do, but I understand Clark’s trepidations. Trevor came in and tried to take his job. There’s been some bad blood between the two of them.”
“What’s Trevor’s last name?”
“Mason.”
He studied her. “Otherwise, how are you holding up?”
There was a silence that he realized was her way of choosing her words. “I’m relieved to know this is under way. But I don’t think it’s a staff member.” She looked unsure again.
“If you had to guess, who do you think it is?”
Her hand caressed from her thigh to her knee. “One of my security detail.”
“Why?”
“They know my schedule. Professional and personal.”
“Have you ever been romantically involved with anyone on the staff or in the court system? Anyone on your detail?”
She was shaking her head before he finished the question. “Never.”
Her quick answer made him think she was lying or that she at least had something to hide. She was gorgeous and she had to know it. The judge was the kind of fine that gave drunk men hope that they could approach her and come up a winner. Regardless of her position or theirs, he knew she had broken a few hearts in the hallowed halls of Georgia Justice.
“How long have you been in the justice system, Judge?”
She seemed eager to debunk his questions about any preconceived notion he might have about her private life. “I’ve been here long enough to know every step I take is being watched by my subordinates, peers and the powers that be. I’m always professional. Period, the end. It’s saved me a lot of grief and heartache that other colleagues haven’t been so fortunate to avoid. I’ve sacrificed,” she said, and the word echoed through his body. “But I made a choice to do that. There is no one, Mr. Hood.”
She was too beautiful to be alone, but there were a lot of women in Atlanta like her. He suddenly felt very protective of her. Zach checked himself, putting distance between them. He busied himself by stowing his computer in his bag. “Okay. It is possible that you could have a jealous relative?”
She shook her head. “There’s no one left but me.”
He swung back to not believing her. How was it that he and his brothers were always meeting and falling in love with women who had no one in the world?
The saliva dried in his mouth and he saw the judge’s eyes narrow. “What are you thinking? You’re squinting at me,” she said directly. Her gaze didn’t waver as she read him as quickly as he’d read her. No woman had ever done that to him before.
Zach sidestepped the quick observation. “We may have to temporarily suspend your extracurricular activities until we neutralize whoever is after you.”
“I can sacrifice dancing, but not the other two. No.”
“I beg your pardon?”
“I can’t bend on those. Judges live by a code of conduct that restricts our behavior. This code basically controls our lives. I’ve given up a lot of things,” she said, scooting forward on the couch until she could stand. “I’m not causing harm to anyone or anything. I’ll do everything else you say. I’ll be totally under your control as long as I can rock the babies and go out on my boat.”
“Judge—”
“When we’re alone, it’s Kim, please.”
Was she tired of what she was?
The judge went to a mirrored wall, inserted a key and opened a door Zach had no idea was there. From inside she removed a large briefcase and a tailored white purse that was as sleek as it was expensive. “Mr. Hood—”
“Zach,” he said, standing.
Opening the classy white bag, she pulled out a black band that she wound around her hair until it was in a professional bun again. She dipped into the bag once again and came out with a shiny black case. Opening it, she slid black sunglasses into her hand. Leaning over her desk, she electronically signed the contract before stowing her iPad in her bag.
“Zach, you have to make those two things happen or I’ll find another security detail. I heard that Hood Investigations was the best. You not only get your man, but you make them pay without killing them. Between you, me and the wall, that’s my brand of justice. If I go into hiding and they kill me, they win. Can you do the job?”
Zach didn’t try to conceal his smile. She had become the judge again. Her logic was impeccable and refreshing. Women just didn’t think like her. “We do whatever it takes to get our man.”
She handed him her pashmina to drape over her shoulders, and when she turned, she was just beneath him. Kim’s sensuality was as effortless as her beauty.
“Let me make this clear,” Zach continued, denying himself the opportunity to be lulled by her feminine appeal. “If he gets too close, if anyone in your circle is endangered, you do it my way.”
Her face was expressionless, and then he saw it. Respect sparkled like a firecracker on a hot July night. She covered her eyes in black sunglasses and her lips eased into a sexy smile. “You’re the boss.”
The words had never sounded sexier. Never sounded more provocative than they did right then.
“First, we’re going to do background checks. Shake the trees and see what falls out.”
Zach decided right then that he loved her eyebrows because they arched over her dark glasses and told him what her eyes would not. He got her safely into his SUV and they were under way quickly.
He made sure they weren’t being followed, driving through the streets of Atlanta that he knew so well. Kim crossed her legs and he averted his gaze, vowing not to look again. If he was going to get the job done right, the last thing he needed was to want her. “You haven’t told me something,” Zach said. Her body language was different since they’d left the courthouse.
“I didn’t want to mention this while Clark was still in the office. He would never have gone on vacation. This was on the gate when I drove to work this morning.” She handed him a note.
Zach didn’t want to pull over, but he had no choice. He broke protocol and stopped at a well-known restaurant parking lot and shifted the gears into Park, the car facing the street. He needed an easy escape route, if that became necessary. He pulled latex gloves from the glove box, a staple in his profession. “You should have told me earlier. I could have had this scanned and analyzed by now.”
The note was simple. You will feel my pain.
It was impossible to tell whether the writer was male or female, black or white, young or old. The one thing he could say was that they were smart. No unnecessary words. No clues, no hints at their next method of attack. Only the promise. These were the worst. Zach hated these perpetrators. Catching this one would take skill rather than strength. “On the gate of your house?” he asked.
“Yes. They couldn’t get in,” she
