38

Selena

Espionage.

That’s what I was planning on doing by stealing information from my office. Well, technically it shouldn’t be considered thievery. Who was I kidding? If my affair with the sexy man didn’t end my career, what I was in the middle of doing certainly would. I rubbed my hands down my arms, trying to control my breathing.

And my perspiration.

While I’d had little time to go through my suspicions, they’d been enough to realize that what was likely happening would soon become explosive. However, the conspiracy theory we’d developed wouldn’t be easily believed by anyone. That’s where what I intended on doing came in. The more evidence we found, the better off we’d be.

Or we’d both be killed.

It was crazy what I was thinking, the thought driving me to the point of being physically ill. But my gut told me I was right about Christine and her friends. Now if only I could find something that would begin derailing their plan. Maybe I was fooling myself I could do something of this nature without being caught. Joshua had almost refused to allow me to come to work, only doing so after I made a damn good argument about gathEricag evidence.

I was very good at my job.

Somehow, the admittance didn’t provide any comfort at this point.

Working throughout the day had been difficult, but necessary. I was meeting Joshua after work at a restaurant downtown, which wasn’t necessarily in my best interest or his, but we had to determine a course of action. The court date was looming, and I’d need to pretend I was working toward getting a conviction or Christine and her merry band of vicious women might find another way of attacking.

I still had difficulty believing she could be so evil in her determination to fulfill her childhood dreams, but in truth, nothing should surprise me any longer. That didn’t mean I wasn’t sick to my stomach, everything I’d believed in being challenged. I’d been the good girl, following rules to the letter, ensuring I did the right thing. Now I was beginning to wonder whether I hadn’t been drinking some of the Kool-Aid Christine obviously had been, my desire to become the most highly respected prosecutor at a young age pushing me into something wrong.

I’d spent some time thinking about other cases, wondEricag if in my push for a guilty verdict I’d cut corners or stretched evidence.Christine had mentored me closely over the years, providing tips and tricks.

I glanced out the window into the bright sunshine, unable to notice the man assigned to protect me in Joshua’s absence. But I knew he was there, perusing the building every so often, keeping an eye on the comings and goings. The parking lot was filled with enough vehicles, the rental SUV wouldn’t be paid any attention to. Still, I remained uneasy, certain Christine was watching my every move.

There was nothing like being shadowed by a man considered a bad guy to get a woman’s blood flowing. A part of me felt safer by him following his boss’s orders. But the other part of me was forced to accept just how much danger I was in.

That made me constantly glance over my shoulder, my nerves on high alert the entire time I sat behind my desk or filed papers at the courthouse for my other cases. I’d noticed Christine had met with two individuals I didn’t recognize, both times the parties glancing toward my office. I hated having the glass walls, everyone able to peer in as if I was a rat shoved into a glass prison.

I was no criminal, the thought of stealing information keeping perspiration staining my silk blouse just like Joshua had accused me of. I was also jumpy, which even my assistant had commented on. Whatever was going on was escalating. I could feel it in my blood and bones.

And I was terrified.

I took a deep breath, returning to my desk, trying to concentrate on doing my work. A few seconds later, I glanced at the jump drive for the umpteenth time as it collected additionalinformation, including every scrap of information available on the case against Joshua. I also found a file containing data on the other two similar murders, which made it seem as if Christine was determined to have me pin those murders on him as well. When had she planned on telling me?

What I hadn’t found was any real smoking gun, but I believed that by piecing information together, I might be able to find something. If only I could get into Christine’s office where she kept files that I’d never been privy to. We all kept files in our office, not everything digitized, but she kept them under lock and key.

Still, I was grabbing everything from the mainframe I could find in hopes I would eventually be able to piece together an entirely different string of evidence, only this time against the very establishment that I’d wanted to work for from the time I’d stepped foot into college. I’d handpicked them, thrilled I’d been selected among a candidate list of over three hundred to be one of two interns. As long as Christine didn’t have my computer being tracked, hopefully I’d be able to find something. I’d heard of that possibility. Granted, only in the movies but I wouldn’t put it past her by a long shot to have bugged my office as well.

God, my imagination was getting the better of me.

When my cellphone rang, I jumped. Seeing Jenny on the line, I took a deep breath. “Hey, girl.”

“I called you earlier. Now you’re neglecting me?” Jenny laughed. “You want to grab a bite after work?”

“I can’t. I need to hunker down and work on the case against J… Mr. James.”

“Oh, yeah. I understand it’s going to trial next week. That’s a quick turnaround.”

“I know and I don’t like it at all.”

“I thought you pulled some strings.”

I took a deep breath, glancing at Christine’s closed door. “No, but something weird is going on.”

“What does that mean?”

“Have you ever felt as if there’s a conspiracy within the system?”

Jenny choked on whatever she was drinking. “What are you talking about?”

“I’m being pressured to make certain the conviction against Joshua happens quickly. From what I’ve been able to determine, he’s not the killer.”

“And you know this how?”

I closed my eyes, trying to control my anger and my ragged breathing.

Telling her would open another can of worms or perhaps in my case, the kind of Pandora’s Box that could never be shut and locked out again, but I needed a friend right about now. “Because I was with him on the night the Voltairs died.”

When she didn’t say anything for a few seconds, I knew I’d done the wrong thing.

“Forget I said anything,” I told her.

“I’m not going to ask you how that occurred or any of the details, but you do realize you’ve placed your career in jeopardy. Don’t you?”

“Of course I do!” Snapping at my friend wasn’t what I intended, but my nerves were frayed, so much on edge that my heart was racing. “But I’m not going to allow an innocent man to be sent to prison.”

“No, that’s not the kind of woman you are, but when I mentioned enjoying a bad boy, I honestly didn’t mean a criminal.”

I half laughed. “If I’d known who Joshua was, do you honestly think I would have enjoyed spending time with him?”

“Eh, I don’t know.”

“What does that mean?”