Free The Claim by Billy London Page A

it’s too late.”
    “Bye, little man,” Anna said firmly, slamming the door behind him. Fine. She’d take the hint. Stuffing the bear under her desk and out of sight, she picked up the phone. “Mamione, you’ve got some explaining to do. My office. Now.”
     

     
    Rocco took the mango juice with him. He had a bad feeling the after effects of Beppe’s wonder drug were about to repeat on him.
    “Afternoon, Ms. Taylor,” he said quietly.
    Anna opened her mouth and then frowned at his glass. “Cure?”
    “If you really want to help me, feel free to lock your door and let me make love to you.” Anna’s lips parted and for the first time in a long time, she seemed to be at a loss for words. He calmly drank the juice, waiting for her to prepare some sort of response.
    “Do you think I’m going to say ‘why not?’”
    “That’d be nice.” He grinned. “Your little smart skirt would look very enticing around your waist.”
    Anna rubbed her eyes. “You know what, you’ll be really sorry if I complain to HR about sexual harassment.”
    “Ah, that.” He nodded. “Prior relationship doesn’t count?”
    “No,” Anna said bluntly.
    He couldn’t help it, his eyes went straight down to her chest and saw two rather obvious points of disagreement. “Fair enough, Ms. Taylor. What have you summoned me for?”
    “Did Enzo Vitale come and see you a while ago?”
    Rocco’s stomach flashed with fear and rage. “He came to you?”
    “You could have warned me. Spiteful little prick. What’s his problem with you? He basically called you and Nonna bottom feeders.”
    Rocco paused. Whatever he told her from now on would put her right between him and any interested parties. “Give me some new client forms to sign.”
    “What?”
    “Privilege. That way if anyone asks you, you’re protected.”
    She stared at him. “Rocky, it’s that bad?”
    He nearly laughed. She hadn’t called him Rocky in years. “I know what you value, and this will make sure that nothing I tell you will compromise your integrity.”
    “So you think I can’t keep a secret? That I’ll be down the nearest police station to shop you? Am I really that untrustworthy?”
    He placed the glass on the floor and stood up to catch her arms in his hands. Rubbing soothingly, he bent to catch her eyes. “It’s because you’re a good person. Who doesn’t need to know outside the protection of client-solicitor privilege.”
    He felt heat at either side of his waist and looked down to see that she had her palms braced on his torso. “No. Tell me or not at all.”
    “It’s not just me, Annie. It’s my family, my nonna, my mum, my dad. It’s my friends, Beppe included. I can’t risk all of that on—”
    “On whether I’ll use it to get back at you?” she released with a disgusted breath. “You really don’t know me. I don’t think you ever did. When I was at the police station that night, I lied. Before I even knew what was going on, I lied. Because I thought I could help you.”
    “And I don’t want you to do that again. I watched my mother sacrifice everything for my father. Her own family, her religion. I couldn’t let you do that for me.”
    “This isn’t talking, Rocco, this is you putting me in an impossible situation. It’s also showing me that yet again, it’s family first for you and everything else on the other side of the world, in darkness.”
    “Annie, do you know that you were followed by the police for two weeks after I was arrested?” He watched her pupils enlarge. “If you didn’t know, then you wouldn’t have to lie. Not to help me.”
    He felt her making fists in his shirt. “You should have given me a heads-up. A choice.”
    His hand drifted over her butter-soft curls. “Yes, I realise that you’re all for autonomy, but this job is hard enough to keep secrets without doing it for your boyfriend as well.”
    “You’re such a dick,” she fumed. “You weren’t just my boyfriend —I loved you!”
    That