Hear No (Hidden Evil, #1) (9 page)

Kaylee glanced at the file. “I’ll let him know.”

“Where do you want your story placed?”

“Nowhere.”

“Mike’s orders.” Tanya laughed. “I assume he’ll find a way to make it into the news with a statement about the event.”

Kaylee tapped her fist against her forehead, frustrated. Mike was good at using people and incidents to build his reputation. She had done her best to lay low since meeting him, not wanting to give him an excuse to use her, too.

“Bury it as far back as you can in the print edition,” she said. “Really. It wasn’t bad. Just bizarre.”

“It’s a great story!”

“Yeah. Let me get the review done so you can run it,” Kaylee said, hoping to encourage Tanya to leave her alone this morning.

“I’ll be here!”

Kaylee hung up. She eyed the folder and grudgingly opened it. The press release was clipped to one side, but it was the image on the top of a pile of articles that caught her attention.

The girl that stabbed her.

Patient Abducted From Rosewood Center.

Kaylee sat up, surprised. She read the article quickly, stunned to realize that Amira disappeared Monday night. No mention of Kaylee’s incident Monday afternoon was in the short article. She flipped to the second.

… Amira Santiago, age nineteen. Known as patient forty one, she was admitted …

Forty one. Kaylee sat back.

Shit.
The strange encounter in the elevator happened. Her memory was hazy enough for her to convince herself it was a dream when Evan woke her on the couch.

Heart fluttering, Kaylee realized she had been there when the girl was abducted. Not only that, but she’d had a run in with one of the abductors! He’d been tall and muscular though not in a bulky way. His hands had been so hot, his ultra-low voice soft like velvet.

Monday was going down in her book as the strangest night of her life! She knew Mike was going to interview Dr. Rosewood about Amira, who had witnessed a homicide in a court case where Mike was hired as a defense attorney. He’d been going to try to discredit the witness who was living in a mental health facility.

What were the chances that the witness was kidnapped after Mike talked to Dr. Rosewood?

Kaylee rose and opened the door that separated her office from Mike’s. When he was there, the door was open so she’d be sure to hear him order her around. She went to his desk. It was spotless and contained only his laptop. Disappointed, she checked her phone, where she kept his calendar.

He was slated for a meeting this morning at the courthouse.

“Let me guess. You went straight there and left me trying to juggle your morning appointments,” she muttered. “It wouldn’t be the first time.”

She looked down at where he normally placed his briefcase and started forward. He had come in first and left it. It wasn’t like him, unless the meeting this morning was off the record.

There was a knock at the door.

Her gaze flew up. The receptionist opened the door to reveal her and a man.

“Mr. Smith has an appointment with Mr. Harrison. I buzzed your office,” Linda said. “I can’t find the appointment in his book.” By her pleading look, she was silently asking for help.

“He’s at the courthouse this morning,” Kaylee replied. “I’ve got half an hour.”

Thank you!
Linda mouthed. Between the two of them, they covered for Mike several times a week.

“Mike’s not in?”

The man in the doorway caught her attention in a way that left her almost addled. Kaylee gazed at him, aware he spoke without registering his words.

No more than a few years older than she was, he was lean and attractive. A quick assessment of his clothing – steel grey slacks, sapphire cashmere sweater and expensive, Italian shoes – was enough to confirm he was the kind of man Mike would humor. His features were defined, his short-cropped, dark hair framing a face that appeared to have been cut from stone. Thick, low eyebrows gave him a brooding – almost sinister – look. He smelled of cigar smoke, a scent both masculine and sweet.

There was amusement in his dark eyes, and the smile he flashed was brilliant and wide. His gaze was unusually sharp.

“Uh, no.” She recovered enough to respond. “He was called in for a meeting unexpectedly. I was late this morning. I haven’t had a chance to call his morning appointments to reschedule.”

For a long moment, the man gazed at her. He was hard to read, but she sensed he wasn’t buying her story.

“Can I help you?” she asked.

“I don’t believe so,” he replied. “I left my card with the receptionist. If you could let him know Nathan Smith was here to see him, I’d appreciate it.”

