by Lee Taylor
Shifting Marcie to the floor, then lifting Max off his shoulders, Titus rose to his full height and looked her over from head to toe. His blatant assessment complete, he pinned her with a sardonic grin. “And wouldn’t you know, our fancy, out-of-town legal beagle is dressed to the nines. Tell me, counselor, do those extravagant duds help you win your cases, or does your current client insist that you look as expensive as he pays you to look?”
Truly shocked by his demeaning taunt, Rita swallowed hard, then prepared to flee. She already felt out of place in the casually dressed group and wished that she had changed after leaving the court. Now more than ever, she was conscious of how her tailored, albeit extremely expensive, suit looked compared to the rest of the partygoers. Among the jeans and tee shirts bunch, it didn’t help that her posh suit made her feel like a schoolmarm, and a matronly one at that. But Titus’s sneering assessment of her clothes and insinuation that Martin Powell bought them for her was more than Rita could take.
Seeing the surprise on the faces of the assembled group staring from her to Titus, Rita managed to catch Tatiana’s startled gaze. Forcing herself to speak firmly, although the effort tore at her throat, she swallowed the non-existent spit in her mouth and said, “I’m sorry, Tatiana. I shouldn’t have come. I don’t know how . . . or why . . . I’d thought that it would be okay.”
Titus grabbed Rita’s arm and yanked her next to him. Glaring at her, he hissed, “Oh no you don’t. No running, Counselor. As for the rest of you, please excuse my rudeness. The attorney and I are in the middle of a bit of a squabble. I apologize for pissing on the party. I wasn’t aware that Attorney Davidson would be here. My apologies.”
Rita tried to free her arm, but Titus merely tightened his grip. Determined to get away from him and flee the hideous situation, she forced herself to speak firmly. “Let go of me. Please.” Stunned at the tears burning the backs of her eyelids, she added, “I shouldn’t have come.”
Tatiana stepped forward and said quietly, “I have no idea what is happening here. Clearly it is something serious. But, Dad, no matter what it is, Rita is my guest. For God’s sake, this party was meant to honor her. To thank her for saving my life. I . . . I don’t understand.”
Titus blew out a hard sigh and nodded to his concerned daughter. Lightening his hold on Rita’s arm, he continued to hold her next to him. Meeting his daughter’s pained expression, he conceded. “You’re right, Tatiana. My disagreement with Attorney Davidson is a serious one. However, you are also correct that this is Zane’s and your home. You can invite anyone you damn well please to come to it. My apologies for spoiling your party.”
His frown deepened. Glaring at Rita, he blew out a harsh breath and gave a sardonic snort. “I have to give it to you, Attorney Davidson. You truly do have balls. Big, loud, clanging ones. I don’t know many men, if any, who could come from filing charges against me and my daughter for police brutality and coolly attend a party at my other daughter’s house.” He added with a shrug, “But, hell, I give you credit for chutzpah, if nothing else.”
Rita didn’t know how she did it, but she somehow managed to meet his gaze and at the same time free her arm from his challenging grasp. Galvanized by the clear anger in his flashing gray eyes, she decided that she was done being bullied by this arrogant, exasperating man. “You’re correct, Sheriff Trouble. It does take chutzpah, balls, and gritty determination to never step back in the face of unwarranted criticism. As for my filing charges against you and, yes, Tanya, I apologize. At least to Tanya. Even for you, brutality is likely a bridge too far. To be more accurate, I should refile and this time charge you with bullying a member of the bar.”
To her surprise, a genuine smile split the arrogant man’s face. If she weren’t so angry, she might have given in to the charm of his boyish grin. As it was, she had to fight with her emotions to maintain her fury. He must have seen her wavering, because he shook his head and blew out a hard sigh. To her surprise, he reached out and pinched her cheek. “I’ll tell you one thing, Attorney Davidson, if we were guilty of the egregious charge that your fucking client forced you to file, I wouldn’t give Tanya and me a snowball’s chance in hell of winning. You really are that good an attorney. But, Rita, you have an issue of seriously flawed judgment. I don’t care how smart you are or how brazen. Wasting your impressive talents on despicable reprobates like Martin Powell and his pitiful son is a crime in and of itself. And, sweetheart, as I’ve told you before, that level of self-delusion is sure to come back and bite you on the ass.”
