“Yes, your honor.” Randy’s voice wobbled this time.
“Fair enough. We’ll get a calendar going for the case and set the trial date at the next status conference.” The judge made a notation. “Ms. Albertini, you’re excused. Looks like it was a quick day.”
Maybe for her. Mine had given me a migraine. I grabbed my files and all but fled the courtroom. I pushed the door open and headed into the hallway, winding through bodies and ending up outside. The sun had disappeared, and clouds had begun to gather. I increased my speed toward the office.
Randy ran behind me. “Hey, lady. Come on, give me a better deal.”
Irritation almost dropped me cold. I kept violence at bay and squinted at the sky, balancing myself with calves I’d earned by running every day and trying to outdistance stress in law school. If a total klutz and shy geek girl with issues could be athletic, I’d given it my best to be athletic once in a while. “Get a lawyer,” I said.
He allowed a kid on a skateboard to fly by and then returned to walk by my side. “When do you think the trial will be?”
I glanced to my left at the perfectly square park with its winding walking trails, new benches, and freshly cut grass. Flowers and bushes ringed the entire area, adding a splash of color. “The misdemeanor criminal cases are probably a few months out.”
“Good. Um, do I have to stay in Idaho?” His voice cracked as we skirted perfectly tended purple pansies.
“I am not your attorney. But take some advice and go into Washington state for pot from now on. At least it’s kind of legal there.” According to the state, pot was legal, although the federal government disagreed but seemed content to turn a blind eye.
“Okay.” Randy blew out air in a sigh only an eighteen-year-old caught with pot could muster. We headed toward the crosswalk at the corner, and I breathed in the clean scent of cut grass from the center park. “You seem cool to me. How old are you?”
“Old enough to prosecute you,” I said.
He chuckled. The kid needed to leave me alone. My job was to put him in jail, and he wanted to make friends.
He pushed a folded piece of paper in my hand.
“What—” I started to ask.
“Here’s my contact information in case you need to find me. I’m not at the address on the arrest warrant anymore ‘cause I’m staying with my uncle.” A dark flush wandered over his face, and he shuffled his feet before shoving his hands in his pockets.
“Thanks.” I slid the paper into his file. He’d just helped the opposition.
He tensed next to me, his eyes darting around.
I scanned the area. A few cars drove by near the corner, the only place they could drive close before turning along the parking area behind my building, but nothing interesting was going on. “What?”
“Just thought I saw someone.” He hunched his shoulders.
A screech of tires echoed around the corner, and a brown SUV sped near with the window rolled down. A long, black barrel poked out, and a weird pattering filled the air. What the heck?
Out of nowhere, a large body tackled me to the ground and tumbled me toward the bushes, covering me. The wind whooshed out of my lungs. Fear and panic ripped through me. I struggled to breathe; my face pressed sideways into the grass. “Hey!” Dirt filled my nose. The guy over me was hard as January ice over the lake.
Then silence.
He shifted, rolled me over, and tugged me to my feet. Clumps of dirty grass dropped from my suit. I still clutched my files in trembling hands. Paper cut into my thumb. What had just happened?
The world narrowed in focus. I stared up into the deepest, bluest eyes I had ever seen. I knew those eyes. “Aiden,” I whispered. He’d just saved me.
Again.
Chapter 4
“Aingeal,” Aiden murmured. After being free for a day, he looked even better out of the orange jumpsuit. Faded jeans hung low over tight hips under a black T-shirt, giving him even more of a badass look.
“What are you doing here?” I sputtered, trying to regain some sense of reality.
“I was looking for you. Figured we should talk.” His gaze narrowed when I swayed. The world seemed to be spinning oddly again. “Anna, are you all right?” he asked urgently as the sound of sirens trilled through the air. His sensuous lips and lilting speech brought