plate or something. Seeing Wetherby brought back home how much danger
Juliet could still face. He had to be an FBI agent for her, and stop acting
like a horny teenager with no control over his hormones.
One look at Juliet’s face squelched the last of
his amorous mood and brought his guilt slamming home. Her face appeared too
pale, probably from her injury and sleepless night, another thing for which he
could only blame himself.
“What do you think they want?”
“Probably
just to go over your testimony again. Wetherby will want to ask you more
detailed questions about last night.”
Juliet picked up her filthy outfit with a
forlorn look. They had driven straight from the fire to the hotel so they had
nothing to wear but their soot-covered clothes.
Jake helped her get dressed, struggling to keep
his arousal in check as his fingers brushed against her body. Exhaling slowly,
he forced himself to stay in FBI mode, moving deliberately away from Juliet as
they headed down the hallway.
Some patrons stared at the filthy newcomers as
they made their way through the maze of tables. Jake studiously ignored them.
As requested, Wetherby had ordered them all coffee along with a platter of
pastries. The pallor of Juliet’s face announced like a flashing neon sign how
anxious all of this made her. He’d promised himself he’d move things back onto
professional ground with Juliet, but surely he would offer comfort to a nervous
witness. With a nod to himself at that rationale, he reached over and took her
hand. Yet the moment they touched, he quickly gave her hand a squeeze then let
go, jerking his arm back to his side. Touching her no longer felt as simple as
it had yesterday.
“Miss Morris,” Wetherby began, “I’m so sorry for
everything you went through last night. I should never have allowed you to
return home.”
“It’s not your fault. I wanted to. And you can
call me Juliet, please.”
“Then you should call me Michael.” He reached
across the table to place a soothing hand on top of hers. Jake wanted to leap
across the table and throttle him. He even found himself studying Wetherby,
wondering if he might be Juliet’s type. He certainly seemed a lot more like
that Brad guy she’d dated than he himself did.
Hearing something about
Martinez
, Jake forced himself to focus on the
conversation.
“You really caught him?” Juliet asked.
“Wait, you caught
Martinez
?” Jake demanded. Everyone gave him
funny looks. Obviously they’d just been discussing all the details of his
arrest. Harris smirked at him, glancing from Wetherby’s hand beside Juliet’s to
Jake’s tense face. He apparently decided to take pity on Jake, however, and
repeat himself. Jake only hoped Juliet hadn’t caught the flash of jealousy that
Harris evidently noticed.
“We nabbed him late last night after the fire,”
Harris explained. “We hoped the guys who’d torched Juliet’s place might return
to one of their usual hangouts to report to
Martinez
, so we sent out several teams to
raid all the potential spots at once. Sure enough, we found
Martinez
with one of his lieutenants. He was
arraigned this morning.”
“Is he going to take a plea?”
Wetherby shook his head. “He and his lawyer
might change their minds after the preliminary hearing, but right now they
intend to move forward.”
“How long will that take?” Juliet’s voice shook.
She clenched her hands together so tightly her knuckles turned white.
Wetherby
moved as if to take Juliet’s hand again, so Jake snatched it up first. But when
Juliet gave him one of those knight-in-shining-armor looks, he could have
kicked himself. He had to put a stop to this before it got completely out of
hand.
“It truly depends on which motions get filed and
how long
Martinez
’s
lawyer can manage to delay. Longer delays almost always benefit the defense
more than the prosecution, and, especially in a capital case like this, they’re
going to try for any advantage they can
Juliet could still face. He had to be an FBI agent for her, and stop acting
like a horny teenager with no control over his hormones.
One look at Juliet’s face squelched the last of
his amorous mood and brought his guilt slamming home. Her face appeared too
pale, probably from her injury and sleepless night, another thing for which he
could only blame himself.
“What do you think they want?”
“Probably
just to go over your testimony again. Wetherby will want to ask you more
detailed questions about last night.”
Juliet picked up her filthy outfit with a
forlorn look. They had driven straight from the fire to the hotel so they had
nothing to wear but their soot-covered clothes.
Jake helped her get dressed, struggling to keep
his arousal in check as his fingers brushed against her body. Exhaling slowly,
he forced himself to stay in FBI mode, moving deliberately away from Juliet as
they headed down the hallway.
Some patrons stared at the filthy newcomers as
they made their way through the maze of tables. Jake studiously ignored them.
As requested, Wetherby had ordered them all coffee along with a platter of
pastries. The pallor of Juliet’s face announced like a flashing neon sign how
anxious all of this made her. He’d promised himself he’d move things back onto
professional ground with Juliet, but surely he would offer comfort to a nervous
witness. With a nod to himself at that rationale, he reached over and took her
hand. Yet the moment they touched, he quickly gave her hand a squeeze then let
go, jerking his arm back to his side. Touching her no longer felt as simple as
it had yesterday.
“Miss Morris,” Wetherby began, “I’m so sorry for
everything you went through last night. I should never have allowed you to
return home.”
“It’s not your fault. I wanted to. And you can
call me Juliet, please.”
“Then you should call me Michael.” He reached
across the table to place a soothing hand on top of hers. Jake wanted to leap
across the table and throttle him. He even found himself studying Wetherby,
wondering if he might be Juliet’s type. He certainly seemed a lot more like
that Brad guy she’d dated than he himself did.
Hearing something about
Martinez
, Jake forced himself to focus on the
conversation.
“You really caught him?” Juliet asked.
“Wait, you caught
Martinez
?” Jake demanded. Everyone gave him
funny looks. Obviously they’d just been discussing all the details of his
arrest. Harris smirked at him, glancing from Wetherby’s hand beside Juliet’s to
Jake’s tense face. He apparently decided to take pity on Jake, however, and
repeat himself. Jake only hoped Juliet hadn’t caught the flash of jealousy that
Harris evidently noticed.
“We nabbed him late last night after the fire,”
Harris explained. “We hoped the guys who’d torched Juliet’s place might return
to one of their usual hangouts to report to
Martinez
, so we sent out several teams to
raid all the potential spots at once. Sure enough, we found
Martinez
with one of his lieutenants. He was
arraigned this morning.”
“Is he going to take a plea?”
Wetherby shook his head. “He and his lawyer
might change their minds after the preliminary hearing, but right now they
intend to move forward.”
“How long will that take?” Juliet’s voice shook.
She clenched her hands together so tightly her knuckles turned white.
Wetherby
moved as if to take Juliet’s hand again, so Jake snatched it up first. But when
Juliet gave him one of those knight-in-shining-armor looks, he could have
kicked himself. He had to put a stop to this before it got completely out of
hand.
“It truly depends on which motions get filed and
how long
Martinez
’s
lawyer can manage to delay. Longer delays almost always benefit the defense
more than the prosecution, and, especially in a capital case like this, they’re
going to try for any advantage they can
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