He moved in closer and murmured, “And I believe I’ve made it clear what I think about that ass of yours.”
Chapter 4
While Tatiana was putting the kids to bed, Titus sought refuge on the expansive deck and gazed at the snowcapped Sierra Madras gleaming in the distance. The full moon and myriad stars papering the night sky underscored the remarkable vista. Zane’s home was as spectacular as one would expect from a dashing district attorney who was also the son of a lumber magnate. Even though his about-to-be son-in-law was wealthy, Zane treated his wealth as if it were a necessary evil. He never flaunted it but, with his customary flippant humor, clearly enjoyed the many toys that it bought. Titus had come to honor and genuinely like the man who had totally captured his middle daughter. Thinking back on the hideous year they’d had, he acknowledged that neither he nor Tatiana could have survived and thrived the way that they did without the strong arms of the accomplished district attorney wrapped securely around them both.
“How about I freshen that drink for you, Sheriff? I have to think this is a night that deserves the best booze available—and lots of it.”
Titus glanced at the amused man carrying a bottle of Bowmore single malt scotch and returned his grin. “Ah yes, Zane, on both counts. Particularly the ‘lots of it’ component.” Holding out his nearly empty glass, he added, “In fact, good booze may be the only way to redeem this challenging evening.” He was thoughtful for a long moment, then blew out a hard sigh. “She really is something isn’t she?”
Ignoring the non sequitur and not bothering to ask who Titus was talking about, Zane agreed. “Yeah, man, she is that. Although, I gotta tell you the most surprising thing to me is how she’s gotten under your skin.”
When Titus looked at him askance, Zane chuckled. “C’mon, Sheriff, you are without a doubt one of the most even-tempered men I know. Notwithstanding that, you are also the toughest guy I know. But somehow that snazzy defense attorney has burrowed her way under that tough shell of yours and more than struck a chord. In fact, if I were to go out on a limb, I’d say she’s hit you at a level and in ways that I’ve never seen a woman do.”
At Titus’s narrowing gaze, Zane shrugged. “Don’t bother, Titus. I know you’ve got a steady parade of eager women more than willing to lift their skirts for you. And even though your dance card is always full, you’re never seen in public with any of the willing lasses. Which makes your response to the defense attorney striking. Seriously, man, I’ve never seen you act the way you do with Rita.”
“Which way might that be, Zane? Like the total asshole I was tonight?”
“Yeah, like that, but more than that. You have been on her case even before she headed up Tatiana’s defense team. Something about that haughty, smart-assed attitude of hers got to you. Of course, it doesn’t hurt that she is a stunningly beautiful woman right up there in the stratosphere occupied by the Trouble sisters.”
Titus snorted in agreement. “Yeah, she is that.” He paused for a moment, thinking about the tall, slender woman with the multi-hued, shaggy haircut, emerald-green eyes, and smart mouth. “But hell, Zane, you have to be as annoyed as I am that she filed charges against Tanya and me. She knows goddamned well that neither of us is guilty of police brutality. Yet, like a good little sycophant, she rushed right out to do her reprobate boss’s bidding.”
“I agree. When we met, I told her that her actions are unworthy of her.”
“How did she respond to that?�
��
“She shrugged and said that she was counting on me to get the charges squashed.”
“Jesus God, that’s even worse. She acknowledges what she did was wrong but that she did it anyway? Just because that prick ordered her to?” At Zane’s agreeing nod, Titus’s expletive said it all. “Fuck!”
“For what it’s worth, I know she was embarrassed, Titus. She knows Martin is a first-class asshole.”
“Then why the hell is she representing him? Jesus, does money and fame mean that much to her? More than honor?” His hard sigh and frown underscored his disgust.
They were silent for several moments, sipping on their booze, when Zane returned to the debacle at the party. Apparently, he’d decided he wasn’t going to let Titus off easy. “Not to keep returning to the scene of the crime and what was a challenging night, but damn, Titus, you even went after her clothes.”
