I end the call before she can say anything else and shove my phone into the pocket of my skirt. My pulse is loud in my ears now, every beat thudding harder. The man’s eyes are on me, so intense it makes my skin crawl.
I don’t make it more than a few steps.
A hand clamps around my elbow, fingers digging in hard enough to hurt. Something solid is shoved against my ribcage, and it shocks a gasp out of me.
“That’s a gun pressed into your side,” a voice growls near my ear. “If you scream or try anything stupid, I’ll shoot you. Keep walking.”
Fear washes over me, and for a moment I want to send it through the bond, my instincts screaming for Mark. But then a new fear quickly replaces it. If Mark feels this, he will come running. Bursting out of his courtroom. Gunshots in a crowded courthouse flash through my mind in sickening detail.
I shut the bond down, as best I can. I don’t know if I’m doing it correctly. It’s still so new and fragile.
“Listen, sir, I don’t know if you know who I am,” I say quietly, “but I can help you out of whatever mess you’ve landed in that makes you think this is a good plan. I’m areallygood lawyer.”
He barks a short laugh. “So everyone says. And yet, my brother’s rotting in a cell because you were too busy fucking the DA.”
My body stiffens as my mind tries to race through all the possibilities. I have no idea how he knows about me and Mark, since we haven’t gone public other than to the NYSBA, and something tells me this guy isn’t exactly close with many attorneys.
Think, Ava, damn it. A brother. A case you lost against Mark.
That narrows it down considerably, but not enough. I could ask for more information, but would that set him off further?
“I can promise you this,” I say carefully. “If your brother was my client, I did everything I could to get him acquitted.” He jams the gun into my side again, harder this time. “But… maybe I missed something. Appeals exist for a reason. We can go back to my office and look at—”
“You’re not going anywhere,” he snaps. “You’re going to pay for what you did. And after that, I’m coming back for that piece of shit DA.”
Oh god, Mark.
He sounds crazy. When I glance at him, I notice the haggard stubble along his jaw and the wide, bloodshot eyes. Is he on drugs? That’s going to make it a lot harder to reason with him, and I have to de-escalate this situation.
He keeps pushing me down the hallway, and I try to think of where he might be taking me. There’s a back exit where they move defendants in and out from the jail for their trials. It’s getting late enough in the day; it probably doesn’t have very many people near it.
We pass the door to the courtroom where Mark is, and it swings open. For a heartbeat, hope surges. Then falters. Instead of Mark, Henry steps out, dressed in a bailiff’s uniform. I forgot he sometimes picks up shifts over here to help pad out the retirement fund. His familiar face nearly breaks me, and I have to fight to keep from sobbing.
“Ms. Kendrick,” he says, “good to see you. I heard you were out sick. How’re you feeling?”
His eyes flickto the man beside me. His posture stays relaxed, but his hand drifts closer to his belt. Close enough to his gun, but not so obvious it will immediately draw attention.
The man beside me stiffens. “Oh, much better,” I say brightly. Too brightly. “Must’ve been the flu.”
“That particular flu’s a doozy,” he agrees, and I swear he’s being careful with his wording. Did Mark tell him I’m an omega, or did he figure it out? Not that it matters now, I suppose. “My wife used to get it a few times a year. Always needed help getting through it. Did you have anyone taking care of you?”
“Nah,” I say lightly. “Tough single gal, remember? All I needed was my stuffed tiger.” Please let him remember Mark’s nickname and recognize something is afoot. I don’t want Mark busting out here and causing a recreation of the OK Corral, but I also don’t want to be alone with the guy holding a gun to my ribs. “Anyway, I’ve gotta run. My new client and I need to go over some facts of his case.”
“Mm-hmm. Yes, ma’am,” Henry agrees, eyes looking over me and then back to the man beside me. “You’re lucky to have such a great lawyer, sir.”
“Yes, very lucky. If you’ll excuse us,” he says curtly.
We start walking again, and every step away from Henry feels like tearing something loose inside my chest. God, I wish I knew if this fucker actually had a gun.
“How did you manage to get that past the metal detectors?” I ask once we’refurther down the hall.
He snorts. “You’d be amazed at what you can 3D print these days.” He jerks his head toward a side corridor. “Turn right.”
How does he know the layout of this building so well? I do, but I’m here nearly every day. In fact, I recognize the hallway he has us turn down. Supply closets and camera blind spots. The location of more than one reckless tryst between me and my mate.
“I thought you wanted to leave,” I say, slowing. “That’s not the exit.”
He cocks his head, and his grin is wide and wrong. It reminds me of the Joker, and the thought is so bizarre it almost makes me burst into a fit of nervous laughter, but his next words dry my throat as if I’d swallowed sand. “I told you. I’m handling you first.”
