"Ben Donovan," he answered, his normal greeting no matter who might be calling. Had he known who was on the other end he might have said something differently, not that it would have mattered.

"Ben, it's Noah. I've got some bad news."

Ben stood immediately, walking off the terrace and over the gra.s.s towards the pool. Noah Hannity was a homicide detective; he was also Ben's sparring partner at the gym and a friend from college. The fact that they generally operated on the opposite sides of the law didn't stop them from being close friends. Outside of his family, Noah was the only other person Ben trusted in this world. So if Noah said there was bad news, Ben took him seriously.

"What's up?"

"I'm sitting at my desk holding a piece of paper in my hand. The paper has your name and address on it," Noah told him immediately.

Ben inhaled slowly, let the breath out quick and asked, "So what does that mean?"

"The piece of paper was found in a car that had been run off the road. Or driven down into a ditch is more like it. There was also a body." Noah paused.

"Okay, there's a car and a dead body. What else, Noah?" A sick feeling had already settled in the pit of Ben's stomach. Waiting for Noah to drop the rest of this news on him wasn't going to go well. He needed it all right now.

"It's Ebony, Ben. She's dead."

Ben cursed and it must have been loud because behind him he heard a lull in the conversation being had by the rest of the family. He walked a little further down towards the pool.

"What the h.e.l.l do you mean she's dead? She was just in the office yesterday. Are you sure?" His temples had once again begun to throb. This seemed like second nature to him, at least for the last six months.

"One shot above her left eye. Two behind the ear," Noah sighed. "I'm sorry, man, but it looks like a hit."

"f.u.c.k!" Ben cursed and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"I'm concerned about this note with your home address."

Through clenched teeth Ben said, "I should have been more concerned about the note I received yesterday evening."

"What? You got something to tell me?" Noah asked.

"Yeah. But I can't talk here. I'll come in."

"Okay, bring your note with you. I'll be in my office."

"I'll be there in about twenty minutes," Ben said before disconnecting the call.

"What is it?" he heard before he could even turn around.

It was Max and Trent. They'd been the ones chosen to come and see what was going on. Luckily they were also the first two he would have gone to with this. Ben wasn't stupid enough to try and keep secrets from his family, at least not from the men in his family. The females, well, he dealt with them on a situational basis. And this situation he definitely didn't want them to know about.

"Ebony's been killed," he said, the words leaving a sour taste in his mouth.

"Ebony? Your a.s.sistant?" Max asked.

Ben nodded.

"How? When?" Trent questioned.

"I don't know when. But she was shot." Ben took a deep breath and kept his gaze focused on Trent's. "It was a hit," he said solemnly.

Trent stared at him steadily. "Were you threatened?"

Ben slipped his hands into his pockets, his lips drawn in a tight line. He would have never brought this up because he hadn't taken it seriously himself. Foolish, he knew, considering who he was dealing with. But now, since he'd made the first move, Ben would be d.a.m.ned if he sat back and waited for him to make another one.

"Yesterday, after I was served with the papers from the DA, I decided not to represent Vega again. I drafted the papers to strike my appearance and was on my way to file them when Vega met me in the parking garage. I told him about the new trial and that I wouldn't represent him. He wasn't happy. I didn't give a d.a.m.n. So I left. I filed to strike my appearance a half hour later. Another two hours of work then I let Ebony go home around 3:30. I left the office at 5, went straight home to change, then went to the gym."

"Did he threaten you?" Trent asked again, his brown eyes already growing darker, broad shoulders squared like he was ready to fight.

"G.o.ddammit Ben! This thug threatened to kill you!" Max yelled.

"No. He didn't say those exact words. And keep your voice down," Ben told Max. "You want Mom and Dad to know this? I didn't think it was a big deal. I'm a public figure, dammit. If he touches me, he'll be on death row."

"You're giving him too much credit, Ben. Vega doesn't give a d.a.m.n who you're related to or how well you're known in the criminal arena. He's a killer, remember?" Max was not happy.

Ben wasn't either. And he hadn't seen his brother this angry in he couldn't remember how long.

"I just didn't think anymore about it. Until last night," he said.

"What happened last night?" Trent asked.

"There was a note in my car. It said 'think again' and it gave an address. I thought about Vega briefly before I went to bed, but then I let it go. He's an a.s.s, a pompous a.s.s."

"And he's a killer," Trent stated solemnly. "You know he's a killer and that's why you declined to represent him again, isn't it?"