“Sure,” she replied, disappointed the compelling man was so quick to leave. There was something familiar about him. Or maybe, it was the warm, comforting scent of cigar smoke tickling her nose. “Do you want to make an appointment for later?”

“No.”

With a lingering look, Nathan Smith left. Kaylee stared after him. The short exchange left her feeling like a teenager whose secret crush had just said hello to her.

She shook her head. Her experiences with men were about as pleasant as a trip to a mental health facility. Whatever it was that made her feel giddy and warm about Nathan Smith, it wasn’t a good sign.

Or maybe it was the prescription drugs Evan gave her. They knocked her on her ass whenever she took them.

Kaylee grabbed his briefcase and returned to her office. She paused. The Shadowman’s stifling presence was gone.

She sighed deeply and leaned against her desk, relieved.

Thoughts of Shadowman and Nathan Smith soon disappeared. She opened Mike’s briefcase and pulled out his notebook. He was meticulous about his notes, which should give her insight into what he talked about with Dr. Rosewood Thursday.

The first note Mike wrote had a box drawn around it.

Have Kaylee pick up medical records from Dr. Rosewood.

“That’s not happening,” she muttered. “I’m never going back there.”

She glanced at her phone. Evan had been messaging her all day yesterday to make sure she was okay. Even his father sent his well wishes, and she smiled. Being around them had put some of her anxiety at rest. If she didn’t totally regret her trip there, then it was a testament to how good the father-son team was at trying to help people.

Still, if Mike insisted, she’d ask Evan to bring up the records when he went clubbing this week.

Kaylee sat down and began reading all the notes Mike and Tanya found about Amira Santiago, who had allegedly seen Mike’s client murder someone.

Having trouble focusing because of the meds, Kaylee sifted through her notes on the case to find the name of Mike’s client.

“Zyra Canos. Owns a club called … 3G in Maryland,” she murmured. She’d never met Mike’s client, but the club had to be successful, if the woman could afford Mike’s fees. Along with Zyra’s contact information, Mike had written extensive notes in the notebook in his briefcase.

From his scribbles, he was dismissive of the only witness in the homicide. He had outlined a plan to request her testimony be disallowed. If that failed, he had an aggressive strategy to disqualify the most condemning parts of her statement on the basis of her doctor’s claims that she often hallucinated.

Which meant she really wasn’t going to be a threat. The newspaper clippings about Amira’s disappearance pointed to Mike’s client, Zyra, as the likely culprit but was quick to point out she also had an alibi.

Not that it was Kaylee’s business to find the only witness who had a sliver of a chance to put Mike’s client in jail. The police were probably handling that, and Mike was probably thrilled to know his job defending Zyra just got easier.

What was bothering her about all this? Kaylee sat back and sighed. She was so drowsy from the meds that she couldn’t think straight. She tried to tell herself the only reason she cared about the girl who stabbed her was because she was there that night when she disappeared.

But there was something else nagging her instincts.

She rested her head on the desk, meaning to close her eyes for a few seconds with the hope of refreshing her brain with a break.

Some time later, her phone rang, jarring her awake. It was Linda. Kaylee fumbled around then clicked the speaker button.

“Kaylee,” she said.

“Hey, Kaylee. Mike’s twelve o’clock is here.”

“Okay, let me …” Kaylee glanced up to Mike’s office. “You know, he’s not back yet. Let me check the calendar. I’ll call you in a minute.”

Hanging up, she grabbed her smart phone and pulled up his calendar.

Thus far, Mike had missed two appointments, not including the one Nathan claimed to have.

She dialed his cell phone. A familiar ringtone came from his office. Kaylee let it ring and followed the sound from her office into his. She opened the top drawer of his desk to find both his work and cell phones there.

“Mike,” she muttered. “If you were ditching work, you could’ve told me.” She clicked her phone off and reached over to dial the receptionist. “Linda, can you do me a favor and reschedule? I don’t know where Mike is. I’ll call the rest of his clients he has on his schedule for today.”

“Alrighty,” Linda replied.

Kaylee went back to her office, gaze falling to the files. She checked Mike’s schedule and called everyone else booked for the day to reschedule them then sat back down.

