by Lea Coll
All I Want Series
Choose Me
Be with Me
Burn for Me
Trust in Me
Stay with Me
Take a Chance on Me
Annapolis Harbor Series
Only with You
Lost without You
Perfect for You
Boudreaux Universe Novel
Easy Moves
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To learn more about her books, please visit her website.
Acknowledgments
To my family for continuing to support me in this dream, especially my husband who continues to be my biggest supporter.
To Shannon, who answered all of my questions about speech therapy.
To my web designer, Krista Laun, who makes everything beautiful.
To my beta readers, Pat, Kendra, and Christy who are brave enough to read my books before the final edit. With each book, their enthusiasm increases.
To Tammy and Evelyn who do a final read through before the book releases.
To all of the bloggers who read, reviewed, and shared love for my books. I appreciate everything you do.
To all of the readers who read and reviewed my books—I appreciate it more than you’ll ever know. There’s nothing better than connecting with readers. To know that something I wrote resonated with you. I read to be in another world for a few hours and I hope that you enjoy being in the world I created.
About the Author
Lea Coll worked as a trial attorney for over ten years. Now she stays home with her three children, plotting stories while fetching snacks and running them back and forth to activities. She enjoys the freedom of writing romance after years of legal writing.
She currently resides in Maryland with her family.
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Check out Lea’s books on her website.
Excerpt from Choose Me
Hadley
“I heard the sirens and everything, but I didn’t know if it was real cops. It was dark and I was by myself. You’re not supposed to pull over. You’re supposed to wait until you reach a gas station or something.” Missy explained, and her boyfriend, standing beside her, nodded in agreement.
“Did you call the police department to verify that an officer was following you?” I asked, glancing around to see if the judge had come out on the bench yet.
“No, I didn’t know I could do that.” Missy shrugged at her boyfriend.
“Why did you speed up once you heard the sirens?” I continued.
“Who said that?” Missy snapped.
“It’s in the police report. It says right here.” I showed her a copy of the police report and pointed at the line I had highlighted. “Suspect sped up once lights and sirens activated, an object was thrown out of the window…”
“Listen, lady, you going to get this dropped or what?” The boyfriend interrupted.
I turned my attention to him for the first time. He was dressed like he just woke up and rolled out of bed, in a wrinkled white shirt hanging over loose-fitting greasy jeans and tucked into untied high tops. He reeked of cigarette smoke. “Were you at the scene?” I asked.
“No, but I know what happened,” he said.
“Look, I only have a short amount of time to speak to Missy before the judge comes out. If you weren’t at the scene, then I don’t have any questions for you and I would appreciate it if you would let your girlfriend answer my questions without interrupting.”
He scowled but before he could say anything, someone touched my arm. I turned around to see who it was. The first thing I noticed was a police uniform stretched tightly over broad shoulders. My eyes traveled up to an amused face and sparkling eyes tilted down toward me. My eyes widened and my breath caught. Not wanting him to see the effect he had on me, I asked in a professional tone of voice, “Yes?”
“Are you representing Melissa Koon?” he asked, tilting his head in my client’s direction.
I tucked my hair behind my ear and said, “Yes, I am.”
“We need to talk.” He took my arm with gentle authority to steer me out of the courtroom as he spoke.
“You’re the arresting officer?” I asked, glancing down at the police report to the part that said in block letters Sgt. Hudson.
“That’s me. Sergeant Luke Hudson.” Once we stepped into the hallway, he held his out his hand for me to shake. I placed my smaller hand into his. He had a cool firm grip.
I cleared my throat to hide my nerves at his touch. “It’s nice to meet you. I’m Emma Ryan, the new public defender.”
He leaned up against the wall next to the courtroom and crossed his arms over his chest. The hallway had cleared out since court was about to start.
I stood in front of him, hugging my file to my chest. He was leaning against the wall so it was difficult to determine how tall he was. Taller than me though, and I was wearing my four-inch heels today. His hair was in a longish messy style like he just ran his fingers through it. He had piercing brown eyes and a close-trimmed beard along a strong jaw line. His gaze was intent as he waited for me to speak.
