by S. K. Hardy
The two of them were having lunch together before she went to a meeting she was scheduled to attend later. If he’d been on a mission to make sure she ate properly before, he was even more determined now that Jerra was pregnant. At four months along, she didn’t have very many cravings, but the double chocolate crème cake they served was her obsession for the moment so it wasn’t hard to guess she’d chosen that restaurant.
“Did she order an extra dessert again?” Darrell smiled.
“Yep,” Heather laughed then lowered her voice to a conspiratorial level. “But you didn’t hear that from me.”
“Gotcha,” Darrell winked before continuing to Jerra’s office. “Thanks.”
As soon as he walked through the door, the smile that lingered on his face stretched a mile wide when he saw his wife. His eyes went to her stomach. Jerra was just starting to show and looked adorable. Up until recently, she’d still been able to wear some of her regular clothes, but let her tell it, her flat, little stomach seemed to have blossomed overnight. She still kept it stylish and chic, though. The red blouse she’d chosen this morning clung tastefully to her softly rounded belly bump while the black skirt fell a couple inches above her knees. The high-heeled black pumps emphasized her long, shapely legs, while the gold accessories she wore completed the outfit and pulled everything together.
Darrell thought back to this morning. He hadn’t been able to take his eyes off of her while she’d gotten dressed. Even though they’d made love in the shower only moments before, he’d been aroused and ready again as he watched her. She had pretended to be unaware of his smoldering gaze following her around the room, but the flirtatious glances she sent him over her shoulder gave her away and told him she’d intentionally been putting on a little show just for him. Kissing her goodbye, he’d whispered in her ear that she would pay later on that night for teasing him, chuckling when she’d beamed with pleasure and told him she was looking forward to it.
His expression turned thoughtful. Maybe if they finished lunch in time, they’d be able to sneak in a quickie on top of her desk before…
Darrell never got a chance to complete the thought. At that moment, he saw something flicker in her eyes that instantly gave him cause for concern. “What is it?” he asked. “What’s wrong?”
Jerra licked her lips nervously before the corners of her mouth turned upwards into a smile that seemed totally forced. “Hi, sweetheart. Nothing’s wrong.”
Darrell’s face grew still and his grey eyes cooled significantly. He immediately detected the lie. Now he knew something wasn’t right. Perfectly in tune with each other, their connection was strong. If it had something to do with privileged information she couldn’t divulge, Darrell knew Jerra would’ve just said that but she didn’t.
His eyes slid to Justin, who stood several feet away half-turned towards the window watching them. Darrell caught the way he grimaced before his expression cleared, but Darrell wasn’t fooled. The tension in the room was almost suffocating.
“What’s up, Justin?” They both knew the question was more than just a greeting. Darrell wanted to know what the fuck was going on.
Recently, he’d gotten to know Justin a little better, especially after he, Marcus, and Dom had run into him at O’Riley’s a couple of months ago. When Darrell had seen him walk into the sports bar, he’d gestured him over to their table and invited him to sit with them. It hadn’t taken long for him to join in on their good-natured teasing while, delivering a few well-placed verbal jabs that had the guys laughing and nodding in approval.
But Darrell wasn’t joking right now. Jerra was upset and one of them was going to tell him why.
Justin met Darrell’s direct gaze with one of his own, but before he could say anything, Jerra came over to Darrell and gave him a quick kiss. Darrell knew it was partly a distraction tactic, but it wasn’t going to work.
“I said nothing’s wrong,” Jerra said in an overly cheerful voice, smoothing nonexistent wrinkles from the front of his shirt. “Just…work. We can talk about it later.”
Darrell’s eyes narrowed. She couldn’t even look at him. “I know, baby, I heard you.” He slipped an arm around her waist…then directed his attention to Justin again and waited.
Jerra scowled. “Darrell–”
Cutting her off, Justin got right to the point. “The firm received emails last week directed at Jerra and Melissa, threatening them both with harm if they succeeded in getting our client out of the murder charges against him.”
