SB03 - The Defender's Duty Read online

Funny that they both had Mustangs.

  Not so funny that he was thinking about Lacey and her car when he had a murderer to find.

  He frowned, pulling a lawn mower out of the garage and to the side of the building. The cold winter air held a hint of moisture and the latent promise of spring. It wouldn’t be long before the trees blossomed and flowers bloomed, before birds greeted each day and crickets bid it good-night. Jude planned to be around when that happened. He couldn’t allow himself to be distracted. Not by anyone.

  Something rustled in the trees near the edge of the property, and he dove for cover, hitting the ground with a thud that knocked the breath from his lungs and sent pain shooting through his legs. Stars danced in front of his eyes, and only sheer force of will kept him conscious.

  He pulled his gun, aiming in the direction of the sound. Waiting. Listening. Someone was there, just out of sight behind the heavy foliage. He was sure of it.

  “I know you’re there. Come out before I decide to shoot first and ask questions later.”

  A moment passed before the leaves rustled again. A figure stepped out into the sunlight. Golden hair twisted into a loose bun, tendrils of it escaping and hanging in long strands against her neck. Green eyes that glowed in the sunlight. Dark turtleneck and faded jeans.

  Lacey.

  Of course.

  Anger brought Jude to his feet too quickly, and he nearly toppled over again. But there was no way would he let himself go down. Not before he told Lacey just how foolish she’d been. He could have shot her! She could be lying bleeding, dying in the woods.

  He strode across the yard, anger masking his pain and making movement easier. “What do you think you’re doing?”

  He nearly shouted the question, and Lacey paled, taking a quick step back. “Checking to make sure you were okay.”

  “By hiding in the bushes and spying on me?” He grabbed her hand before she could back up again, pulling her so close he could see the flecks of brown and blue in her eyes and the gold that tinged the ends of her thick eyelashes.

  “I wasn’t hiding or spying.” She scowled, but her voice shook, and Jude knew she was as scared as he’d been when he’d seen her walk out of the woods.

  Good.

  That was what he wanted.

  It was the only way to keep her safe.

  “Then what were you doing? Because from where I was standing, hiding and spying is what it looked like.”

  “I was just…” Her voice trailed off and she shrugged. “Okay, so maybe I was hiding. I was walking down the driveway and heard you go out your back door. I wanted to see what you were doing. Which, I guess if you want to look at it that way, was spying.” She tugged to free her hand, but Jude held tight, anger still raging through him.

  She could have died.

  He could have been her killer.

  “Do you realize how stupid that was? I could have shot you!”

  “There’s no need to shout, Jude. I’m a half inch from your face.” She pulled against his hold again and a vivid picture flashed through Jude’s mind. Pale skin crisscrossed with old scars. Thin, ropey evidence of something that had happened years ago.

  He loosened his grip, smoothed his hand over the tender flesh. “Okay. I’m not shouting. I’m asking. What were you thinking?”

  “I was thinking you might need my help. I was thinking I should make sure you were okay.” Her voice broke, and Jude stilled, his chest tight with fear and anger and something else. Something that made him want to pull Lacey into his arms, tell her everything was going to be okay.

  “I’m a thirty-four-year-old man. I don’t need checking up on, Lacey.” He did what he needed to, pulling her into his arms, letting his hands rest on the slender curve of her waist.

  She tensed, but didn’t pull away.

  “You could have died. You know that, right?”

  She shook her head, easing away, putting distance between them that Jude didn’t want. “You wouldn’t have fired a shot into the bushes without seeing who was there. We both know that.”

  “You’re right. But someone else—”

  “There was no one else here. Just us. Look.” She paused, running a hand through her hair and staring into the woods. “I’m sorry if I scared you. I was just trying to do my job.”

  “Your job is to run those errands for me.”

  “Why? So you could go off and find a killer by yourself?”

  “If that’s what I’ve got planned, it’s my business. Not yours.”

  “You’re wrong. As long as your brother is employing me, everything you do is my business.”

  “Maybe that’s the way it worked with your other clients, but it’s not the way it works with me. I’ve got somewhere to go. You can’t come. Period.”

  “You know I’m going to follow you, right? So you may as well just give in and let me come along.”

  “By the time you get back to your car, I’ll be long gone.”

  She frowned. “Not if I run.”

  “Even if you run.” He got in the car, started the engine. “Back up, Lacey. I don’t want to run over your feet.”

  She took a step back, frowning, her eyes flashing with green fire. “I guess I’m not as brave as I thought.”

  “What do you mean by that?” He paused with his hand on the door, curious and knowing he shouldn’t be. What he should have been was halfway down the driveway already.

  “I had this scene all planned out in my mind. You’d be driving away, and I’d throw myself in front of your car to stop you. Now that I’m here and it’s happening, I’m not sure that’s the best idea I’ve ever had.”

  “Sorry to hear it.”

  “I guess I’ll have to come up with a plan B.”

  “Good luck with that.” Amused, Jude closed the door, rolling down the window when Lacey knocked on the glass. “What?”

  “I’ve got my plan B worked out.”

  “You’re fast on your feet.”

  “You want to hear it?”

