Her stomach fluttered, heat pooling low in her stomach, at the memory of him suggesting he might join her. “And now you order me to change my number.”

Seriousness bled into his handsome face. “Also for your protection.” He straightened, towering over her, the fingers of one of his hands slipping between hers. “Please. Change the number and call maintenance.”

Please. He’d said please. And when he said it with sincerity radiating from those gorgeous blue eyes, he was irresistible. Again, he’d shown her the unexpected. She didn’t think this man had ‘please’ in him. She liked that he did that he’d said it for her. A slow smile slid onto her lips. ”Since you put it that way.”

But in the back of her mind, she knew she’d agreed for more reasons than simply Royce’s request. Something deep and dark was bothering her. She wanted to change her number, she wanted to call maintenance. And a big, macho male, who happened to rock her world and make her feel safe, wasn’t such a bad addition to her day, or to her plans for dinner.

Chapter Five

A few minutes later, Lauren settled into Royce’s truck and watched him pull into traffic. “We’re going to drive right by my home office,” he said. “So if you don’t mind, I’d like to swing by and grab something.” He glanced at the clock on the dash. “And if you think I have time, I’d like to snag a quick shower.”

“In your office?”

“My office is in the same building as my apartment.”

“Wow. I’m jealous your office is in your home. I’d never be able to do that with my job.”

“When my brothers and I decided to open Walker Security, we bought a small building. We live on the upper level and work on the bottom floor.”

“Really? You live with your brothers?”

“A little too close for comfort sometimes,” he said with a laugh. “But thankfully, each apartment has its own door."

Lauren studied his profile, watching him maneuver through traffic with the kind of finesse he seemed to have with everything he did. “Oh,” she said. “That’s a unique living arrangement.”

He shot her a quick grin. “Yeah, well, you’ll see firsthand soon enough.”

She grinned back at him. “I’m looking forward to it. Families always have great little tidbits to share about each other.”

He laughed. “Yes, well, I see we’ll need to make this a quick trip. The last thing I need is my tidbits getting out before I’m ready.”

Before he was ready as if he thought he might be ready someday, as if they were developing a relationship.

“So,” he said. “I guess I should come clean and tell you that after reading the morning paper, I now know that I’m a close friend of the opposing counsel on your upcoming case. And that I apparently look angry in all photos taken of me.”

She cringed. “I didn’t even look at the paper. I’m so used to that stuff I tune it out. I’m sorry.”

“I wasn’t fishing for an apology. I just wanted you to know I am friends with Mark. But we don’t discuss his cases and we actually haven’t talked at all in a few weeks.”

“Thank you for telling me that,” she said, meaning it. She liked that Royce didn’t have a political agenda; she liked it a lot. “And since I know Mark pretty well myself, I know he’s ethical. I know he wouldn’t talk to you about the case.”

“No. No, he wouldn’t. But I read up on it this morning. Sounds like a pretty sticky case. Let me get this straight. The defendant killed her husband and you’re after the death penalty. Mark’s defense is Battered Women’s Syndrome.” He whistled. “That has to be a tough one for you to handle.”

She hesitated. “I can’t discuss anything that we aren’t making public and even that has to be on a limited basis.”

“Fair enough.”

“You’re right,” she said. “It’s hard. Half of the media is making me out to be the monster here, mostly because the family of the suspect is doing so much of it themselves especially the brother. But I don’t go after a death penalty verdict lightly, Royce. There’s a life insurance policy, a big one. And this woman didn’t kill her husband in the heat of the moment. She slowly, methodically poisoned him. There were no calls to the police, no reports of violence from this woman prior to the murder. No history of violence anywhere in this man’s life at all.”

“I read all of that in the paper,” he said. “And what baffles me is that Mark runs his own firm and he doesn’t take cases for money or fame. He’s about justice and right and wrong. He must know something you don’t know.”

“She’s convinced him she’s innocent,” Lauren said, her stomach knotting. “I don’t doubt that. But I don’t doubt the woman’s guilt either. And damn it, someone has to fight for the man she killed, because he can’t do it himself.” She waved her hand dismissively, unease tightening her stomach. “Enough about my work. I’d rather talk about you. Tell me about your brothers before I’m in the center of the Walker pack. I know a little about Luke since, I’m sure you know, he and Julie dated, or had a fling, or whatever it was. I never quite figured it out.”

He snapped his fingers. “Just like that, we’re changing subjects?”

“Exactly,” she said with a firm nod. “I was surprised to hear Luke left the SEALs. Julie thought he’d be in for his career.”