“Well, Marshal Parker…I thought we were in a hurry? Is there something else I need to take off?”
None of the responses that came across his brain would be appropriate in the moment. And as much as he might want to change his assignment given the unexpected jolt of thought, he had no option to do so. This assignment just got a whole lot trickier. He took hold of her elbow once more. “No comment. Let’s move.”
Chapter Two
“Keep your head down and a smile on your face. Make it seem like you’re conversing with your sweetheart or something.”
“Are you insane? I am looking down because my shoes are broken, thanks to you, and I’m concentrating on not tripping in them. And your hand need not be so tight on my elbow.”
“Sorry, but I’m trying to keep both of us from being targets as we try to get around the building to my vehicle. Smile and move faster.”
“You’re smiling. Is this at all funny?”
“Not at all, dear. I’m trying to pretend I like you and you just said something amusing. Surely you know how to act like a girl enjoying time out on this beautiful afternoon with your wonderful boyfriend instead of acting like—”
“An unhappy and uncooperative hostage?” she finished for him. There was a slight stumble, but she was quick to recover.
“Better a happy lady instead of a dead one.”
Silence followed. They made it around the corner and then just a few steps before the judge was fairly pushed through the open door of the black pickup waiting at the curb, along with the aid of an unceremonious lift by two hands at her waist. The door slammed behind her. Rance was behind the wheel and the engine roared to life at lightning speed. The courthouse and adjacent building flew by as the intent was to leave the city as fast as possible.
“You plan on running every yellow light in town?’
“It would fit right in with the rest of the drivers in case you haven’t noticed. Don’t tell me you obey all traffic laws every day…especially when you’re running late after waiting in line at your favorite coffee shop?”
Pushing her long length of midnight-black hair back over her shoulder, she finished buckling her seat belt and tried to catch her breath.
“I am rarely late for anything,” she corrected. “I have a driver for workdays at the courthouse. I’m usually reading legal motions in the back. And I don’t drink fancy coffees so no need to get to a shop for one.”
He slowly turned his head, and their gazes met. He left hers first, but not before she saw the hint of a derisive lift at the side of his mouth. “I see.”
“I doubt that very much, Marshal…” She searched for the name.
“Parker. But for the time being, I suggest you dispense with my full name and title. I’m just plain Rance. And you are…Erin, correct? It would be a might awkward to go around addressing you as Your Honor or Judge Latham. Not to mention a flag waving at someone looking for us, and a bystander hearing it on the off chance.
“Well, you didn’t exactly take time to exchange normal pleasantries in my courtroom. But you will need to take the next exit in order to get to my home. I need to pack and—”
“Sorry,” he interrupted with a shake of his head. “No can do. A person could have it staked out, counting on you to return there. We’ll manage to get whatever you think you need along the way.”
“Along the way…and where is it that we’re headed? If I’m allowed to know that?” She was clearly not happy as evidenced by her tone.
“Someplace that has no connection to you. A place you’ve never been before and, hopefully, the very last place anyone would ever expect to find Judge Latham.” Silence ended the conversation between them.
*
Erin felt helpless in that moment. And that was a feeling that rarely occurred in her world. She had worked hard to cultivate self-reliance into her life since the loss of the two powerful men who had ruled it before. First was her father, the first Honorable Judge Nathaniel Latham…a jurist for some forty-five years before his health gave him no recourse but to step down, but only if the powers that be saw fit to name his daughter as his replacement, a distinguished attorney in her own right. Many strings had been pulled and favors called in from on high, but it had happened five years ago. The only issue with that scenario was that his term ended abruptly with an unexpected heart attack. And then she was it. Erin was catapulted onto the stage she had been groomed for since she began walking and talking.
The second man in her life had been the advantageous marriage blessed by her father…and engineered by him…a most suitable investment banker from a political powerhouse of a family. Yes, her father had covered all bases for his only child. And she had realized very early in her late childhood that she had been a disappointment in being the only child he would ever have…and a female at that. In fact, it was his decision that she would retain the Latham name and not take her husband’s. That had turned out to be fine with Erin. After her father’s death from a sudden heart attack while on the bench trying a case, to the ending of the sham of a marriage when her husband had disgraced all in his family by having an affair with the cook and compounding his fate by fathering a child with her…well he was most amenable, as was his family, to have a simple and quiet divorce when Erin had found her backbone and self-worth, much to their added discomfort.
Erin had sold the oversized, white-pillared mansion on the hill, and opted for an 1890s Victorian-style three-story with a turret for her office overlooking the Colorado River, winding below the expanse of lawn. Her first addition to the property had been the driveway with a solid high black wrought-iron fence and gate that kept out the uninvited from her sanctuary. But besides the turret, it had been the wide wraparound porch of the first floor that had caught her eye and tugged on her heartstrings. Few people were aware of how much of herself, her own sweat she had poured into refurbishing the woodwork, painting, buffing floors, bringing life back into ‘the old girl’ as she called it in her mind. They had both—she and the tough old home—found their life and backbones again. And now, another arrogant man, wearing a badge this time, was insinuating himself into knowing what was best for her. Well, she would bide her time. Let him become complacent.
Thankfully, he remained silent. His gaze locked on the road ahead. Her brain was sorting through the events that had come to light about her fellow judges. She knew them all, and she grieved for the families of those who were injured or killed. But she had never been one to step back from a fight for what she believed in, and she believed in the rule of law. She refused to be cowed by some fool with a grudge of some sort about either the law or each judge personally…or both. She settled her gaze outside the window, watching and committing to memory where they might be headed and by what route.
And that worked well, until the pickup turned off the main highway and ventured down a two-lane blacktop away from any signs of real civilization. There was another right turn through a gate that surprisingly opened silently when the man beside her touched a button on the dashboard. A smaller gravel-topped road wound around a couple of bends in it and then a large metal building came into sight. It sat off from a wide expanse of concrete that was easy to see led to a long ribbon of runway. A lone man sauntered out of a door in the side of the building as they came to a halt in one of the three parking spaces. The engine went silent.
“You can get out now and stretch your legs. There’s a ladies’ room just inside the office door there. I suggest you might want to check it out while we are here.” He opened his door and was out of the truck without expecting her response. He and the other man exchanged a handshake, and they began walking toward the office door.
It was clear she could either sit there or follow. She opened her door and climbed down. Her flattened shoes reminded her that they were still minus their heels. Erin gathered her bag over her shoulder and proceeded to attempt as normal a walk as possible. She noted that at least the other man had waited to hold open the door for her. Her ‘keeper’ had obviously abandoned her. That was good. She smiled a thank you to the gentleman. If he thought her footwear strange, he indicated nothing. Erin stepped inside the coolness of the small office. Walls were covered in charts and maps, and a long counter held a few logbooks resting on its Formica top, along with assorted other paraphernalia. There was no desk phone or anything resembling a communications device to be seen. She needed to make that trip to the ladies’ room while she could.