  “I already know it. You’re going to call Grayson. Go ahead. By the time he figures out where I’ve gone, I’ll already be done with what needs doing. See you later.” He took his foot off the brake, let the car roll forward.

  Lacey jumped back, a frown pulling at her soft lips. She looked unhappy but undefeated. Jude had the sudden image of her bursting through a window at Morgan Bradshaw’s house and throwing herself in front of a bullet meant for him. Another one followed on its heels—Grayson breaking down the door and walking into a death trap. If Lacey called Jude’s brother, if Morgan were a murderer, if the timing worked out just right.

  Too many ifs and no guarantees.

  Except for one. If Jude left Lacey, she’d call Grayson and then she’d try to follow. If things worked out the wrong way, someone could die.

  He stepped on the brake, scowled at Lacey. “You want to come, come, but we’re playing by my rules, not yours. What I say goes. You understand?”

  “Sure.”

  “I mean it, Lacey. More than likely, what I’m doing won’t be dangerous, but if it is, I don’t want you getting in the way.”

  “I won’t. I promise.”

  She sounded like a grade-school kid, all earnest enthusiasm, and Jude’s stomach twisted. “Maybe this isn’t such a good idea.”

  “It’s a great idea. I’ll drive and you can navigate.”

  “I’m driving. You sit and be quiet.”

  She was in the car before he could finish the sentence, buckling her seat belt like the good citizen she was. “You don’t have your seat belt on.”

  “And?”

  “Surely you know how important that can be if you’re in an accident.” She reached over, her hand brushing against his chest and shoulder as she reached for his seat belt, her hair sliding against his cheek.

  “I’ll get it.” He gave her a gentle nudge back toward her seat and clicked his seat belt into place, his pulse pounding hot and quick as the scent of rain and flowers enveloped him.
/>   “I’ve been thinking that after we run this errand, we can go to the Booker T. Washington National Monument. According to your case file, your physical therapist wants you to take a walk every day. The trails at the park are supposed to be easy walking and a lot more fun than taking a few laps around your house.”

  “What else does the case file say about me?”

  “Nothing you wouldn’t be willing to tell me yourself.”

  “Why do I not believe that?”

  “Because you’ve got a suspicious nature. So, how about that walk?”

  “Do you realize the kind of trouble we could be heading into?”

  “I’m doing my best not to think about it.”

  “If you’re scared, I can let you out at your car.”

  “The worst thing a person can do is let fear get the better of her. So I think I’ll stay right where I am.”

  “And plan walks instead of thinking about danger?”

  “It works for me.”

  “It won’t if we get where we’re going and you decide you need to throw yourself in front of a bullet for me.”

  “Why would I do something like that?”

  “Because you think it’s in your job description?” He glanced her way, but she was staring out the window, the curve of her jaw and the delicate line of her neck making Jude want to turn the car around and forget about going to see Morgan Bradshaw until he had Lacey locked up somewhere safe.

  “Look, if bullets fly, I’ll cower behind something and call for help.”

  “There won’t be any need for cowering because you’ll be waiting in the car.”

  “But—”

  “It’s that, or I can’t bring you. If something happened to you, I’d never forgive myself.”

  “I’m touched that you’re so concerned.”

  Surprised, he glanced her way again, sure he’d see mockery in her face.

  Instead, he looked into eyes filled with sincerity.

  And he wanted to keep looking, wanted to see more, figure out what secrets hid in the depths of her gaze.

  He jerked his attention back to the road, refusing to acknowledge what he’d been looking for. What he’d almost thought he’d seen. The same thing he’d looked for in the eyes of every woman he’d ever dated. Looked for, but never found.

  Forever.

  I knew your mother was the woman for me when I looked into her eyes and saw forever.

  The words still echoed through Jude’s mind twenty-three years after his father had said them. At nearly thirty-four, Jude was pretty sure he should have forgotten them by now. For some reason, though, they’d stuck.

  “You’re smiling.” Lacey pulled him from his thoughts and Jude shrugged.

  “Just thinking about something my father told me a long time ago.”

  “What?”

  “That I’d know a woman was the right one when I looked into her eyes and saw forever.”

  “Your father is a romantic.”

  “Not even close. Maybe that’s why his words have stuck with me for so long.”

  “So? Have you ever seen forever in a woman’s eyes?”

  He’d seen something shimmering in the depth of Lacey’s eyes. The hint of a promise he hadn’t ever believed in.

  “Not yet, and I’m not holding out hope that I will. How about you?”

  “Seen forever in a man’s eyes? I haven’t even seen two minutes.” She laughed.

  “I guess you just haven’t met the right man.”

  “There is no right one, Jude. At least, not for me. I learned a long time ago that my life was a whole lot easier when I didn’t have a man in it.”

  “Someone hurt you.”

  “There isn’t a person alive who hasn’t been hurt.”

  “Who was it?” He pictured her scarred wrists, imagining all the ways she could have been injured and wanted to get his hands on the person who’d done it.

  “Not anyone who matters anymore. The way I see things, it isn’t what happens to someone that matters. It’s how it changes her. What happened to me made me stronger. That’s what’s important.”

