King (Great Wolves Motorcycle Club Book 10)
Page 19
“Huck,” Rhonda said, whistling low. “I gotta say it kind of suits you. Well, only if you call me Rhonda. And she’s Judge or Your Honor.”
I opened my mouth to protest but got a hard glare from Rhonda. She was particular about that sign of respect. I’d learned her advice and reading of any room were spot on and invaluable. I was still new here and everything I did needed to command respect.
“There have been some strange phone calls,” I said, tucking a loose strand of hair back into my bun. “A few here at the courthouse and a few to my personal cell. We changed the number but the calls kept coming. I’ve turned those phones over to your forensics people. I don’t think they’ve come up with anything. As far as an enemies list, well, I don’t know. Maybe I’m not the best person to gauge that. I think I’m as fair as I can be out there, but you can’t keep everyone happy.”
“Judge Key?” Gemma Sanders, my secretary, peeked in through the outer door. Gemma was cute, tiny, and in her first year of law school at U of M.
“Oh, Gemma. I’m sorry. It’s lunchtime. Go ahead and take an hour. My docket is free until two.” Gemma smiled and pushed her shoulder in through the door. She clutched a stack of mail to her chest. Her eyes flashed to Huck then widened. He stood and extended a gentlemanly hand to hers. Gemma downright giggled when she took it and dropped three pieces of mail. Huck bent down to retrieve it.
Shit. He was smooth. Or rather, Gemma was. A hint of a blush colored her cheeks as she met him in a crouch near the floor as they both went for the fallen mail. I shot a look to Rhonda. She rolled her eyes. Gemma was a sweet kid and competent, but she was always on the make. I couldn’t keep track of the number of boyfriends she’d burned through just since I got here. Although she assured me the current one was different than all the rest. Poor sucker. My guess, she’d seen Huck out in the courtroom like Rhonda had and didn’t want to miss her chance for an introduction.
“I’m Deputy Marshal Huckman,” he told her in that strong tenor that seemed to vibrate down my spine. “Call me Huck, though.”
“Deputy Hunk … er … oh God… Huck.” Gemma at least had the decency to look mortified.
“Just put it on the desk, Gemma,” Rhonda said; hell, she nearly snarled it. Gemma let out a tiny squeal and dropped the mail next to me. I resisted the urge to pick it up and square all the corners. Instead, I tapped my fingertips on the stack and waited for Gemma to make her clumsy exit. I shot a look toward Rhonda. She nodded in understanding. One of us would have to have a talk with Gemma to keep things professional while Deputy Hunk … er … Huck was around. And if Huck couldn’t be trusted around Gemma, I’d have him out on his ass faster than Jerry Jordan.
I gave Huck a shrug and a smile and rifled through the mail. Two of them looked like they’d come from prisoners. Gemma was slipping. She should know better than to send those back to me. There would be nothing I could do and if these were from litigants in any of my active cases I wasn’t even allowed to read them without copies going to the opposing side. The third was addressed from court administration. Huck and Rhonda started talking about their experiences with the Marshals Service and then my daily schedule while I grabbed the jeweled letter opener I kept at the edge of my desk blotter and slid it beneath the envelope seal.
“The judge usually takes a run around campus during her lunch recess,” Rhonda said.
Huck nodded. “We might need to talk about changing that up or having me go with you, Judge,” he said and the cold fingers of dread snaked up my spine. My afternoon run was my salvation. The routine of it kept me sane on days like today when I had the Jerry Jordans of the world trying to drag me down.
“It’s not a good idea for you to keep doing anything that’s part of a set routine. If someone is watching you, that could be dangerous. I’ll do my best to help you figure out a way to deal with this without disrupting your life more than we have to, but your safety has to come first.”
“Of course,” Rhonda answered for me. I knew what she was doing. For whatever reason, she wanted this particular marshal around. I couldn’t wait to get her alone to ask her what gives. What’s so special about this guy other than he was easy on the eyes and just managed to set my secretary’s ovaries into orbit?
I peeled open the envelope and slid out the one-page letter expecting to see another docket reassignment from the Chief Judge. As the judge with the least seniority at the moment, I was used to being on the receiving end of some dumping.
“Judge!” Huck’s voice lost all charm and his hand closed around my wrist. We saw it at the same time. Though the outer envelope bore an internal court address, the letter inside was anything but routine. Scrawled in crooked black letters were the words, “DIE BITCH.”
I dropped the letter but it was already too late. A puff of white powder hung in the air and spread all over my hands. Then it settled down the front of my black robe like a cloud.
To Be Continued in
Marked