"I'm a defense attorney, Trent. It's my job to represent criminals," Ben said, sure of his words, his job, his goals. What he wasn't sure of was what would happen next.

"I'm heading down to the station to compare my note with the one Noah found at the crime scene. I need you to tell mom something, but not the truth. Just that I had to go take care of some business or something," Ben said to Max.

"She's gonna know something's wrong," Max argued.

"They're all going to think something is wrong. Especially since I'm going to the station with you," Trent said.

"That's not necessary," Ben told him. "I can handle going into the police station alone. I'll call you guys later and let you know what happened."

"You'll go to the police station with me standing by your side. I'm not arguing with you Ben. I should be kicking your a.s.s for not calling me last night with this information. But I'll save that for later."

"Trent, it's not that big of a deal. It's nothing for you to get involved in." But Ben wasn't sure of that. Ebony was dead. Vega had been serious. And Ben shouldn't have thought otherwise.

"For you to have gone through all that schooling, you're not all that smart. Go to your car. I'll meet you in the driveway." Trent had already turned to walk away, so Ben couldn't argue his case further.

Trent was and would always be a warrior. He craved a good fight and fought with the elite training of his kind. Ben, on the other hand, fought with his own training. He wasn't a Navy SEAL, but he was no slouch either. He was in impeccable physical shape and had called boxing a serious hobby for at least ten years. In his line of business, he'd also thought it prudent to take lessons at the gun range and was licensed to carry a concealed weapon.

He simply wished he could have protected Ebony.

CHAPTER 4.

Ben and Noah moved in silence up the walkway leading to the house on Portage Lake Court. The sun was blazing down on the rock covered front yard, palm trees looking as if they were as parched as Ben felt.

When he and Noah had met last night, they'd talked about what their next steps were. It was very likely that Vega was responsible for Ebony's death. The two notes he'd left said he was aiming to intimidate Ben into representing him once more. Ben's stance was the plan wasn't going to work, nor was he going to cower in some safe house until Vega's new trial had concluded. Their first step, however, was to talk to Ebony's family. Ben felt like he at least owed them that much and Noah refused to let him go alone.

Noah knocked on the door, squinting as he looked towards Ben, who pushed his sungla.s.ses up on his nose. "You should invest in some of these," he told Noah.

Noah shook his head and gave a dry smile. "Not on my salary."

Ben smiled in return. Noah was about his size and build with a light bronze complexion, completely shaved head and hazel eyes that women seemed to fall for. He was a good looking man with his head on straight, but he was still walking the bachelor path right alongside Ben.

An older woman answered the door. She couldn't have been more than five feet tall, with her graying hair pulled into a messy bun. She wore a colorful housedress and ruby red lipstick that made her very light complexion look a little pasty.

"May I help you?" she asked in a voice that, to Ben, sounded tired.

Her eyes were red-rimmed and puffy from crying and Ben felt like a piece of c.r.a.p for coming here during this time, regardless of whether or not it was the right thing to do.

"My name is Benjamin Donovan. Ebony was my legal a.s.sistant," he said to her.

She nodded her head, her eyes filling with tears. "Yes. Yes. She told us all about you. Come on in."

Ben stepped inside first, Noah following right behind him. It was warm inside the house, almost as warm as it was outside. Box fans blew furiously from their perch in the two living room windows. More dry air was circulated by an upright fan located in the kitchen, which they could still see in the open floor plan of the house.

"This is Detective Hannity." Ben introduced Noah when the woman had led them through the living room to the dining room. She motioned for them to take a seat at a table that looked like it was on the brink of collapse from all the cakes and bowls and jugs of juice sitting on it.

"You investigating what happened to my girl?" the woman asked after she'd taken her own seat, one meaty elbow propped up on the table as the other arm reached for a tissue.

"Yes ma'am," Noah said. "Do you know if she had any boyfriend issues?"

Noah would proceed with the investigation as if they didn't already have a suspect; that was as much to throw off Vega as to appease the family. If they thought the police knew who committed this murder and wasn't doing anything to pick the guy up, there would definitely be some outrage. Ben knew that because he'd been feeling it ever since last night. The difference was Ben knew how the justice system worked, what could and could not be proven in court, what would make or break a case. He knew because he'd used those techniques for the past few years to rise to the level of success he enjoyed. Or at least he'd enjoyed until last night.