I took a deep breath. His mere presence affected me in a way I hadn’t experienced before. Trying to remember why we were here, I took a look at my file to gather my bearings. After a quick review, I knew I wasn’t going to like what he had to say. “So what happened?”
“I will testify that Melissa Koon was belligerent. She led my officers on a high-speed chase for thirty minutes, throwing baggies out of the window. She was combative when we finally got her to pull her car over, cussing out my guys…”
“So she was cooperative then?” I asked with a grimace. I really hated cases when the defendant was uncooperative with cops. It made my job an uphill battle.
He looked down at me with an intensity that made me shift on my heels, but didn’t answer, and I hoped he knew I’d been sarcastic with my prior comment. Not everyone got my sarcastic humor.
“All right, thanks for the heads up. I better talk to the state’s attorney before the judge comes out.” I said it with a smile and turned quickly to get out of his proximity. I needed to focus on my case and his presence made it difficult.
I glanced back over my shoulder. Luke hadn’t moved, but his lips tilted up in amusement as if he knew he affected me.
I approached the attorney at the trial table. He was tall and lean with blond hair, and when he lifted his head up I noticed his beautiful light blue eyes. “Hey, are you checking in?”
“Yes, I’m representing Melissa Koon.”
He looked down at his docket list and pulled a file out of his pile. “I’m Logan Gray, by the way.”
“Emma Ryan,” I answered, offering my hand for him to shake.
He glanced down at his notes on the front of his file and shook his head. “Whew, this one. I know it’s her first offense but it’s a doozy since she led police on a high-speed chase. The official charges are possession of CDS, fleeing, and eluding arrest, reckless and negligent driving, and resisting arrest. I can agree to drop the resisting arrest and reckless driving charges, and I will recommend ninety days to the judge. We both know I don’t have a case for resisting arrest.” He looked at me with regret. “I have Luke breathing down my neck on the fleeing and eluding.”
I sighed in understanding. “I get it. Let me explain the plea deal to my client and see if she will agree.” High-speed chases place everyone at risk.
“Nice to meet you, Emma. I look forward to working with you,” he said with a friendly smile as I braced myself for my client’s reaction.
I just shook my head at him, a smile playing on my lips despite myself. He was charming, but my mind was still on Luke Hudson.
I explained to Missy that the judge would not buy her explanation when there were several officers willing to testify to her speeding and general combativeness. Leading officers on a high speed chase was frowned on by j
udges. Throwing drugs out of the car was the nail in her coffin. She was lucky. The amount of drugs the police had recovered didn’t warrant a distribution charge.
“State vs. Melissa Koon,” Logan called out to the gallery.
As we walked to the front of the courtroom, I veered over to Logan and whispered our assent to his plea offer. He nodded and I turned back toward the defense table. Logan read the facts of the case into the record.
“Counsel, is Ms. Koon in agreement?” Judge Norris asked.
“Yes, your honor,” I answered, and then led my client through the litany for a plea agreement. I felt the usual sick feeling watching my client being led out of the courtroom in cuffs.
As I left the courtroom, I saw a movement from my left, someone grabbed my arm and I teetered on my heels. “What the hell? Missy didn’t do nothin’ wrong.” Spit hit my face with every word that Missy’s boyfriend spoke.
I flinched and tried to pull my arm back. His grip only tightened, causing pain. “Let me go!” I exclaimed. I looked around frantically for a bailiff or anyone to intervene. Court was in session so the hallway was deserted.
“I can’t believe Missy hired you. Everyone knows public defenders aren’t real attorneys.”
I swallowed so loud I was pretty sure he could hear it. “Listen, you can’t run from the police when they try to pull you over. It looks bad. Judges hate that.”
“That’s not what happened and you know it,” he answered squeezing my arm even tighter.
“It’s her word against the testimony of several police officers,” I tried to explain.
A commanding voice came from over my right shoulder. “Hey, what’s going on here?”
I sighed in relief, still struggling to free my arm. Before I could register whose voice it was, the hand was forcibly removed from my arm and the boyfriend’s arms were behind his back and cuffed. I rubbed my arm at the pain.
