by Lee Taylor
TITUS
Finale Novella: The Trouble Sisters Saga
By
Taylor Lee
TITUS
Finale Novella: The Trouble Sisters Saga
Trouble with a Capital T
By
Taylor Lee
He’s a formidable county sheriff.
She’s a defense attorney.
When she represents the despicable US senator accusing the sheriff with a vicious crime, she learns just how formidable the sheriff really is.
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TITUS: Finale Novella; The Trouble Sisters Saga
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Chapter 1
Damn, woman, it’s good to see you!” Zane reached for the beautiful woman sitting at a corner high-top table at the B n’ T and dragged her into a one-armed hug. “If you aren’t a sight for sore eyes, I don’t know what is.” He glanced at her chic pantsuit topped by a clearly “un-faux” fur vest and rolled his eyes in pretend surprise. Glancing at Dante, the barkeep who was grinning at them from behind the bar, he hollered, “Tell me, Dante, when was the last time one of your patrons came in this benighted hangout wearing what has to be several thousand dollars of high-priced duds on her svelte body?”
“Hmm, sans the svelte body, Mr. District Attorney, that would be every time you stroll in here dressed like some fucking GQ model.” Dante grinned. “If ever there was a clotheshorse, buddy, it’s you. But if you’re saying that Attorney Davidson looks like a million bucks regardless of her attire, I’m in total agreement.”
Rita gave a full-throated laugh and shook her head. Accepting Zane’s hug, she winked at Dante. “I can see I need to come back to this crazy bar more often. Nothing like being greeted by two of the sexiest scoundrels I know. Particularly when one of them makes the single best ‘sure to knock you flat on your ass’ martini in any part of the country. I would come back to Sierra Vista for that noxious libation alone.”
Zane nodded to Dante. “I’m with Attorney Davidson. Rustle up a couple of those infamous, appropriately enough named porn star martinis of yours so that I can snuggle in next to this beautiful woman and get even more buzzed than I already am just looking at her.”
“Good grief, are you really that glad to see me or just trying to make a girl feel good?”
“Hell, Rita, you have to know that you are several levels of heaven above ordinary angels in my mind and always will be. Heck, you reside darn close to the stratosphere the Trouble sisters occupy.” He grinned at her. “Although, I confess that middle Trouble sister has wormed her way into my heart, mind, and most definitely my body in a way I never dreamed a woman could.”
“How is she, Zane? And please tell me she is doing as well as I’ve heard. Is it true that she is going to keynote the Arizona Bar Association annual meeting in May?”
“Yeah, she is. I’m telling you Tatiana has to be the strongest woman I know. And given the competition you and her sisters provide, that is saying something. But she has come through that hideous experience she suffered and is truly thriving, professionally and personally.”
“I’m glad to hear that. Tatiana Trouble is without a doubt one of the most impressive women I know. The fact that she has the inimitable Cochise County DA and all-around hotshot at her side also makes her one of the luckiest women I know.”
“Aw shucks, what can I say except that we are both lucky. You know as well as anyone what a profligate rogue I was. That Tatiana was able to see past the reprobate I was and introduce me to a concept that had been exceedingly elusive to me—the love of a good woman—is a gift I will treasure forever.”
“My goodness. Like every other woman in the county, heck, the state, I never thought I’d see the day that Zane Wilder fell for a woman—and a good one, make that one of the best ones, at that.”
Clicking her glass against his, Rita took a healthy sip of the powerful drink Dante had put in front of her then reared back at the burn of the pungent alcohol. She grinned at Dante, who was watching her from behind the bar. “Phew, don’t tell me my time away from the B n’ T has made me a wuss. Or are you just trying to set me up, Dante? Remind me that I need to come here more often if I’m going to be able to keep up with your usual debauched crowd.”
Zane raised his glass to her and chortled. “Let’s just say that by the time you’ve polished off a couple of those babies, Rita, you’ll be able to drink the best of us under the table.”
“I hope you’re right. Before we proceed to get drunk together, tell me that the news I hear regarding that disgraced ADA of yours is true.”