"Her boyfriend was here yesterday, first thing in the mornin', cryin' his eyes out just like the rest of us. Aunt Mae'll tell you that once she stops crying for the loss of her only daughter," another woman said. She was just a little taller than the lady she'd referred to as Aunt Mae and had hair the color of a fire engine, stacked on top of her head like a curly beehive.

"Alright, can you tell me his name?" Noah asked, pulling out his notepad.

"Ernie Forrester. He works down at the gas station three blocks over. He ain't do nothin' to Ebony. Word on the street is it was gang related," she continued.

"Stop that foolishness, Jasmine. All that's gossip and you know it. Ebony ain't have nothing to do with gangs. And neither did Ernie. He did his time and he was walking straight now."

"So Ernie had been in jail?" Noah asked.

"I remember Ebony mentioning that to me when he got out. She wanted to find out how his record could be expunged," Ben added. "He'd been in for eighteen months on an attempted robbery charge."

"He ain't steal that car. The girl he was messing with before Ebony got mad because he was with Ebony and called the police, told them he took her car. But her cousins drove that car down a ditch so she could collect the insurance money."

Ben wanted to say "wow." But then again, he didn't. He'd heard stories like these more times than he wanted to count. Most of his clients had girlfriends who had families who came up with schemes to get away with everything. Ben had turned his head away from all of it, declaring it had nothing to do with his case so he didn't want to know. It was activity that he couldn't stop even if he'd tried.

"Okay, I'll talk to Ernie. Anybody else Ebony say she was having trouble with?" Noah continued.

Mae shook her head, tears pouring out so fast Ben couldn't help but go to her and put his hand on her shoulder.

"I am so sorry for your loss, ma'am. So very sorry," he told her.

Mae rocked back and forth, moving her head slightly to acknowledge she heard his words, but she was too upset to speak her own. He looked over to Noah, who closed his book. "I can come back later and talk to you."

"Her name's Maeretha Reece," Jasmine added. "And I'm Jasmine Lynch, her niece. Me, my brother Harold and Ebony's two brothers Bunk and Jay live here with her. We were all here Friday night waiting for Ebony to come home so she could drive us to the market to get more stuff for the cookout."

"We couldn't celebrate with the twins after we heard the news," Mae finally choked out. "I'm sorry but I can't do this now. I gotta get to the funeral home and make the arrangements."

"Please, Mrs. Reece, I'd like to take care of the arrangements," Ben offered. "If that's okay with you?"

"You mean you want to pay for everything? Ebony said you was a rich one even without having to represents those criminals," Jasmine replied, looking Ben up and down.

That sounded like something Ebony would say.

"You go on to the funeral home, pick out whatever you want and have them send the bill to me." Ben reached into his back pocket for his wallet and pulled out a business card. "Give them this and tell them this is where they can send all the bills."

"Hmmhmmm, rich just like Ebony said," Jasmine commented.

Ben ignored her, stuffing his business card in Mrs. Reece's hand. "And if you need anything, Mrs. Reece, anything at all, please don't hesitate to call me. Ebony was like a little sister to me. She was a wonderful employee and I was very proud of how much she'd grown in the last four years. I also want you to know that I'm going to do everything in my power to see her killer brought to justice."

"How are you gonna do that? He might call you to represent him?" Jasmine asked snidely.

Ben resisted the urge to tell her to remain quiet, even though she wasn't under arrest.

"I think we should go now," Noah spoke up. The way he was looking at Jasmine told Ben he wasn't pleased with Jasmine either. Noah was most likely considering taking the girl outside for a word or two. And that wasn't going to end well.

"I am also sorry for your loss, Mrs. Reece. Here's my card as well. If you think of anything that might help us in the investigation, please give me a call."

Noah shook her hand after he'd given her the card.

"I'll walk you out," Mrs. Reece said, wiping her eyes once more.

"There's no need," Ben said.

"Yes there is," she insisted. "Death don't give a reason to be rude."

When they were at the door, she grabbed Ben's hand, holding it tightly in hers.

"Ebony wasn't afraid of anybody. She didn't care who it was or how big a gun they carried, she said they were living and breathing just like her. The cop that came by the other night said she fought hard. I feel good knowing my baby didn't go down without a fight. I didn't raise her that way."

Ben nodded. "Ebony was definitely a fighter."

"You find him," she said adamantly, her watery eyes looking from Ben to Noah. "Both of you work hard and find that b.a.s.t.a.r.d that took my baby."

Her bravado was lost then as she began crying. Ben wrapped his arms around her, holding her tight, closing his own eyes to keep from crying.