by Lee Taylor
Clearly annoyed, Powell threw up his hands and interrupted her. “For God’s sake, Rita, relax. Of course I don’t think that. Hell, I’m crazy about you. Why do you think I’m willing to pay your outrageous fees? And let’s face it, the fact that you are a beautiful woman sure as hell doesn’t hurt. Having you on my arm says a lot about the kind of man that I am and the kind of woman I can attract.” Before she could respond, he added, “Which is why I don’t want you staying in a shithole like this. It isn’t worthy of you, and it certainly doesn’t speak well of me.”
Surprised that she was as annoyed as she was, Rita realized she was tired of being minimized by powerful men because of her looks. First, Titus Trouble referred to her delectable ass, then Martin claimed that her looks were one of the reasons he hired her. For a fleeting moment, she conceded that Titus’s allusion to her ass had stirred up a bevy of reactions, including, if she were to be honest, a surprising stirring in the pit of her stomach—or to be frank, even lower. But the idea of Senator Powell declaring that having her on his arm added to his masculinity and status was too much. Jesus God, what did she have to do besides being the best dammed attorney in the state to be respected for her legal talent, not her appearance? Determined to get control of the conversation, she turned to Martin’s displeasure with her choice of hotel . . . fine, motel.
“Senator, I presume that you are here to discuss the case against your son, and I suggest we do that now. I informed the desk sergeant at the sheriff’s office that we would be there at nine a.m. Which means that I have less than an hour to get ready for the meeting. If you don’t want to wait in the motel lobby for me, I’m pleased to take a cab to the station. And on that point, Senator, I like this motel, and it is where I will be staying.”
“Humph! Don’t be too sure of that, Rita. We’ll see how you feel when you see the rest of the ‘guests’ here. And no, the last thing I would do is wait for you in the lobby. Good God, the ‘guests’ would likely mob me. Just to be able to tell their friends they met an actual US senator. But I will have my driver pick you up at eight forty-five at the front entrance.”
Clearly dismissing her, Martin turned on his heel and huffed out of the room, banging the door behind him.
****
“Where is my son? I demand to see him immediately.” Whirling on Rita, Martin barked, “I told you to pay that fucking bail money and get him released.”
Stepping in front of him, Rita leveled the senator with a hard glare. “Which I did, Senator Powell, and I expect that Deputy Trouble is in the process of bringing Justin from his cell.”
Turning to the deputy sheriff, who was narrowly regarding him, Martin snorted. “You sure as hell better be doing exactly that, missy, or there will be hell to pay. It’s bad enough that he had to spend a night in your gulag and that fucking father of yours managed to get the judge to charge me a small fortune to get him released.”
Tanya Trouble shot a raised brow at Rita and then turned to the fulminating man glaring at her. “First of all, my name is Deputy Trouble, Senator Powell, not missy. And yes, we will be releasing Justin Powell into your custody with the explicit instructions that he is to wear an electronic monitoring device until he returns to the court for a final judgment.” She added with an ironic shrug, “At least in my mind, Senator, your son got off a heck of a lot better than he should have. We appealed to the judge to deny bail given that your son could have killed any number of people with his erratic driving. We determined that he was under the heavy influence of alcohol and likely a cocktail of illegal drugs. We’ll know the extent of his inebriation when we get the final lab results.”
Senator Powell stepped forward and came close to shouting. “Damn you, who do you think you are, you little—”
A deep voice interrupted the senator’s tirade. “Deputy Trouble just informed you who she is. In that you are apparently hard of hearing, Senator, Deputy Trouble is the second highest law enforcement professional in Cochise County, second only to me.” Moving within inches of the ranting man, who resembled a rotund schoolyard bully in comparison to the tall, distinguished sheriff, Titus continued. “To confirm what the deputy told you, we are releasing your son into your custody, Senator Powell, with the express instructions as indicated by the court that he is to wear an electronic monitoring device.”
