Colin hesitated for a moment, then averted his eyes. “Not so far,” he mumbled.
“Oh yeah,right!” Nate shot back. “I can tell by that look on your face that he’s—”
“Nate, don’t!” Colin blurted, cutting him off. “He’s an officer of the court and my direct superior. If Ihadanything to say about him, this wouldnotbe the place to say it.”
“Sorry.”
“No need to be sorry,” Colin said, laying his hand over Nate’s. “I’m just not at liberty to discuss...well, anything that goes on in that office.”
“He’s in the running for Esther’s job if she ever decides to step down,” David observed, his eyes fixed on Colin’s face. “I have the sense that you would not see that as a good thing.”
Colin stared at his plate, the corners of his mouth downturned. “No,” he told David, “it’s not that. The guy has earned his rep as a great prosecutor and if Esther stepped down, he’d be a good replacement.” He shot David a glance. “The things that bother me about Clayton have nothing to do with his ability as an attorney.” He pushed his plate back and stood. “And that’s all I’m going to say.”
* * *
At home in their bedroom,Colin sat on the bed watching as Joshua removed his clothes. “You OK?” Colin asked.
Joshua turned to face him, still holding his T-shirt. “I’m fine. Why do you ask? Don’t IlookOK?”
“You’ve been awfully quiet tonight, and in my experience that usually means something’s going on in that overactive brain of yours.”
Joshua breathed out a soft laugh. “Nothing important. Nothing bad. I suppose I worry, as I’m prone to do, about all the stuff happening at your office.”
“Nothing’s going on there that I can’t handle. And while we’re on the subject of offices, did Miranda order those steel-reinforced doors yet?”
“She has to consult Rufeus,” Joshua told him, walking toward the bed. “They’re the corporation that owns Rainier Clinic, and any expense over $2,000 has to be approved by their board.”
Colin leaned back against the headboard and cocked a skeptical eye. “Uh-huh,” he grunted.
“Honest, Colin!”
“Uh-huh,” Colin repeated. “Well, you tell her for me that Rufeus has a week before I send in the city inspectors.”
“You wouldn’t!”
Colin gave no response other than to meet his husband’s eyes.
“Oh, for god’s sake,blink!” Joshua blurted out finally, flopping onto the bed beside him. “Spare me the famous Colin Campbell stare!”
“Campbell-Abrams,” Colin corrected. “One week, Joshua.”
“Now aboutyouroffice,” Joshua said. He sprawled out on the bed and propped himself against Colin’s chest. “Clayton’s handling the abductions?”
Colin slid his fingers into Joshua’s hair and shrugged. “He’s Esther’s deputy, and it’s a high-profile case.” He coughed out a frustrated sigh. “D’you think he’s going to hand it over to the new kid on the block?”
“But the task force...” Joshua began.
“I dunno,” Colin said, scooting down in the bed until he was stretched out next to Joshua. “I’m beginning to regret saying ‘yes’ to it.” He glanced up at Joshua who bent over him, frowning. “I’m in court all morning with bail and plea hearings, and after that I’m arguing motions.” He huffed out a sigh. “Then I go back to my office and review all the cases assigned to me that morning while I was in court. Then I have to decide: What’s an appropriate bail? Am I willing to plead it to a lesser offense? Then I check the defendant’s criminal backgrounds, personal background stories, were they a drug addict that would benefit from treatment instead of jail time...and on and on and on.” He glanced up into Joshua’s eyes. “And that’s just the morning.”
“God, Colin,” Joshua moaned, bowing his head until his forehead was pressed to Colin’s shoulder.
“Then,” Colin continued, “I have to develop an action plan for each case and submit it to Clayton for approval or revision.”
“And Esther’s sticking you with Quent’s cases?AndAdilynn’s?”
“As second chair. They still do most of the groundwork, though they do tend to stick me with the scut work.” He shot Joshua a quick grin. “Or at least theytryto.”
“And now you have this task force?”
