by Crissy Smith
They were still sitting in the courtroom waiting until the hall cleared out so they could avoid Jody running into anyone.
“Even more than it had at lunch?” Mike asked.
They’d decided to stay inside for the day since Jody was still nervous being around other people. Austin had picked up some food from the local deli for lunch and they’d eaten in one of the rooms that was available.
“Yeah,” Austin agreed. “But Kiley just told me that the numbers have doubled since then.”
“Shit.” Mike glanced around the empty courtroom. It had been a hell of a day and he just wanted to go home and have a strong drink. The defense counsel had tried to have any shifter excused from the jury. Mike had pointed out that since they weren’t required to admit their shifter status publicly, the law couldn’t force them to.
The day had gone downhill from there. The defense attorney Melvin Parks was a sleaze. He did everything he could to try to trick or get the potential jury members to say whether or not they were shifters.
Luckily, Mike didn’t need anyone to admit to being a shifter, since he could smell it on them. He’d managed to get two wolf shifters, a lion shifter and a fox shifter, on the jury. That was the only good thing that had come from the day. He’d already written his opening statement for the next day but he had some changes to make. It was going to be a long night.
First, they had to get out of the courthouse. “Should we go out the back?”
“I don’t know,” Randy said as he joined them. “Will that look like we’re hiding him? We want Jody to appear sincere and open. We can’t have anyone thinking he’s hiding something.”
His partner had a point. “True.”
“I’d also like to keep our emergency exits available, in case we need to get away from a particular threat,” Austin added.
Mike glanced over at Jody, who sat with his head bent. “Give me a minute with him, please.”
Randy nodded, and Austin patted his back.
“We’ll be right outside the doors,” Austin told him.
“Thanks,” Mike said before he strolled over to his client. Jody didn’t even look up as he approached. Mike sat beside him. “How are you doing?”
Jody shook his head but finally looked at him. “I didn’t ask for all this. I liked my job and when I was fired it shocked me. I was good at it and did everything I was asked.”
“I know.” Mike placed his hand on Jody’s shoulder for support.
“Then I couldn’t get on anywhere else because that prick lied and told everyone I was screwing things up,” Jody said.
“We’ll take care of him. He’ll pay for what he’s done,” Mike promised. He knew better than to get emotionally involved in a case but he couldn’t help it this time. What Jody had gone through could have happened to him or one of his close friends. The fact that it had happened to a fellow Pack member was bad enough in and of itself.
“Will it even matter in the end?” Jody asked.
“What?” Mike asked.
“He’s not going to lose his business. He might have to pay some money and admit he did wrong. And I said might there. In the end, he’ll go back to running his multi-million-dollar company and I’ll still be scrounging around for work. Now, there’s a crowd of people outside here yelling slurs about me. Why? Because I can shift into a wolf?”
“That’s right,” Mike told him. “This is all because you’re a shifter.”
Jody nodded. “It’s not fair.”
“No, it’s not,” Mike agreed. “And you don’t have to go through with this.”
“After all the time you spent on my case?” Jody asked.
“Yes,” Mike assured him. “Whatever is best for you is what I’m willing to do.”
Jody sighed. “And the next shifter who gets fired only because they are a shifter, what happens to them?”
“They’ll go through the same thing you are,” Mike said.
“So I can’t just give this up,” Jody told him.
“It’s up to you,” Mike reminded him.
“I’ll be okay,” Jody said. “I just want to go home and rest.”
Mike patted him. “Let’s go.” He stood and slung his laptop bag over his shoulder. Jody rose and together they walked to the door. Mike stepped in front of Jody so that he would exit first.
“Right here,” Austin called out. He stood against the wall with his arms crossed.
Austin appeared at ease, but Mike could see that Gray and Kiley had taken position in front of the outside doors keeping everyone else out.
“Are we ready?” Austin asked.
“Yes,” Mike answered. He motioned for Jody to follow him. He passed Austin with Jody at his heels. When they got to the glass entrance, Mike peered out. “Shit!” The lawn was packed.
