Mary Baxter - Like Silk

Collier hung up and headed for Brittany’s bedroom door. His gut instinct told him that she would be ready and waiting. He paused, his hand on the knob, sweat lining his upper lip.

Apologize. That was the first order of the day. But he knew he couldn’t bring himself to do that, because he wasn’t sorry. Not for the right reasons, anyway. His chest felt like it was caving in. He paused, took a deep breath, then let loose a few expletives under his breath.

He opened the door, nipping his circling, self-hating thoughts in the bud.

“So what’s the verdict?” Kyle asked.

Collier faced the door and watched as the investigator strode in, a stack of papers in hand. “Man, you and Dad. Give you a whip and your torture chamber would be complete.”

Kyle was of medium height and weight, with medium brown hair and eyes. Everything about him was medium, except his intelligence. There was nothing medium about that. He was one of the sharpest men Collier had ever worked with. He shuddered to see the day Kyle took a notion to leave.

Since he wasn’t married and had no ties that bind, he had a reputation for getting bored and moving on to greener pastures. Because of that, Collier worked hard to make sure he was one happy—and busy—employee.

He gave Collier a pointed look. “Learned it from the chamber master.”

Collier snorted, then rose behind his desk. “Somehow I don’t think that’s a compliment.”

“Sure it is,” Kyle muttered offhandedly, then grinned.

“Sit your ass down.”

Kyle chuckled. “I need something to get me going. You got any coffee? I didn’t even take time to stop by the kitchen.”

“I’ve been here since dawn-thirty. I’m working on my second pot, so help yourself.”

“Man, you must be wired and ready to go.”

“I’m wired, all right, but not ready to go. Not with that harassment case, if that’s what you mean.”

Kyle didn’t respond. Instead he crossed to the coffee bar in a far corner of the opulent office, where he poured himself a generous cup. Once he was seated directly in front of Collier’s desk, he said, “I was thinking about the appointment.”

“You’re rushing things. I’m one of four in the pot.”

This time Kyle snorted. “You’ll get the appointment. I’m not worried.”

“Well, I am,” Collier countered flatly.

Kyle swallowed a mouthful of coffee, then set his cup down. “Why? From what I know of the other candidates, you’re far superior to any of them.”

“Are you forgetting I have no, quote, ‘political experience,’ unquote, under my belt?”

Kyle shrugged. “So?”

“So the others have, especially Travis Wainwright.”

“That prick. He won’t get to first base.”

Collier frowned. “Are you forgetting he’s Rupert Holt’s choice? You know what power that guy wields with Senator Riley.”

“The senator’s backing you, right?”

“That’s the impression I got, but you never really know.”

“Ah, you’re just borrowing trouble.”

“Don’t think I’m not going to fight for the job, because I am,” Collier stressed. “I want it, and Dad wants me to have it. I can’t, won’t, disappoint him.”

“That’s not going to happen,” Kyle responded, his tone confident.

“We’ll see. But it’ll be tough. If I get anywhere close to being the top choice, the FBI’s going to jump in and scrutinize me closer than a bug under a microscope.”

“So?” Kyle said again. “You don’t have any skeletons in your closet.”

“We all have skeletons.” Collier sighed, then rubbed his chin. “But now’s not the time to go into that.”

“If anything will give you trouble, it’ll be this upcoming case.”

“I’ve thought about that, and so has Dad. He’s not happy I took it.”

“As far as the firm goes, it’s damn lucrative and good for business. It never hurts to have a bigwig like Luther Brickman in your pocket.”

“Only if I win his case.” Collier took a heavy breath. “You know how tricky harassment cases are. I probably wouldn’t have taken it if I’d known I’d be up for the judgeship.”

Kyle grinned. “Doesn’t matter. You can have both.”

“Yeah? Then you’d better get cracking on your end. The woman who’s his main accuser is one tough cookie. This could get nasty. And there are other cases awaiting my attention.” Collier raised his eyebrows. “Are you forgetting that?”

“Nope. Just tell me what I need to do and it’ll be done.” Kyle paused. “By the way, did you get through all those depositions?”

“No.”

Kyle’s jaw went slack. “No? How ’bout some of them?”

“Didn’t do that, either.”

“What the hell does that mean?”

“Exactly what I said,” Collier said impatiently.

“But that’s why you went to the cabin.” Kyle’s tone was incredulous. “I thought you said you got a lot of work done?”

Collier knew he should cut the other man some slack, but he was reluctant to talk about Brittany. Just the thought sent cold chills through him. Not that he had to give Kyle any of the juicy details, he reminded himself with a trace of sarcasm. Yet he felt it necessary to tell him the bare facts, just in case the incident came back to bite him on the butt. Under the circumstances, he was probably overreacting. But with the stakes being so high, he couldn’t take that chance.

“What’s wrong?” Kyle’s words were as blunt as his tone.

“Nothing’s wrong, exactly.”

“Hell, man, stop hedging. Something happened, and of all people who should know, it’s me.”

Collier took a deep breath. “I picked up a woman.”

“Where?”

“On the side of the highway.”

“Holy shit,” Kyle said under his breath. “I think you’d better pretend I’m a priest and you’re in a confessional.”

Collier told him the gist of what had happened.

“Holy shit,” Kyle muttered again, getting to his feet, his eyes narrowed on Collier. “That was about the craziest-assed stunt you could’ve pulled.”

“You would’ve stopped, too, and you damn well know it.”

“Not if I had as much to lose as you,” Kyle shot back.

“Well, it’s a done deal, so there’s no point in arguing about it now.”

“Does Mason know?”

“Hell no, and he’s not going to, either.”

“Then you’d better pray nothing comes of this. If that little tramp decides to accuse you of trying to rape her…”

Fury choked off Collier’s voice. But when he spoke, his words were cold and hard. “She’s not a tramp. Don’t ever say that again.”

Kyle was taken aback by his tone. His face drained of color. “Sorry, boss, didn’t mean any offense.”

“Just forget it, okay?”

“No problem for me, as long as it isn’t one for you. Just keep the dangers in mind, that’s all.”

Kyle’s refusal to back down made Collier respect him even more. Right now, he needed someone to keep him on the straight and narrow.

The mere thought of Brittany melted his bones and gave him a hard-on. No matter, there could never be a repeat performance. No more self-indulgence.

“It’s not like I’ll be seeing her again.”

“I hope that would go without saying.”

“Well, I’m saying it. I have no intention of jeopardizing anything.”

“That’s music to my ears.” Kyle reached for his cup, then took a sip, only to frown. “Damn, nothing’s worse than cold coffee.”

Collier nodded toward the bar. “Make a fresh pot, then.”

“Nah. Gotta get to work. My desk is piled almost as high as yours.”

“Let me know when you dig up something on Virginia Warner.” He frowned as he said the name of the woman who had brought suit against Brickman. “She can’t be as lily-white as she appears.”