The senator turned to Rita and spit out, “How did you let that happen, Rita? Let these disgusting tyrants shackle him like a criminal? I expect more from you. God knows I pay you enough.”
Titus’s voice was soft, belying the anger blazing in his eyes. “To the contrary, Senator, your attorney did a phenomenal job in pleading your son’s case. Who, by the way, is an extremely dangerous young man and in my view should not be released from jail. District Attorney Wilder, on our behalf, made that case with the court. It was only your attorney’s impassioned presentation that convinced the court to allow Justin to be released on bail.”
Rita stepped forward and glared from one to the other of the angry men. She chose to vent her fury on Titus. “Thank you, Sheriff Trouble, for your unasked-for, and unwanted, acknowledgement. Fortunately, the court agreed with my arguments, as they should have. Now, if you would please, will you immediately bring Justin Powell from his cell so that his father can take him home as ordered by the court?”
“What the hell!”
Rita was as startled as the senator apparently was when Gunnar Sorenson led Justin Powell into the room. It was clear that the young man had been hurt. Rita couldn’t hide her concern. When she had seen him last night, he was clearly drunk out of his mind but not covered with bruises and cuts on his face. She shot a started glance at Tanya, who shrugged and looked to her father.
Titus said coolly, “It’s clear that your son got into an altercation with a cellmate. I ordered our prison doc to look him over. Dr. Hanson determined that while he sustained a number of surface cuts, scrapes, and bruises, he has no internal injuries and is free to leave on bail.”
“What the goddamned fuck are you talking about, Sheriff? You allowed some lowlife to beat up my son and are saying that is fine because he doesn’t have internal injuries? Damn you, I’m going to have your badge for this!”
“No, Senator, I’m not saying it is okay, but as you well know, your son has been arrested on a number of occasions for brawling. He’s obviously no stranger to fighting. While I regret the incident and am investigating it, witnesses indicated that your son initiated the fight. He was apparently so impaired that he underestimated his prowess and chose the wrong man to insult.”
“You pretentious prick! How dare you say that my son is to blame? You are responsible for conditions in your gulag. Damn you, Trouble, this is a clear case of neglect, if not police brutality. Knowing you and how determined you are to bring my son down, I wouldn’t be surprised if you didn’t sic one of those gang members you arrest on the border to beat up my boy. Well, let me tell you, you son of a bitch, you’ve gone too far this time.” Whirling on Rita, the fuming man ordered, “Rita, dammit, get over to the court and immediately file charges against these disreputable flunkies.”
Rita pinned him with a hard frown. “That’s premature, Senator. We need to get the facts first.”
Powell ranted, “What facts? I want you to bring charges of police brutality against this rotten team and name the sheriff and his shameless daughter as prime defendants.”
Rita faced him. “Senator Powell, please don’t make this situation any worse than it already is. We need to get the facts on what happened to Justin since he was arrested last night.” She held up her hand when the frothing man tried to interrupt her. “Martin, please listen to me. I want you to take Justin home. I recommend that you then have your personal physician document his injuries so that we can present them to the court. In the meantime, I will meet with the district attorney to decide the steps we need to take now.”
As if considering her measured advice, the senator glared at Titus and then nodded in apparent agreement. “You�
��re right, Rita. You need to get charges filed as quickly as possible, and for damn sure I need to get my personal physician to examine Justin.” As he walked by Titus, the senator snarled. “You’re going down, asshole. Both you and your lyin’ daughter are going down if it’s the last thing I do.”
After he sailed out of the room, dragging his bleary-eyed son behind him, Titus turned to Rita. His voice was cool but his cutting words betrayed his anger. “You heard your boss, Attorney Davidson. You better hightail it over to the court and file your trumped-up charges.”
Rita returned his fierce glare. “Two things, Sheriff Trouble. If I file them, it will be because the charges are warranted, not trumped-up. Second, the senator is not my boss; he is my client.”
