William Bernhardt - Capitol Threat

Ben barely hesitated a moment. “Nothing important. Just tying up some loose ends.”

“Nothing bad about the Wilderness Bill?”

“Of course not.”

“That’s a relief.” She glanced down at her book. “But I still have a packed morning. I’ve got to meet with the administrative assistant for the—”

Ben pulled her close to him. “How would you feel about going on a little trip?”

“Huh?”

“I thought we might go visit Tad.”

“Tad? Tad Roush? Are you crazy? The Court is in session.”

“I called ahead. He’ll be waiting for us.”

“Why?”

Ben pulled her even closer, till they were practically nose-to-nose. “Christina—how would you feel about being married by a justice of the Supreme Court?”

Christina’s lips parted. For a brief moment, she didn’t even speak. “By— what —?” She tried again. “You mean, get married to you?”

“That was what I had in mind, yes.”

“You mean— now ?”

“Can you think of a better time?”

“But this is awfully sudden.”

“Is it? Seems like this relationship has been dragging on for several novel-length years.”

“I meant sudden as measured in Ben Kincaid time.” She smiled softly, then touched the side of his cheek. “Are you going to run for reelection?”

“Does it matter? No matter what we decide to do, we’ll be…partners.”

Her crystal blue eyes sparkled. “Partners?” she said breathlessly. “Really? Partners?”

He pressed his nose against hers. “Till death do us part.”

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

WILLIAM BERNHARDT is the author of many novels, including Primary Justice, Murder One, Criminal Intent, Death Row, Hate Crime, Dark Eye, and Capitol Murder. He has twice won the Oklahoma Book Award for Best Fiction, and in 2000 he was presented the H. Louise Cobb Distinguished Author Award “in recognition of an outstanding body of work in which we understand ourselves and American society at large.” A former trial attorney, Bernhardt has received several awards for his public service. He lives in Tulsa, and readers can e-mail him at wb@williambernhardt.com or visit his website at www.williambernhardt.com.

Also by WILLIAM BERNHARDT

FEATURING BEN KINCAID

Primary Justice

Blind Justice

Deadly Justice

Perfect Justice

Cruel Justice

Naked Justice

Extreme Justice

Dark Justice

Silent Justice

Murder One

Criminal Intent

Death Row

Hate Crime

Capitol Murder

OTHER NOVELS

The Code of Buddyhood

Double Jeopardy

The Midnight Before Christmas

Final Round

Dark Eye

EDITED BY WILLIAM BERNHARDT

Legal Briefs

Natural Suspect

FOR YOUNG READERS

Equal Justice: The Courage of Ada Sipuel

(with Kim Henry)

Capitol Threat is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

Copyright © 2007 by William Bernhardt

All rights reserved.

Published in the United States by Ballantine Books, an imprint of The Random House Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc., New York.

BALLANTINE and colophon are registered trademarks of Random House, Inc.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Bernhardt, William.

Capitol threat : a novel / by William Bernhardt.

p. cm.

1. Kincaid, Ben (Fictitious character)—Fiction. 2. Legislators—United States—Fiction. 3. United States. Supreme Court—Officials and employees—Selection and appointment—Fiction. 4. Libel and slander—Fiction. 5. Washington (D.C.)—Fiction. 6. Political fiction. I. Title.

PS3552.E73147C39 2007

813'.54—dc22 2006048503

www.ballantinebooks.com

eISBN: 978-0-345-49805-2

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