“Look, I wanted to show the guy that he can’t intimidate me. Sending me some note as a message that he can do to me what he did to Ebony was a bitch ass move. If he wants me dead, I want him to know I’m not hiding.”
“He doesn’t want you dead. At least not yet.”
This low, raspy voice belonged to Trent’s former Captain, Devlin Bonner. Devlin had just returned from Miami where he’d been helping Ben’s cousins, Sean and Dion keep their magazine. Now, he was in Vegas, supposedly visiting Trent, but Ben knew it was something else. Devlin had left the Navy SEAL unit a year after Trent but they’d still worked together on special op assignments here and there. At least they had before Trent had married Tia and they’d had a son. Now Trent ran D&D Investigations with Sam Desdune and went home every night to his beautiful wife and child. As for Devlin, Ben had a feeling, he was having a harder time breaking free of his soldier mentality and the world of combat.
“Vega’s a professional hitman. He could have you killed, or do that shit himself, in the blink of an eye, the same way he did with your assistant. Sending you the note was a warning alright, but it was a playful one. The minute he gets serious about taking you out, you’ll know it. Same goes for that prosecutor,” Devlin continued.
He sat in the corner of Trent’s office, the one with the least amount of sunlight from the open blinds. He was a dark-skinnedman, with steely eyes that resembled pieces of onyx. The scar running in a jagged line from his left ear, across his jaw to stop just before his top lip, made him look angry and dangerous at all times, even when he wasn’t exactly trying to be angry and dangerous.
“Wait a minute, he’s not going to get the opportunity to kill Ben because Ben is going to start taking precautions,” Trent interrupted.
“I’m not going to hide, Trent.”
Trent shook his head. “You know I’d be the last person to suggest something that ridiculous. What I am saying is that you need to start thinking like a criminal to protect yourself.”
“He’s right,” Devlin added. “Vega likes people to take him seriously. If he’s called in on a job that means the job is serious, whether it be about drugs or money, it’s important enough to bring in the top of the line to make sure the job gets done right. He was sent to kill the Congressman and his wife, there’s no doubt about that. But the former prosecutor could never figure out why. Do you know?”
Ben immediately shook his head. “Client confidentiality. I can’t divulge anything I know about that case.”
“Even if it gets you killed,” Trent replied skeptically.
“I’m not going to compromise the career I’ve built for this guy. Besides, I don’t know for sure there was a reason he was hired to kill the Congressman. I don’t ask those types of questions.”
“Really?”
Ben nodded. “It’s a lot easier to defend a client when you don’t know if he’s guilty or not. And believe me I didn’t want to know what Vega was doing or not doing.”
“You just wanted to get him off?” Devlin asked with barely masked contempt.
“Everybody is entitled to a defense. It’s my job to defend until proven guilty. I take a lot of pride in my job.”
Devlin didn’t move a muscle. “And I take a lot of pride in mine. If Vega so much as steps on a blade of grass in front of your house I’m shootin’ his ass. One quick shot to the head,” he said making his fingers into a mock gun and pointing them to his head. “Dead and done.”
Ben believed every word Devlin spoke.
“You need security,” Trent said.
“I do not need or want a bodyguard,” Ben replied. “But what I came to see you about was some protection for Victoria. If he’s toying with her to get to me, I don’t want her hurt.”
Trent leaned against the edge of his desk, muscled arms crossed over his chest and nodded. “I figured as much. I’ll assign someone to her. But let’s think about what you just said. Why would Vega toy with Victoria to get to you? There’s no connection between you two other than this trial. Right?”
Ben had been thinking about that all night. Vega could simply be after Victoria in an attempt to make her drop this case. But that wasn’t her call. She could ask to be removed from the case but the District Attorney would still prosecute. They wanted Vega behind bars. So there had to be another reason he’d ordered someone to her house last night—because Devlin was absolutely right about one thing, if Vega wanted Victoria dead, she would be.
Ben didn’t like how that thought made him feel.
“We went to law school together,” he told Trent.
“Did you sleep with her?” Trent asked.
“No,” was Ben’s adamant reply.
Trent narrowed his gaze on his cousin. “But you wanted to?”
Lying wasn’t an option. It wouldn’t get them anywhere and Trent would still know. Donovan men knew how to appreciate beautiful women. When he’d come into the office Trent alreadyhad a file on Victoria Lashley, including the very attractive DMV photo sitting on his desk.
Ben did shrug however, not ready to let his cousin know that he’d always thought of Victoria as the one that got away. Or the one he’d never been able to catch. “I was interested.”
“And she wasn’t? Why?” Devlin asked.