Titus gave a languid shrug. “I dunno, Counselor. He sure fooled me. The way you’re hopping to do what he told you to do makes a damn good case that he most certainly is your boss.” Holding up his hand to stop her angry retort, he leaned down and murmured for her ears only, “So why don’t you quit the honorable act and hustle that perky ass of yours over to the courthouse and do as your boss ordered you to do.”
Not waiting for her to answer, Titus strode from the room without a backward glance.
Chapter 3
Rita took a deep breath, then rang the doorbell. Certain that she would regret accepting Tatiana’s dinner invitation, she forced herself to smile, hoping that her expression didn’t look as strained as it felt. She felt a momentary reprieve when the door swung open and the redheaded beauty swept her into her arms.
“Oh, Rita, my savior! You cannot imagine how thrilled I was to learn that you were going to be in town. And Zane was right. He said he had a drink with you at the B n’ T last night and that you were as gorgeous and impressive as ever. The minute I got your text, I planned this dinner. My whole family is as thrilled as I am that you are here. But come in. Let me see you and hug you and revel in the fact that my heroine is here in the flesh!”
Allowing Tatiana to pull her into the living room, Rita was relieved that she seemed to be the only guest. Swallowing what little spit she had in her mouth, she forced herself to ask the question she dreaded to hear the answer to. “My goodness, Tatiana, I hope you didn’t go to any trouble for dinner tonight. I would have been pleased to invite you and Zane to have dinner with me at the Raging River, which, in my mind, has the best seafood in Sierra Vista.”
Tatiana shook her head, causing a flurry of gold-tipped, red curls to cascade over her shoulders. Her emerald eyes, sparkling with excitement, underscored her stunning beauty. “Absolutely not, Rita. The last thing I want to do is sit in a restaurant with you for a couple of hours and then let you go. No, I intend to spend the entire evening with you and catch up on everything that is happening in our lives.” Before Rita could interrupt, Tatiana added, “Besides, I’m not the only Trouble groupie that is excited to see you. No indeed. The whole gang is coming. And before you say that I shouldn’t have gone to all that trouble, know that Tara swept in as she always does and ordered a fabulous spread from none other than the Raging River.”
Rita did her best to pretend enthusiasm. “Wow, Tatiana, I don’t know what to say except that you shouldn’t have. Although, I truly appreciate your lovely gesture. Um, who all is coming?” She quickly added, “Will the sweet little kids be here? You know how much—along with everyone else—I love those two rascals of yours. Max is adorable, but I have to say Marcie is my star. I swear if ever there was a little girl who convinces me that someday we women really will rule the world, it is your five-year-old, going-on-twenty hoyden.”
Tatiana laughed. “I’m not surprised you feel a special connection with Marcie, Rita. Obviously, I didn’t know you as a little girl, but I can imagine that you were as bossy and perspicacious as my little tyrant daughter.” As she moved toward the bar and held up a bottle of Maker’s Mark, Tatiana added, “How about you and I get a head start on all the others? We need to toast each other for the remarkable fact that we overcame a hideous incident and we are both thriving.”
Pouring generous portions of the potent alcohol into their glasses, Tatiana explained, “As for who is coming, essentially the whole gang, including the kiddies. Tara, Griffin, and of course, Tanya and Ryker, although Tanya and Dad may be late. Apparently, they had a big mess at the precinct today. Some horrible people are actually pressing police brutality charges against Dad and Tanya.” She shook her head in disbelief. “Honestly, my dad and my sister are the most upstanding law enforcement professionals in the state. I hate what they have to go through when awful people are out to smear them. As if either Dad or Tanya would ever abuse anyone, particularly someone in their jail.”
Rita took a hearty swallow of the potent alcohol, welcoming the burn in her throat. It gave her the strength to remember her earlier conversation with Zane at his office.
His astonishment had been predictable, as had his warning. “Damn, Rita, tell me you aren’t serious about filing charges!”
She’d responded the only way she could. “I have to, Zane. Justin Powell is my client, and the kid was obviously messed up while in the sheriff’s care.”
