Page 2 of A Legal Affair
She leaned back in her seat as Noah claimed the chair beside her, stretching out long legs covered in tan slacks. His features were the mirror image of his brother’s, the resemblance between them so striking that strangers often mistook them for twins. But the similarities ended there, for though they’d both chosen careers in law enforcement, Kenneth had opted for a desk job in Internal Affairs while Noah had worked as a beat cop before being promoted to homicide detective.
“What did Mayor Philbin want?” Daniela asked.
“Our services,” Kenneth answered. “He wants to hire us for a big assignment.”
Daniela felt a surge of excitement, but kept her expression neutral. She knew from past experience that big cases were usually handled by her brothers, with little or no involvement from her. “I’m listening.”
“Have you ever heard of Crandall Thorne?”
She frowned. “Is that a trick question? Who in this townhasn’theard of Crandall Thorne? He’s a titan of the legal world. A bigshot defense attorney who specializes in helping white-collar criminals beat the rap—like that scumbag CEO three years ago who defrauded his employees of their retirement savings, but got off because the government couldn’t make the charges stick. Or the labor union boss who was charged withracketeering and money laundering, but walked away scot-free thanks to his fork-tongued attorney.” Her mouth twisted cynically. “Again I ask, Whohasn’theard of Crandall Thorne?”
Kenneth and Noah exchanged amused glances. “Gee, El, tell us what youreallythink,” Noah teased.
Daniela took aim at his shin with the pointy toe of her alligator-skin sling-back pumps. He laughed, wisely moving his leg out of harm’s way.
She returned her attention to Kenneth. “What does Hoyt Philbin have to do with Crandall Thorne?”
“While in office, Philbin spent a great deal of time and resources investigating Thorne’s law firm. He believes that Thorne has ties to the Mexican mafia and is guilty of everything from bribery and witness tampering to economic espionage and public corruption. Unfortunately—or perhaps fortunately for us—he hasn’t been able to prove any of it. His failure to take down Crandall Thorne has been, if you’ll pardon the pun, a thorn in his side. Now that he’s out of office and retired from politics, he’s free to use his wealth any way he sees fit.” A slow grin crawled across Kenneth’s face. “As luck would have it, he’s chosen to share some of that wealth with us. All we have to do is establish a link between Thorne and the Mexican mafia, or provide some incontrovertible proof of the firm’s criminal negligence. Then Philbin and his buddies at the U.S. Attorney’s Office will take care of the rest.”
Daniela frowned, taking a sip of coffee. “With all due respect, how are we supposed to get the dirt on Thorne when all the king’s men have failed? I mean, don’t get me wrong, fellas—we’re good. But if the mayor and his arsenal of investigators couldn’t get the job done, what chance do we have?”
Kenneth smiled as if at some private amusement. “What we have over ‘all the king’s men’ is a secret weapon.”
“Which is?”
“You.”
Daniela blinked, nonplussed. “I don’t understand.”
Kenneth stood and rounded the desk to claim the leather executive throne behind it. He not only had the largest office in the building, but the best furniture. “Crandall Thorne is very ill. He’s suffering from acute renal failure, according to Philbin’s sources, and there’s talk that his only son, Caleb, will soon step in to run the law firm. That’s where you come in, Daniela.”
She had a sneaking suspicion she wasn’t going to like what her brother said next. So she said it for him. “You want me to befriend Caleb Thorne to get the goods on his father.”
“That’s the general idea.” Kenneth traded a speaking look with his brother before adding, “Of course, making him fall in love with you would almost guarantee we get the kind of dirt we really want.”
Daniela gaped first at Kenneth and then Noah. She set her cup down on the desk, sloshing hot coffee onto the mahogany surface, and lunged to her feet. “I don’t believe this! You’re asking me tosleepwith a complete stranger?”
Noah looked stricken. “Of course not! We wouldn’t?—”
“Youmight not, but I wouldn’t put anything pasthim,” she fumed, jabbing an accusing finger at Kenneth. “For the right price, Kenneth Roarke would sell his own mother to the devil!”
“Hey, that’s not fair!” he protested, indignation propelling him forward in his chair. “For your information, the main reason I accepted this assignmentwasMom! Philbin intends to pay us enough money to make sure she never has to work another day in her life! If you don’t believe me, take a look at the retainer he left behind.”
Daniela hesitated, then grudgingly reached for the check he’d thrust at her. She thought her eyes were deceiving her when she saw the amount made payable to Roarke Investigations.
She lifted incredulous eyes to Kenneth’s face. “This c–can’t be right.”
“Oh, it is, believe me. Hoyt Philbin is very serious about securing our services. And that’s just the deposit. There’s much more where that came from. How much more, you ask?” The number he rattled off made Daniela gasp.
In the gentle, conciliatory tone he used to calm hysterical wives hell-bent on catching their husbands in the act of cheating, Kenneth said, “Sit down, El. Hear us out before you make any hasty decisions. Please?”
She sat, but only because he’d asked nicely. She passed the check back to him, half afraid it would turn to fairy dust if she clutched it a moment longer. It was the largest retainer they’d ever received. The kind of money Philbin was promising would not only ensure their widowed mother’s permanent retirement from nursing, but would also give Pamela Roarke the down payment necessary for the Hill Country ranch she’d secretly dreamed of owning for years. Daniela would have to be a fool, or the worst kind of daughter, to turn down such a golden opportunity.
Still, it rankled that her brothers had accepted an assignment—in which she would play a crucial role—without her knowledge or consent.
“No one’s asking you to sleep with Caleb Thorne,” Noah began, with a pointed look at his brother. “What Kenny wasgoingto say earlier is that there are other ways to make a man fall for you, ways that don’t necessarily lead to the bedroom.” He looked embarrassed, as if he couldn’t believe he was actually attempting to school his baby sister on the art of seduction.
Smothering a grin at his obvious discomfiture, Daniela reached over and patted his muscled shoulder. “It’s all right, Noah,” she said with sham gravity. “I’m twenty-seven years old.I think I can figure out how to make a boy like me without compromising my virtue.”
