Page 134 of See You There

“I don’t know what she wants, but I know she’s expecting us upstairs.”

Luke growled under his breath, but he gave her a reassuring nod, and as she passed him, she heard him whisper, “I’ll be right here, beautiful.”

When they reached the designated floor, Luke followed them down the hallway. James caught his forearm. “You’re not coming with us.”

“The hell I’m not! If you think I’m not going to be there right by her side if they’re threatening to prosecute her, you are out of your damn mind.”

Dahlia watched the byplay between the twins. Two handsome faces, each set in the same stubborn lines.

“I want him there,” Dahlia said. She didn’t want to admit, even to herself, what that meant or what mixed message her words might send to Luke—but with him by her side, she wasn’t afraid.

“I’m sure everything is fine,” James said, sending his brother a quelling look.

When they were all seated at the conference table, the district attorney raised both her eyebrows. “My, my, my… both Bloom brothers. How did I get so lucky today?”

Dahlia decided she didn’t like the woman, and not just because of the way she was eyeing Luke and James.

“I understand the suspect my client was going to give testimony against was killed during transport today. I’m curious why you still needed to meet with us.” James’s voice was cool.

“I’m going to be frank with you. We were hoping to use him to go after the people running the casino. We were curious about how he found out about the casino. We hoped he could provide us with enough information on the Bratva members running it to make an arrest. Since Ms. Everton is the only person who’s come forward admitting to being there that night, she’s our last chance.”

Dahlia’s legs trembled under the table. Luke's large, warm hand curved over her knee, settling her. It felt as if his strength flowed from him into her, and the knot in her stomach eased.

“Ms. Everton didn’t witness anything pertaining to the organization running the casino. She was simply a guest and in the building for less than ten minutes,” James said.

“I understand your client’s reluctance to speak, but this is a large and dangerous organization. We don’t get an opportunity like this often because no one is foolish enough to do something like rob them. If Ms. Everton identified certain parties present, it would go a long way in our case.

Last night, Hank Foreman requested a jailhouse meeting to offer evidence in consideration for a plea deal. He claimed that Ms. Everton’s boyfriend, Chandler Furson, owed the Bratva a lot of money.” The district attorney’s eyes flashed to Dahlia’s. “Do you know anything about that, Ms. Everton?”

“I—”

Luke’s hand tightened on her knee even as James smoothly spoke over her.

“First, Ms. Everton isnotin a relationship with Mr. Furson. That was a faux relationship for publicity purposes only, and she was never privy to details about Mr. Furson’s private life. Second, she has already explained that she knows nothing of the gambling operation. That has been her consistent story from the beginning. However, if Mr. Foreman told you he knew who the people were… That should give you some inroads into finding his accomplices.”

The woman smiled tightly at James. “The problem is Mr. Bloom, as you are well aware, because the witness is dead, we would need to corroborate with other sources.”

“That sounds like you have a challenge ahead of you,” James pushed back from the table. “Do you plan on charging my client with any crimes?”

“I could,” she grimaced, “but I won’t. There’s no evidence of her actually actively gambling, and it wouldn’t do us any good.”

James and Luke pushed to their feet, and Luke extended his hand to Dahlia. Was that it? Were they done?

“So, this is over?” she asked.

“With us, yes. But one last thing, Ms. Everton.”

Dahlia turned back.

“Hank Foreman made statements that implied yourboyfriend, Chandler, was involved.” The DA made air quotes. “He didn’t make an actual admission, so it’s not actionable. I’dbe careful about the company you keep.” Her eyes flicked to Luke. “Allthe company you keep.”

Dahlia’s mouth fell open, but before she could say anything, Luke was tugging her out of the room. “Is she saying Chandler was behind this?Chandlerwas trying to kill me?”

The Blooms exchanged a look over her head. “Perhaps I should have a conversation with him,” Luke said through gritted teeth.

“No,” she shook her head. “Absolutely not. We don’t know that Hank was telling the truth, and he’s dead now. Probably because he was going to say something about the casino. I just want to forget this ever happened. Please?”

Luke and James exchanged another look.