Cedar-Sinai Hospital

Los Angeles, California

 

Stevie hated hospitals. She hated the smell of them. She hated the sight of men in white coats, nurses in scrubs. She hated the bright white lights, the IV poles, the blinking lights on the heart monitors. She didn’t want to be there, but she was because Mika was still unconscious, his body already revealing bruises from the speeding car that had crashed through the front of his house.

He’d saved her life. The least she could do was stay with him.

A nurse came through the door pushing a machine Stevie remembered from her pregnancy. It took pictures of the baby inside her stomach.

“We need to check for bleeding in his belly,” the nurse said, carefully looking toward Stevie. She’d informed the paramedics she was deaf, and they had apparently spread the word. She was grateful for that.

She watched as the woman sprayed a little gel on his body like someone putting ketchup on a hotdog. Then she pressed the wand from her machine to his belly.

“You’re his wife?”

Stevie nodded.

“How long have you been married?”

Stevie thought about it for a moment. In reality, they were married just over two years. But then again, he’d never filed the divorce papers, so they were technically still married.

“Thirteen years.”

The nurse’s big, bushy eyebrows rose. “Is that right? You must have married right out of elementary school!”

“High school, actually.”

Three weeks after she graduated, to be exact. Two weeks after she told him she was pregnant. One week after his college graduation.

It was a quick trip to the justice of the peace, with only her father there as a witness. Five minutes to lock their mortal souls together for the rest of their lives.

Back in the hospital room, she slipped her hand under his and pressed their palms together.

“Well, good news,” the nurse said when Stevie looked up again. “His belly looks clear. And there were no broken bones on the X-rays. Your husband was very lucky.”

Stevie touched a couple of bruises on his stomach and then looked up at the nurse again.

“Just superficial. He’ll be sore for a while, but he’s going to live.”

She nodded, smiling her gratitude.

The nurse packed up her stuff and made her way out of the room. Stevie raised Mika’s hand and pressed it to her lips for a brief moment. When she looked up again, the nurse had been replaced by two very angry people.

Clarise Norman and Dean Harris.

Mika’s parents.

“What are you doing here?” Clarise demanded, her mouth moving in a meaningful way, almost as if she were purposely enunciating for Stevie’s benefit.

Dean said something, but Stevie couldn’t read his lips because he was charging around the bed, his face turned sideways to her view. He grabbed her arm when he reached her side of the bed, jerking her up out of the chair where she’d been sitting. He began to march her back around the bed toward the door when he suddenly stopped. Stevie jerked free of his touch, following his stare to the bed.

Mika was awake.

“…her alone!” he was saying.

An argument proceeded to unfold, but Stevie couldn’t read their lips fast enough to understand what was going on. She knew Mika’s parents didn’t like her, knew they were probably frustrated to see her there, but that’s all she knew.

Mika caught her eye. He must have seen the confusion and fear on her face. He sat up a little, wincing as he moved his bruised body.

They want me to go stay at their house until mine is fixed. I told them I’m staying with you.

Her eyebrows rose. Who invited you?

It’s better than staying with them.

She smiled. He was right about that.

Clarise pushed at her shoulder, turning Stevie around so that they were face to face.

“You cannot come prancing back in here and think you can hurt my boy all over again.”

“I don’t intend to.”

“We never intend to.” Clarise looked her over for a long moment. “I never approved of your relationship. I still don’t know what he saw in you. But if you think I’m going to sit back and let you destroy him again—”

She suddenly stopped, glancing back at Mika. He must have protested.

Dean moved up behind his wife and slipped his arms around her shoulders. Dean Harris was as big a snob as his wife, declaring Mika dead when he refused to back down and leave Stevie alone and pregnant. But he’d come around after William was born. He’d shown up at the hospital, a dozen roses and a stuffed bear in his arms as he came to see his grandson within hours of his birth. And it was Dean who’d made it possible for William to get the treatments that extended his life a few precious months.

There was thunder in his eyes as he looked over Clarise’s shoulder at Stevie.

“He’s a grown man. We must respect his wishes.”

His words appeared to be meant for his wife, but the way he stared her down, Stevie couldn’t help but feel they were meant for her.

The couple turned to Mika, his mother leaning down to kiss his cheek before they slipped out as suddenly as they’d arrived.

Some things never change.

She smiled, though the smile felt wooden and sad on her lips. She crossed to him again, taking his hands in hers.

“If that was your attempt to get me back into your bed—”

“Yes, I orchestrated the whole thing.”

She leaned close and kissed him. “There’s a lovely guest room at my house.”

He made a face, his Adam’s apple moving in his throat like he’d spoken, but his lips didn’t shape any words. She frowned, but then he slid his hand into her hair and tugged her down to him again, kissing her almost roughly.

 

***

 

The hospital made Mika sign a bunch of forms and gave him a prescription for the pain, plus all these forms telling her what to watch for in his behavior and whatever. He barely made it to his house, the soreness intensified by the movement of the car. He told her what he needed, and she managed to get in through a back door—the front door was blocked off because of the unstable nature of the damage caused by Tonya’s car.

