State's Evidence: A Beverly Mendoza Legal Thriller (29 page)

If only for the sake of any future between
them.

* * *

Beverly walked right past Grant when he
opened the door. He had been shaving when she barged in, shaving
cream still stuck to his chin like drool.

“Hello to you, too,” he said with an elevated
brow.

She regarded him sternly. He was shirtless,
had on tight jeans, and looked very sexy. Though this was
intriguing, Beverly’s mind was elsewhere.

Was he crooked?

Or sexually involved with Maxine
Crawford?

Maybe both?

“Did I do something wrong?” asked Grant, as
if he hadn’t a clue. “Or did you just decide you couldn’t wait
another moment to have my body?”

Beverly colored at the thought. It was
quickly replaced by far more sinister thoughts.

“What the hell’s going on, Grant?” she asked
without mincing words. “Why did Maxine Crawford phone you
twice
the night Judge Crawford was killed?”

Shock crossed Grant’s face like a shadow.
Damn! I’m dead meat!
“How did you find out about that?” He
had a pretty good idea, but wanted to hear it anyway.

At least he didn’t insult her by denying it.
Not that it made her feel any better.

“It isn’t important.” She glared at him. “Are
you sleeping with her?”

Grant stepped forward uneasily. “Hell no,” he
said unevenly. “It’s not what you think, Bev...”

“Then you
must be
involved in the
bribes Judge Crawford was accepting,” she accused him. “Is that how
you landed in his court? Is Dean part of this conspiracy, too?”

“You’re way out of line,” Grant said with
snap.
Can I blame her? I should have been up front about it from
the start.

“Am I?” Her hands were folded in an angry
pretzel. “Is that why I’ve been ordered to look the other way by
you? Then Dean?”

“You don’t understand, Beverly.” Grant
reached out to her, wanting to connect somehow.

She backpedaled. “Don’t touch me—!”

“All right,” he said on a sigh. “Calm down.”
I’ll try to do the same and hope my explanation will smooth the
waters
.

“I believed in you, Grant.” Beverly’s heart
raced. She hadn’t realized this would affect her so. But how could
it not? Everything she thought Grant stood for in and out of the
courtroom was suddenly in jeopardy.

Along with their romance and the
possibilities thereof.

“Let me fix you a drink,” Grant proffered
tremulously.
I could certainly use one
.

Beverly batted her lashes. “I don’t want a
drink!” He wouldn’t worm his way out of this by getting her
drunk.

“Well I do—”

He walked past Beverly to a wet bar in the
corner of the living room. A moment later Grant was back in front
of her, a scotch on the rocks in hand.

He regarded Beverly for a long moment.
It
shouldn’t have come to this. But now that is has, deal with
it
.

“Judge Crawford was under investigation for
some time by the Justice Department,” Grant said evenly. “They
believed he was involved in bribery, racketeering, pimping, and
other criminal acts. The D.A.’s office was working closely in
conjunction with the Feds in building a case against Sheldon
Crawford and others he was involved with. Only Dean and I knew
about it, along with the governor—”

“Why didn’t you say anything?” Beverly asked,
holding his gaze in coming to terms with this, though the answer
was obvious to her.

“I couldn’t,” Grant said miserably, putting
the glass to his mouth, emptying its contents in one swallow.
“Aside from being sworn to secrecy, it could have compromised the
investigation and put you in danger. The less people who knew, the
better.”

Beverly batted her lashes, musing. “What did
Maxine Crawford have to do with it?” she ventured forth. “Or is
that between you two?”

Grant mused. “She was working with us,” he
explained quietly, “gathering evidence we would be able to
use.”

“Against her
own
husband?” Beverly’s
mouth went agape. “Or were they married in name only?”

“As far as we know, their marriage was the
real thing,” Grant responded tonelessly. “Even if far from
conventional. With regard to Maxine supplying information against
the judge...well, it was either that or risk going down with
him.”

“Obviously she chose to abandon a sinking
ship,” deduced Beverly, thinking about how her knowledge of Maxine
Crawford continued to evolve.

