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"Morning, Val,"
Burke rumbled in that deep Cajun drawl of his. "You have a new client.
Bring a cupcake for him."
Okaaaay. Holding the two cupcakes, Val walked to
Burke's office door, hearing the whir of Joy's motorized wheelchair as the
older woman followed her, unabashedly curious. A shiver of trepidation raced
down Val's spine.
A moment later, she knew why. Assistant District
Attorney Jean-Pierre Cardozo was coming to his feet, having been seated in one
of the chairs in front of Burke's desk. She'd first met him at a party back in
the summer. Burke and his staff had been celebrating with some clients after
closing an all-hands-on-deck case when Cardozo had arrived, dressed in an
expensive black suit that made him look like a Fortune 500 CEO.
He'd been charming as hell and impossible to
ignore, despite her best efforts-that day and later. Unable to resist, she'd
found herself googling him later that evening, learning surprisingly little
personal information. Other than a few of the cases he'd tried up in the New
York City courts, the man had no real internet presence, which took a lot of
talent. Burke's IT guy, Antoine, would surely have been able to dig up a lot
more, but she'd been unwilling to ask. Unwilling to voice aloud that the man
had fascinated her.
She knew only that he'd recently moved from New
York and that his first name was spelled K-a-j, but pronounced Kai, rhyming
with pie. And she only knew those tidbits because she'd overheard Burke telling
someone else in the firm.
After that day, she'd seen Cardozo twice. Once a
couple weeks ago at another party at a friend's restaurant, Le Petit Choux. He
hadn't stayed long, and she'd managed to avoid him. Their most recent crossing
of paths had been in a courtroom the week before, a plea hearing for one of the
criminals whose crimes Burke's group had exposed. No words had been exchanged
between them either time, but Val had noticed the man's every movement.
He moved so very nicely. And he was a good guy,
prosecuting bad guys, but that smile he'd worn . . . He could get her to trust
that smile. Which meant he was dangerous.
He didn't look anything like that now. He was as
handsome as before, his dark brown hair neatly combed, his face freshly shaven.
His khakis were unwrinkled, the sleeves of his casual button-up shirt rolled
up, exposing tanned forearms. He even wore a tie printed with whimsical
dinosaurs. But his expression appeared haggard, as if he hadn't slept at all.
And his dark eyes were full of fear.
Val glanced to the corner of the room, revealing
the source of his fear. A boy of about nine or ten sat at Burke's little
meeting table. His hair was white-blond, unlike Cardozo's. But their faces were
too much alike for them not to be related. Father and son, she thought.
She hadn't realized that Cardozo had a child,
and she didn't want to think about why that disappointed her. It didn't matter
that the child had a mother, that Cardozo had a significant other. It didn't
matter because she was not interested in ADA Cardozo, first name Kaj that
rhymed with pie.
The child, however, had captured her attention.
He clutched a tablet in his hands, staring down at it with a vacant look that
Val recognized all too well.
She'd seen it in the mirror plenty of times.
He'd been traumatized. He didn't look up, so Val
turned back to his father.
"Hey," Val said quietly, because the
mood in the room was brittle. "It's good to see you again, ADA
Cardozo."
The man's throat worked as he swallowed.
"Likewise. This is my son, Elijah. Elijah, this is Miss Sorensen."
My new client? Val wondered. She looked at
Burke, who inclined his head toward the boy, gesturing her to engage.
"Hi, Elijah," she said, approaching
the table. "I'm Val."
The boy didn't look up until Val put the cupcake
in front of him. "Hi," he whispered.
It was one tiny word, but said with a
determination that won her respect. She pointed at the cupcake. "That's
yours."
"And that one, too?" Elijah asked,
pointing at the cupcake still in her hand.
"Pfft. No," she said, using her best
duh tone. "This one is mine. You're a greedy one, aren't you?" She
smiled so that he would know she was teasing.
The boy's lips quirked up before returning to a
grim line. "Was worth a try."
"It's always worth a try when cupcakes are
on the line. Are you my new client?"
Elijah pushed Harry Potter-style glasses up on
his nose. "I guess so."
"May I sit down?" She waited until
Elijah nodded before taking the seat beside him. From this vantage point she
could see the boy's face as well as that of his father.
Cardozo lowered himself back into his chair in
front of Burke's desk, his face still frozen in a rictus of fear.
Whatever had happened, it had been bad.
Excerpted from Beneath Dark Waters by
Karen Rose Copyright © 2023 by Karen Rose. Excerpted by permission of Berkley.
All rights reserved.
***********************
Praise for the novels of New York Times bestselling author Karen Rose
“Riveting. Emotional. Karen Rose at her best.”—New York Times bestselling author Christine Feehan
“High-wire suspense that keeps you riveted.”—New York Times bestselling author Lisa Gardner
“A high-octane thrill ride that kept me on the edge of my seat and up far too late at night!”—New York Times bestselling author Lisa Jackson
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