Justified Page 3

  I shook my head and tapped my toe impatiently once again. “Nothing too weird. And I don’t have a case I can think of that would lead to such a volatile reaction.” The only odd thing in my life recently was my mother calling me once a day to try and talk me out of leaving David.

  She’d never been particularly interested in anything I was doing with my life until I left my husband. As soon as I told her I was asking for a divorce, she turned into a helicopter parent and couldn’t be any more up in my business. She was driving me nuts. I wanted to believe she only cared about my well-being, but I knew there was more to it than that. The woman hadn’t even pretended to be sympathetic during the years of struggle while David and I tried and failed to conceive.

  I wasn’t sure if my soon-to-be-ex had enlisted her help, or if she was being super annoying of her own volition. Either way, I was over it. If my mother tried to convince me I was going to die alone one more time, I was going to lose it. Tonight, I’d finally told her enough was enough. I couldn’t listen to it anymore. She’d been irritated and hung up on me, but that was nothing new.

  My father passed away a few years ago, and my mother almost immediately remarried. Her new husband was another cold, emotionally distant man, much like my father had been. Only this one liked to play around in the stock market and had varying degrees of success. My mother didn’t hesitate to ask for money when he had a bad month, and I never hesitated to hand it over. I didn’t doubt she was concerned that, without David’s half of the income, her easy access to my cash would be much more limited.

  I saw her briefly on the occasional holiday—which was plenty for both of us. The only thing I’d ever gotten right in my life as far as either of my parents were concerned was marrying into the Barlow family. Both my parents loved David and his parents. Well, they loved their money and the clout their name carried in Loveless. Once I had David’s ring on my finger, I was finally living up to my potential, and I think they were shocked someone from old money was willing to take on the weird girl from the city who had a penchant for all-black clothing and an unending desire to fight for human rights. I was as far from a southern belle as any woman could get, but David loved me anyway. Which was why mother was berating me for letting such a good catch slip through my fingers. I would eat glass before telling her David wasn’t as great as she believed him to be.

  David was a nice guy, a decent lawyer, decent in bed, but he was predictable. Any given day I could map out exactly what our interactions were going to be like, the words we were going to say to each other. It had all become so comfortable and boring. I felt like I was suffocating on the expected.

  Except tonight was anything but predictable and expected. I never would’ve believed Case and I could spend this much time in an enclosed space without bloodshed or tears. It was the longest I’d been this close to him in years, and the longest stretch of time he had tolerated me. It was weird and oddly thrilling. It’d been far too long since anything in my life had taken me by surprise.

  Case turned around, so he was facing me, and I shook myself out of my thoughts. He cocked a dark eyebrow and laced his thumbs through a couple of belt loops on the front of his jeans. A muscle twitched in his tanned cheek, and his eyes flicked over me. Slowly, the usual irritation he showed when we clashed started to bleed into the blue of his gaze. I gave him credit for keeping his cool and being professional up until this point, but it seemed like he’d reached his limit of courtesy.

  “You have to give me something to go on, Counselor. I find it hard to believe there’s no one in this town you’ve pissed off enough to trash your new office. We both know you’re a pit bull in court and will do whatever it takes to get your clients whatever it is they are asking for…no matter how unreasonable the request may be.” His top lip curled up a tiny bit before he forcibly made his expression blank and unreadable once again. “You tend to piss people off without even trying. There has to be someone who’s threatened you, tried to intimidate you. I need a name, Aspen.”

  I flinched when he said my name. He didn’t use it often, and when he did, I was torn between being thrilled and annoyed at how he always made it sound like a dirty word.

  Losing what little hold I had left on my temper, I threw my hands up in the air and scowled at the big man in front of me. “The only person in this entire town who I absolutely know has a grudge against me, and who regularly tries to intimidate me, is you, Sheriff.” I waved a hand around the carnage that used to be my work space. “So, unless you want to start by investigating yourself, I don’t know what to tell you.” Frustration was evident in every word, but Case seemed totally unmoved by the outburst.

  He reached up and tipped the brim of his cowboy hat back with his index finger. He shot one more look around the room and lifted his broad shoulders and let them fall in a careless shrug. “I’ll send the tech team in to dust for prints, but I can’t guarantee we’ll get anything. I’ll see if the coffee shop across the street managed to get their cameras fixed yet. Maybe they recorded whoever broke in. You’re gonna have to take a few days off while we get things sorted.”

  I narrowed my eyes even further. “I have to have access to my case files. I have to be in court for the next few days.” I looked at the smeared paint. It was going to be a bitch to clean once it dried, and I silently wondered if that was part of Case’s plan. He would never pass up an opportunity to make my life more difficult than it already was.

