The Burden of Desire. Natalie Charles

should settle it.

      But she continued to watch him, unblinking. He released a sigh. “You may as well come out and tell me what you want me to do. I’ve never known you to hold back.”

      She raised her chin. “I want to conduct the follow-up investigation with you. I need to know what went wrong, and if I can, I need to fix it. I need to save my job.”

      “You want to doctor the file? Cover your tracks?” He shook his head. “I can’t agree to that. No way.”

      “No, that’s not what I meant at all. Jack is locking me out of this case, shutting the whole thing down. But, Ben, the forensic evidence is strong. Mitch Kruger killed someone, I know it. I need a second bite at the apple. I need a chance to prove my case.”

      “I think you’re going to have a hard time convincing anyone here to bring Mitch Kruger to trial again.”

      She chewed her bottom lip while she considered this. “You’re probably right. My credibility is shot.” Her long lashes fluttered as she turned her gaze to him. “But yours isn’t.”

      “Now wait—”

      “I can help you review this file. I know everything about it, and you can provide the second set of eyes that Jack feels is needed. If I can convince you that Mitch Kruger committed murder, you can convince Jack that my judgment wasn’t off. Not entirely.”

      “And you can keep your job.” Ben crossed his arms. “But Jack won’t like this. He wants an independent review.”

      “Fine, make it an independent review. Just let me tag along, treat me as a partner. A consultant. Tell Jack that it’s too complicated and you think my input would be valuable.” He caught the sweet scent of her hair as she leaned forward. “He’ll listen to you. Besides, it wouldn’t be strange for two colleagues to consult with each other. Not if we’re already partners.”

      “Sally, I realize you don’t want to lose control of the file—”

      “You want to cut a deal?” She squared her shoulders. “Fine. Name your price.”

      “A deal?” He started. “What kind of deal are we making here?”

      “You let me in on your review process and convince Jack to make me your partner. Give me a chance to save my job and make my case. I’ll give you something in return. So what do you want? I’ll do your dry cleaning, buy you coffee for a month...what?” She placed her hands on her hips.

      He didn’t care about dry cleaning or coffee. He allowed his gaze to venture lower, skimming the edges of her dress, the elegant curves of her body. There’d been a time in law school when he’d thought he could fall in love with Sally Dawson. Smart, quirky Sally, who was unlike anyone he’d ever met. Then he’d gone and ruined it. But now she needed him. Now he finally had an in. So what did he want?

      “All right, Sally,” he began coolly. “I’ll talk to Jack, tell him I want your help. I’ll let you tag along on my review interviews, and I’ll promise to keep an open mind. If you can convince me that Mitch Kruger committed murder, I’ll help you plead your case to Jack. But if I’m not convinced, or if I think an error in judgment was made...I can’t promise results.”

      “Fine, I get that. And in return?”

      He moved his hands to his waist. “Anything, right?”

      She peered at him from narrowed eyes. “Keep it family friendly, Ben.”

      He lowered himself toward her, watching her eyes widen as he reduced the distance between them. “You sneer at me.”

      “I don’t.” But she blinked several times and leaned slightly away from him. Busted.

      “You know you do. You’ve barely spoken to me since the first year of law school. You can hardly stand to look at me now, and we’re going to be working across the hall from each other.”

      “Well, and so what?” She folded her arms across her chest like a belligerent child.

      “So what? The ‘so what’ is that now you want something from me. You made my welcome as cold as possible this morning, and now you suddenly want us to work together.”

      “You’re mad that I didn’t smile at you enough?” She rolled her eyes. “This is great. So what? You’re going to get even, I suppose. Humiliate me? Make me wash your car in a bikini?”

      That was an image worth dwelling on, but he had to stay focused. “Worse. I want a second chance.” He pulled his back straighter. “I want you to have dinner with me.”

      * * *

      It was as if someone had hit an erase button in her mind. She lost her words, her thoughts slid away into some great expanse of forgotten information, and all that came out of her mouth was, “Ha!”

      Have dinner with Ben? Oh, that was rich. She’d put that one in her diary and read it the next time she needed a laugh.

      His face was unmoving. “Is that all you have to say?”

      “What else is there to say? How about, ‘thank you, but I’d rather set my hair on fire.’”

      “That seems like a dramatic response,” he said mildly, then shrugged. “Suit yourself.”

      He turned and walked toward the door, leaving her standing there dumbly. “That’s it? Suit yourself?”

      He paused to issue a second nonchalant shrug. “That’s the deal. If you’re not willing to bargain, then we’re done.”

      “And...what? What happens to your review of my files?”

      “I’ll proceed as Jack requested. I’ll conduct some interviews, check under rocks for missing clues, exactly what you’d expect.” He pulled at the knot on his tie. “I’ll submit some kind of report to Jack, let him know how, exactly, a murder victim walked back into town. He’ll take it from there.”

      Sally’s stomach worked itself into a ball. “Without me? You mean you’re going to cut me out? But I can tell you the subtleties of the case, who to talk to.”

      “I’ll interview you, of course.” Now he turned his gaze directly to her. “You’ll be a part of my inquiry. But I’ll do the rest independently, just as Jack requested. You were a brilliant law student, and I’m sure you’re a good attorney, Sally. You shouldn’t have anything to be worried about.”

      Her pulse quickened. He was going to complete a review of her file, and she’d have to sit back and wait for the result? Torture. She couldn’t trust Ben with her job like that. What if he overlooked something obvious, and she was left formulating a defense? She had to maintain some control.

      “I’ll talk to Jack myself,” she announced. “I’ll explain the need to help you with your investigation.”

      “You can do whatever you want, but I think we both know that he’s not likely to be receptive. But if I suggested it, on the other hand, told him that I thought it would be valuable to have your input at all stages of the review, given the time pressures...” His voice trailed off.

      Sally opened her mouth to argue, but then snapped it shut again. Ben was right. If she asked Jack again to be involved in the follow-up investigation, she’d appear self-serving and even suspicious, as if she was trying to hide something. He’d already turned her down once. If Ben insisted that he needed her help, well, that just might work. Jack wanted an answer, and quickly. He would probably be open to anything Ben suggested as long as it might speed up his review. She frowned. “You’re blackmailing me.”

      “Now wait a second.” Ben spun to face her. “This exchange was your idea. You know my terms. If you don’t want to do it, no problem. I can promise you I’ll be a complete professional in my review.”

      “But your terms are...unseemly.”

      “Oh?” He raised an eyebrow. “I’m sorry