long, tense moment, his expression indiscernible. Lindsey wished she could read him. It was damn irritating the way he managed to hide his thoughts, and lord knew she was trying. No wonder he did so well in the courtroom.

He shook his head. “That simply isn’t an option.”

Lindsey didn’t try
to hide her irritation. “Why?”

He didn’t miss a beat, answering immediately. “I don’t need a reason. Let’s just say Edward and I disagree on a great many things.”

She tried to keep the urgency from her voice. “Such as?”

Mark raised his glass and finished off the contents, setting the glass down on the table. “Clients, staff, you name it. We simply don’t agree on anything.”

She stiffened, feeling desperation, and hating it “What if I told you he’s given me full control of the firm, and I’m willing to hand it to you?” Lindsey searched his face for a reaction, but he wasn’t allowing her to get even an inkling of what lurked beneath his surface.

His reply was short, giving her no hint of what he was thinking. “Why?”

“I don’t want it,” she insisted. “I have a job I love in another city.”

His eyes probed, and silence lingered so long it made her uncomfortable. Then, “Still messed up over the Hudson case, aren’t you, Lindsey?” His voice held no taunt, no accusation, just fact.

Just hearing the name Hudson made her skin chill. Her win of a not-guilty verdict had gotten another woman killed. It was the last time she stepped into a courtroom as an attorney. If there was anything this man could do to rattle her, it was this. To bring up her career-ending case was like a walk down nightmare lane.

And he did it in a voice both soft and familiar. Too familiar . . . and his words were far too knowing. Anger swept through her. She didn’t like his quick dismissal of her offer nor did she like the way he sized her up and identified her weakness.

Lindsey stood up and walked to the window, looking out across the city, trying to shackle her temper, and regain some semblance of control. She wasn’t even sure how to respond to such a remark. She stood there, deep in thought, unable to manage a reply.

“Lindsey?”

Without turning, she answered. “Yes?” She felt, rather than heard him move behind her, but she didn’t turn around. He was so close she could feel the warmth of his breath when he spoke. And somehow, as strange as it was, his presence comforted. It defied reason since he brought up the very subject that upset her. Besides, she hardly knew him.

“It wasn’t your fault,” he said in a voice laced with sincerity.

Her father had said those exact words too many times. “I got him off, and then someone died. He killed again, and it
was
my fault.”

She felt his hands on her shoulders. The touch was a surprise, but somehow it felt right. He turned her to face him, and she didn’t resist. She stood perfectly still, afraid of what she was feeling. An overpowering urge to lean into him consumed her.

“You did your job.”

His words felt almost protective. “A job I no longer want,” she said through tight, trembling lips.

He ran his hand through his hair before turning and walking back toward the couch, stopping with his back to her. The odd need to reach for him, to pull him back to her, was overwhelming . He was a virtual stranger, so wanting him near was crazy.

He turned to face her. “Look Lindsey, I have obligations I’ve made since leaving the Paxton Group.”

“I’ll beat any price that’s been offered,” she said with hope in her voice. “My father has money.”

He shook his head. “I don’t want your money. The water between me and Edward is far too muddy.”

She made a desperate effort at reasoning. “He’s not capable of working now. You and I have no history. I don’t resemble my father at all.”

His eyes narrowed. “No, I don’t believe you do, but I still can’t come back.”

Hugging herself with her arms, Lindsey turned to face the window. The pinching in the back of her eyes told her, that were he to look, there was a glassy desperation reflected there, the depth of which she preferred not share with Mark. She half expected him to walk up behind her again, but he didn’t. And if the disappointed and irrational desire she was feeling was any proof, she might just be losing her mind.

After a few moments of silence, Lindsey felt she had regained her composure enough to turn and face Mark. He hadn’t moved from where he stood. Her words were soft and forced. “He has this case. Williams is the name. He believes the guy is innocent. It resembles the Hudson case. A lot.” She paused and squeezed her eyes together as she inhaled a steadying breath. Then, forcing herself to look at him, she continued, “I can’t handle it,” she said shaking her head. “Daddy says he won’t trust anyone but me to handle the case, but I just can’t do it.”

“You could still make the decision to hand it off to one of the staff attorneys,” he offered.

Her eyes were hopeful. “Who do you recommend?”

He looked at her a long moment and then shook his head from side to side. “That was one of my issues with Edward, his choice of partners. None of them; I wouldn’t recommend a one of them.”

 
She said what was going through her mind, speaking half to herself. “This will be high profile. It could damage the firm if handled wrong.”

 
“Yes.” He sighed. “Look Lindsey, you were good enough then, and you are good enough now.” Then he added, “Paxton does have a few decent attorneys, but not for this type of case.”

