“The judge hated us all,” Scott said wearily, sitting so close to her she could feel the warmth from his body. “I’ll appeal, but my client might’ve just gotten screwed. I think the judge might be friends with Dearth, but I can’t prove it.”
“You screwedme,” Millie said. “I think I just got fired.”
Scott jerked. “Come on. The HDD can’t be overreacting to that degree?”
“Yes. You have ruined everything.” She closed her fingers into a fist, surprised at how badly she wanted to punch him. “Lawyers are the worst, and you’re at the bottom of that oily barrel.” For years, her aunt had fought to gain custody of Millie and her brother, and those state lawyers had fought every petition, asserting that her elderly great-aunt lacked the resources to raise two kids. So Millie and her brother had been separated until she’d turned eleven and JT had turned sixteen.
Then there wasn’t anywhere else to go. Thank goodness.
“You’re not fired.” Scott reached for his phone. “I’ll call Angus. He has juice with the higher-ups at the HDD after the success of the last couple of cases.”
“No.” Millie held up her hand. What an egomaniac. “I don’t need your help. Go away and forget we met.” The guy even looked like a rich lawyer. He had thick, dark blond hair and the most piercing and calculating blue eyes she’d ever seen.
Scott sighed. “I’m sorry. Honestly, I had no idea the HDD would be so hypersensitive.”
As if it would’ve mattered. All he cared about was winning.
Scott’s client came out of the bathroom, tears on her face.
“I have to go. I’ll give you a call later.” Scott seemed to hesitate. “I’ll fix this.”
“Great,” Millie muttered. “I’m sure you’ll just create a bigger mess.” The jerk had chosen his client over her or what was right, just like a typical lawyer.
Scott tugged a business card from his pocket and shoved it into her hand. “Call me if they really try to fire you before I make amends.” He turned and strode to his client, put an arm over her shoulders, and escorted her from the building.
Werner Dearth and his lawyer emerged from the courtroom, both laughing. Millie ignored them and hurried down the hallway toward the farthest exit.
She’d almost made it to the front door when Werner Dearth grabbed her arm, swinging her to a halt. Pulling free, she noted a vacant vestibule around them. Where was his lawyer? She glared. “What?”
He leaned in, his breath smelling like vodka. “You have no idea what you just unleashed, you bitch.”
Millie took a step back from the vitriol in his voice. He was older than she, less fit, but twice her size. “Did you just threaten a federal agent?” She could see a bailiff down the hallway and would call out if necessary.
He snorted. “You won’t carry that job title by the end of the week.” His upper lip lifted in a sneer. “I take out my enemies, and you just became one. You won’t see me coming.”
Her phone buzzed and she pressed it to her ear, keeping her eye on the threat. “Millie Frost,” she answered.
“Millie, it’s JT. We have a problem. Aunt Mae might’ve had a heart attack.”
Millie’s entire life ground to a halt in that second. “What? Is she okay?” Her lungs stuttered.
JT’s voice carried rough and low through the phone line. “I don’t know. I’m headed to the hospital now.”
“I’ll meet you there,” Millie said. It was a two-hour drive to the middle of West Virginia, but she could probably make it in an hour. She had to. Mae Frost was the most important person in her life. She’d worry about everything else later.
Dearth tightened his grip on her arm. “Don’t ignore me,” he snapped.
She shoved him hard enough that he took a step back and released her. “Touch me again, and you’ll regret it for the rest of your life.” She had to get to Aunt Mae. Ignoring the bastard, she turned and pushed outside into the frigid air.
Chapter Two
Tension pummeled Millie’s temples and a heavy weight kept her pressed down. She tried to open her eyes but her brain failed to connect to her muscles. She tempted a swallow, but her throat turned parched as a desert.
The cloying smell of copper surrounded her, and her hands itched. A tacky texture enveloped them. She forced her eyelids open and tried to focus on the sunlight barely glimmering through blinds but not brightly enough to illuminate her immediate vicinity.
Where was she?
She moved and then yelped as she fell from a mattress onto the floor. Hazy darkness swallowed everything. Had she fallen in a puddle? What was going on? Fuzziness filled her skull.