Grant nodded. “The night Judge Crawford was
murdered, Maxine called once to give me information; the second
time to tell me he was dead—”

Beverly thought back to being summoned to the
hospital by Grant after Maxine Crawford was brought in. Why had he
wanted to see Maxine?

She looked up at his eyes. “You were at the
hospital that night to—”

“To make sure she kept her mouth shut!” Grant
answered as Beverly had gathered. “Had Maxine said anything at all
to the press or the police, it could have jeopardized the whole
case we were building.”

“Does your case have anything to do with the
case against Rafael Santiago?” Beverly asked, remembering that
Walter had indicated otherwise. Could Santiago have been a hired
killer meant to silence Sheldon Crawford once and for all?

“The two are
completely
separate,”
Grant told her sincerely. “Santiago killed Judge Crawford and
attacked Maxine Crawford all on his own. It hit everyone who was
working on nailing the judge’s ass like a sledgehammer. Believe me,
giving him the easy way out was the last thing anyone wanted. But
there was nothing we could do about it after the fact.”

“Except treat Judge Crawford like a fallen
hero,” surmised Beverly. “Above board as a law-abiding, honorable
member of the judiciary.”

“Exactly,” Grant muttered sotto voce. “The
investigation is still ongoing. To treat Judge Crawford as anything
less than a saint might have caused others we’re targeting to make
a run for it. Not to mention place our informants in danger,
including Maxine Crawford.”

“Is she still working for you?” Beverly was
curious. No, she was a little more than curious. The thought of
Grant having to spend more time with her beautiful key witness than
she did bothered Beverly more than she cared to admit.

Grant shook his head imperturbably. “As soon
as Judge Crawford was killed, we no longer had any use for her,
other than what she’d already given us.” He paused. “Except as the
only one who could point the finger at the man who shot her husband
and sexually assaulted her—”

Beverly felt relief and regret. She had
thought the worst about Grant, when he, like she, was only doing
his job. Even if it was inadvertently at odds with her own work. It
was just by chance that Santiago happened to kill a man whose life
was already about to be in ruins. Only in death, the judge had
possibly forever escaped having his legacy ruined and reputation
stained by malfeasance. She could well imagine the probe affecting
other cases for years to come.

“I think I could use that drink now,” Beverly
told Grant, sucking in a deep breath.

“All right.” He gave her an understanding
look.

He poured her a brandy and poured himself
another scotch.

Beverly thought that Grant looked tired, as
if carrying a great weight on his shoulders—one that had been
further weighed down by having to divide his loyalties. She should
never have confronted him like this, questioned his integrity, but
she too had been on the hot seat. Without even a clue as to what
was going on, it could have affected her ability to do her own job
effectively.

“So what happens now?” she asked
uneasily.

Grant gazed into her emerald eyes. “Business
as usual,” he said. “For both of us. What you just heard never
leaves these walls—”

“I understand.” Beverly stared knowingly at
him over the rim of her glass. “I’m sorry, Grant, for going after
you.”

“Don’t be. You had every right to, all things
considered. I’m sorry I had to hold back things from you that you
deserved to know. I wasn’t proud of it, especially when all I want
is to share every part of my life with you.”

Beverly blinked back tears. “I feel the same
way.”

Grant grinned broadly and brushed against
her, causing an immediate reaction. “I’ve missed you, Bev.”

They had both been too busy lately to devote
much time to them, causing Beverly hunger pangs as well.

“So now that we’ve managed to be in the same
room together, what do you propose we do about it?” she challenged
him, suppressing her own renewed desire that threatened to tear her
apart.

Grant took away their glasses, then ran the
back of his hand smoothly across Beverly’s cheek, and said openly,
“For starters, I want to kiss you.”

The hairs on the back of Beverly’s neck stood
up. “Who’s stopping you—?” she managed before her voice gave way to
raw emotions.

Without a response, Grant leaned his face
into hers so that their open mouths pressed together at one angle
and then another of passionate kissing. Beverly put her tongue in
Grant’s mouth, mingling with his own, enjoying the taste and
moisture. She wrapped her hands around his head and put her all
into the kiss, getting the same in return.

