Straight from the Heart. Linda Warren

style. When Jim Tenney was handling the case, I figured we’d be able to put ol’ Hector away for a long time, but when Culver took over, I was worried he’d use some of his theatrics to get Raye off.” Evan picked up a pencil. “Never understood why Culver took the case at all.”

      “I heard that Tenney’s an old friend, and when he had to have emergency heart surgery, Lucas stepped in to help him out.” Blair repeated the rumors, although she was reluctant to give the man that much credit.

      Evan rested back in his chair. “You don’t like Culver, do you?”

      Blair shrugged in a nonchalant manner. “I don’t know much about him. All I know is I don’t care for lawyers like him.”

      “Your father’s a lawyer like him.”

      Blair’s eyes narrowed. “What are you getting at, Evan?” She knew he had something else on his mind besides the Raye trial. She’d worked for Evan for six years and she was well acquainted with his tactics. He’d skirt an issue before getting to the point.

      Evan leaned forward. “I was thinking about the Easton case and your father’s involvement.”

      There was not a flicker of emotion or movement on Blair’s face, even though the name Easton sent chills down her spine. She stared Evan straight in the eye. “My father was his attorney, that’s all.”

      Her father was a well-known defense attorney in Houston, in Texas and beyond. As his daughter, she was expected to follow in his footsteps—as was Blake. After Blake’s defection, as her father called it, Sam Logan focused all his efforts on his daughter. He wanted her to work for his firm, but she couldn’t because she and her father had different points of view on the law. He defended criminals and it was her goal to keep them behind bars.

      This caused more than a few arguments—with Sam insisting that her perspective was oversimplified. She knew her judgment and reasoning was colored by the past, but that didn’t make her wrong. It only made her more strong-minded, more—

      “I heard there was a disturbance in the courtroom.” Evan’s words broke in.

      “Yes.” Blair forced her thoughts back to the present. “Raye wasn’t pleased with the verdict.”

      “Are you okay?”

      “Yes.” She looked at him with guarded eyes. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

      “You don’t have to be so tough, Blair. I’m well aware of what happened to you.”

      “It was a long time ago, and like you said, I’m tough. I can deal with it.”

      “Blair…”

      She stopped him. “If that’s all, I’ve got a mound of paperwork waiting for me.”

      Evan watched her for a moment, then said, “No, that’s not all. I brought Todd Easton up for a reason.”

      God, she knew that. Evan never did anything without a reason. She waited, wishing that name didn’t make her feel so afraid.

      “I wanted to inform you of something that’s about to break,” he said slowly. “Bonnie Davis’s family has hired a detective to find the second boy involved in her rape and murder, through new DNA testing. We’re hoping to make an arrest.”

      Blair’s eyes widened. “But the police never could identify him.”

      “Yeah. I was newly elected then, and I really wanted to find him. Skin from two different people was found under Bonnie’s fingernails. That really bothered me, but I never could link another boy to the murder. I always wondered why your father didn’t pursue it. It could’ve helped Easton.”

      “I’m not privy to my father’s cases, and I really don’t like to talk about Todd Easton.”

      “I’m sorry,” Evan said quickly. “I didn’t mean to upset you.”

      “It doesn’t,” she said, and they both knew she was lying. She drew a deep breath. “But I would like to prosecute this guy when they catch him.”

      Evan shook his head. “I don’t think so, Blair. You’re too closely involved.”

      “Maybe,” she admitted. “But I hope you put him away for a long time.”

      “I intend to.”

      “I’d better go,” Blair said, backing toward the door. “I’ve got a lot to do.”

      Evan stood. “Great job today.”

      “Thanks.”

      Blair closed the door, leaning against it as if she needed the support. Why did Evan have to mention the past? Why did he have to bring up Todd Easton? Ever since Raye’s outburst, she’d been trying to keep the memories at bay, but now they seemed to come rushing back.

      She was sixteen years old and looking forward to spring break. She was going to Cancún, Mexico, with her friend and her friend’s family. Her father had just finished a difficult case. A business acquaintance of his had a son who was accused of murdering and raping a fifteen-year-old girl, Bonnie Davis. It was a certainty that Sam Logan would get the boy off, but Todd Easton was found guilty. The Easton family was very upset, especially Todd. It had been a long, hard trial and her father, mother and Blake went on a cruise to get away from the reporters and the Eastons. They wanted her to go, too, but she’d already made other plans.

      Everyone had said that Sam Logan was losing his magic touch. It was one of the few cases she remembered her father ever losing; at sixteen, though, she didn’t really think about such things. She was just eager to leave on her trip. Her family had left that morning, and Blair was waiting for her ride. She’d heard a noise downstairs, grabbed her suitcase and hurried to the front door. As she reached the bottom step, she saw the housekeeper tied up. Before she could move, Todd appeared from a doorway holding a gun. His eyes had a glazed, wild look, and his face was red. He asked her where her father was. She told him he wasn’t home, that he’d gone on a cruise. Todd had laughed cruelly and said that was just as well, because he knew of a better way to get even with Sam Logan. He was leering at her and she knew what he had in mind. She dropped the suitcase and ran up the stairs—but he was faster. He caught her at the top, began to hit her with the butt of the gun… Over and over he drove the gun into her face, her stomach, her chest. Then he started to tear at her clothes. She didn’t have much strength left, but she started to fight. Her efforts stilled at the sound of sirens. Todd didn’t hear them. He was too engrossed in hurting her.

      The police burst into the house. They’d been on Todd’s trail since he’d broken out of prison. Although she was floating in and out of consciousness, she heard them yell at Todd to drop the gun. The next thing she heard was gunfire and Todd fell on top of her…dead.

      She woke up in a hospital. She had a concussion, a cracked skull, broken jaw, a fractured arm and several broken ribs. Her parents and Blake immediately flew home from their cruise. It was weeks before she was able to leave the hospital and by then she was scared of her own shadow, of everything around her. Her mother wanted her to see a psychiatrist, but she refused. She could handle it by herself, she’d insisted. But the trip back to health was long and arduous, and at times she didn’t want to go on. She forced herself to face life and not give up. She’d refused to let Todd Easton destroy her emotionally. And she made it. Yes, she’d made it. She had gotten her degree and was practicing law, putting criminals like Todd Easton away.

      She knew that sometimes she went overboard, like today with Lucas. Lucas had a way of getting to her with his handsome face and devil-may-care smile. He was a lot like her father, same charisma, same magnetism. Maybe that was why she resented him and his representation of criminals. But today…today she’d finally triumphed over Lucas. Yes! She’d beaten him and his fancy tricks in the courtroom. And that felt good—really good.

      Pushing away from the wall, she headed for her office. She wasn’t going to think about the past, her father or anything that would ruin her mood. She wanted to enjoy this moment. She entered her office,