Titus felt a tug of regret remembering his déclassé attack. Shaking his head, he confessed his compunction with a sigh. “I agree that was regrettable, Zane.” Feeling the need to explain, he added, “But goddammit, I don’t know what makes me angrier, that her asshole client probably bought the expensive duds for her or that she wears them to hide her impressive body. A body, incidentally, that would tempt a blind man with a cane.” Acknowledging the torment he was feeling, he added, “I know you think I’m obsessed, but hell, man, why would a woman with a curvy, heart-shaped ass like hers choose to wear a couple-thousand-dollar tailored suit designed to hide those luscious curves?”
Zane coughed slightly, then said in a bland voice, not able to mask his chuckle, “Hmm, why indeed? And yeah, man, I do think you are obsessed.”
Whether it was the power of the booze or just remembering his reaction to her, Titus ignored Zane’s obvious amusement and allowed himself to visualize Rita in tight jeans and an equally tight tee shirt. She obviously had full breasts that could fill out any shirt, tight or not. And, God, even he conceded he was fixated on her ass. As he seemed to be doing often, he admitted how much he wanted to strip off her expensive, tailored trousers and feast on those curvy cheeks she took pains to conceal. He added to his randy thoughts that he’d be sure to turn her over his knee when he did.
****
Too late to find another route to the conference room, Rita faced the fact that she couldn’t avoid running into Titus. He was standing in the center of a group of guards and other courthouse personnel, all of whom were clustered around him, obviously excited to talk to one of their superstar heroes. Sheriff Titus Trouble was not only renowned in the law enforcement arena but respected citywide—make that county and statewide. Rita allowed there was no way she could pretend she didn’t see him. It was impossible to ignore the tall, dark-haired man with flecks of silver decorating his temples and carefully trimmed beard shadow. Combined with his slate-gray eyes and lean, muscular physique, it wasn’t surprising he turned heads. Wearing a leather bomber jacket and hand-tooled black cowboy boots that accentuated his commanding masculine aura, it didn’t take the badge clipped to his belt to confirm Titus Trouble was a man to be reckoned with.
Rita nodded to Tanya and Gunnar Sorenson, who were standing off to the side with two men who could have come out of central casting if that particular cast required scary-looking badasses. Rita assumed that the tatted-up men with shaved heads and convoluted genetics were likely cellmates of Justin Powell and that they were going to testify at the hearing. Her attempt to slip into the conference room without speaking to the sheriff proved futile.
Catching her gaze out of the corner of his eye, he excused himself from the group of well-wishers surrounding him. Striding forcefully toward her, the sly grin on his face confirmed that he wouldn’t let her get by without acknowledging him.
“Good afternoon, Attorney Davidson.” At her nod and attempt to walk by without speaking, he stepped in front of her. “Really, Counselor, even though you know you are about to be handed an ignominious defeat at my hands, that isn’t an excuse to be impolite.” Giving her his now-expected once-over, he added, “Besides, you haven’t given me an opportunity to tell you how dazzling you look.”
Rita tried to shove past him and said with an annoyed sniff, “Don’t bother, Sheriff. How I look or don’t look is none of your business. Now, if you’ll excuse me.”
“But of course. After all, you have a case to plead before the judge. Quite a despicable case, at that. But before you go in to do your highly paid dirty work, I need to congratulate you for changing your wardrobe.” When she couldn’t hide her startle, he taunted her. “Tell me, did the lecherous senator pull your pants wardrobe? Or did he actually agree that you could show off your legs?” He added with an amused wink, “Which, may I say, are ‘show-worthy.’ ”
Refusing to take his bait, Rira shook her head in contempt. “You really are a hardcore chauvinist—but you know that, don’t you?”
When he just shrugged and shot her a grin, she sped up, conscious of him watching her stride toward the conference room. She knew that her four-inch Manolo Blahnik high heels and slim pencil skirt emphasized her legs. To add to the overall affect, her abbreviated suit jacket flaring at the waist accentuated her curvy hips and bottom. She admitted that she had chosen her surprising wardrobe today because, at some level, she was frustrated by the sheriff’s disdainful reaction to her expensive pantsuits. She knew she should be embarrassed that she had let his dismissal of her usual wardrobe get to her, but she quickly chided her insecure second-guessing. Dammit, what business was it of his what she wore or didn’t wear? And why shouldn’t she look as terrific and frankly as stylish as she was? After all, he wasn’t the only person who was vain and more than a little proud of the way he looked.
