record lately had been dismal. Watching murderers and rapists walk out the door due to technicalities or the prosecutors’ inability to prove their case was not only gut-wrenching but reflected badly on the entire office. The mayor had chewed out Reid so many times lately, Savannah was surprised he still had an ass.
And the ass chewing he got from his superiors he gladly turned around and gave to his own people. Savannah had been on the receiving end much more than she cared to remember.
But all of that could be set aside today. This was a good day for justice. Donny Lee’s connections hadn’t saved him. The X-Kings, the gang he’d once been a prominent member of, had apparently cut him loose. Only a few veiled threats had been made against her—prompting an increase in her security—but nothing she hadn’t been through before. Whatever influence Donny Lee once had with them was obviously gone.
The instant the judge stood and stepped down from behind the bench, Savannah allowed her tense muscles to finally relax. Exhausted, she dropped into the chair behind her and released a giant relieved whoosh of air. One more scumbag off the streets. One more victim’s family had been given a slight amount of peace.
She ignored the weakness in her knees and the shakiness of her limbs. Having lived with the feeling for the last few weeks, she knew full well what it meant. She was on her final reserves. This was her last case for two weeks. Fourteen days of doing nothing more taxing than ordering takeout and turning pages of novels. She was about to take the first lengthy but very well deserved vacation of her career.
The sound of a ruckus caught her attention. Her head jerked up, too late. A large male body flew across the table toward her. A glimpse of Donny Lee’s pockmarked face, red with fury, was all she saw before his two-hundred-pound body slammed into hers. Breath left her with stunning suddenness and Savannah crashed to the floor.
From a distance, she heard curses, screams, and shouts roar through the room. The disgusting man on top of her grunted almost unintelligible words of warning in her ear. Though dazed, Savannah wasn’t too incapacitated to lift her knee and jam it directly into Donny Lee’s groin.
Howls and curses almost split her eardrum. Donny Lee was lifted off her and Savannah could at last breathe. She sat up and leaned against the railing behind her, shaking her head to clear it.
The worried and furious face of her boss appeared above her. “You okay?”
“I’m fine,” she answered, holding out her hand for him to help her up.
Eyeing her carefully, he pulled her to her feet. The lines around his mouth and eyes had deepened. “We’ll charge the bastard with assault.”
Savannah breathed shakily as she flexed all moveable body parts, assuring herself that nothing was broken. The ache in her shoulders and back told her that she was going to be moving slowly and carefully for the next couple of days. Those fourteen days of doing absolutely nothing were going to be even more welcome.
As Donny Lee was hauled out of the room, shouting obscenities and threats to the room at large, Savannah kept a careful eye on him. He’d gotten away once; she wasn’t betting on him not being able to do it again. She’d be ready this time. When the door closed behind him, she allowed herself to slump against the railing for support.
“You sure you don’t need to go to the doctor?” Reid asked.
Savannah shook her head. “I’m fine. Just going to be sore for a few days.”
“That bastard say something to you?”
“Nothing new. That it wasn’t over … that they were coming for me.” The silence after her statement had her gazing up at her boss. “What’s wrong?”
“Maybe you need to extend your vacation till after sentencing.”
A trill of fear swept through her. Not work for two months? She would go crazy. “I had to work my ass off just to take these two weeks. There’s no way I can afford more—there are too many cases for the ADAs already.”
“We’ll make do. I’d rather have you alive and able to come back to work.”
“Reid, seriously. Donny Lee was blowing smoke. Besides, I have police protection, I’ll be fine.”
He shook his head. “That police protection will be going away in a day or so.” The stern, determined look that all his ADAs hated crossed his face. “I could order you.”