Her vehemence took Gina by surprise, but it didn’t scare her the way Emma had obviously intended it to. That was just one more thing she was going to have to think about over the weekend.
Rafe was hunkered down in his room going through a pile of papers that Lydia had faxed to him just that morning. It seemed he was destined to run his law practice from a Winding River hotel for the foreseeable future. He was so caught up in his work that the pounding on his door startled him. Finding Emma Rogers on his doorstep startled him even more.
“This is a surprise,” he said.
“Yes, I imagine it is,” she said, her expression as fierce as her tone. “I imagine you thought you could try all sorts of sneaky tactics to get what you wanted from Gina and no one would call you on it, but I’m here to tell you otherwise.”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about. Why don’t you come in and explain it.”
She stepped into the room, took note of the piles of paperwork. “Working on the Café Tuscany case, are you?”
Rafe sighed. “Gina told you.”
“She told me everything. I’m now representing her.”
“Good.”
She blinked at that. “Good?” she said, sounding ever-so-slightly more hesitant.
“She needs a strong advocate. Obviously, I can’t be that for her.”
“I’m glad you understand a little bit about ethics. I was beginning to think you were totally clueless.”
He regarded Emma curiously. “What exactly has Gina been telling you?”
“I’m not at liberty to discuss that.”
“And I’m not asking for details about Café Tuscany’s financial mess. I’m asking you what she’s told you about the two of us.”
Emma seemed to be weighing the ethics of saying anything about that, as well. “Enough that I suspect you’re crossing the line,” she said finally.
“Did she say anything about objecting?”
“That’s beside the point. It’s wrong. You have to know that. Go back to New York, Rafe. You’ll be contacted by an attorney there. Gina will come in and answer all your questions, and we’ll get this mess straightened out.”
“I’m not convinced Gina has any answers to my questions,” he said.
“Then what are you still doing here?” she demanded.
“Bobby Rinaldi has all the answers. He’s been in touch with Gina once. I imagine he will be again. Why don’t you convince her to let us tap her phone or, at the very least, hook up a caller ID?”
“I’ll discuss it with her.”
“I’ve already mentioned it. She refused.”
Emma’s expression turned thoughtful. “I imagine she doesn’t want her parents involved.”
“So she said, but the bottom line is, the longer she stays with them, the more likely they are going to get drawn into this. Bobby will call there again. If her mother answers, I imagine he’ll get an earful. Gina says her mother’s fit to be tied and ready to tell him just that. Her father, however, doesn’t know a thing, and she wants it to stay that way.”
“Maybe I can convince her to get her own place and her own phone, at least temporarily,” Emma said slowly. “I know she wants to locate Bobby as badly as you do. If he thinks she’s giving up on New York and settling here, he might even risk a visit. He owes her an explanation, if nothing else.”
Rafe nodded. “That was my thinking.”
“I’ll talk to her,” Emma promised.
Rafe glanced out the window. “Now would be a good time. Here she comes.” He stood up and opened the door. “Come on in and join the party.” Once she was inside, he retreated to the chair beside the desk. He had a feeling anyplace else would put him right in the line of fire. The two women were scowling at each other.
“What are you doing here?” Gina demanded.
At the same moment Emma chided, “I thought I told you to stay away from Rafe.”
Gina shrugged. “I told you that wasn’t going to work.”
Emma looked from Gina to Rafe and back, then sighed. “Okay, here’s a suggestion,” she said to Rafe. “I’ll make a deal with you. If you promise her immunity from all prosecution on this, she can help you catch Bobby. And I want it in writing.”
“Done,” Rafe said.
Emma looked at Gina. “Okay with you?”
“We won’t be on opposing sides anymore?” Gina asked, her gaze locked with Rafe’s.
“No. We’ll be partners,” he said.
A smile broke slowly and spread across her face. “Done,” she agreed at once.
“If you decide to stay in Winding River for the time being, I also think you should consider getting your own place, at least temporarily,” Emma said. “Unless you want to put some kind of wiretap or caller ID on the phone at your parents’ place.”
“I don’t want them dragged into this,” Gina said. “I think moving into my own place makes a lot of sense. In fact, I’m pretty sure the room next to this one is available.” She glanced toward the wall and grinned. “It even has a connecting door. How handy.”
Rafe groaned. “Now, Gina, we’ve talked about this. Nothing’s changed.”
“Sure it has. We’re partners now. Where you go, I go, right?”
Emma moaned. “I’m out of here. I’ll leave you two to work out the details. Rafe, I’ll expect that agreement by the end of the day.” She gave Gina a stern look. “Until I have it, could the two of you try to keep your hands to yourselves?”
“Not a problem,” Rafe insisted, shoving his hands in his pockets.
But as adamant as he was, he wasn’t so sure about Gina. That gleam in her eyes suggested she was not above creating a little mischief just to test his resolve. In fact, right this second she was regarding him a little too cheerfully.
“This is an interesting turn of events, isn’t it?” she commented after Emma had gone.
“I suppose that depends on your point of view,” he responded cautiously.
“Well, from my point of view what could be better than getting all those nasty suspicions cleared up? Now we’re free to do whatever we
