Read Online Listed: Volume I by Noelle Adams - Free Book Online Page A

paired it with a little vintage blouse she’d found in a thrift
store. She’d hoped to look as mature and professional as possible when she met
with the staff from the U.S. attorney’s office. Now her suit felt too tight, though,
and the pins she’d used to secure her hair were poking her painfully in the
head.
    She
had to fight the urge to yank out the pins and rub her scalp with her fingers.
She’d slipped her high heels off under the table, but she hadn’t taken off her jacket.
She’d been too hot for the last hour, and she was afraid she might have sweated
through her thin blouse.
    “Mrs.
Marino,” an assistant U.S. attorney named Bill Hathaway asked from across the
table, “Can you tell us what he said in the conversation you overheard?”
    “He
was threatening the other man, Jud Bentley, about a shipment of drugs he’d been
cheated on,” Emily replied, after closing her eyes briefly and taking a slow
sip of water.
    “Can
you repeat the exact words, please?”
    Emily
glanced over to a chair on the other side of the room, where Paul was observing
the proceedings. He’d insisted on being present, although she would have been
more comfortable without his sharp, observant gaze on her the entire time.
Their eyes met briefly now, but she couldn’t really tell what he was thinking.
    She
searched her memory and repeated the words Vincent Marino had spoken in that
conversation—a conversation she would now give anything to unhear.
    When
she’d finished her answer, she rubbed her temples as discreetly as she could,
trying to ease the throbbing in her head. For a moment, it hurt so much a wave
of heat slammed into her. Her stomach lurched dangerously.
    She
took a deep shaky breath and tried to pull herself together. They had a lot of
ground to cover in this deposition. She knew why they needed to do this, even
though she was still on the docket to testify at Marino’s trial the month after
next.
    There
was no guarantee that she’d be alive at the trial, and they needed an official
record of her testimony that could be offered in lieu of her live body in the
witness stand.
    But
it wasn’t any fun. She knew the deposition would probably take a good chunk of
the day, and later she would have to be questioned by the defense attorney. He and
his associate were here now, farther down the table, busily taking notes as she
talked.
    She
could ask to cut it short because of her headache and pick up again next week,
but she’d rather just get it over with today.
    She
put a discreet hand on her belly and tried to breathe deeply, fighting past the
pain and nausea so she could pay attention.
    “So,
Mrs. Marino,” Hathaway continued, looking down at his notes before asking his
next question, “Can you tell us what happened after you overheard—”
    “I
think we need a break,” Paul interrupted. He’d been peering at her closely and
had evidently drawn his own conclusions.
    The
lawyers from Paul’s law firm who were present in the conference room responded
immediately, looking up and putting down their notes. But Hathaway’s face
flickered with annoyance before he managed to say politely, “Of course. If Mrs.
Marino needs another break—”
    “I
don’t need a break,” Emily interrupted, glaring in Paul’s direction although
her eyes were so blurry she couldn’t really focus on him. “We just had a break
not long ago.”
    Paul
had stood up, the charcoal gray suit he wore smoothly following his motion. He
normally dressed more casually but, like her, he must have wanted to convey a
professional appearance today. He gave her one more quick look of scrutiny
before he turned back to Hathaway. “We need more than fifteen minutes. Should
we start up again at about twelve-thirty?”
    Hathaway
obviously wasn’t pleased by the delay, but he said, “That’s fine.”
    “It’s not fine,” Emily objected, trying to get her shoes back on so she could
stand up. “I told you—”
    Paul
completely ignored her. He