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Authors: Melinda Leigh
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girl in trouble. She seemed to foster the same hero complex as Grant, except she wasn’t a former army officer.
“Yeah. He popped her in the head.” Grant tapped his temple. Fury flared in his eyes. Clearly, he was working hard to keep his temper in check.
Knowing some criminal had put his hands on her sent Brody’s blood into a silent boil. Call him old-fashioned, but there was no excuse for a man to ever raise his hand to a woman.
Grant agreed with a grim nod. “Hannah rallied, but after she got the girl into her car, he rammed them with his SUV.”
Footsteps in the hall silenced them. The door opened, and Hannah walked in. Grant gave her his chair. She eased into it as if her entire body hurt. But when she turned to face Brody, her gaze was as sharp as usual. “Grant said you have some news.”
Brody hesitated. Why couldn’t he ever bring her good news? “The defense attorney for Lee and Kate’s killer has filed for another postponement.”
She leaned back and crossed her legs. “What’s their claim this time?”
The trial had already seen delays due to a mental health evaluation for the defendant, assault charges filed against Grant by the defendant, and a psychological examination of Carson, who the defense attorney insisted testify though the prosecutor said it shouldn’t be necessary.
“They want to move the trial, claiming that publicity has tainted the potential jury pool.”
“I’m not surprised. I should have predicted it.” Hannah’s expression turned stormy.
“The prosecutor will be in touch later this week. I just wanted to give you a heads-up.”
She lifted her eyes. “I know notifying families isn’t your job, so thank you.”
“I didn’t want to see you blindsided.” Brody wished he could make it all go away. She and her family deserved peace.
“I appreciate it. Grant will be away, but I’ll meet with the prosecutor this week.” Hannah hugged her waist. Despite her confident tone and words, she looked vulnerable, and when Brody imagined a man hurting her, he wanted to break something. Like a head.
Through the door, Ellie called Grant’s name.
“Excuse me for a minute.” Grant went into the hall, leaving the door open.
“Now you want to tell me what really happened in Vegas?” Brody asked. “Unless you fell into a fist, you’ve been bullshitting me with that accident story.”
Hannah got up and closed the door. Turning, she gave him her opposing-counsel scrutiny. “Grant told you, didn’t he?”
Brody leaned forward, hands clasped, forearms resting on his thighs. “He said you intervened between a man and his girlfriend.”
“That’s not exactly what happened.” She shivered. “I didn’t tell Grant everything. The man got away—with the girl.”
“Oh.” Brody sat back. Shock and alarm filled him as she told him her story.
“And yesterday I got an e-mail that appears to have come from that girl.”
“And you’re just telling me now?”
Hannah glanced away. “I reported it to the Las Vegas police. I was waiting to hear back from them. I didn’t think I was in any immediate danger.”
“He took your purse?”
“My phone, too.” Hannah nodded. “He has my e-mail and cell number as well, though I had my provider disconnect service and remotely wipe the contents of that phone.”
“Does he have this address?”
“Yes. He has my driver’s license, et cetera. But he’s thousands of miles away. The Vegas cop was more concerned with identity theft.”
Thousands of miles didn’t feel like enough distance to Brody. “What did the e-mail say?”
“ ‘Help. The end comes Tuesday. ’ ” Hannah’s voice broke. “That’s it. The subject line was the girl’s name. The detective in Vegas said it was untraceable. It was sent from an anonymous e-mail account called Hide My Identity, and the IP address of the computer was shielded with a virtual private network. He suggested I let my local police know about the incident.” She
“Yeah. He popped her in the head.” Grant tapped his temple. Fury flared in his eyes. Clearly, he was working hard to keep his temper in check.
Knowing some criminal had put his hands on her sent Brody’s blood into a silent boil. Call him old-fashioned, but there was no excuse for a man to ever raise his hand to a woman.
Grant agreed with a grim nod. “Hannah rallied, but after she got the girl into her car, he rammed them with his SUV.”
Footsteps in the hall silenced them. The door opened, and Hannah walked in. Grant gave her his chair. She eased into it as if her entire body hurt. But when she turned to face Brody, her gaze was as sharp as usual. “Grant said you have some news.”
Brody hesitated. Why couldn’t he ever bring her good news? “The defense attorney for Lee and Kate’s killer has filed for another postponement.”
She leaned back and crossed her legs. “What’s their claim this time?”
The trial had already seen delays due to a mental health evaluation for the defendant, assault charges filed against Grant by the defendant, and a psychological examination of Carson, who the defense attorney insisted testify though the prosecutor said it shouldn’t be necessary.
“They want to move the trial, claiming that publicity has tainted the potential jury pool.”
“I’m not surprised. I should have predicted it.” Hannah’s expression turned stormy.
“The prosecutor will be in touch later this week. I just wanted to give you a heads-up.”
She lifted her eyes. “I know notifying families isn’t your job, so thank you.”
“I didn’t want to see you blindsided.” Brody wished he could make it all go away. She and her family deserved peace.
“I appreciate it. Grant will be away, but I’ll meet with the prosecutor this week.” Hannah hugged her waist. Despite her confident tone and words, she looked vulnerable, and when Brody imagined a man hurting her, he wanted to break something. Like a head.
Through the door, Ellie called Grant’s name.
“Excuse me for a minute.” Grant went into the hall, leaving the door open.
“Now you want to tell me what really happened in Vegas?” Brody asked. “Unless you fell into a fist, you’ve been bullshitting me with that accident story.”
Hannah got up and closed the door. Turning, she gave him her opposing-counsel scrutiny. “Grant told you, didn’t he?”
Brody leaned forward, hands clasped, forearms resting on his thighs. “He said you intervened between a man and his girlfriend.”
“That’s not exactly what happened.” She shivered. “I didn’t tell Grant everything. The man got away—with the girl.”
“Oh.” Brody sat back. Shock and alarm filled him as she told him her story.
“And yesterday I got an e-mail that appears to have come from that girl.”
“And you’re just telling me now?”
Hannah glanced away. “I reported it to the Las Vegas police. I was waiting to hear back from them. I didn’t think I was in any immediate danger.”
“He took your purse?”
“My phone, too.” Hannah nodded. “He has my e-mail and cell number as well, though I had my provider disconnect service and remotely wipe the contents of that phone.”
“Does he have this address?”
“Yes. He has my driver’s license, et cetera. But he’s thousands of miles away. The Vegas cop was more concerned with identity theft.”
Thousands of miles didn’t feel like enough distance to Brody. “What did the e-mail say?”
“ ‘Help. The end comes Tuesday. ’ ” Hannah’s voice broke. “That’s it. The subject line was the girl’s name. The detective in Vegas said it was untraceable. It was sent from an anonymous e-mail account called Hide My Identity, and the IP address of the computer was shielded with a virtual private network. He suggested I let my local police know about the incident.” She
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