“Where did all these people come from?” Jody asked.
“Hell, most likely,” Gray muttered. “Did you see how many anti-shifter protesters there are out there?”
“This is crazy,” Mike murmured.
“The number of shifter supporters is really growing too,” Kiley said. “As long as the two groups stay on their own side, hopefully there won’t be any trouble.”
“I don’t see that happening,” Austin said. “The longer the trial takes, the more tempers are going to flare.”
“Yeah,” Mike agreed. He took a deep breath. “Let’s get this over with.” He pushed open the door and the noise level was astonishing. The anti-shifter protesters were screaming while the shifters stood around talking and laughing. Mike spotted Shelby standing in the small divide between the two sides holding a microphone with a camera on her. He started toward her before he remembered where his priorities had to lie. He had to look after Jody, even with the bodyguards there. He couldn’t do anything to protect her if a riot or something happened.
“Let’s get Jody to the car,” Austin said. “Gray and Kiley, stay beside him. No one gets a hand on him. Mike, lead him out and I’ll bring up the rear. We move as a unit. Our guys are spread out throughout the crowd and will step in if there’s any trouble.”
“Be quick and don’t let anyone stop you,” Kiley advised.
Mike took the first step down. Shelby’s cameraman had turned and was now broadcasting their exit. He kept his gaze straight and didn’t give the camera any attention. The closer he walked to Shelby, the harder it was to not look at her. Thankfully as he led the way down the sidewalk she and her cameraman moved out of the way. He nodded slightly in appreciation.
He only took a couple more steps before another reporter was shoving a microphone in his face. Mike shouldered the piece of equipment out of the way but the woman was persistent. She bumped into him, forcing him to slow down.
“Excuse me, we have no comment at this time,” he said politely.
Another reporter rushed forward, and light flashed all around him. Mike placed a hand on his bag to make sure it remained at his side as he tried to push on. The taunts grew louder. He could hear the words ‘animals’, ‘abominations’ and ‘sinners’ shouted at them.
It was getting harder to try to muscle his way through the crowd. Mike could put his full strength into it but he didn’t want to start any trouble either. Where the hell were the cops? With the amount of people out there, someone should be doing crowd control.
“Let them pass.”
Mike glanced over as two men stepped in front of him facing the reporters. The blond guy had been the one who had spoken, but the other glanced over his shoulder at Mike.
“Stay close and we’ll get you through,” he said.
Mike nodded.
It was easier with the two shifters pushing the reporters out of the way. They didn’t use force, just shouldered past. Once they’d walked a dozen feet or so it was easier.
They picked up speed until they were in the parking lot. A dark SUV was idling.
“That’s us,” Kiley said. “We just need to get Jody inside.”
Mike zeroed in on the vehicle. That was
his goal. As soon as Jody was inside and off to his house, Mike could get himself home. The two shifters broke away, and Mike rushed forward to pull open the back door. He helped Jody in before he slammed it shut. Kiley jumped in the passenger seat while Gray ran around to the other side of the SUV. As soon as Gray was inside, the vehicle was pulling away. Mike jumped back.
“My guy called and said that reporters are all around Jody’s place. I spoke to your Alpha and he has a house that we can move Jody to,” Austin said facing him.
“That’s a good idea,” Mike said.
“You might want to find a place to stay tonight also,” Austin advised.
“Fuck! My house too?”
“Yeah.” Austin shrugged. “We should have expected this but even I’m surprised by the amount of people that showed up. Do you have somewhere you can stay?”
Mike waved him off. “I’ll get a hotel or something.”
“Every place is sold out, from what we hear,” Austin told him.
Damn, he’d forgotten that.
“You can come with us,” Austin offered.
But Mike needed a break. He had work to do and needed peace and quiet. “I got a buddy I can stay with.”
“Is there anything you need from your place?” Austin asked.