“What?” Darrell’s eyes flew back to Jerra’s face, his expression angry yet terrified at the same time.
“Justin!” Jerra sent him a look of disapproval that he promptly ignored.
“I’m sorry, Jerra, I’d rather deal with your anger than your husband’s if something happened to you and he discovered I’d known and kept the information from him,” Justin shrugged. “Plus, as I told you, he has a right to know.”
“And I was going to tell him. It wasn’t your call. If I were a man it wouldn’t be as big a deal, but–”
“But you’re not, you’re my wife.” Darrell turned Jerra back around, forcing her to focus on him and not argue with Justin. “Don’t get upset with Justin, because quite frankly, he’s the least of your worries right now.”
Jerra’s throat worked up and down as she swallowed. “It’s really not that serious.”
Darrell’s brows slashed together in disbelief. “It’s not that what?”
“Wait, that’s not what I meant.” Jerra hurried to stall the forthcoming storm brewing in his grey eyes and clarified her statement. “Of course it’s serious, but they caught the man who sent the threats. This is an emotional case. Tensions are running high, but–”
“But nothing, Jerra. You’re excusing yourself from this case, right?” When she rolled her eyes in exasperation, Darrell repeated himself with emphasis. “Right?”
“Darrell–”
“Were you seriously gon’ keep this from me?”
“Of course not, but I knew you would react this way.”
Darrell grunted then cleared his throat. His jaw ticked steadily as he stared at her. The anger he felt came more out of concern than anything else. Yes, this was Jerra’s career and he respected that, but when it came to her safety, that’s where he drew the line. He was stepping in whether she liked it or not.
Justin slipped his hands in his pockets. “Darrell, the authorities take threats like this very seriously. The local police immediately notified the FBI. That’s how they were able to apprehend the guy so quickly.”
It took several moments for Darrell to release Jerra from the visual lock he had on her and look at Justin. “When was he caught?”
“This morning. I was just giving Jerra an update. The dumb bastard was sloppy, sent the email from his home computer. The case has been receiving a lot of national exposure. There are a lot of quacks out there, people seeking attention just for the hell of it, and it appears as if he’s one of them. Trust me when I say every precaution is being taking to insure Jerra’s safety.”
“I appreciate that, Justin, but excuse the hell outta me if I’m not willing to take any unnecessary chances when it comes to my wife. The next ‘quack’ might not be so harmless. She’s off the case.”
“No, I’m not.” Jerra folded her arms and glared at him.
Darrell’s teeth clamped down hard on his bottom lip when he saw the stubborn tilt of her head. “If you won’t do it for yourself, do it for your children. You’re pregnant, for Christ’s sakes. Are you willing to risk something happening to the baby? Leaving Gisselle and D.J. without their mother? Is this case worth that to you?”
Jerra drew in a quick breath and held it for moment. Darrell knew he’d hit her below the belt, but dammit, he needed her to see reason. Obviously wounded from the shot, she turned to Justin. “Would you excuse us, please?”
Justin nodded, the look he gave her apologetic. “Of course.”
After he was gone, Darrell made an effort to head off th
e argument he was sure Jerra already had prepared. “Save it. I don’t wanna hear it. I can’t believe we’re even discussing this.”
“I know you’re worried. You have a right to be. It’s sad to say, but this isn’t the first time in my career that I, or my colleagues, have received threats. But you’re right, that doesn’t mean I shouldn’t take them seriously,” she said quickly when Darrell tried to interrupt. “Security has been tightened up. An armed guard will walk me from the building to the parking garage and watch me get in my car every day, and the same will be done upon my arrival in the mornings.”
“If that’s supposed to make me feel better, it doesn’t.”
“Darrell, this is my job. I refuse to let anyone use intimidation as a way of keeping me from doing it.”
