Lawyers In Love: In His Own Defense Read Online Free Page A

you did not see the contents of this crate Mr. Garcia and a man you cannot identify opened and looked into on the day before Sergeant Gray raided the warehouse?”
    “That’s right, sir.”
    “Thank you. I have no more questions.” The attorney headed back to the defense table.
    The testimony went on. Kristine called witnesses, introduced evidence, and Landry kept hammering politely on the fact no one had actually seen his client look at or touch the drug.
    It didn’t help that Landry had a dimple that deepened on his left cheek when he smiled, or that he had a casual way of running his fingers through stylishly cut dark brown hair she imagined would feel smooth as silk. Kristine could almost feel the women on the jury latching onto every word he said.
    Damn it anyway, she was latching on the bastard’s every word while she imagined him stroking her hair, whispering sexy suggestions in her ear…dragging him beneath her so she could feel him skin to skin, up close and very personal.
    She was losing. Desperate, Kristine abandoned her quest to present the evidence logically and tried to sway the jury with emotion. When she finished presenting her case and the court recessed for the day, she hurried to her office, intent on finding some detail she might have missed before, a detail that might yet put Manny Garcia behind bars.
    “Kristine?”
    When she looked up from the papers strewn across her desk, Andi was there. Suddenly Kristine felt every drop of sweat she’d accumulated on the short but miserable walk from the courthouse. “Landry’s going to get Garcia off,” she muttered, her blood suddenly pounding at her temples.

Chapter Three
     
    Andi sat down on the rickety chair beside Kristine’s desk and met her gaze. “You’re helping him do it.”
    “What do you mean?”
    “I finished up in court early and came to see how your case was going. I heard it all. The emotional outbursts. The references to unrelated crimes linked to Garcia in the past, some so blatant Judge Harrison didn’t wait for Landry to object before warning you. What are you trying to do, Kristine? Have Judge Harrison declare a mistrial? Land in jail for contempt or get yourself disbarred?”
    “No! I’m trying to put Manny Garcia in prison where he belongs.”
    “It’s not going to happen. Harper should have let you let him plead to a lesser charge, but this is an election year. Anything about Garcia makes news, and he probably thought he’d come off as being soft on crime if we didn’t take the case to trial.”
    “But I want to get him convicted.”
    Andi shook her head. “You’re a good lawyer. Smart. Intuitive. If you’d been thinking rationally, you never would have counted on convicting Garcia in this case. The evidence just isn’t strong enough, and you would have seen that. Don’t let this obsession of yours destroy your career.” Her expression softened, then she smiled. “By the way, I like your suit.”
    Kristine suddenly wanted to tear off her hot-pink skirt and jacket and toss them in the trash. Fat lot of good the new outfit had done her in court today. She started to protest. “I’m not—”
    “Yes, you’re obsessed. Kristine, get over it. If you can’t, I can’t let you try cases like this.” As if to emphasize her words, Andi stood.
    “But Andi—”
    “Your job’s not in jeopardy, yet. I’d hate to lose you. It’s not often we get a young attorney with credentials as good as yours. But I will make certain you don’t get drug-related cases if you can’t be objective about them.” Andi rested one hip against the corner of Kristine’s desk and shot her what appeared to be a sympathetic smile.
    “I want to make a difference.” Kristine knew she’d screwed up, big time, blown her chance.
    “You will. Now do you think you can go back to court and handle the rest of this trial like the professional you are?”
    “I’ll handle it,” Kristine said, and for a moment she let herself believe she