  “You didn’t answer my question.”

  “Sure I did. It just wasn’t the answer you wanted.” Her tone was light, her fingers tapping softly against her thigh.

  She wanted the conversation to end, and Jude knew it wasn’t his right to keep it going. Lacey was his brother’s employee. She was a woman who would be out of his life in less than a month. She was trouble.

  What she was not was forever.

  He needed to keep that in mind. If he didn’t, his life might get a whole lot more complicated than it already was.

  And that, he knew, could be dangerous for them both.

  EIGHT

  Forever in a man’s eyes?

  Lacey nearly snorted as the words danced through her mind again. As if that were a possibility. As if she would even want to look. Forever wasn’t for her. Family. Connections. Home. She’d given up on those things when she was seventeen, and she’d never looked back.

  Wouldn’t look back.

  She had friends. She had faith. She didn’t need or want more than that.

  Liar.

  You want more. You just know you won’t get it.

  Okay, so maybe that was true.

  A small part of her did want something more than what she had. After ten years of moving from assignment to assignment, Lacey longed for a place to call home. And sometimes, if she let herself, she longed for someone to come home to. A gentle embrace. Someone who cared.

  “Are you okay?” Jude’s hand rested on hers, the warmth of it seeping deep into her bones and chasing away the chill Lacey hadn’t realized she was feeling.

  “Of course. Why do you ask?”

  “Because you’re quiet. And in the few hours I’ve known you, you have yet to be quiet for more than a few seconds.” There was laughter in his words, and Lacey smiled, deciding to enjoy the moment.

  “I’m not sure, but I think you just insulted me.”

  “I never said that talking was a bad thing. I was just commenting on the fact that you do it a lot.”

  “And you don’t do it enough. You still haven’t told me where we’re going.” She moved the conversation onto less personal ground.

  “A little town called Lakeview. It’s right on Smith Mountain Lake. Ever heard of it?”

  “Only when I was researching things to do in the area. I saw pictures. It looked beautiful.”

  “It is. When I was a kid, we boated and water-skied there all the time.”

  “And now we’re going to try to find a criminal there.”

  “I’m going to question a woman whose husband I put in jail. That doesn’t mean she’s a criminal. It just means I want to know why she’s in Lakeview.”

  “Don’t worry, Jude. I know enough not to rush in and accuse the woman of attempted murder.”

  “I’m sure you do, but it’s a moot point. You’re not rushing in anywhere. You’re sitting in the car while I ask the questions.”

  “Really? I must have missed the memo.”

  “No memo was necessary. I agreed to bring you with me if you played by my rules. This is my rule—you stay in the car.”

  “Unless you need my help.”

  “I won’t.”

  “You might.”

  Jude sighed. “You know what? You remind me of my sister.”

  “Your sister?” She should have been glad he was thinking of her in a fraternal way. So why wasn’t she? Lacey wasn’t sure she was willing to admit the answer to that question.

  “Yeah. She’s the baby in the family. Used to getting her way.”

  “Then we’re nothing alike.”

  “No?”

  “I wasn’t the baby of the family. And I never got my way.” Her life had been work and more work, but nothing she’d done had ever been enough. Not for her mother. Certainly not for her stepfather.

  “Interesting.”

  “What?”

  “
I think that’s the first piece of information I’ve gotten about your life that I haven’t had to pull out of you.”

  “I don’t think that makes it interesting.”

  “Sure it does. It brings me a little closer to figuring out who you are.”

  “You already know who I am, and we decided there was no need to figure me out.”

  “You decided that. I’m still curious.”

  He cast a long look in her direction, and Lacey braced herself for more questions about her past. Instead, Jude turned onto a narrow, tree-lined street and pointed to a bungalow-style house with a sign in front of it. “That’s where we’re heading.”

  “It’s a pottery studio.”

  “It’s also where Morgan Bradshaw lives. I helped get her husband convicted of second-degree murder three months ago.”

  “Who did he kill?”

  “A business partner who apparently had designs on Morgan. Or so his story went.”

  “You didn’t believe him?”

  “I don’t believe anyone, Lacey. Not until I have facts to substantiate what they’re saying.” He pulled up in front of the old house and idled at the curb, maybe reading the sign.

  To the left, a parking lot had been created out of what had probably once been an empty lot.

  Jude pulled into it, stopping beside an orange Jeep.

  “Are you sure she lives here?” Lacey craned her neck to see past Jude.

  “My friend Jackson says she does. I’ve never known him to be wrong about something like this.”

  “How long have you known him?”

  “Ten years.”

  Too bad. Lacey had hoped there was some room for error. She scanned the yard, not knowing what she was looking for. The place looked well tended, but the yard was as impersonal as the white sign with its plain blue letters.

  Clay Treasures.

  A generic name for a place that was neither flowery nor pretty. No curtains in the windows, not on the lower level, anyway. Upstairs, in what would have been the attic, a window was framed by white eyelet curtains. “Maybe she lives upstairs.”

  “She might. Or maybe we’ve got the wrong place. I’m going to find out.” Jude got out of the car, and Lacey did the same, falling into step beside him.