“Jerra…” Darrell closed his eyes and called her name out in a hushed tone before looking at her. “You don’t understand. If anything happened to you…” He couldn’t even bring himself to finish the rest of the sentence. The very thought was beyond his realm of thinking.
“Baby, I need to do this,” Jerra said, her eyes over-bright with emotion. “But I can’t do it alone. I need your support.”
Darrell tensed. He didn’t like this. Not one bit. Every bone in his body screamed out for him to remain firm on his stance, not to go against his instincts. He didn’t care that this wasn’t the first time something like this had happened, she hadn’t been with him back then, got dammit.
“What if I say no? What if I say I can’t give you that support? Then what?”
Jerra’s shoulders drooped a bit but she maintained eye contact. “Then I’ll do as you ask. I’ll excuse myself from the case. I realize this affects more than just me.”
“But you’ll resent me for it.” The statement was uttered as if he were completing her unspoken thought.
Jerra shook her head emphatically. “No, I won’t resent you. I’d be disappointed that I wouldn’t be arguing this case, but I’d understand. You’re only doing what you think is best to protect me and our family. I…I should’ve discussed this with you when it happened, not have you blindsided with it out of nowhere.”
“Yeah, you should have.” Darrell didn’t glare at her the way he had moments ago, but his gaze still got his point across.
They locked eyes in silence until a soft knock on the door and Heather’s voice penetrated the invisible barrier that insulated them from everything else.
“That’s probably our lunch.” Clearing her throat, Jerra called out for Heather to enter.
“Sorry it took so long,” Heather chirped, oblivious to the tension in the room. “They must have been busier than usual.”
Grinning at them, she continued chattering nonstop while heading to the small conference table with the huge bag. After taking out the cartons of food, plates and utensils, she sent a perfunctory glance over the table to make sure everything was perfect. When she turned back to Jerra, her mindless jabbering screeched to a halt.
Realizing something was wrong, her eyes bounced to Darrell for a second before returning to Jerra. “Is there anything…um, do you need me to do anything else?”
Jerra shook her head, her smile strained. “No. Thank you, Heather.”
Nodding, the young woman quickly left the room. Neither Darrell nor Jerra made a move to the table to begin eating. Instead, Darrell ambled over towards the window and stood with his back to her, arms folded. Jerra waited, giving him time to process everything.
Finally, as if coming to a decision, he turned around, his gaze focused on her face. Darrell lowered his head slightly in order to grab her eyes with his. Jerra fidgeted nervously under the attention. When he finally spoke, he did so steadily and clearly with deliberate intention.
“One of the things we agreed on when we got back together was the importance of being open and honest about everything, no matter how upset the other person might end up getting, right?”
The corners of Jerra’s lips turned down slightly as her eyes faltered away, but she nodded and took responsibility for her lapse. “Yes. I promise I was going to tell you, though.”
“You should’ve told me the moment it happened. Something as important as this should’ve been discussed between us. I need you to trust me enough to come to me with anything, and like I’ve promised, I’ll do the same with you.”
“You’re right,” Jerra nodded. “I am sorry.”
He sighed and held a hand out to her. “I know. Come here, baby.”
Relieved, Jerra hurried towards him and latched on to his hand as if it were a lifeline.
“I know how important this is to you,” Darrell said slowly. “But…”
Jerra squeezed his hand, bracing herself for what was to come.
“I’m gonna need to talk to Justin again to satisfy myself that everything is being done to keep you safe on the company’s end. If it is, I can work with that.”
Her lips parted and her eyes widened in shock. “You mean…”
“If you feel like this is something you need to do, then yes. You got my support…but it comes with a stipulation. A condition. You won’t like it but it’s nonnegotiable.”
The smile that had unfolded and blossomed over her face wilted like dried out petals on a flower. “I knew you gave in too easy. What kind of stipulation?”
“If you insist on trying this case, I’m hiring someone to make sure you’re safe until it’s over.”
Jerra’s mouth dropped open. That she had not been expecting. “You mean like a bodyguard?”
Darrell nodded.