“A suit?” Mike said with a laugh. “All I have is my gym bag at the office.”
“You might want to avoid that place too.”
Mike turned to see the two shifters who had helped earlier.
“I’m not avoiding my office,” Mike told them.
The blond nodded. “I understand.”
“Mike, let me introduce you to Clint Price”—he indicated to the blond—“and Kurt Moore. The shifters the Wolf Council sent to help,” Austin introduced.
“Thanks for your help.” Mike shook hands with Clint.
“No problem,” Clint said. “I think I stepped on a few toes but I kind of enjoyed it.”
Kurt laughed and slapped Clint’s back. “We don’t let him out much so he has to have his fun when he can.”
Mike laughed and it felt good. “Yeah, I get it,” he told Kurt as they shook hands.
“I’ll have a few days’ worth of clothing picked up from your house,” Austin said, drawing Mike’s attention again. “Why don’t you sort out your arrangements and call me with the address of where you’re staying?”
“I’d appreciate it. Do you need a ride?” Mike asked.
“I’m set,” Austin replied.
Mike waved at the three men then started for his own car. He clicked the unlock button and pulled open the door. After dropping his laptop bag onto the passenger seat, he took a look around. It didn’t appear the crowd was thinning, and Mike didn’t get why. There was nothing else to see.
Oh well, he had bigger problems. He climbed inside his vehicle and slammed the door shut. Blessed quiet.
He took a deep breath and laid his head back. He was exhausted but sleep was a long way away. First, he needed a place to crash.
Mike reached over to his bag and pulled out his cell phone. He’d had it on silent all day and now saw that he had fourteen missed calls and seven text messages. Wow, wasn’t he a popular guy.
Instead of listening to the messages, he pulled up his contact list, found Cooper’s name and hit dial.
“I just saw your ugly mug on TV,” Cooper said as a greeting.
“Oh, don’t be that way,” Mike joked back. “You know I’m pretty.”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” Cooper said with a laugh. “Since I just saw you live, I’m guessing you’re still close to the courthouse.”
“Sitting in the parking lot as a matter of fact,” Mike replied.
“Why? What’s wrong?” Cooper asked, growing serious.
“I hate to ask,” Mike said and he really did. “But apparently the reporters have my house staked out and I need a place to stay tonight.”
“Oh!” Cooper sounded relieved. “You don’t need to even ask. Come over any time.”
“Are you sure? I don’t want to intrude on you and Julie,” Mike said.
“Actually, we’re both on nights this week, so you’ll have the place to yourself,” Cooper told him.
Mike knew that Julie preferred working nights since that was when Cooper was usually on shift. As a detective for the narcotics unit for the Clear Creek Police Department, Cooper needed to be out on the streets late at night and early mornings.
“I can find somewhere else to stay,” Mike offered. “You don’t have to leave me alone in your house.”
“That doesn’t even make sense,” Cooper replied with a snort. “You can relax and get some quiet time. It’s not like I don’t trust you. We lived together for four years in college.”
“And Julie is okay with this?” Mike questioned.
Heavy sigh. “Yes but I’ll ask her if it’ll make you feel better. Hang on,” Cooper demanded.
Cooper must have put his hand over the phone since Mike couldn’t hear the conversation, just muffled voices.
“She said of course and if you wanted to invite anyone over there’s leftover lasagna in the fridge,” Cooper said once he came back on the line.
“Invite someone over?” he asked.
“A stunningly sexy reporter,” Cooper said. “Her words, not mine.”
Mike sucked in a sharp breath. How did Julie know about him and Shelby? Damn it, right when he’d felt Shelby was finally getting close to admitting her true feelings for him and now people were finding out. If Shelby panicked and ran, Mike was not going to be happy.
“They had lunch today, by the way,” Cooper told him.
“Who?” Had he missed something?
“Julie and Shelby,” Cooper answered.
So Shelby had told Julie. That was an interesting turn of events. “I’ll think about it,” he finally relented.
