A sneaky thrill of pleasure shot through her at his words. Not just his words, but his manner, like some kind of Highland warrior ready to take up arms to defend her.
“Fine,” she conceded. “You can look up Ethan James while I make a few calls.”
He did more than that. While she curled up on her couch and talked to her contact at the DA’s office, he wandered into her kitchen and came back with breakfast.
A plate of blueberry pancakes, to be exact. Which he must have made from scratch, because she didn’t have any pancake mix on hand.
Impressive.
The pancakes were the perfect balance between hearty and fluffy. She gorged herself as she listened to the ADA talk about a class-action suit filed against the doctor who had vouched for the fake supplements.
“These are amazing,” she told Darius when she’d finally completed the call. “How’d you learn to make such good pancakes?”
“I always make pancakes when I work an overnight shift, so long as I’m not out on a call. My crews expect it now. I’ve spoiled them. We don’t work a lot of overnight shifts here, just in the summer. But the tradition continues. So what’d you learn?”
“Sounds like they’re busy with other things. My contact thinks the chances that they’ve sent someone to Alaska are zero. Anything on this Ethan James?”
“Clean as a bottle of detergent. Excellent reputation. Stellar record. I forgot to mention that he’s friends with Padric Jeffers. You could also contact him for a reference.”
“Oh sure, just call up Padric Jeffers out of the blue.” She was familiar with the rock star, but only through Zoe Bellini, his fiancée. “That’s okay, I’m willing to take a chance and meet him for myself.”
“Good.” He tugged a business card from the pocket of his sweats. “Want me to call him or do you want to call him yourself?”
“I’ll call him myself, of course.” She plucked the card from his hand and looked at the name and contact information printed on it. The James Agency. Los Angeles, California. The words gave her a sudden chill. They brought back those fearful moments during her last days in LA.
And she realized…she didn’t want to do this alone.
“But I…would be grateful…I mean, if you have the time…”
It shouldn’t feel so awkward to ask for his help. But she was so used to relying only on herself.
“Want me to come with you? You got it.” He grinned at her widely, his teeth gleaming like a pirate’s. “I was afraid you’d never ask.”
“Weird thing to get excited about.” She nudged his thigh with her foot—for no other reason than to remind herself of those hard muscles. “It’s not like it’s a hot date.”
“We’ll see.”
Chapter Thirteen
Darius had left out one important detail about Ethan James—the guy was a hottie. They met him in the lobby of the Eagle’s Nest Resort and Hotel, by far the most expensive hotel in Lost Harbor, and one of the few that stayed open all winter. With his easy smile and penetrating eyes, Ethan James was instantly appealing.
But not quite as appealing as the big guy at her side.
“Call me Kate,” she said immediately upon shaking Ethan’s hand.
“Ethan. Thanks for meeting with me.”
They claimed a quiet nook with a stunning view of the restless gray ocean and the icy peaks on the other side. Misty Bay was living up to its name today, with long fingers of fog drifting past like smoke.
They had the lobby to themselves. The reception clerk was watching TikTok videos on his phone, and the only other noise was the quiet bubbling of a fish tank.
“I have lots of questions, Ethan.” she told him, after making sure the clerk had his headphones in.
“Of course you do. I would too. Let me start with who sent me up here. My client is the law firm of Cotton and Bryant.”
Her eyes widened. That name was famous in California legal circles. It was one of the most respected law firms in the country. “That’s reassuring.”
“Good. I can’t say that I know the ins and outs of your situation, but I do know that they’re not trying to put you in danger. They want your testimony in a case.”
“What’s the case?”
“Class-action suit against Dr. Robert Kramer.”
So the ADA had been right on about that. “The supplement fraudster.”
“That’s the one. Your…ahem…” He cleared his throat delicately, glancing at Darius.
Kate gritted her teeth. “You don’t have to dance around it. My father was working with him. Darius knows all the dirt at this point.”
“Good. Then I can speak freely?” Kate nodded, and he continued. “Thirty victims of the supplement scam are filing a five hundred million dollar class-action lawsuit against Kramer’s company. Cotton and Bryant’s team thinks your testimony can be useful.”
“I’m not going to testify against my father,” she said flatly. “First of all, I was his lawyer. Also, he’s my father, and even though he wasn’t much of a parental figure, I couldn’t do that to him.”
Ethan shook his head with a frown. “No no, not that. We’ve gathered evidence that Kramer ordered his operatives to harass you and intimidate you. That’s the testimony we’re after. All you have to do is recount everything that happened before you left LA, and the steps you took to protect yourself. Just tell the truth. That’s all. The law firm will pay all your expenses to fly to LA and you can tape your deposition.”
Her heart skipped a few beats. Fly to LA. Sunshine. Freeways. Maybe a brunch with a few friends. A taste of her old life.
“With your testimony, you could help bring the victims’ families some closure.”
Her eyebrows lifted. “I’m sorry, don’t you mean cash?”
“That too.” He smiled slightly. “Before I came up here, I did a little research on you. I found it interesting that you became a lawyer when your father spent so much time dodging them. You could have chosen his kind of life, but you didn’t.”
She threw up a hand. “I don’t need a psych profile, Ethan James. I’ve spent a lot of time trying not to be my father. I know that. I’m sympathetic to the class-action suit. I know what it’s like to be scammed. I’ve seen it many times and it’s a terrible feeling. But I left LA because I was being threatened and—”
“All security costs will be covered. Sorry, I should have mentioned that right away.”
She stole a glance at Darius, but his expression told her nothing. He had his intimidating poker face on lock.
“When would they want me? For how long?”
“It should only take a couple of days. One day to meet with the team and prep, one day for the depo. Maybe more if the opposing counsel gets frisky.”
Two days. That sounded safe, but it didn’t leave much time for extras. Brunch with friends was probably out.
And come to think of it, she wouldn’t want to expose anyone else to any bad guys catching wind of her return.
“I’d like to choose my own security.”
Ethan relaxed back in his chair. Obviously he knew a victory when he witnessed one. “That sounds like a reasonable request.”