“You must be referring to the fact that Chloe Richards has not only been disbarred but is fighting what I consider to be a losing battle: that of trading her slutty clothes for the decidedly unflattering orange jumpsuit with the DOJ insignia on the back.”
Rita nodded in agreement. “My attorney colleague who has the unhappy task of representing her confirmed that brazen bitch is looking at a minimum of three to five in the Florence state prison.”
“Your colleague is correct. Trust me, after what she tried to do to Tatiana and how she made a mockery of the judicial system, not to mention disgracing the bar, they can’t keep her locked up long enough to suit me.” Running his hands distractedly through his shock of tousled hair, Zane shook his head and, as if determined to change the subject, met Rita’s gaze. “Look, neither you nor I want to discuss that disgusting former colleague of ours. Tell me what brings you to our hallowed burg. Here’s hoping that whatever it is will keep you here for a long while. We miss you.”
“Thanks, Zane. I’m surprised to say how much I miss all of you. When you hauled me down here to represent Tatiana, I assumed I’d be bored out of my mind. I’m not exactly a small-town kind of a gal. But the time we spent clearing your woman of that hideous crime was anything but dull. In answer to your question, I have a new client here in Sierra Vista. Actually, a long-time client I’ve represented on a number of issues, only this time it’s his son who’s in trouble.”
“Holy hell, don’t tell me you are here to defend that degenerate asshole, Justin Powell, son of the Senator Martin Powell?”
A deep voice endorsed Zane’s surprised assertion. “I agree, Zane. I thought Attorney Davidson was choosier about whom she represents with her vaunted skills. Imagine my surprise to learn that the inimitable attorney has thrown in with one of the most despicable reprobates I know. And I’m not talking about the senator’s weasel son we arrested yesterday for his third DUI.”
Rita whirled to confront the source of the insulting comment. She wasn’t surprised at the jolt of electricity that shot through her surprised body. Glaring up at the tall man looming over her, his lips twisted in an ironic smile, she forgave her wayward body’s untoward reaction. She was confident that Sheriff Titus Trouble had the same unsettling effect on every woman he approached. After all, it wasn’t every day that a Hugh Jackman look-alike replete with de rigueur beard shadow, chiseled jaw, and dancing eyes sauntered into a bar. Although, given that it was the B n’ T, Rita could have expected the imposing man, who was a regular at the town hangout. It took her a moment to contain her unruly emotions and manage an appropriate response to the sheriff’s putdown of her client or, more specifically, her client’s father.
“I take it you aren’t impressed with our senior United States senator and second largest landholder in southern Arizona?” She shrugged. “Why would I be surprised, Sheriff, that you disapprove of my defending m
y long-term client or his admittedly debauched son?”
“It’s not up to me to disapprove, Attorney Davidson. You can represent any reprobates you wish, as well as their degenerate progeny. I’ll only say that you must be hard up for clients if you have to slurp from Martin Powell’s trough.”
Shocked at his demeaning comment, Rita forced herself to respond in as normal a tone of voice as she could muster. “I’ll try to ignore your intimation that I belong in the company of swine, Sheriff Trouble, in that not very long ago I represented your daughter.”
Titus nodded in agreement. “Yes, you did, most impressively. A fact for which I will always be grateful. Which makes your current representation even more deplorable.”
“Whoa, you two.” Zane held up his hands. Glancing at his clearly angry companions who were facing off against each other, he said with a good-natured chuckle, “And good evening to you, Sheriff Trouble. Even considering your inflammatory greeting of our mutual friend, let me say I’m delighted you could join us.” Motioning to Dante, Zane called out, “How about you bring Attorney Davidson and me a refill and a double for our apparently peeved county sheriff.” He grinned at Titus. “I’m well aware, sir, that you’re not a fan of our senior US senator or his debauched son.” When Titus merely nodded, Zane added, “But I presume that you don’t hold our lovely attorney in that low regard.”