“What happened?” Luke asked me, holding Missy’s boyfriend by his cuffed arms. More people were starting to crowd into the hallway now to see what the commotion was about.
“I just came out here and he grabbed my arm. He’s unhappy about his girlfriend’s case.”
“She’s a fuckin’ bitch! She got my girl locked up and for nothing!” Missy’s boyfriend yelled at me and his voice echoed off the walls.
It was then that Luke realized who he was holding. His eyes narrowed and he nodded at another officer, “Take him to lock-up downstairs until he settles down.”
“Sure thing, boss,” the officer answered as he took him by his arms and led him away.
“And no need to be gentle,” he whispered so softly to the other officer, I wasn’t sure I heard him right. Once we were alone, Luke asked, “Are you okay?” as he nodded his head toward my arm.
I glanced down at my arm. “Um, yeah, I might have a bruise though.”
He placed both of his hands on my shoulders and leaned down into my space. “You need to be more careful.” He pulled back as if to go, and then stopped to say, “I don’t know how you represent those assholes.”
I still felt the warmth of his hands on my shoulders. My eyes closed for a second, remembering the vision of his face near mine. “Oh, you get used to it,” I answered flippantly so he wouldn’t know the effect he had on me. “Thanks for helping me out.” Thankfully, my clients usually didn’t touch me, but I’d been called every name in the book.
“Sure. Try and stay out of trouble,” he answered gruffly and then pulled open the courtroom doors to go back inside.
I stood there for a minute trying to get my bearings and then I picked up my briefcase. I headed to my office on the second floor. On the way to my office, I popped my head into my coworker, Ashley’s office. Seeing her on the phone, I moved files from a chair to the floor and sat down to wait for her to finish.
Ashley took off her glasses and asked, “How was court?” Her long dark brown hair was in a high bun but tendrils were starting to escape.
I looked around her office and answered, “My crazy client’s boyfriend grabbed my arm after court. He wouldn’t let go.” Everyone had two long desks in their office configured in an L-shape, and a window overlooking the front of the courthouse. Ashley’s degrees were framed on the side wall and Ravens and Orioles bobbleheads sat on her desk, which was piled high with files.
Ashley looked over at me with concern. “Are you okay?”
“Yes, a little shaken up. Sergeant Hudson intervened, thankfully.” I didn’t mention that I was equally shaken up by my encounter with Luke.
“Luke? Is this the police chase case?”
I sighed deeply. “Yes, that’s the one.”
“I guess she was surprised she got jail time?”
“Yup, she got ninety days. She tried to say she didn’t know she was being pulled over,” I said, rolling my eyes.
“You would think the multiple police cars chasing her with lights and sirens would have clued her in.”
I snorted, “It clued her in enough to throw her drugs out the window.”
“Why do we get the crazy clients?” Ashley sighed. “They expect us to work miracles.”
“I know. I was hoping my clients would be tamer here than in the city.” When I left my hometown I vowed never to live in a small town again. I’d grown up in my parents’ footsteps. They were the golden couple in my high school, popular and social. I was the opposite, quiet and studious. It baffled my parents, the teachers, and the gossips in town. I left for college and never looked back. In the city, I could blend in. Then my boss transferred me here. With a population of five hundred, it was small. A new resident was a curiosity and I felt the stares as I walked through town. It reminded me so much of my childhood, I was anxious to return to the city.
“You would think. Hey, did you talk to Samantha about renting the apartment above the bakery?”
“No, but I need to. I can’t stay at the inn for three months.” This was the other issue with a small town. There were no apartment buildings, so there were few options for short-term rentals. I was filling in for a coworker who was out on maternity leave and only needed to survive the next three months. Then I could go back to the city.
“I’ll walk over with you after work to talk to her. Okay?”
I nodded in agreement as she picked up her ringing phone.
“Emma and Luke are complete opposites, even down to their professions. But it makes for an entrancing romance. Add in the mystery of someone sending threatening text messages and trying to scare Emma out of town and this book becomes an absolute page- turner!” -Brianne from A Book Nerd, a Book Seller and a Bibliophile
One-click Choose Me.