The Defender

He wondered if Sadie Oliver was a swimmer. She had the sleek, lean body for it. He could almost picture her swimming beside him, matching the rhythm of her strokes to his, kicking those long legs as they sliced through the water together. He imagined their legs scissoring, their bodies stretching, flexing almost as if they were making love.

The water no longer felt cold, Theo noticed. He wasn’t sure whether it was the exercise that had raised his temperature or the thoughts of swimming with Sadie Oliver.

He picked up his pace. It wasn’t just his career path that he was going to have to make a decision about. He was going to have to make a decision about Sadie Oliver, too. And he was beginning to think that the two choices were related.

4

IT WAS CLOSE TO ELEVEN when Sadie parked her car next to a silver SUV that was a couple of shades darker than her Miata. The small parking area was exactly where Kit Angelis’s Aunt Cass had said it would be, a little ways in from the road. But she’d expected three cars.

When she’d tried to reach Kit from the pay phone at the hospital, she’d gotten his office answering machine again. Then when she’d called his house, his aunt had picked up and told her that Kit was joining his brothers for a weekend of fishing at their grandfather’s cabin.

That meant that Theo would be here, too.

The fact that she’d thought of that more than once on the drive annoyed her. She was twenty-six years old—way beyond the age of silly crushes. And she had far more pressing concerns. Her brother was injured and a suspect in a homicide and she didn’t know where her sister was. When she reached to open the glove compartment, Sadie saw that her hands were shaking. Reaction was setting in. She couldn’t, she wouldn’t, fall apart yet. Closing her eyes, she drew in a deep breath and willed the shaking to stop. This time her hand was steady as she pulled the flashlight out and climbed from the car.

According to the directions she’d received from Cass Angelis, the last half mile to the Angelis family’s fishing cabin had to be traveled by foot. She located a path on the far side of the SUV. It was narrow, but appeared to be well used when she shone the light over it. The full moon was bright overhead and there were all those stars. Still, she hesitated. Leaves rustled in the wind and she thought she heard the sounds of some small animal scurrying through the brush. At least, it sounded small. Were there bears in this part of California?

Suppressing a shudder, Sadie gave herself a mental shake. Walking down a strange path through the woods at night might not be her cup of tea, but this was no time to be having second thoughts. She could have turned back at any point during the hour’s drive from San Francisco and she hadn’t. Because she wasn’t going to let her brother down. She’d made her decision even before she’d seen her father and stepmother and Michael Dano arrive at the hospital. She’d made it the moment that Roman was being wheeled away on that gurney. Ever since she’d been little, her big brother always seemed so strong, so capable. But as they were taking him away for tests, he’d looked so…vulnerable.

She felt her throat tighten. She’d wanted so much to stay at the hospital, to be with him. But when she’d waylaid one of the attending physicians and asked if she could see Roman, he’d told her that her brother’s condition was currently listed as stable, but that they were concerned about a skull fracture and would be doing tests for some time. If she’d stayed at the hospital, all she could have done was wait.

If Roman weren’t injured, he’d be moving heaven and earth to find out what had happened to Juliana and what had gone on at that church. So she was going to step into his shoes.

Drawing in a deep breath, Sadie started down the path, shining the light back and forth across it. Thank heavens the ambulance had brought Roman to St. Jude’s. Her father had donated the new trauma center there and as soon as the head nurse had found out who Roman was, she’d called in their top specialists.

She’d made herself scarce at the hospital because she hadn’t wanted to draw the attention of the two cops who’d accompanied Roman. After all, she’d left her purse in the vestibule of the church. Sooner or later, someone was going to figure out that she’d been there. She might be suspected of having something to do with whatever had gone on.

So she’d slipped away without talking to Michael Dano or her father. She was going to follow her brother’s advice and trust only Kit Angelis.

No. That wasn’t completely true. Sadie drew in a deep breath and let it out. It wasn’t just because of Roman’s words that she was walking down this dark path near the midnight hour. Deep in her heart, she knew that she’d come here to ask Kit for his help because her deepest fear was that her own father had something to do with what had happened at St. Peter’s church. Her sister Juliana was the apple of Mario Oliver’s eye. If he had learned that she planned a secret wedding to Paulo Carlucci…

Sadie had had plenty of time to think while she’d been waiting at the hospital and while she’d been driving. Roman might have tried to stop the wedding, but someone had sent another man to prevent it, too. And if it was their father who’d sent that man Roman was chasing? Well, it would have been just like Roman to take their sister’s side. Of course, there was also the possibility that Paulo’s father had gotten wind of the wedding, too.

