Elizabeth parked in a different lot the next day at the courthouse. It wasn’t as convenient, but she couldn’t bring herself to park in the same one where the men had threatened her. Talon had tried to convince her that she should let him drop her off at the front door and come pick her up when she was finished for the day, but she needed to be independent. She’d lied just a bit by telling him she’d be working in her office most of the day.
Now looking over her shoulder every two minutes, she wished she’d taken him up on his offer. Shaking herself mentally, Elizabeth pushed her emotions to the side and focused her energy into being prepared for that day in court. By the time she greeted her client, she felt better prepared to face the day’s challenges.
Walking from the first case to hurry to her second, she took another glance when something caught her eye in a darkened doorway. Had that been a motorcycle vest? Talon wasn’t checking up on her, was he?
Elizabeth stepped into the next side passageway and called him. She listened carefully to see if anyone’s phone rang around her but didn’t hear anything.
“Is everything okay, Buttercup?”
“Where are you?”
“I’m at the compound, working on a repair. Do you need me?” he asked.
“You didn’t send any Guardians to spy on me, did you?”
“I don’t like that tone or your implication I would do anything behind your back, but I’ll answer your question. No. I didn’t send anyone to watch over you. Do you see one of the Shadowridge Guardians at your office?”
“I’m at the courthouse now.”
“Hmmm,” he hummed. “And you’re seeing one of our guys there?”
“Well, no. I thought I saw a leather motorcycle vest here in one of the side hallways, but I must be mistaken.”
“There aren’t any Shadowridge Guardians at the courthouse as far as I know. Did you recognize our logo?” he asked.
She loved that he didn’t discount what she was still sure she had seen. He just asked questions to gather information. “I didn’t see the back. I really didn’t see much. Something caught my eye and I jumped to the conclusion that you’d sent someone to watch over me.”
“I wouldn’t hide that if I had. I’d be right by your side. Let me check to see if any of our regular guys are missing from the shop and I’ll text you if I find out anyone was there for a personal reason. Do you want to me to come make sure everything is okay?”
“No, of course not. I must still be jumpy from last night,” she admitted.
“Not working in your office today?”
“I’ve been here all morning. Sorry. I didn’t want you to worry.”
“We’ll deal with your lie later. Right now, I want you to be safe. When you’re close to wrapping up for the day, send me a text. I’ll meet you at the front door and escort you to your car,” he instructed.
“You don’t have to do that,” she protested, hoping he wouldn’t allow her to change his mind.
“Text me if you value sitting any time in the near future,” Talon warned with steel in his voice.
She looked around to make sure she was alone before answering, “Yes, Daddy.”
“Good girl.”
He hung up to check if any members were at the courthouse today. Elizabeth knew he wouldn’t text back. She was either totally mistaken or one of the Devil’s Jesters was here. Controlling her body’s automatic reaction to move as the cold shiver ran down her back, Elizabeth straightened her back and walked toward her next courtroom.
Scanning the crowd subtly as she walked, Elizabeth nodded to acquaintances and the security staff. She didn’t see anyone who didn’t need to be there. Feeling the tension ebb from her shoulders, Elizabeth turned into the courtroom.
“There’s the bitch,” a familiar voice growled.
“Bailiff,” Elizabeth called as she came to an abrupt stop a short distance away from the group of five bikers.
“Oh, right. Call for the jailer before you even know why we’re here,” Vengeance announced.
“When you greet me with foul language after you chased me down last night, I don’t expect that you’re here to bring me flowers,” she said, forcefully keeping her tone even and flat.
“Flowers are not for ball-breaking bitches,” he growled.
“Ms. Sinclair, are these men bothering you?” the bailiff asked as he rushed forward.
“For some reason, these men felt the need to call me names and stop my progress into the courtroom,” Elizabeth said without emotion in her voice. She’d gone toe to toe with some people accused of horrible crimes. These guys weren’t going to rattle her—even if they had chased her home.
“You’ll have to leave,” the bailiff ordered, pointing toward the door.
“These are witnesses for the prosecution,” the opposing counsel said, rushing forward to join the conversation.
“All five of them?” Elizabeth asked with a raised eyebrow.
“Just me,” Vengeance stated before adding, “They’re my emotional support bikers.”
The laughter from the others did not make Elizabeth or the bailiff smile.
“The others will need to leave if they can’t sit down and shut up,” the bailiff announced. “The judge will not tolerate any form of intimidation.”
“I’d suggest you get your witness pool under control,” Elizabeth told the prosecuting attorney before turning and waiting for the bikers to shift out of her way. It took several seconds for them to move.
She settled her things on the table provided for the defense and opened her briefcase to pull out a pad of paper and some documents. As the bailiff walked by to retake his position at the judge’s door, Elizabeth told him, “I’d like to talk to the judge before we get started this morning.”
“I’ll pass along the message,” he told her. “Your client is on her way.”
“Thank you.”