Before she could sail through the door on her amped-up disdain, he caught up with her and murmured in a low tone, “By the way, I don’t know if it was that prick Powell’s idea or yours, but those sexy-ass hooker heels are a ten-strike.” Ignoring her gasp, he opened the door to the conference room and swept his arm low, ushering her into the room. Shooting her a sardonic grin, he said, “How about it, Counselor? Shall we get this farce on the road?”
Horrified that someone might have overheard Titus’s salacious taunting, Rita hurried across the room to where her stony-faced client and his disheveled son were standing.
She didn’t have to guess what the florid-faced senator was thinking. His hard glare when he looked from her to the sheriff spoke volumes, as did his caustic greeting. Glancing at his watch, he said. “I’m glad that you chose to show up, Rita. The least you could do given how important this meeting is was to get here on time.”
Ignoring his pique, Rita said calmly, “No need to worry, Senator. You know very well that I am always on time.”
His voice was strident. “That depends, Rita. But never mind. If you had let me pick you up at that dismal roach motel you’re staying at, you not only would be on time but we would have had time to prepare for this fiasco.”
Breathing a hard sigh at his demeaning reprimand that she was sure the frowning sheriff overheard, Rita couldn’t decide who was more overbearing, her pompous client or the arrogant sheriff. She decided it was too close to call. The problem for her client was that there was no way she could win this case even if she wanted to, which she didn’t. Titus had called her charges trumped-up and she admitted they were. It was a cinch that Titus would win hands-down simply because he wasn’t guilty of the charges she’d lodged on the senator’s behalf. She’d tried to prepare herself for the senator’s fury. She just hoped that for once in his life, he would act like a gentleman and not make an obnoxious scene. But she knew that was unlikely at best. After all, the senator was convinced that his title alone decreed that he win every battle, big or small, right or wrong. That was particularly true in this case, when he thought that he had his mortal enemy in an unbreakable vise.
She took her seat at the conference table, then motioned for the senator and his son to sit on either side of her. Taking her files out of
her briefcase, she tried to ignore the fact that the sheriff had settled onto the chair across from her. Instead of acknowledging him, she nodded to Tanya and Gunnar, who sat next to him. “Good afternoon, Deputy Trouble, Lieutenant Sorenson.” When the two men she presumed were witnesses entered the room, then sat in chairs along the wall, she glanced at Justin, wondering if he knew them. Seeing that he paled when he saw them, then quickly looked down, refusing to meet her questioning gaze, she presumed that they had been in his cell.
Looking up, she saw Titus watching her from across the table and decided to take him on. “I see you brought a number of witnesses, Sheriff. At least I presume those interesting-looking fellows are on your team.” Making her condescension apparent, she added, “No reflection on Tanya or Gunnar but, at least from the looks of them, I assume they’re with you.”
Titus sat back in his chair and shot her a narrow frown, then allowed a smile to curve his lips. Glancing from the senator, who was glaring at him, to his son, who was staring at his hands, he said with a shrug, “Hell, Counselor, you’re not the only one with friends in low places.” Nodding to Zane, who’d entered followed by Judge Mathias, he added, “However, I’ll only stoop so low. On that point, I refuse to hang out with politicians or lawyers—too many crooks. The exception is District Attorney Wilder. Thankfully, he decided not to run for office and uses his legal skill to put away the bad guys instead of getting in bed with them.”
Not sure how she kept from gasping at his obnoxious taunt and seeing her client puff up like an angry toad, she put her hand on his arm and murmured, “Ignore him, Senator. He’s just trying to make you angry.”
The senator bellowed, “I should ignore him? Allow that asshole to insult me?”
Titus allowed a grin to take over his face. “Listen to your attorney, Senator. She’s right. You don’t want to make a bigger fool of yourself than you already have.” At the senator’s infuriated splutter, Titus added, “But you are correct, Senator, I am insulting you. If it helps, know that I also intended to insult your fancy lawyer.”