Something shot across the path about ten feet in front of her, and Sadie jumped and nearly screamed. Pressing a hand against her chest, she tried to keep her heart from pounding right out of her body. Then she felt foolish when she realized that the animal she’d seen had been tiny, probably a field mouse or a chipmunk. When her heartbeat settled, she moved forward.

The woods seemed darker now and the trees on either side pressed more closely to the path. The wind seemed to have picked up and over the rustling of overhead branches she heard a noise. One animal calling to another? Wolves traveled in packs, didn’t they? Bobcats and coyotes also crossed her mind. She had no idea what kinds of wildlife lived here.

Nerves knotted in her stomach. Perhaps ignorance was best in this instance. Sadie gave herself a mental shake. Think positive. A half a mile wasn’t very long. She had to be at least halfway there. It would take her just as long to get back to the car as it would to reach the cabin. But the pep talk she was giving herself didn’t prevent her from picking up her pace and, after a few strides, she broke into a flat-out run. She’d been on the track team in high school and college, but her shoes, however serviceable, were not designed for running over rough terrain. She stumbled, managed to keep herself from falling to her knees and slowed to a fast walk.

She wasn’t going to panic. She’d kept her nerve at the church and again at the hospital and she wasn’t going to lose it now. Still, when the path opened up into a clearing, relief streamed through Sadie. For just a moment, she stood there, forcing herself to take in air for a count of ten so that her breathing would level. The breeze coming in from the sea was brisk. The moon was full and bright and the dark water reflected even more light. The scene and the sound of the waves pushing into the shore immediately began to calm her.

A wooden dock jutted out from the shore for about forty feet and she could make out the dark outline of a small boathouse at the far end. She could also see the cabin. It was a compact one-story structure with a wide screened-in porch at its front. Light glowed from one of the windows.

Hopefully, someone was up. Sadie strode forward and when she reached the screened porch door, she knocked. The sound seemed loud to her ears and was immediately answered by movement inside the cabin. She had her face pressed close to the screen when a figure rushed through the door and hurled itself against the mesh. Barely suppressing a scream, she stumbled backward and nearly fell down on her backside. The huge creature barked once, backed up and made another lunge at the screen.

A dog. But Sadie didn’t feel relieved. It was a very big dog and it was doing its best to get through that screen. Deciding not to wait until it succeeded, she moved quickly around the side of the cabin to the window that was spilling light out into the night. It was open and the ledge was just above her eye level. Rising to her toes, she peered into the room.

Empty. But the bed showed signs of having been used. The patchwork quilt was turned back, the pillows had been propped against the headboard and there was a paperback book lying on the nightstand. Perhaps the occupant had heard the racket the dog had made and was even now on his way to the porch. Circling back around to the front of the cabin, she caught sight of the dog through the screen. He raced down to meet her and kept pace with her as she walked toward the door. He didn’t lunge this time. The animal looked even bigger standing on all fours but at least he wasn’t barking. She waited for about ten beats. When no one appeared, she approached the screen door and knocked again. The dog whined. She let another ten beats pass, then drummed up her courage and tried the door.

It opened with a loud creak, but she still hesitated. The dog was wagging its tail and managing to look friendly. With a quick prayer that the creature wasn’t sandbagging her, Sadie stepped onto the porch.

THEO WAS LYING ON HIS back in the water, enjoying the gentle movement of the waves. He’d lost track of the number of laps he’d swum, but his muscles were weak, his mind finally relaxed. He was about to climb onto the dock when the silence was broken by a sharp, staccato knocking sound. Then he heard Bob hit the screen door. Grabbing the dock with one hand, he glanced toward the shore. He couldn’t imagine either Kit or Nik knocking on the cabin door. A tree was blocking his view, but he clearly heard Bob bark and launch himself at the door again.

Bob was not the best watchdog. In spite of his size, he had the people-loving instincts of a golden retriever and viewed any stranger as a possible source of either petting or food, hopefully both.

Staying very still in the water, Theo waited and a moment later saw a figure move around the side of the cabin. He had a quick impression of height. But the build was more slender than either of his brothers. He’d left the light on in his bedroom, and when the figure turned to face the window, he had a clear view of a profile. Female, he thought. The light wasn’t strong enough for him to see her features, but he made out that she was wearing a skirt.

Annoyance and frustration streamed through him. Following the arrest of his stalker, he’d convinced his little fan club—the women who’d been attending his trials for the past few months—to stop. And they had. One of them had even confessed to being embarrassed by her behavior and apologized. For the past two months, he’d thought he’d gotten his life back to normal.