Zane was incredulous. “C’mon. You have to know that neither Tanya nor Titus are guilty of police brutality—”
Rita admitted, “Probably not. But the senator is convinced that ‘police brutality’ is just the latest example of an ongoing vendetta against him—inspired by the sheriff.”
“Jesus, you aren’t buying into that disgusting man’s ridiculous obsession, are you?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know. Obviously, there is bad blood between Titus and the senator. And no, I don’t think Titus and Tanya are guilty of brutality. I guess I’m counting on you to disprove the charges and throw out the case.”
The memory that hurt her the most was Zane’s frowning response to her candid admission. “So, in other words, Attorney Davidson, you’re counting on me to disprove the outrageous, clearly false charges so that you can stay in the good graces of your powerful client?” He added, his frown deepening, “You know that is unworthy of you, don’t you?”
At the time, Rita had been horrified and angered by his demeaning assertion. Now, as she stood in Tatiana and Zane’s living room, she acknowledged the truth of his accusation. She had filed the charges because Senator Powell had insisted that she do so. But she also admitted that Titus’s arrogance and dismissal of her had gotten to her. She was tired of being dismissed and diminished by the arrogant man. She knew that at some level she wanted to pay him back, let him know that she was as tough as he was. Standing with his daughter who was gazing at her worshipfully, Rita was overcome with remorse and no small amount of shame. Her only question was how the hell was she going to leave this challenging party as quickly as she could.
Thirty minutes later, Rita marveled that she had survived several relatively normal conversations with the arriving dinner guests. Even Zane seemed to apologize for the hit he smacked her with in his office. When he had first arrived, he reached for her after hugging Tatiana, Max, and Marcie. “C’mere, you. Don’t think just because you and I are on opposite sides that you aren’t my favorite antagonistic defense attorney ever.” He’d murmured softly, “Sorry for the gut shot I sent your way. It was over the top. I know you’re doing what you think you have to, even if you’re dead wrong.”
Shortly after she arrived, the always-plainspoken deputy sheriff made an attempt to break the ice. Tanya went directly to the challenging issue between them. “Look, Rita, I understand you did what you thought you had to do.” She added with a deep frown, “But please tell me that you honestly don’t think that Dad and I are guilty of police brutality.”
While she was carefully considering how to respond to Tanya’s challenging question, the bottom fell out of her already shaky world. Hearing the excited cries from the children in the hallway, she knew that her nemesis had entered the fray.
“Grandpa’s here. Hi, Grandpa! Pick me up, Grandpa. No, pick me up! You picked Max
up first last time.”
Rita turned to the doorway, forcing herself to breathe. She wasn’t sure how she did given the man who was entering the room, Max perched on his shoulders and Marcie balanced on his hip. Accustomed to seeing Titus in dress pants and an open-necked shirt or occasionally in full uniform, Rita was stunned at his casual attire. She’d secretly ogled the dashing sheriff when they’d met in professional settings. After all, a six-foot, four-inch studly guy didn’t need the badge clipped on his belt to turn heads his way. But tonight, his tight jeans and short-sleeved black tee shirt hugged his lean frame in impressive ways. She’d always known that he was fit, but the casual attire underscored his muscular arms and torso and accentuated his powerful thighs and tight butt. Shocked at the way her body was responding to the dark-haired, smiling man, Rita admitted a fact she’d tried to ignore in the past: Sheriff Titus Theseus Trouble was one sexy-looking dude.
Her admiration turned to dread when he met her gaze and the smile that had lightened his dancing eyes perceptibly hardened. A frown creased his forehead, and his full, sensuous lips that had been curved in a smile tightened into what approximated a sneer. His taunting greeting confirmed that the potentate of the assembled crowd was not pleased to see the only member of the group who was not part of his extended family.
“Well, well, well, what have we here? If it isn’t the hotshot defense attorney, fresh from filing charges against the infamous wrongdoers of the county. The brazen attorney determined to take down those reprobate law enforcement thugs known for beating up their innocent prisoners.”