Titus shrugged. “That’s a given, Zane. Even highly competent attorneys can be taken in by wealthy individuals who are willing to pay through the nose to keep themselves and their offspring free of the long arm of the law.” Taking a hearty pull of the martini Dante placed in from of him, Titus shot Rita a narrow-eyed gaze. “After all, said attorneys are the ones who have to wake up in the morning and look in the mirror. As long as they can live with what they see, more power to them.”
Rita smacked her glass on the table and glared at Titus. “Damn, Sheriff Trouble. I’d forgotten what a supercilious, arrogant man you are. But even as self-righteous as you are, implying that the fact Senator Powell can pay my admittedly high fees is the only reason he is my client is a bridge too far. You didn’t seem to mind Zane paying through his nose to have me represent your daughter.”
“No, Ms. Davidson, I not only didn’t mind, I was grateful that Zane had the wherewithal to hire you. However, you were representing my daughter, perhaps the worthiest woman alive, not some scurvy political prick’s equally scurvy son.”
Forcing herself to step back, Rita did the best she could to speak in a reasonable tone of voice. She wasn’t surprised by the effort it took. Holding the sheriff’s steely gaze, she said, “The one thing I despise more than anything are law enforcement officials who think that because they wear a uniform and a badge, they are superior to defense attorneys who have the temerity to call them into question. You know those presumptuous attorneys. The ones who actually believe in our heralded system of justice. The system that posits that everyone, even rich, privileged assholes, are entitled to a defense when charged with a crime.” Not able to squelch her rising fury at the implacable man narrowly regarding her, Rita added, “One would hope even county sheriffs would be capable of understanding the basics of our justice system no matter how isolated they are.”
Wishing that she hadn’t given in to her fury and added that last poisoned dart, Rita grabbed her glass and took a larger swallow than she intended. Choking on the fiery liquid, she was horrified when Titus moved next to her and smacked her on the back. She didn’t have to look up at him to know he was amused. His drawling response to her impassioned attack said it all.
“Interesting. As a lowly county sheriff, one thing I dislike is being lectured by a highfalutin attorney who looks down her nose at anyone ridiculous enough to believe that your income doesn’t determine your worth or your ability to grasp the intricacies of our judicial system.” At her sputtering cough that she couldn’t contain, Titus grasped her upper arm in his big hand and smacked her again between her shoulder blades. Picking up his glass and draining it, Titus added with a mirthless grin, “You know, one of those haughty, grossly overpaid legal beagles who wouldn’t acknowledge a client is too disreputable to defend even if the proof rose up and bit her on the ass.” Looking her up and down, Titus met her angry gaze and said with a shrug, “Particularly when said legal beagle has as delectable an ass as yours, Attorney Davidson.”
Rita leapt to her feet and demanded, “What did you say to me?”
Titus shrugged and winked at her over his retreating shoulder. “You heard me.” Nodding to Zane and without looking back, he saluted Dante as he dropped a bill on the bar, then strode through the door into the dark night.
Struggling to control her fury and rubbing at her arm where Titus had held her in place, Rita glared at her clearly amused companion. “I’m glad that you think the supposedly upright sheriff’s behavior is funny, Zane.”
“Ah, Rita, you have to know that Titus is intrigued by you. Even if he’s put off by your, shall we say, flippant attitude.”
“So in addition to being a conservative, arrogant asshole, the contemptible lawman is also a chauvinist pig who doesn’t like strong women?”
“Nah, Rita. Like the rest of us arrogant assholes, he’s intrigued and, yeah, put off by ballsy women. But, sweetheart, you won’t meet a fairer guy than Titus Trouble. Although, I should warn you. You don’t want to get on his bad side. In addition to being a straight shooter, Titus is a vicious antagonist. One you definitely don’t want to mess with.”
Chapter 2
Rita answered the loud knock on her Days Inn room door with an annoyed growl. “All right, all right. I’m coming! It is seven-thirty in the morning, for God’s sake!” Expecting the cleaning team, Rita threw open the door, then stepped back in surprise. The fierce-eyed, gray-haired man glaring at her was anything but a member of the hotel domestic staff. Rather, it was her long-time client, United States Senator Marcus Powell. Brushing by her, he glanced at the pedestrian room, not hiding his distaste.