But he couldn’t think of another reason why a woman would have come all this way in the middle of the night. He wasn’t currently dating anyone. He hadn’t dated anyone since Sandra Linton had begun to stalk him. And this woman was too tall to be his sister. Besides, Philly would have walked right in. She and Bob were old friends.

The figure had moved back toward the front of the cabin. Her knock was louder this time. Theo thought of calling out to her, but didn’t. Instead, moving quietly, he swam toward shore and, once he got his feet beneath him, he walked slowly out of the water. He was still twenty yards away when he saw her open the screened door and walk in. He had to give her points for courage. Bob might be a pushover, but he did have that size thing going for him. To his surprise, he saw her crouch down and speak to the dog, but the sound of the waves behind him muffled her words. Okay, so she had guts and she liked big dogs. She was still in a place she had no business being. Technically, she was breaking and entering.

She’d already gone into the cabin by the time he reached it. Carefully, he opened the porch door and turned sideways to slip in before the hinge creaked. She’d left the inner door to the cabin open. In the darkness of the kitchen, he could only make out her silhouette as she stood peering out the window in the direction of the lake.

Annoyance streamed through him again. Bold as brass, he thought. Not only had she followed him out here to a place that he’d always considered a refuge, but she’d walked right in. It didn’t help his mood one bit that Bob was sitting at her feet, beating his tail against the floor, evidently pleased as punch at the new visitor. At the very least, Theo figured he owed her a good scare.

He flipped on the light. “What the hell do you think—”

She whirled and her scream blocked the rest of his sentence.

“Sadie?” His first thought was that he’d conjured her up. His second was that in another moment she was going to slip right to the floor. Cursing himself, he strode to her. She’d gone pale as the moonlight on the water. “Are you all right?” Stupid question when he could see that she was anything but. Taking her arm, he eased her into one of the chairs at the table. Then he moved to the refrigerator, retrieved the bottle of wine he’d opened earlier and filled a glass. She was still trembling when he set it in front of her, so he took the chair next to hers and covered her hand with his to help her lift the glass.

She took a sip and swallowed. Then their eyes met and held over the rim of the glass. He was touching only her hand and yet there was that intensity, that same connection he’d felt when he’d clasped her hand in the courtroom. Suddenly, Theo knew. Not merely that their paths would cross again, but that she was the one, the one woman for him.

No. Panic shot up his spine and nerves knotted in his abdomen. He wasn’t ready. He forced himself to take a deep breath as he reminded himself that he still had a choice. The Fates only presented choices.

But as Sadie lifted the glass for another sip, he didn’t remove his hand from hers and he couldn’t seem to take his eyes off of her. Her lips were parted and moist from the wine. He very badly wanted to taste that mouth. Even as lust curled into a tight, hot fist in his stomach, he let his hand drop and eased back in his chair. He had to get away before…

Rising, he strode toward the adjoining hallway. “Drink the wine while I change. Then you can tell me why you’re here.”

5

SADIE LET OUT THE breath she hadn’t even been aware she was holding and barely kept the wineglass from slipping out of her hand. Very carefully, she set it on the table. Her head was still foggy, still spinning. And it wasn’t merely because he’d scared her. It was because he’d touched her again. All he’d meant to do was to help her steady the wineglass, just as all he’d done in that courtroom was shake her hand.

How was it that each time he put a hand on her, even in the most casual of ways, it was as if he’d touched her all over?

She pressed her fingers to her temples, willing her mind to clear and her thoughts to settle. When she’d whirled to see him standing in the doorway, he hadn’t looked like the Theo Angelis she’d seen in court. He’d looked larger than life, like some god from the sea—his dark hair slicked back, his darker eyes with that dangerous gleam. And all that damp, tanned skin. Even now she was astonished at just how much she’d wanted to touch him, wanted to taste him. No, more than that—she’d wanted to devour him.

No man had ever affected her this way. With hands that were still trembling, Sadie reached for her wine and took another swallow.

She was overreacting. There were too many emotions pounding at her—Roman, Juliana, the walk through the woods. She had to get a grip. She’d come here to ask Kit Angelis to help her. She couldn’t afford to fall apart.

“I’m sorry I gave you a scare.”

Startled, she whirled in her chair to watch Theo pour himself a glass of wine. Then he reached into the refrigerator and pulled out a plate of cheese. He was wearing old jeans that had faded at the seams and hem and an equally ancient T-shirt. She could barely make out the word Stanford across his chest. The casualness and general rattiness of the clothes surprised her. Theo had always been so impeccably and fashionably dressed in his court appearances.

“These are my lucky fishing clothes.”