Safe in His Sight by Regan Black Page B

wanted yet, but she couldn’t let him cow her. Although she’d sought help from Escape, she had to draw the line and stand on her own two feet at every opportunity.
    She would not let this stalker change her entire way of interacting with the world. Who was she kidding? She’d just thrown an elbow at her boss in the hallway. Such a blatant mistake, fueled by ridiculous paranoia, could undermine everything she’d done to land on her feet at Marburg. She needed to keep her head on straight until they identified the man behind the threats.
    “You’re feeling restless?” Haywood queried. “Having second thoughts representing a man like Falk?”
    “I’m fine,” she lied. “I believe Mr. Falk deserves the best possible defense and he has it with us.” It was the only truth she could offer convincingly.
    “I don’t think so.” He leaned back, those sharp eyes raking over her, waiting for her to crack. “I’ve watched you, Julia. From the first day you joined us as an intern. I know you.”
    What? She pressed her knees together to hide the fear surging through her and waited him out.
    “You’ve never left work behind in favor of clubbing.” Haywood reached for his cell phone.
    “I beg your pardon?”
    “Consider this a warning about your erratic behavior. A case like this is the worst time to pick up a ‘distraction’—” he put the word in air quotes “—like a boyfriend.”
    A dozen protests came to mind, along with a few demands as to how he knew where she’d gone and with whom last night. “You’re having me followed?” Had the stalker stunt been a test or hazing tradition? She didn’t know whether to feel relieved or appalled. Should she file a formal complaint or laugh it off as paying her dues?
    Haywood sneered at her suggestion. “God, no. I have better things to do with my time and resources, Cooper.” He pushed his cell phone across the desk toward her. “Take a look. A friend sent me this just before the meeting.”
    There she was, sitting at the bar at Escape, moments before Mitch put the glass of water in front of her. She couldn’t recall a single friend she and Haywood had in common. Either her boss was lying about the source or the stalker was somehow dragging him into this mess. Nothing on the picture showed the sender’s information. Asking for details would make her sound defensive and lend weight to his accusation that she was slacking off.
    “I was verifying a witness statement,” she improvised. “On another case.”
    “That’s the Cooper I know. Always overachieving.” Haywood’s smile warmed a fraction. “One of your best traits,” he added, retrieving his phone. “Drop the other case. Push it off on someone else. The Falk case is your only priority until I say otherwise. Am I clear?”
    “Yes, sir.”
    “Good. There are no small jobs on this one. It’s going to take every last one of us to get Falk acquitted.” He jerked his chin to the door. “Get to it.”
    “Yes, sir.” She could practically hear the whiz of the bullet she’d just dodged passing by her head. “Thank you for—”
    “Thank me by doing the job.”
    Dismissed, she retreated to the relative safety of her cubicle. As furious with herself as she was with the stalker who’d made her so jumpy, she sent a text message to Mitch.
    Working late. Dig up whatever you need, just find the jerk.
    If she was going to be stuck at the office for most of the night, there was no reason to hold Mitch back from his own research. There had to be a reason, some connection she’d overlooked, that made her a target. Although she didn’t want a decent guy like Mitch uprooting her grimy past, it couldn’t be helped. The sooner they identified the man hassling her, the sooner they’d know how to deal with it.
    She wasn’t going to sit back and let a stranger wreck her career.
    Okay. Check in hourly.
    She smiled at Mitch’s reply. Seemed she was taking orders on all fronts today. She set a timer on her