That allowed me to see the man for who he truly was.
A cold-blooded killer. A monster.
Leaving a body in a populated area had allowed him to be found quickly. That didn’t sound like any intelligent criminal, let alone a man with a Yale education with a powerful, influential family backing him. Pictures of the scene indicated a sloppy assassin at best action. More as if done by someone out of rage instead of calculated elimination.
Maybe I didn’t have all the information, but there was almost no evidence pinning the murder on Mr. Prince. Still, I had to be cautious of allowing his release to be easy.
The defending attorney choked on purpose and stood. “Your honor. Two million dollars? Not only is the amount almost unheard of, but given the lack of evidence, the amount is ridiculous.”
“Maybe so, but Mr. Prince has a passport. His families own several jets and various properties outside the United States. In addition, Mr. Prince has access to at least six offshore bank accounts. I believe he’s a flight risk.”
“He has ties to this community,” Sebastian Drake barked, almost talking over me. “He has family here. Brothers. A sister. His businesses are here, several of them. I hardly think as an innocent man Mr. Prince is willing to risk everything because of this trumped-up charge.”
I almost laughed. Not a bad performance although he definitely lived up to his smarmy reputation. When I started to rebut what he’d said, the judge threw up his hand.
“I’ve heard enough. What bail amount are you suggesting, Mr. Drake?”
“We ask for fifty thousand dollars.”
While usually fairly good at keeping my mouth shut at inappropriate times, the absurdity of a mere fifty thousand dollars when the family was worth billions was something I couldn’t ignore. So I laughed, which instantly angered the judge.
“Fifty thousand sounds about right to me.” He smashed down the gavel so hard even I jumped.
“All rise,” the bailiff said and the judge was already halfway out the door.
I stood silently, trying to recoil from the rapid fire of what had just occurred. Without knowing why Mr. Bernat had insisted I take the case, I shouldn’t be worried about the facts of the case. That wasn’t my job, or at least so I believed.
Except they bothered me.
Aware of whispers next to me, I began to collect my things. There was no need to belabor the point. I’d slink back to the office, get a few things accomplished, and leave for the day.
The hair on the back of my neck suddenly stood on end. This time as I was trying to hold my breath, I gathered a whiff of an exotic aftershave, the scent highly intoxicating. I also experienced a tickle of shock as if I’d accidentally touched a live wire.
When I slowly turned my head, I realized the reason.
Alexander Prince remained inside the courtroom.
And we were very much alone.
CHAPTER 5
Alexander
An angel from heaven.
That had been the impression lingering for days after I’d run into the enchanting attorney on the street. Even after learning about my father’s murder, I’d thought of her more than once.
She’d had no understanding that the man I’d saved her from hadn’t been solely interested in stealing her car to escape me. There’d been a good chance he’d have forced her to go with him, dumping her body later. At least I’d been honest with her in admitting I was a very bad man.
Yet here we were.
Even though I’d nearly lost my mind, beating the crap out of an opponent in the boxing ring, I’d thought about her.
Even after being arrested for a crime I hadn’t committed, I’d spent way too much time undressing her in my mind, enjoyingthe perks of such a vivid imagination. Doing so had staved off the rage while suffering in solitary inside the jail.
Yet if things had been different, I would have followed my instincts, ensuring who she was and her purpose in running into me. There were no such things as coincidences in my world. With the number of enemies we had, there were potential threats everywhere, the day and time allowing for creative methods of imposing destruction.
Including the use of a stunning, intelligent woman.