She had too much else to do to sit and stare at the file containing information about Amira and Zyra. Reluctantly, Kaylee set the file aside and moved onto her next assignment.

Caught up in a cycle of working and dozing off, she didn’t realize how quickly the day passed, until Linda buzzed her around five.

“Kaylee.”

“Did Mike tell you if he’s free this evening?”

“No.”

“Nathan Smith came back. He said he’ll be at the Gavel at six, if Mike can meet him there.”

“Did he say what this is about?” Kaylee asked, irked. “Cuz he’s not on any schedule Mike has. There’s no files or messages anywhere about him.”

“He’s good at not answering questions,” Linda said. “He’s not from around here. Maybe he’s trying to recruit Mike.”

“Ah. That makes sense. Mike’s had a few headhunters from New York sniffing around the past six months,” Kaylee said. “God, I hope he leaves.”

“You and me both. He doesn’t treat admin professionals much better than juniors.”

“This place would definitely be better off without him,” Kaylee agreed. Her thoughts went to Nathan. “I’m almost done. I’ll drop by the Gavel and see if I can figure this guy out.”

“Tell him Mike is the best attorney on the planet and he
must
hire him.”

Kaylee laughed. “Okay. Will do.”

“I’m headed out. See you tomorrow, Kaylee.”

“Night, Linda.”

Kaylee rose with a grimace. She was healed but stiff. She straightened up her desk and replaced Mike’s briefcase, so he wasn’t pissed at her first thing in the morning when he came in.

She grabbed her purse and notepad where she’d tried to jot down notes about Amira and her sudden disappearance.

The idea she somehow managed to escape with her life twice in one night made her stop dead in the middle of the sidewalk leading to the Gavel.

He could’ve killed her in the elevator.

She started to hyperventilate, recalling how strong the man who grabbed her had been.

She’d passed out. Was there more? Had she been too drugged up to recall anything else he might’ve said?

She shook her head. Monday was the worst ever, and today had been decent. Without Mike at the office, she almost caught up with everything and had some notes for him about Amira. Hidden in her office, she doubted anyone but Linda knew she was there. No one had sought her out to try to talk to her about what happened.

Stuck between remembering her attack and the sighting of Shadowman, her hands were clammy by the time she reached the Gavel. Attorneys and paralegals had begun to fill the popular, after work hangout spot. Kaylee went to the bar and sat down. She glanced at her watch. She was fifteen minutes early.

“What can I get you?” the bartender asked.

“Vodka cranberry,” she replied. “Thanks.”

He moved away.

Tugging her notepad free, Kaylee glanced around the bar to see if the mysterious Nathan Smith had arrived yet. He hadn’t, and she focused on her notepad.

Why was Amira abducted?
She’d drawn a circle around the question while in her office, unable to figure out who would want the girl to disappear, since she wasn’t a solid enough witness to put Mike’s client in jail. The girl was beautiful with a touch of caramel in her skin marking her Brazilian heritage and dark blue eyes. She’s shimmered with the innocence of a small child.

Until she stabbed me.

Maybe that’s what bothered her most. Amira had been upset about hurting her.

Unable to sort through why Monday went awry, Kaylee glanced at her phone, growing more perplexed trying to figure out what Mike was doing. True, he would never tell a lowly junior his plans. But he should’ve at least asked her to reschedule all his meetings. He loved bossing her around and stressing her out with sudden changes in his day or schedule.

“If you’re here, I assume Mike isn’t coming.”

She looked up, enthralled by Nathan’s stunning features and piercing gaze up close. He sat in the chair beside her. As before, it took her a moment to respond. What was it about him that made her feel self-conscious? Just that he was damned good looking, like someone who should be in a movie about ancient Greek gladiators?

Or the scary-intense way he regarded her? He was almost dangerous in close proximity, his low brow and dark eyes making her think of a serial killer she saw in a movie.

She definitely had to stop watching scary movies.

“No, he’s not,” she replied.

“Seven dollars even,” the bartender said, placing her drink down. “What can I get you?” he asked Nathan.

“Put hers on my tab,” Nathan replied, handing the bartender a credit card before she could object. “Double shot of whiskey on the rocks.”

“You got it.” The bartender swept his card away.