“Don’t you understand, I don’t want to do it?” Then through clenched teeth, “Not—this—case.”

Somehow, she felt he would understand. He walked towards her, closing the distance between them. Similarities in their histories alone made him know her in ways some never could. He stopped in front of her. Close. Attraction, warm and unnerving, danced between them like a flare gun ready to launch. Lindsey tried to crush this crazy rush she felt from his nearness. Yet . . . she knew he wanted to kiss her, and she wasn’t sure if he tried, she would stop him.

Where was the woman who said no so easily and never showed her emotions?

* * * * *

Something about this woman got under his skin. Such a tough exterior, yet so much pain underneath. It made him want to touch her, to hold her. She looked into his eyes: emotions glistening in the form of unshed tears.

And somehow he knew he had been given a unique glimpse beneath her exterior. One very few ever saw.

He reached out and tipped her chin up, knowing he shouldn’t touch her, but unable to stop himself. “I bet those green eyes can slice air in the courtroom.” His gaze dropped and lingered on her lush lips. So soft, so full, so in need of being kissed. He couldn’t remember ever getting his business senses blurred by a woman. Yet here he was, thinking about kissing Lindsey Paxton, daughter of his ex-partner.

A woman who was way too connected to a world he had no intention of ever revisiting.

“That was a long time ago,” she said, yet her eyes held a distant look, as if she was remembering.

Mark reached out and playfully tugged at a long blond curl, wrapping it around his finger. Lindsey sucked in a breath, as if shocked. He suspected she wasn’t. They both felt this strange tension between them. It begged to be acted on.

He offered her a soft smile, trying to convince himself to leave her alone. “You are very hard-headed. Maybe you do resemble your father in some ways.”

Her eyes narrowed, and her response came quickly. “If that’s the case, then you resemble him as well.”

Mark couldn’t hold back his laughter. “You are more interesting than your father ever was.”

She took him off guard by offering a desperate plea. “Will you help me, Mark?”

He hesitated. For some crazy reason, he wanted to help her. He didn’t have the time nor did he have the inclination to be involved with Paxton, but to be involved with Lindsey had appeal. He shoved aside the irrational thought. “I have commitments.”

She reached out and touched his arm. He felt the desperation in her action. “Mark, I can’t take this case. I can’t. I know you don’t know me and have no obligation to help me, but I really, desperately need you.”

He couldn’t help it. He liked the way that sounded. How many men had she ever said she needed? He would bet none. It fired up the wholly male part of him, and made him want to rise to the challenge. He tried to keep the heat raging inside in check. But his finger moved lightly down her cheek, as if on its own accord. She shut her eyes, and he knew she absorbed his touch, rather than fought it.

He leaned forward, near her ear. “You need me, do you?” he teased.

Lindsey opened her eyes. They stared at each other for long, intense moments packed with a potent undertone. Moments that had nothing to do with business and everything to do with attraction. “Yes, I do,” she whispered. “I need you.”

A seductive half-smile filled his face. Her lashes fluttered to her cheeks as if she was trying to hide whatever she felt. “I must admit, you’re tempting me,” he murmured, and his words had nothing to do with Paxton. He wanted to kiss her so damn bad it was killing him. But he couldn’t, and he knew it. She was Edward’s daughter. And she wanted something from him he couldn’t give. With regret, he added, “But I can’t go back to the firm.”

Lindsey flushed red, taking a step backwards in a swift, jerky motion. “Damn it, my father is in a hospital bed. Do you not have a heart?” she demanded.

Well, hell, things sure went downhill fast. One minute he was near kissing her, the next he was being cursed. And try as he might, he couldn’t fight the irritation her words evoked. “According to my reputation, apparently not.”

Her cheeks flushed with anger. “You don’t feel any responsibly to the firm after so many years?” she demanded.

If only she would be reasonable. He felt the flare of impatience. “My responsibility ended when I left the firm.”

Her expression was murderous. “Damn you, Mark Reeves!”

“Yelling isn’t going to get you anywhere,” he told her, angry that she expected so much, and pissed that he was so damn attracted to her. He should have stopped this in the hallway. “Good thing you didn’t use this tactic in the courtroom.”

“I’m surprised you have won so many cases, Mark.” Her tongue was taking on the sharp quality he had heard so much about at Paxton. She hated to lose a battle. Or so he had heard. “Seems you quit when things get tough.”

Mark didn’t immediately respond. This was getting them nowhere fast. He saw no point in being dragged into the heat of the moment. Two people who loved to win engaging in hotheaded verbal sparring would only prove fruitless. No doubt, she would regret her explosion later. It was time to put an end to this.

“I don’t believe I am the one who quit.” Spoken in a low voice, his words held no anger, just truth. The impact was ten times more forceful.