He crashed the moment they got to her house. She was reluctant at first to offer him sanctuary, but then realized it would be the best way to get the information she needed out of him. She was still on a case, after all. And she had less than three days to get a confession on tape.

While Mika slept in her bed, she pulled his laptop out of the bag it had been snugly hiding inside of. She’d grabbed it while gathering jeans and underwear, aware that it could have information on it that could help her case.

She was slightly amused—and annoyed—that his password was her name combined with their anniversary date. It was the last thing she tried before she was locked out. The password on his desktop had been William’s birthdate.

Stevie worked steadily, opening files and reading email, careful to avoid any legal information that could get her or Mastiff in trouble. Most of the stuff on the laptop was similar to the stuff on his desktop—with a few exceptions. There was a financial statement that showed the firm was making a profit of more than five million a year. And there was a memo Mika had saved that requested everyone turn in their time sheets on Tuesday instead of Monday.

It was all just mundane office bullshit.

Stevie was still typing away on the keyboard, looking for hidden files, when Mika came out of the bedroom and touched her shoulder. She jumped, not really expecting him to be up already. The pain medication they’d given him was pretty strong.

What are you doing?

He settled on a chair near hers, the two of them lounging around the dining room table like it was just an ordinary afternoon rather than one of the most bizarre days she’d ever lived through.

They arrested Tonya, she signed for him. Charged with vandalism and destruction of private property.

That’s too bad.

They’re suggesting she was behind the shooting yesterday afternoon, too.

Mika tilted his head slightly, a frown marring his handsome face. I don’t think Tonya would be capable of that. Running the car through my house was an act of passion. Shooting at me from a distance is premeditated. I don’t think she could do that.

I agree.

She adjusted the screen on the laptop and turned it slightly, wondering why he wasn’t angry at her for getting into it without talking to him first. He touched her hand gently, drawing her attention back to him.

When are you going to tell me what’s going on?

He winced as he adjusted his position in his chair. She got up and took an ice pack out of the freezer, wrapping it in a soft, damp cloth before handing it to him. He gratefully pressed it to the top of his thighs where he’d taken most of the impact of the speeding car.

Spencer White hired me through Mastiff. He thought someone was stealing information from his files and selling the information to the tabloids.

That’s not possible. If someone had done that, everyone at the office would know about it, he told her, balancing the icepack on his lap as he used his hands to speak.

He gave me a list and access to the system so I could see who accessed the files and when.

Who’s on the list?

Stevie got up again, taking the list from the file she’d kept there at the house, tucked under some books on her father’s desk in the living room. When she handed it to Mika, he studied it closely, reading the names more than once as she waited. When he looked up, there was clear bewilderment in his eyes.

Did you determine who signed into those files?

You did.

He sat up a little straighter, another wince of pain flashing across his handsome features. He looked at the list again, his brows knitting as he read through it once more.

Some of these are my clients. I negotiated contracts for three or four of them. But others…

He shook his head, his hands stilling as he glanced at the paper again.

There’s a safety feature on our computer systems, a feature that keeps unauthorized users from accessing sensitive files. Case files aren’t accessible except by the team actually working on the cases. I wasn’t on three or four of these cases.

Could someone in your office have accessed them without your knowledge, using your username?

No. My name would have to be on the case team for me or anyone in my office to have access to it.

He tugged the computer toward him and began to tap on the keyboard. After a moment, he turned it back around so she could see the screen.

‘No Access.’

He took the computer back and did the same thing on all of the case files that belonged to clients he wasn’t working with. The same screaming refusal popped up on all of them.

But your username was listed on each file.

When?

Stevie shrugged. Various times over the past month.

Something flicked across his eyes, a realization she didn’t understand.

He knew something.

Do you know if someone would be looking to set you up for this?

It’s a law firm. Everyone’s your enemy.

Anyone more specific than that?

He didn’t say anything right away. He slowly got out of his chair and limped across the room, clearly in a great deal of pain, but also clearly needing to move around, to think. She watched him, trying to be patient, to wait for him to spit out whatever it was he was trying not to tell her. Her phone buzzed in her pocket, but she ignored it, simply sliding a hand inside to push the button that would stop its movement.

Mika knew something, and she needed him to spill his guts if she was going to solve this case as quickly and as perfectly as she’d assured everyone she could do.

When he finally turned back to her, he signed quickly, almost anxiously.

Do you know who else had access to those files? Can you check and see when those people were accessing them?

She shrugged, then nodded.

Stevie pulled the computer toward her again and closed out the desktop, opening the command prompt that would allow her access to the basic features of the computer. From there, she could use her internet connection to access the server at Spencer White and Associates. As she worked her way through the obstacles, she finally got to the backdoor Spencer had given her direct access to. But when she put in the credentials he had given her, they didn’t work. She tried again and again, but she remained blocked.

I guess Spencer doesn’t trust me anymore.

Mika moved up behind her, laying his hand on her shoulder as he studied the computer screen. After a moment, he resumed his seat, moving slowly and stiffly.

Or maybe he’s decided that his tactics aren’t working.

What do you mean?

