Free THE DEFENDER by Adrienne Giordano

Margaret.” Gerald set his hand on the phone’s keypad, then glanced up. “Good morning, Agent Voight.”
    “Morning, sir.”
    “Hello, Zachary,” Penny said, leaning down to kiss her brother on the cheek.
    She offered Russ the guest chair, but he waved her into it. “I’ll stand.” If he wanted to sit, he’d take a squat on the overstuffed sofa that was big enough for King Kong to sleep on.
    The phone rang and Gerald hit a button. “David?”
    “Hi, Dad.”
    “Hey, Dave,” Zac said.
    Penny remained quiet. And when the hell had Russ ever experienced that phenomenon?
    “Will someone please tell me what is going on?” David said, his voice sharp enough to chop wood.
    Ho-kay.
    Penny sat forward, moving closer to the phone. “I’m sorry I didn’t call you yesterday.”
    “Ya think? I mean, a heads-up would have been nice before a marshal showed up at my office.”
    Hang on here.
    Russ stepped closer to the desk, but Gerald beat him to it. “Watch your tone. Things got hectic. You got what information I had.”
    “Well, yeah, but once again the drama queen created chaos and we all suffered for it.”
    Russ looked at Penny, who refused to even glance at him. She kept her focus on the phone, but her cheeks had gone hollow and she looked to be chewing on the inside of them. Apparently, she and David didn’t get along.
    Zac sighed. “Dave, relax. It’s not her fault.”
    “Right. It never is. I’m in Boston and I can’t get away from her drama. And you and Dad let her get away with it. Every time.”
    In the thirty seconds Russ had known David Hennings, he despised him. Plus, he didn’t like his attitude regarding Penny. And if her father and Zac weren’t going to deal with that, Russ would. He reached over the desk, picked up the receiver and dropped it back in its cradle. The three occupants in the room went silent. Obviously people didn’t hang up on David. Too bad. Someone had to take control. “He’ll call back,” Russ said.
    Zac elbowed Penny’s arm. “I like this guy.”
    “No fooling,” she cracked.
    Penny stared up at him, her big blue eyes round and, if his guess was right, amused.
    Thirty seconds later, David was patched through again. “Did you hang up on me?” he hollered.
    “David,” Russ said. “This is special agent Russell Voight. I hung up on you. Keep yelling and I’ll do it again. Your only purpose in this meeting is to listen.”
    “Wait—”
    “I will not wait. I wasted five minutes of my life listening to you and I can’t get those five minutes back. Your sister did not call you yesterday because soon after being threatened by someone who ordered a mass shooting, I confiscated her phone to avoid a killer locating her. I took her to an FBI safe house, where her client, also my very important witness, met us. She called your father using my phone and that was the only communication she had with anyone outside of the FBI or the U.S. Marshals’ office. If you have any issues with that, speak to me later. Right now, your sister’s client is waiting for me and I can’t question her without Penny. So, you will shut up and we’ll make this quick.”
    “Russell Voight,” Penny said, “I think I love you.”
    Gerald Hennings laughed at that. And so did Zac. In fact, David seemed to be the only male involved in this conversation who didn’t have an affection for Penny.
    A brief silence ensued and Russ held his hand to Gerald to continue. “David, until the FBI feels the threats against Penny are no longer an issue, we will all be under protection. Beyond that, there’s not much to say.”
    “David,” Penny said, “I took a client. That’s all. Had I known this would happen, obviously I would have avoided it.”
    “Whatever, Penny.”
    Penny threw her hands up. “How is this my fault? You think I sit around all day thinking up ways to annoy you? Guess what, David, everything isn’t about you. Shocking as that may be.”
    “Okay,” Russ said, “I think