“Sure. I’ll be at Mom’s on Sunday.” She paused. “Unless I’m not.”
“Same here.”
Chloe watched him leave, then woke her snoring dog. “Come on, Hank, time to go.”
Hank rolled his eyes at her as though to make sure she was serious.
“Come on, you lazy mutt.”
He bounded to his feet and nudged her hand. She scratched his head while she watched Brady climb into his truck. Her brothers were good men. Much like Blake MacCallum. Now there was a guy who’d gotten a raw deal early in life, but had risen above it. One had to respect that.
And she did. A lot. In fact, she felt a bit more than respect for the man. Old crushes apparently died hard. She knew Blake was all business right now. Romance wasn’t on his radar and rightly so. But she couldn’t help wishing that once Rachel was found—and they would find her—Blake would be willing to explore the possibility.
She tucked the water bottle into her pack. Until then, though, she and Hank had work to do.
JoAnn drove while Blake rode in the back with the judge. The man set his briefcase on the floor at his feet and checked his phone one more time before looking up. “All right, you’ve got my undivided attention. What is it you wanted to talk to me about?”
“We need you to think a little harder about who might want you dead. And why they’d go to such lengths as kidnapping my daughter and ordering me to kill you if I ever want to see her again.”
The man’s mouth moved, but no words emerged.
Okay, maybe Blake could have softened that a bit, but he was ready for something solid to chew on. Finally, the judge snapped his jaw shut. “Kidnapped your daughter?”
“Yes. She’s . . .” He couldn’t say “fine” because she wasn’t. “. . . not with them anymore, but the fact is, someone tried to use her for leverage to get me to kill you.”
“I . . . I don’t know what to say.”
“We need names,” Jo said. “We need to go through your case files.” She paused. “And I think we can narrow that down to anyone involved in human trafficking.”
Judge Worthington rubbed a hand down the side of his face, and Blake figured he was working on processing what had just been thrown at him. The man gave a short nod. “Fine. I’ll pull any files from my office that I think will be a possibility and we’ll go through them.”
“They’re not digital?”
“Sure, but I keep a hard copy in my office,” he said. “I’m not a digital guy, other than my smartphone.”
“The hard copies might be better,” Jo said. “It’ll be easier to go through them. And less strain on the eyes.”
“True. Let’s get him into the courthouse. We’ll grab the files on our way out. I’ll let Linc know and he can pull in some agents to help us.”
“Right,” Jo said, “since he’s the lead on the investigation, I would think he might appreciate being informed of what you’re doing.”
He scowled at her in the rearview mirror. She simply raised a brow. Of course he knew he was overstepping slightly.
JoAnn pulled under the covered area at the back door. Since the threats had started, the marshals made sure the judge entered and exited the building through the protected entrance.
Once inside, they passed through security with the judge nodding to the guard monitoring the metal detector. “You’re new here.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Glad to have you. Keep up the good work.”
“Will do, sir.”
The three of them cleared, they walked single file down the hallway to the elevator that would take them up to the second floor where the judge’s office was located.
He waited outside his office with Jo while Blake cleared the area. Blake noted that nothing looked out of place. All was in order. He returned to the hallway. “It’s clear.”
Judge Worthington entered and removed his robe from the back of the door. He slipped into it, then nodded to the outer office. “Lila has the hard copies of the files. I’ll have her pull the ones related to human trafficking.”
“That would be very helpful,” Jo said, “thanks.”
“Now, it’s time for me to head to court.”
“We’re right behind you.”
Back in the hall, JoAnn led the way while Blake brought up the rear.
Just as they approached the back entrance to the courtroom, a door pushed open at the end of the hall. Blake looked up to see a security guard step through and let the door shut behind him. He pocketed the key card that had allowed him access. “Y’all need any help?”
“We’ve got it, thanks,” Jo said without looking at the man.
Blake frowned and met the brown eyes under the ball cap. He’d left strict orders that no one was to have access to the hall during specific times. Apparently, this guy didn’t get the memo. “This hall is off limits. Can you make sure no one comes back this way?”
“Oh right. Sure.” The security guard lifted a hand in a wave and turned to leave. Blake made a mental note to reinforce the no-access request. Or change it to an order.
Blake turned back to Jo and the judge and held the door open for the man to step through.
Movement from the corner of his eye brought his attention back around. And time slowed.
The security guard raised his arm, the weapon in his right hand shifted to aim at the judge.
“Gun!” Blake shouted and shoved JoAnn into Judge Worthington as the crack of the weapon filled the hall. The bullet slammed into the door. The second bullet whizzed past Blake and hit Jo.
She cried out and went down, her Glock clattering to the tile floor. Blake fired three rounds at the disappearing figure. All three bullets hit the door. He could only pray one made it through to hit the man he’d been aiming at. And hadn’t hit any innocent person beyond.
He whirled back to his partner. “Jo!”
She waved at him with a grimace. “Got my vest,” she gasped. “Check him. Is he hit?”
Judge Worthington. The man lay on the floor just inside the courtroom door. Blake stepped over Jo who struggled to get her breath and knelt beside the judge. “Sir? Are you all right?”
“I’m fine,” he said and rolled to his feet. “Just landed pretty hard on my wrist. How’s Jo?”
Law enforcement had already descended. Cory Little, a fellow deputy marshal who had been on the judge’s detail, dropped beside them. Blake caught his eyes. “He’s not hit. Stay here and cover him. I’m going after the shooter.”
“Blake—”
“I saw his face. Put out a description.” He rattled it off.
“Right. Go. I’ve got him.”
Blake stopped for one brief second to check on Jo, who once again motioned that she was fine. “Okay, hang tight.”
“Yep.”
He sprinted down the hallway. The man had pulled his ball cap low, but thanks to that nanosecond glimpse, his face was now imprinted on Blake’s memory.
His footsteps pounded down the hall and he slammed through the door the shooter had slipped back through after firing his shots. The stairwell echoed its emptiness and Blake breathed a relieved and grateful thanks that no one other than the shooter had violated the no-access request.
Relief quickly turned to angst.
The ball cap lay on the floor, a bullet hole in the middle of the bill.
But no blood, and no shooter, were to be seen. Blake texted an update.
Hat recovered. Everything else the same.
He caught his breath for a split second. Which way? He spun in a circle and growled. He’d lost the shooter.
Chloe dove for the floor when the first gunshot rang out. In the split second it took for her to realize that the bullets weren’t coming her way, she had her weapon out. Hank pulled on his leash and she was actually surprised to find herself still holding it.
Huddled on the floor, she now waited, noting others in the same position around the lobby of the courthouse. When no more shots sounded, law enforcement bolted into action.