The way she lifted her gaze caused a hitch in my breath. Her eyes were shimmering with the same array of strangulated emotions and desires as the night before.
Being this close to her was a dangerous affair.
“Why?”
“Because I have my share of enemies, Valentina. I’m a judge who has put away some seriously bad people, many as dangerous if not more so than Jacob Jones. Before you ask, yes, I have weapons in the house that are locked up and impossible for your daughter to have access to. However, they will more than be adequate should anyone be stupid enough to try and break into my… fortress.”
In tossing the last word back at her, I anticipated fury or at minimum irritation, but when she smiled, it was as if the entire kitchen lit up in bright, white-hot light. “You’re funny. I didn’t know that about you.”
No, that wasn’t what I’d expected as a reaction at all. But I’d take it. Chuckling, I scrubbed my jaw, instantly realizing I hadn’t shaved in three days. “I’m not trying to be funny. This is serious. I need to discover is there’s any chance your name was leaked, which should be next to impossible.” What I didn’t tell her was that if that had occurred, heads would roll and I’d be the one cutting them off at the neck.
“I learned in my life that nothing is impossible.” Her admittance mirrored mine.
“Sadly, true, which is another reason you aren’t leaving.”
I was trying my best to curtail my rage in front of her, but it felt as if I was losing the battle.
As she’d done several times before, she eyed me with a hard expression. This time it felt as if she was dissecting me, peeling away layers to try to see what I was hiding. At this point, there was little else I could say or do to convince her.
Unless I locked both her and her daughter in a room. Which wasn’t completely a bad idea.
She finished putting away the dishes before spinning to face me, folding her arms. “I have two jobs that I can’t simply walk out on.”
“It’s Sunday.”
“Not in the world of waiting tables. I’m supposed to work the lunch and dinner shift.”
“Can you at least take a sick day so I can determine what in the hell is going on? If it’s money you’re worried about, I assure you I have enough for anything you need.”
Another flash of her eyes allowed me to know instantly I’d insulted her. “Even after my slug of a boyfriend stole every dime in my bank accounts, I never once asked for charity from anyone. I won’t start now.”
This was getting us nowhere. “I apologize. I was doing nothing more than badly attempting to ease the fears that I can tackle most easily.”
While it took a few seconds, her features finally softened.
“You don’t have miracle worker on your resume?”
“Not even close.” I wasn’t going to explain the wheels of justice were often slower than molasses.
Her lips pressed together, the simple act drawing my attention. It was extremely difficult to concentrate on the issue while standing this close. She was magnetic, highly intelligent, and bold. The combination was disruptive for any man, but the attributes could certainly leave her in danger.
This wasn’t something to fuck with.
Her dazzling eyes glinted when she realized I was studying her with more lascivious thoughts. “You’re staring at me.”
“Does that bother you so much? I think you like it.” Why was I pushing every boundary in the book this morning? That wasn’t like me and if I had any chance of protecting her, I’d need to back the fuck off. I wasn’t some teenage boy with an insatiable appetite, although the taste of her the night before had left me longing for more.
Even now, her scent lingered as if she’d purposely painted my skin, a permanent reminder of our time together.
“I never said I didn’t like it, but you and I both know what happened last night…” She gave her daughter another look, the little girl ceremoniously rearranging the mail I’d tossed on the table. Valentina’s slight smile as she watched Bella was a clear indication of how close the two were.
And how much love there was.
Men like Jacob Jones couldn’t care less about families or children, love or decency. He had no moral compass, which was what made him so dangerous. I had no intention of sharing with her that he’d slaughtered women and children before. She certainly didn’t need the horrible realization on her mind.
I’d done a deep dive into the man’s background and methods of criminal activity as I had with every other person who’d graced my courtroom. I’d discovered long before accepting my position on the bench that learning everything there was to know about a criminal’s mind and motives was the best way of prosecuting him.
Even if I was required to remain impartial.
