Man with the Muscle by Julie Miller Page A

holding on to his gift from that night of the murder.
    Her eyes never left his as he pinched her chin between his thumb and forefinger, and angled her face to dab at her wound. He hoped she could read the same confusion in his eyes. He didn’t get this connection between them, either, but it was there. Whether she wanted to argue or let him touch her gently like this, the connection was there.
    The reality of knowing she could have been hurt so much worse by that bomb was there, too.
    He held up the bandanna and let her see the blood. Her blood.
    â€œI think somebody just made their voice heard.”

Chapter Five
    â€œAre you sure you’re all right?”
    Her blouse was ruined and the strawberry mark scraped across Audrey’s cheek throbbed with every anxious beat of her pulse, but she hardly wanted to confess that to her boss. “I’m fine.”
    Dwight Powers stood behind his walnut desk, buttoning his suit coat and straightening his tie. “I’ll take over the case.”
    That was exactly what she’d been afraid this meeting was about. “No.” She shot up out of her chair and mirrored his stance across the desk. “That’s what this person wants—to intimidate me right out of that courtroom.” You scared yet, bitch? The words had gotten under her skin when she’d been crushed beneath Alex’s body and the world had exploded all around them. But she couldn’t let them get inside her head. “If I don’t finish what I’ve started here, I’ll never have authority over anything in this office again. No one in this city will trust me to protect them.”
    â€œAn anonymous threat is one thing. Getting close enough to actually hurt you is something different.” Dwight trailed a finger across the photo of his second wife and family framed on top of his desk before raisinghis probing gaze back to her. “I know what it’s like to lose people you care about because of this job. No career is worth that.”
    Audrey fisted her hand on top of the desk. “Demetrius Smith is not going to get to me.”
    â€œHe got to Trace Vaughn.”
    â€œWe don’t know that.”
    â€œAudrey—”
    She threw up her hands and spun away, pacing around the guest chairs and collecting her thoughts before returning to the desk. “I realize that’s the most likely scenario—the one KCPD is pursuing—that one of his Bad Boys took out Trace. But that has yet to be proved. Think about this logically. Think about Kansas City, not just me.”
    â€œI have to think about the people who work for me. You’re my responsibility as much as the people we represent.”
    As tough and overprotective as her boss could be, she knew he could be reasoned with if her arguments were all in place.
    With a deep sigh through his barrel chest, he pulled back the front of his suit jacket and propped his hands at his waist. “But I’m listening.”
    Audrey calmed her breathing, as if she was making a final summation to a jury. “I know you agreed to give me this assignment because the Kline name carries more legal clout than the other A.D.A.s can bring to the table. You considered the public relations message surrounding this case—city officials and the movers and shakers will see the Kline name and think you’re bringing out the big guns to go up against gang violence in K.C.”
    â€œYou are a ‘big gun’ in my office.” Dwight folded his arms across his chest. “But your last name isn’t the only reason I gave you this case.”
    â€œExactly.” Audrey had given up on her hair staying pinned into place, and had simply combed the waves down around her shoulders. Now she tucked it behind one ear and tilted her head, bringing the mark on her cheek into focus. “You’re also counting on that intangible sympathy vote from the jury. If things are close, you’re hoping