Protective Custody

Nicholas stood and headed down the steps.

“Why didn’t you do something, Judge? You should have done something.” This time she heard the man loud and clear.

Nick stopped and looked out at the man who’d hollered. Sadness covered his features, and he shook his head.

“You’ll pay for this!”

Carly’s attention meter stood at full alert as she and Mason hurried to Nick’s side. A threat? She glanced at the officer nearest the door. He had his eyes on the individual who’d issued the threat. Carly relaxed a tad as she realized the man had directed his last comment to the defendant, who now stood a free man. Harrison Frasier laughed and turned his back on the elderly man.

Eyes blazing, cheeks still wet, the victim’s wife grabbed her father’s hand and pulled him toward the double rear doors of the courtroom, pushing her way through the throng of reporters and flashing cameras.

At Nicholas’s side, Carly looked at Harrison and saw him hug his lawyer and another young woman. A sister? A wife? Girlfriend?

Escorting the judge back to his chambers adjacent to the courtroom, Carly opened the door. Mason entered, weapon drawn.

Nicholas stood just inside the door next to Carly. “Come on. Isn’t this a bit extreme?”

She just looked at him, trying not to admire his handsome features. Right now, they were hard, as though chiseled in stone. The only imperfection was on his jawline where he’d sliced himself with the razor.

Distracting herself from that line of thought, she asked, “Haven’t you heard, ‘Better safe than sorry’?”

She thought she heard his teeth click together but was glad when he said nothing else. She really didn’t want to argue with him. Mason came out of the bathroom. “All clear.”

Carly heard the rasp of the zipper on Nicholas’ robe. He tossed it over the back of the chair. “Let’s get out of here. I want to check on my family.”

Gladly.

Carly led the way out the door, checking the hallway as she listened to his footfalls behind her. She shivered as she felt his gaze touch her back. What was he thinking? Was he wondering what she thought of him? That it was because of him that her friend and mentor had been killed? Did he even know?

Mason brought up the rear as they approached the back door of the building. Shoving ahead of Carly and Nicholas, he pushed open the door. Carly laid a restraining hand on Nicholas. “Wait a minute.”

An impatient sigh hissed from him, but he held his tongue and stood still.

Mason’s head popped back in. “We’re clear.”

Carly stepped out, looked both ways then motioned for Nicholas to follow. “Give Mason your keys. He’ll drive your car.”

“That’s not necessary. I’ll be…”

“Hey, Judge!”

The trio turned as one to see Harrison Frasier reveling in his newly declared freedom. One hand on the passenger door of a minivan, the man offered Nicholas a salute with his free hand. “Great job in there, my friend.”

“I’m not your friend, you—”

A loud pop cut off Nicholas’s outraged growl.

Carly reacted by giving Nicholas a hard shove behind the nearest parked car and throwing herself on top of him. If a bullet was headed his way, it was going through her first. But when she looked back, it was Harrison who lay on the ground, a dark red stain growing across his chest.

TWO

“Get inside,” she ordered as she scrambled into a crouched position beside him, “just in case our shooter is still somewhere nearby.”

Without comment, pulse pounding with adrenaline, Nicholas pulled himself to his feet and pushed the door open for Carly, then followed her through it. Mason headed over to the scene.

Nicholas’s brain processed Carly’s words as he leaned against the wall to catch his breath. His heart pounded in his chest as his mind replayed the image of Harrison being hit with the bullet.

Shock quickly followed the surprise on the man’s arrogant features. Then he’d almost looked pleading as he’d dropped to the ground.

Absently, Nicholas heard Carly talking to someone on her radio. Calling for help? His mind went to Lindsey and Christopher. He glanced at his watch. They’d be home from school by now, and he had to make sure they were safe. Carly had assured him they weren’t in any danger, but he wanted to hear that for himself from someone who had eyes on them.

Even as he subconsciously waited for the sound of another bullet, he yanked out his cell phone and pressed the speed-dial number. “Hello?”

Forcing a calmness into his voice he didn’t feel, he asked, “Debbie, is everything all right at the house?”

“Hi, Nick. Everything’s fine. Two U.S. Marshals showed up at the children’s school saying you’d been threatened and they were just there to keep an eye on things. They followed me home and are still here. Are you okay?”

He closed his eyes, picturing the children’s nanny. Debbie had been a blessing in one of his greatest times of need. When his mother had decided to leave for California, the daughter of his best friend and fellow judge, Wayne Thomas, had volunteered to fill in as caretaker for Lindsey and Christopher until he could find someone on a permanent basis. “Yes, I’m fine.” He’d tell her about the shooting later. “I’m just going to be a bit delayed in getting home, all right?”

“Sure, Nick. No problem.”

“Thanks, Deb.” The fact that he’d been threatened wouldn’t freak her out, but she’d be on high alert. Her father, Wayne Thomas, was also a judge, so she knew about threats and protective details. However, the fact that Nicholas had been present when a shooter actually killed someone might be a bit much for her.

He hung up and watched Carly walk toward him, holstering her weapon. His heart flipped into a weird beat at the sight of her, face flushed, dark curls escaping her ponytail. Mirrored sunglasses covered her eyes, so he couldn’t read her expression. He swallowed hard. Was he attracted to her? Surely not. He had appreciated her friendship two years ago. But he’d been a married man then—and no matter how troubled his marriage had been, he would never have jeopardized it by allowing himself to get close to another woman. Still, Carly had been easy to talk to, a true friend.

Focusing on her words, he pushed his thoughts away. “The shooter got away.”

Nicholas narrowed his eyes and determined to pull his own gun from the wall safe just as soon as he got home. The door opened behind him as he questioned Carly. “Why Harrison Frasier?”

“I have no idea.”

“I do.”

Nicholas turned to see Mason step inside.

A quick glimpse behind Mason as the door shut showed authorities swarming the area. The press had arrived in record time, since they were already on the premises for the trial.

Harrison had already been transported from the scene. Yellow tape marked the area where the crime-scene unit now worked. The door clicked shut, and the deputy marshal held something in his left hand that he offered to Carly. She took it.

“What is it?” Nick asked.

“Apparently, our guy is fond of letters. Two in one day.”

“So, the shooter isn’t the father of the victim.” Nick stated the thought that had been in his head ever since he’d seen Harrison go down.

“No, I’m going to say not.”

Nicholas leaned over Carly’s shoulder to read. Her scent swirled around him and, against his better judgment, he breathed in deep. Then the typed words pulled the air from his lungs.