  “You can take what you need. See if you can figure out if anything is missing while you’re at it. Get the locks changed when you get a chance and think really hard about who might be behind this. If you give me a name or two to chase down, it would be helpful.”

  He sounded totally disinterested in figuring out who had trashed my office, but at least he wasn’t brushing me off. If I had a name to give him, I would. I honestly couldn’t imagine anyone being this angry at me. I was going to have to look through my current cases and see if any one of the spouses on the opposing side stood out as a possible danger. I represented plenty of women, and the occasional man, trying to leave an abusive relationship, but mostly it was couples who simply grew tired of the work it required to keep a marriage together.

  I hurried under Case’s watchful eye, gathering what I’d need from the mess. I was careful to avoid the paint smeared everywhere, but the words painted across the window kept catching my attention. When I was younger, I’d gotten used to people labeling me. Weirdo, freak, odd, strange, off, different…they all were used more frequently than my actual name throughout high school. By everyone, aside from the man whose gaze I was currently avoiding. He always called me Aspen until that day on the stairs when he got the divorce papers. That was when things changed.

  But it was strange to see such strong language staring back at me now. Harsher words that weren’t even used to describe me in high school. The words were meant to wound and send a message, but they were so off base it was ridiculous.

  I dated here and there through college, where the boys were more open-minded and accepting. Then I’d met David at a fund-raiser within months of coming back to Loveless. We were both in the field of law, both back in a small town after attending college in a big city, both looking for something serious and finding it within each other. He was the only person I was with for over a decade. Not that I would find those words appropriate in any occasion, even if my bedroom door was open to all comers.

  Shaking my head at my wandering thoughts, I clutched the files to my chest as I followed Case out of the building. He was on his phone, ordering someone to come over and snap pictures and dust for fingerprints. I felt pretty dismissed, so I turned on the heel of my very expensive boot and started to walk to where my Audi was parked in front of the building. Everything in my arms nearly went flying all over Main Street when Case’s heavy hand fell on my shoulder, stopping me in my tracks with a jolt.

  “Hold on a second.” He barked a few more orders into his phone and pushed the brim of his hat back even more
. His dark eyebrows were pulled into a V, and the tick in his cheek seemed to be fluttering even faster than it had been when we were in my office. “Since you have no clue who could be behind this, I’m advising you to keep your eyes open and put an ear to the ground. I’d bet good money the vandalism is related to one of your cases. Someone is trying to send you a message. You should take extra precautions over the next few days, and if anything seems out of sorts, you need to give my office a call.”

  I stiffened more because of his bossy tone and glare than anything he was saying. “I’ve been in this business a long time, Sheriff. I know how to watch my back. Thank you for hurrying out here and taking my complaint seriously.”

  It was his turn to roll his coolly expressive eyes. Obviously, he knew I doubted him taking my situation seriously, considering our history. However, Case proved he was a good cop, regardless of the foul, corrupt reputation his father had left behind and any doubts I may have had.

  “I’m good at my job as well, Counselor.” I couldn’t miss the biting sarcasm laced throughout his tone.

  I was about to walk away once more when a familiar luxury car pulled up next to mine. I barely bit back a groan as my soon-to-be ex-husband climbed out of his Lexus. David was still dressed in a suit—minus a tie—and his usually meticulously styled hair looked messy and was sticking out at odd angles. He gave Case a brief nod before his entire attention focused on me. His eyes were serious behind his expensive glasses, and I felt like he was about to interrogate me the way he did when he was examining a witness on the stand.

  “What’s going on? Why is the sheriff here? Why are you at your office so late?” The questions were fired one after another, and I wanted to throw myself in front of the window with the bloodred words painted on it. There was no hiding that particular act of vandalism, and I knew the graphic display was going to send David into an emotional tailspin. He’d always been protective, or overbearing, to be more accurate. After the night I’d had, I was in no mood to deal with the impending demands to move back home so he could take care of me. To make matters worse, I could feel Case watching my interaction with my estranged husband with harsh, judgmental eyes.

  “There was a break-in. No big deal, it happens. My office is in a prime location. The sheriff took a look around and is handling things. Nothing for you to worry about.” I plastered a smile on my face and reached out to pat David on the arm. He was incredibly tense, so much so I could feel him vibrating under the fabric when I touched him. “What are you doing out this late?” He was usually in bed by now if he wasn’t out of town on business or entertaining a client. I could set my watch by his habits.

  David raked his fingers through his hair and narrowed his eyes at me behind the lenses of his glasses. “I had a late meeting with Father and Uncle Keith at the country club. We were discussing hiring a new attorney to fill your spot.”