In a few moments, a frazzled-looking woman in an orange jumpsuit was brought into the courtroom. Elizabeth smiled at her as she walked to the table. “Good morning, Edith. Are you ready to start getting your life back?”
“Do they have to be here?” the woman asked, glancing over her shoulder at the leather-vested men.
“This is an open proceeding. As long as they don’t create a disturbance, anyone can be here. I take it they’re here to intimidate you?”
“Oh, yeah. They all want to kill me.”
“Well, they’re not going to touch you,” Elizabeth said.
“Ms. Sinclair, the judge is ready to meet with you,” the bailiff said.
The prosecuting attorney stood immediately, and Elizabeth nodded. “You’re going to want to hear this.”
Walking out of the courthouse at the end of the day, Elizabeth couldn’t prevent the smile that curved her lips. Talon waited on the top step for her. His bike stood at the curb in a cluster of others from the Shadowridge Guardians.
“Hey, Elizabeth. We need to get you better friends,” he said, straightening at the sight of the Devil’s Jesters who followed her out the door. “Get behind me.”
“Oh, they’re not friends. For some reason, they want to shadow me. I think they’re considering going to jail and needing a defense attorney,” Elizabeth said with a look over her shoulder.
“Behind me, Elizabeth,” he repeated as he kept his eyes on the bikers.
Elizabeth followed his directions and noted the rest of the Shadowridge Guardians stalking forward.
“Looks like he has a trained bitch,” Vengeance joked.
“Seems to me there’s only one bitch here.” Talon’s eyes stared at the large man before them.
“Talon. It’s okay,” Elizabeth urged. She didn’t want to see a fight. Talon was densely muscled, but Vengeance towered over him by several inches and a bunch of padding.
“Go down to the bikes, Elizabeth,” Steele growled as he took a position just to the left of Talon. The others clustered loosely behind them.
“Oh, it looks like you’ve got some buddies. Too afraid to take me on yourself, huh?”
“I’m not afraid of a piece of shit,” Talon said with a dismissive tone.
It took Vengeance a full second to realize Talon was talking about him. The large man swung a fist at his target’s face with amazing speed. Talon, however, was quicker.
Talon dodged faster than she’d ever seen a man move. His response to the attack was almost a blur as his fist struck Vengeance in the center of his chest, knocking the air from his lungs. Instantly, Vengeance rocked forward with his mouth open, struggling to breathe. Talon drove his thigh into the jerk’s face, driving him back onto his heels.
His club members advanced but stopped as the Shadowridge Guardians stepped forward to back up Talon.
“You don’t want to start this war because we will finish it,” Steele told them bluntly. “No one harms those under our protection. Make no mistake that Elizabeth Sinclair is now one of us.”
“Going to let the big dog fight your battles, Talon?” Vengeance taunted despite being obviously short of breath.
“Take another swing at me and find out,” Talon suggested.
“Uh, Vengeance,” one the Devil’s Jesters said, holding onto his arm as the large man pulled it back.
When the aggressor turned his focus to his brother, the biker nodded at the security man at the entrance looking their way. “It’s time to leave.”
“We’ll see you later,” Vengeance swore as he allowed his club members to haul him away.
“Are you okay, Ms. Sinclair?” the security guard called as he walked toward the group.
“I’m fine. You may wish to alert the staff that the Devil’s Jesters should be monitored when they’re around the courthouse,” Elizabeth called, walking forward from her safe position by the bikes.
“Got it. Watch out for motorcycle gangs,” the uniformed man generalized.
“No. Not all guys in motorcycle clubs. The Devil’s Jesters. They’re easy to spot. They have a red jester head on their vests,” Elizabeth corrected him.
“These guys are okay?” he asked, looking at the group of powerful men around her.
“These guys saved me twice,” Elizabeth pointed out.
“Got it. Keep a look out for the Jesters, not all motorcycle guys in general.”
“Thank you, Stanley,” Elizabeth said as more guards ran from various directions to back up the security man.
“You’re welcome, Ms. Sinclair,” he said before turning to wave off the guys who immediately misread the Guardians’ intent. “These are the good guys. Come over here and I’ll share what we need to watch for.”
“Come on, Little girl. I’ll walk you to your car,” Talon said, wrapping his arm around Elizabeth’s waist.
“It’s over there in the overflow parking lot,” she said, pointing.
As they walked, Talon casually said, “You got here late and without anything on your calendar and had to park in overflow?”
“I’m in trouble, aren’t I?”
“Oh, yeah.”
They walked silently for several yards before she asked, “Is your hand okay?”
Talon looked at her in surprise. “Yes. Why?”
“You hit that guy.”
“That was a love tap. I’m fine.”
“I don’t want a love tap then,” she muttered.
“No, Buttercup. This spanking won’t be a tap.”
She shivered in reaction to his words and tried to pretend her body didn’t race to full-arousal alert. It was going to be a long drive home.