met, he already felt a responsibility to protect her. Maybe it was because he understood what it was like to be starting out in his career and have something to prove.
“I see that arguing with you won’t make any difference.” She stood up, as well, and he could now see the very high heels she’d mentioned in her story.
“You were smart to use those as a weapon.”
“A girl’s gotta be resourceful.”
He reached out and touched her arm, and she flinched. “I’m sorry.” He quickly let go and wondered if she was sore from the attack. “But I just want to make sure you really get who and what you’re dealing with here. This isn’t any time to be flippant about your personal security.”
“I’ve worked on this case for months. I know about the dangers involved.”
“Do you know that once Mick Hernandez wants you dead, you’re dead? No questions asked?”
She cocked her head to the side. “They have a lot of illegal businesses, but it isn’t like they’re ordering hits to take people out every day. You’re being a bit melodramatic.”
“I’m not, Ms. Hughes.”
“Let’s cut with the formalities. You can call me Jessica.”
“All right, Jessica. And you can call me Zach. But I don’t want you to discount what happened to you tonight. I know you want to prove yourself and you have a job to do, but you need to be alive to do all of those things.”
“I hear you.”
“Let’s get out of here.” He ushered her out of the room, but he couldn’t help but feel as if the threat against this young lawyer was far from over.
* * *
The next morning Jessica felt exhausted. The physical attack, plus a night of barely any sleep, was taking its toll. Every time she’d closed her eyes she’d had awful nightmares about the masked man. And in those horrific dreams, he’d gone further and really hurt her.
She’d been hurt before. The scars she wore now were largely more emotional than physical, but they were ever present. She couldn’t deny that the pain of her childhood had driven her to a career in seeking justice. To stand up for those victims who couldn’t fight for themselves. In a small way trying to do her part. But she was afraid she might not be able to do that anymore if she got removed from the Hernandez case.
As she walked toward Chief Assistant State Attorney Ian Lopez’s office, she dreaded the discussion. But she had to put on a brave face, wash away her doubts and convince him that she was the woman for the job.
His door was open, and she walked right in. Ian was usually quite informal in the office. She realized she wasn’t alone. She stopped short just inside the door when she saw Zach Taylor.
The handsome dark-haired FBI agent looked the same as he had last night, wearing a similar black suit and red tie. Beside Zach was a man in a navy suit with streaks of gray at his temples. She assumed he was the senior agent that Zach had mentioned.
Ian was at his desk. “Jessica, come on in.” He motioned for her to step farther into the room. He was impeccably dressed as always in a navy suit and checkered tie. Ian was a tall, slim man with short black hair and dark eyes. She believed he was seriously vying to be the next state attorney. She hoped that his ambition would work to her advantage. If he took over and personally tried the case and lost, it would tarnish his record.
“Jessica, I understand that you met Agent Taylor last night. And this is Agent Brodie Wilson.”
She shook hands with both men, and then they all took seats in the chairs across from Ian’s desk.
“So I hear we have a situation,” Ian continued. As always he was perfectly diplomatic. She’d call it a lot more than a situation, but it was better for her to downplay everything right now.
“Yes, sir. But I really don’t believe there’s any cause for alarm.”
Ian frowned. “Judging by the bruises on your neck, I don’t think I’d say that.”
Ugh. She’d tried to use as much makeup as possible to cover them up, but nothing had really worked. “I’m doing okay.”
“Well, the FBI has briefed me this morning on what happened to you and the threats that were made. I want to know how you feel about continuing to push forward with this case.”
She leaned toward him in her seat. “Sir, I definitely want to keep working on it. I don’t want to back down because of this incident.”
Ian nodded. “While I appreciate your enthusiasm, Jessica, the FBI has some strong opinions on this.”
Uh-oh. Here’s where they were going to drop the hammer. She literally held her breath waiting for one of them to speak.
“We don’t take threats like this from the Hernandez family lightly,” Agent Wilson explained.
“I can be more careful.” At this point she was going to say whatever she needed to convince them.
“That’s not going to be enough,” Ian replied.
She didn’t like where this was going. Were they going to pull her off the case? “So what do you want me to do?” She looked at the three men and waited for one to answer her.
Ian spoke up. “If you want, you are absolutely free to step away from this case. No one would judge you here in the department. You got thrown front and center of this litigation because of Michael’s illness. I—”
“Sir, with all due respect,” she interrupted.
He lifted up his hand. “Let me finish. I can tell that option isn’t something that would interest you, so I’ve worked with the FBI on a compromise.”
“And that is?” she asked expectantly.
“I’m willing to let you keep working the case as the lead counsel if you agree to work with the FBI and let them provide you with the necessary security.”
“What exactly does that mean?” Her mind started to race with different scenarios of how that would play out.
“You’d be working directly with me,” Zach said.
“Yes,” Ian confirmed. “The FBI is actually working a couple of additional angles on the Hernandez family, including a special investigation into Simon’s sister, Ana. We know that it’s highly unlikely we’ll ever get the father because he has multiple layers of protection around him and leaves zero paper trail. But the kids are a different story. Not to mention Luke, the estranged brother who actually works for Miami PD.”
Yes, she did know that there was one family member who had turned out to be one of the good guys.
“So I’m saying all of this,” Ian went on, “to let you know that you’ll work with the FBI closely, and maybe we can get another prosecution out of this. And you’ll also be protected by Agent Taylor. It’s a win-win.”
She didn’t really