A gasp erupted from Beverly’s throat and she
felt lightheaded. The long and deep kiss had become intoxicating.
Suddenly her initial reason for coming there seemed like nothing
more than a distant memory.

Grant felt the temperature quickly rise in
the room. Kissing Beverly so succulently was causing him to lose
all self-control. He wanted her now more than she could
imagine.

And aimed to have her.

He forced himself to back away just inches
from her swollen lips, and murmured, “What do you say we carry this
to the bedroom?”

“I say yes, and hurry. Otherwise I’ll just
have to continue attacking you here!” Beverly uttered boldly,
encouraged by the kiss, cemented by her own unmet needs.

Grant laughed lasciviously and scooped her in
his arms. “Say no more, baby...and neither will I.”

* * *

Beverly had Grant’s full erection in her
mouth, teasing and stimulating him to the base of her throat. The
next thing she knew, Grant had managed to shift his body on the bed
and part her thighs, so that his head was now between her legs and
pleasuring her simultaneously.

Sixty-nine left them both breathless and
moaning at the same time in arousing sounds and actions.

Beverly reached her orgasm first, squeezing
her thighs around Grant’s face as the moment came with a bang.
Moments later he exploded in her mouth while she absorbed his
throbbing climax.

Neither had any intentions of settling for
oral gratification, wanting much more of one another.

Beverly kissed him afterwards, tasting her
sex off his lips and vice versa. It turned her on even more. She
grabbed Grant’s shoulders, wanting to feel his weight on her, his
penis inside of her.

Grant put on the condom in the blink of an
eye, not wanting to waste a moment before he could make love to
Beverly. He climbed atop her, reined in her splayed legs so they
hung on his hips, and thrust himself into her covetously.

Their mouths again interlocked and bodies
swayed back and forth rhythmically with zest and determination.
Both were drenched in sweat and stuck to each other like second
skins.

Beverly’s contractions came in waves as Grant
pounded her and she pounded back. Neither let up, not wanting this
to end too soon.

Beverly opened her legs to allow Grant to
move in deeper. He responded with fervor and they reached the point
of no return, making them slaves to each other and their individual
orgasmic needs. The sounds that came from their mouths were a
language all their own, sounds of undulating lust and rip-roaring
satisfaction.

It ended as it began with hot kisses and a
feeling of belonging both ways.

Grant took a moment to catch his breath
before cuddling Beverly and resting his lips against her ear.
“You’ve really got a hold on me, baby. I can’t imagine feeling as I
do about any other woman.”

Beverly got a warm sensation, ashamed that
she had doubted him earlier and vowing never to do so again. She
raised her eyes to his chin. “You’re a pretty hard act to follow,
too, Mr. Nunez.”

Grant kissed the side of her head. “You
think?”

“How could I not?” Her eyes batted
flirtatiously. “It’s not every man who gets me into bed. Not to
mention to fall in love with.”

“Ditto, baby.” He cracked a smile. “Guess
that means we’re stuck with each other.

“Guess it does,” Beverly said. “Oh well, I
suppose we’ll just have to get used to that. Are you sure you’re up
to the task?”

A part of Beverly still feared rejection and
being forced to start all over again. Even if neither of them had
spoken of marriage as part of the deal. A steady, long-term
relationship could be nearly every bit as rewarding for her and
Jaime. Or heartbreaking.

Then there were still their careers to
consider. Grant was a criminal court judge whose path she would
have to cross on more than one occasion in the courtroom as an
assistant district attorney. Including the Santiago trial. And even
when he happened to be working in conjunction with the Department
of Justice and not always in her best interests.

Could this stand in the way of their
happiness as a couple?

Would it someday prove to be their
undoing?

Grant imagined what Beverly might be thinking
and wanted to squelch any notions she had that he would bolt at the
first sign of trouble. Or allow her to without fighting to keep
what they had.

He lifted on an arm so that their met, before
saying with confidence, “I’m definitely up to the task, and then
some, Beverly.”