He pursed his lips together, making them fuller than they normally were. She watched him, her eyes moving over his face, then slowly down to his chest. He had finally put a shirt on, an old t-shirt that was stretched out at the neck, but fit properly everywhere else. She couldn’t see the tattoo on his chest, but she could feel it. It made something inside of her ache as she recalled the day they’d gotten it done. The original part, anyway.

William was only a few weeks old, but he was sleeping through the night. They decided to take an evening to themselves, to reconnect after the chaos of caring for their new baby. They went to dinner and were walking back to the car, laughing at each other because all they’d talked about at dinner was William. That’s when Stevie spotted the tattoo shop.

“Let’s get tattoos!”

“Why would we want to do that?”

“To commemorate William’s birth.”

Mika had hesitated, but then he agreed. They picked out the script together, chose the place on their bodies they’d have it placed. Then she watched as he had his done. She held his hand the whole time. And then he held hers as the artist placed her son’s name carefully on her wrist.

She touched it now, tears filling her eyes as she remembered how happy they’d been that night. She’d thought that night, If I die now, I’ll die the happiest I’ve ever been.

What an ironic thought that had been.

Mika snapped his fingers in front of her face, drawing her attention back to him.

Your phone has been buzzing on and off for a while.

She hadn’t even felt it.

Stevie tugged the phone from her pocket and discovered that she had half a dozen messages from Andres Maldonado.

I need you to come into the office.

Please respond to my text.

There’s been a change in the case. Please come to the office.

I will come to your house if you do not respond.

She sighed, the air rushing out of her chest. Mika touched her hand, once again drawing her attention back to him.

“My boss,” she spoke, her lips feeling somewhat numb. “I guess Spencer’s not the only one who’s changed his mind about me.”

What does that mean? Mika signed.

She shook her head, jumping to her feet. Stay here. I’ll be back in a few hours.

Stevie walked away, more curious about what was going on with Spencer and the case than what Mika had to say. She had the feeling that all this had stemmed from her brief interaction with him the day before, but she couldn’t quite figure out why or what. But if Spencer had convinced Andres that she’d screwed up the case, she might be out of a job.

That couldn’t happen.

Andres was in his office, his bulk awkward behind the massive desk. She studied him as she waited for him to look up, remembering how vulnerable he’d been the night his woman was kidnapped by the street gang he’d managed to outsmart just a few days before. She couldn’t imagine another situation that would encourage that kind of vulnerability in him. He was a hard man, stubborn. If Spencer had filled him with lies, she couldn’t think of a single argument that would save her job.

“You were supposed to keep me up to date on this case.”

She lowered her head slightly, trying to show a little respect. “Things became complicated yesterday. But I was going to send in a report today.”

“Were you?” He glanced toward the window, clearly indicating the darkening sky. “The day’s almost done.”

“Mika Harris was attacked in his home this morning after he was shot at last night. I felt it was my priority to stick close to him in case it had something to do with the information theft going on at his law firm.”

“Why would it? He’s a lawyer. I’m sure lawyers find themselves in danger every day. Besides, I heard it was an ex-girlfriend.”

Stevie crossed her arms over her chest. “The damage at his house was. I’m not sure about the shooting.”

“The police say it’s connected.” He waved a hand, digging through some files on his desk. “Doesn’t matter,” he finally said, looking up at her again. “Spencer White has decided he can handle this investigation better from inside the firm. He’s asked that you not return to his offices.”

“Just like that?”

Disappointment rushed through her, but when its flood cleared, she began to wonder if this had something to do with the things Mika had told her. Could Spencer be under duress, with the real thief pressuring him to back off?

Andres suddenly appeared in front of her, waving his hand in her face. “Did you find anything before all the chaos?”

“I checked the system logs and generated a list of suspects.” She studied his face for a second. “But I’m not sure those logs are going to help us much because I think they could have been altered or manipulated.”

“Why do you think that?”

“Because, if the suspects I uncovered really stole information from the files Spencer pointed out to us, then they would have had to have access to them.”

“Of course.”

“But there’s a security measure on their system that keeps those without permission out of high profile case files.”

Andres’ eyebrows rose. “Then the culprit had access to the files.”

She shook her head. “My list of suspects are all people who should not have had access to a third of the case files Spencer was concerned about.”

Andres stepped back, resting on the front edge of his desk as he studied her face. She could almost see the curiosity in his eyes, the wheels turning in his head. He drew his bottom lip into his mouth and sucked on it for a long moment.

“Technically,” he said slowly, his lips moving so slowly that she had no trouble reading them, “we aren’t on the case anymore.”

“No, sir.”

“But if Mika Harris were to hire us…”

Stevie saw his logic immediately. If Mika hired them to protect him, they would have every reason to check into his business contacts in an effort to identify and bring to justice the person who had shot at him.

“I’ll convince him.”

Andres lowered his head. “Tread carefully, Stevie.”

“I will.”

She walked out of his office, suddenly inspired by his confidence in her. She hadn’t expected it, and that made it so much better. Now, if she could just prove that someone really did take a shot at Mika yesterday, and figure out what it was he was hiding from her…