“You do that,” Cooper said.
“I have a few errands to run but I’ll be there shortly,” Mike told him.
“You know where the spare key is,” Cooper said. “Just let yourself in.”
“Thanks, man,” Mike said.
“No problem,” Cooper replied before he disconnected.
Mike shook his head before he dropped his phone back in his bag. He started the car and noticed that the crowd seemed to be getting smaller. He’d have to ask Cooper about some kind of crowd control. They’d gotten lucky with Clint and Kurt earlier but that didn’t mean their luck would last. Having some of the Clear Creek Police Department might deter any fights or a direct attack on Jody.
A feeling of unease pricked his awareness, and the hairs on the back of his neck stood up. It was a warning that he’d come to recognize as his wolf growing cautious.
Was someone watching him?
There was no one in his immediate area so he wasn’t sure why he had this sudden feeling.
He also couldn’t see Shelby, so he put the car in drive and backed up. He didn’t really think it would be wise to invite her over to Cooper’s, even if he’d suggested it.
The first stop he needed to make was at his Alpha’s house. He could call Jeremy but he’d feel better if he could sit down and talk to him. He was growing concerned about Jody. It couldn’t be easy for anyone to go through all the aggravation of a trial but Jody was such a kind man that this entire process was really hurting him.
He turned right off the main street toward the outskirts of town where the Pack territory was located. He kept his speed to the limit as he didn’t want to draw any undue attention to himself.
Mike pressed the button for the radio and classic rock began to fill the car. As he drove he reached up to loosen his tie. He’d remove it and his jacket when he got to the main house.
It was a lot quieter when he pulled up in front of Jeremy’s compared to the last time he’d been there. Mike parked in front of the steps and turned off the car. He grabbed his cell before he pushed open the door and climbed out. He first removed his jacket and tossed it onto the seat then slammed the door cl
osed.
As he started up the stairs, Jeremy stepped out.
“Evening, Mike,” Jeremy greeted with a smile. “I didn’t expect you to drive all the way out here.”
“I wanted to talk. It’ll be easier than trying to do this on the phone,” Mike said.
“Let’s go in the study and I’ll pour you a drink.” Jeremy motioned Mike into the house.
The dark wall panels that flowed through the hall went well with the wood floors. Mike had spent so much time in the house that he felt at home there. He could hear low talking and laughter farther away. Most likely in the kitchen. Mike glanced at his watch. It was close to dinnertime and he hoped he wasn’t interrupting anything.
The third door on the right was Jeremy’s study and was open. Mike strolled through and went directly to the large wingback chair in front of the patio window. He heard the door close and Jeremy’s soft footsteps as the Alpha walked close to him.
He peered out at the gorgeous garden that he used to run in when he was just a pup. Life used to be so much easier when he was a boy. Even in college, when he had still been trying to figure out his life and what he wanted. He and Cooper used to come out here when exams and stress got too much.
“Drink this.” Jeremy handed him a snifter of brandy.
“Thanks.” Mike accepted the glass. “I need this.”
“I bet,” Jeremy commented as he sat across from Mike with his own drink. “Hard day at the office?”
Mike barked out a laugh. “Damn defense attorney is a weasel. I can’t stand him but he’s the best money can buy.”
“You had to expect that,” Jeremy said.
“Yeah,” Mike agreed. “Still, it irked me how damn cocky he is.”
“Run into any problems?” Jeremy asked. His Alpha wouldn’t ask any direct questions that could put Mike or his profession in danger.
“Nothing I couldn’t take care of.” Mike took a sip then sighed. “I’m worried about Jody.”
Jeremy smiled. “I know. I wish he didn’t have to go through this but Jody deserves something for what he’s been through. And in the end, it will help that he fought back.”
“He’s worried about getting work,” Mike told him.
“I know, but it’s already being taken care of. A lot of our fellow shifters have already asked about getting in touch with Jody. He’ll end up with more work than he’ll know what to do with,” Jeremy shared.