“But the firm is already–”
“I’m not leavin’ your safety up to a couple of security guards walkin’ you to and from your car every day.” Darrell cut in, dismissing her argument “That’s ridiculous.”
“Of course it’s going to be more than that. Metal detectors and closed-circuit monitoring devices are being installed to observe everyone coming in and going out of all the entrances to the building. Crisis communication among key personnel and security is being developed as well, and photos for security badges are in the process of being updated if they’re older than three years.”
Darrell listened patiently as she continued to expand on the security enhancements Sullivan, Baker & Lewis were currently in the middle of implementing. He nodded and grunted in the appropriate places whenever she paused to wait for his feedback on a particular point on her checklist. Apparently, it was enough to satisfy her because after he did, she confidently launched into the next phase of her argument. Darrell didn’t have the heart to tell her yet that there was absolutely nothing she could say to make him change his mind. He was already mentally going through his list of contacts to decide who would be the most qualified to handle this, but he decided to let Jerra complete her spiel before breaking that bit of news to her.
Instead of rushing what was sure to be an argument between them, Darrell let her finish and went back to his favorite pastime that he never got tired of indulging in: gazing at her beauty. His baby had always been a gorgeous woman, but pregnancy only enhanced her looks. His eyes skimmed over her face, taking note of how her cheekbones had filled out in the last couple of months. The dark shadows under her eyes had long since vanished, and her smooth skin boasted an even, healthy glow.
Unable to stop himself, he reached up and gently caressed the side of her face with his fingertips. Yeah, pregnancy definitely agreed with her. Especially her body. Her curves were back, thank God. The sweet mounds of her breasts were plump and lush, and her ass…damn! If he were a sculptor, Jerra’s ass would’ve been his most perfect creation. It was round and shapely with a nice curvature to it. Like an apple. Darrell frowned. No, not an apple. Maybe a sweet, ripe peach because it was soft, pliable, and juicy. Again, he thought about how good the loving had been this morning. He should’ve made time for a second round because–
“So what do you think? Darrell?”
He blinked when he heard her call his name. Seeing her waiting expectantly, he no
dded since that had been working so well.
Studying him closely, Jerra squinted. “You haven’t heard a word I’ve said, have you?”
CHAPTER 42
Darrell laughed as she eyed him with suspicion. “Of course I have.”
Jerra wrinkled her nose as if she smelled his bullshit.
Unable to help himself, Darrell laughed. She was so damn cute. “Baby, look, I told you from the beginning that my terms are nonnegotiable and that’s exactly what I meant. You of all people should know I won’t change my mind. Not about this.” After bending down to gently kiss her forehead, he pulled her behind him to the conference table, ignoring her grumbling. “If you’re not comfortable with that, I sure as hell ain’t comfortable with you staying on this case. That’s just the way it is.”
He sat down in one of the low backed leather chairs and pulled her between his spread legs. Darrell smiled at the pout on sexy lips. This woman was the most precious thing to him in the world. No way was he taking a chance on letting anything happen to her.
“The judge won’t allow anyone, even a bodyguard, to come into the courtroom armed.”
Darrell shook his head. “Forever the lawyer negotiating a better deal, huh?”
“No, just stating a fact.”
“Okay,” Darrell conceded. “I assume the judge is aware of the threats you received. I want you or Justin to insure he’s allowed inside the courtroom every day. At least he can keep an eye out for any suspicious behavior. But he goes with you everywhere else, Jerra. Brings you to work, picks you up, drives you around during the day.”
Jerra blew in annoyance. “Darrell, really?”
“Really. I’ll make sure he’s as unobtrusive as possible. After a while you won’t even know he’s there.”
“I doubt that, but alright,” Jerra agreed grudgingly.
His eyebrows shot up, shocked that she hadn’t put up more of a fuss. “That’s it?”
“Don’t look so surprised,” she admonished. “What else is there for me to say? I’d only be wasting my time arguing with you.”