“Jesus, Rita. What the hell are you doing in a shithole like this?” Wrinkling his nose, he sniffed. “God, it even smells like shit. No telling when they last changed the sheets in this hellhole.”
Rita laughed at his snobbish assertion. “Be careful, Senator Powell, your patrician inclinations are showing. Surely you know that even the Days Inn changes the linens between customer visits.”
“How do you know that, Rita? Good God, did you see the people manning the front desk? I’d be surprised if ICE doesn’t have all of them in their cross hairs. I can only imagine the ethnic makeup of their domestic workers.” He faced her with a fearsome scowl. “Besides, given how much I’m paying you, you could have at least stayed at the Marriott. There, I could have reserved one of the suites they set aside for senior politicians. That said, I insist that you stay at my mountainside retreat. It has three full-sized guest suites and personal maid service.”
When Rita frowned and shook her head in disagreement, Powell broke in before she could speak. “You need to understand, Rita, in this horseshit town, you are seen as one of my senior staff. It is important that you play the part. In case you don’t know it, our chief antagonist in this upcoming skirmish is none other than that motherfucking asshole, Titus Trouble. I haven’t had a chance to tell you how displeased I was that you defended that fucker’s daughter. I’m sure you did it at the bequest of Zane Wilder, the uppity DA, who I understand is fucking the Trouble bitch. But you need to know that you inadvertently gave credence to a man I despise above all others—fucking Titus Theseus Trouble, the sheriff of Cochise County.”
“Hmm, Senator, I think you know me well enough to know that I never take on a client—or anyone else—inadvertently. To be clear, yes, Zane Wilder asked me to represent Tatiana Trouble, and yes, Zane is deeply in love with the lovely woman. Finally, I was honored to represent Ms. Trouble. She was the victim of what could have been a despicable miscarriage of justice perpetrated by the illegal actions of a dishonorable ADA.” Frowning at
her clearly agitated client, she asked, “As a point of interest, Marcus, I’m curious. What did the admittedly arrogant sheriff do to put a bug up your butt?”
The enraged man, his florid face flushing dangerously brighter, spit out, “Besides charging my son three times with a DUI because he can’t find anything else to charge him with? Locking my boy in a cell with a bunch of lowlife druggies and likely murderers? Don’t you see it’s all a subterfuge to get at me?”
“Mmm, how and, I guess more important, why is he after you?”
“Why? Because he is an arrogant asshole. And he envies me. He hates rich people and anyone who tries to rein him in. I’m a United States senator, and he is a lowly county sheriff who is too fucking big for his britches. Somebody needs to take him down and, by God, I’m doing my damnedest to do exactly that.”
“I understand that you don’t like the sheriff, but surely your obvious pique has a stronger base.”
“Jesus Christ, Rita, take off your blinders. Look at the evidence right in front of you! If it was up to Titus Trouble, we’d be even more overrun by Mexicans and other criminals than we already are. Hell, the sheriff and I disagree on every law enforcement issue we face. Besides, just by hooking up with my political foes and ginning up a bunch of ersatz charges against me and my family, it’s obvious he’s trying to provoke an investigation of me. Dammit, Rita, you are hardly a newbie at all of this. You know what it takes to get to the top in any field. As the highest-paid attorney in the state, don’t tell me that a runaway lawman couldn’t find a passel of unsavory things you’ve done that you’d rather be kept under wraps. Hell, the last thing any of us wants is to have to answer for every decision we’ve made or how many times we’ve turned a blind eye to supposed illegal acts.”
“You’re right, Martin, I’ve done plenty of things in my private life that I wouldn’t want to be made public. However, I can assure you that in my professional life, I am squeaky clean. In fact, boringly so. Which I hope is the reason you’ve hired me to represent you on several occasions and why you want me to represent your son.” Pinning him with a hard stare, Rita added, “Let me be very clear on the issue of illegality. I never have and never will turn a blind eye to illegal acts. My assumption is that is the reason you hired me. If you think for a moment that I would be involved—”