  He threw the words out pointedly. I think he expected them to wound, but all they did was send relief shooting through me. If they hired a new attorney, maybe he could finally realize it was time to move on. He really was a decent guy and deserved the kind of forever he thought he was getting when he proposed to me.

  “I saw your car and the sheriff’s SUV on my way home. I was worried. You know what I think about you living all the way across town on your own.”

  He hated it, but he didn’t have any say in the matter. Luckily, I was saved from making a snarky reply by Case clearing his throat and muttering, “I’ll be in touch sometime tomorrow after the tech team is done in your office. Think about what I said, Aspen.” He inclined his dark head toward the window David had yet to notice. I glared at him as he dryly told David, “Be a gentleman and find some plywood to cover that window up for her. We don’t need that kind of profanity right in the middle of Main Street.”

  He tipped his hat down over his eyes before he sauntered away, and I swore I could hear him chuckle under his breath. The asshole knew exactly what he was doing by pointing out the vulgar words to my soon-to-be ex. I heard David gasp and braced myself for the one million questions that I knew were going to come next. I was already tired and stressed-out, I didn’t need a showdown with David on top of everything else.

  Damn that Case Lawton.

  Chapter 2

  Case

  I couldn’t hide my smirk as I walked away from Aspen Barlow and her overbearing husband. I had vague recollections of David Barlow from back in the day. He was a couple of years older than I was, and we definitely didn’t run in the same social circles, then or now, but I knew the man was entitled, pompous, and domineering. Unlike Aspen, David and the rest of the Barlows focused on criminal law, so our paths crossed in court rather frequently. I wasn’t a fan of anyone who made their living off of freeing criminals from the consequences of their actions, but I would rather see anyone other than the dark-haired woman who torpedoed my life with almost no effort.

  Aspen had made it crystal clear she didn’t want her ex sticking his nose in her business, so obviously, I had to do my best to drag him right into the center of it. Few things made me happier than making the petite lawyer miserable. She was really good at keeping her distance, so the opportunity to ruin her day didn’t come around as often as I wanted. I was petty and resentful enough to make the most of any opening she gave me. Satisfied that she was beyond frustrated at having to deal with her ex, I cast another look at the defaced window on the way to my city-issued SUV. I frowned at the words and wondered again how no one had noticed anything amiss.

  It wasn’t like Loveless was immune to crime. We had had our fair share of troublemakers, many of whom had thrived under my dad’s tenure as sheriff. But most of the regular offenders tended to stay out of downtown. They kept their crimes out in the hill country, where it was much harder to track them. Someone vandalizing a huge window right in the center of town wasn’t something I’d run across before. Sure, there was an occasional teenager who spray-painted the side of a building to try and gain street cred, but it was nothing like this. This level of destruction seemed brazen and bold. It also indicated a level of anger that was dangerous and possibly lethal. Trashing such an obvious target, and such a well-known figure in the community, felt as if the perpetrator had nothing to lose and cared very little about getting caught.

  It also surprised me that someone else appeared to dislike the pretty, sharp-tonged attorney as much as I did.

  Over the years it had become common knowledge that I held a grudge where Aspen Barlow was concerned. My divorce was already an ugly, heated mess, but when Aspen entered the fray, things got a hundred times worse. The weird goth girl from Chicago who never really fit in with small-town Texas life was a brilliant attorney. She was spectacular in court, charismatic and charming. She ran circles around my good ole boy lawyer. She was more fully prepared, better organized, passionately compelling, and far more interested in the outcome than my old football buddy ever was. It was clear from the first moments in front of the judge that I had sorely misjudged the quiet, serious girl from high school. It still burned deep in my bones the way my shortsightedness, combined with Aspen’s fierce dedication, had led to me losing the only thing in the whole world I really cared about.

  My son, Hayes.

  Thinking about Hayes was the one thing guaranteed to pull my mind away from work. I looked at the time on the radio inside the vehicle and sighed. I was supposed to be home in time for dinner, but Aspen’s call had come through dispatch on my way out the door. I was man enough to admit I wanted to see the crime scene as much as I wanted to see her rattled. It was rare for Aspen Barlow’s feathers to be ruffled, and I wasn’t going to pass up an opportunity to bask in her finally not having the upper hand. Only, the damage to her office had been far more severe than she had made it seem on the phone, and her face was paler than usual. Her hands were shaking, and she refused to look me in the eye when she guided me into her destroyed office. Instead of gloating, I was worried…which pissed me off.

  I didn’t want t
o worry about Aspen Barlow.

  But she was a member of my community, a citizen of the town I was sworn to protect, and I refused to pick and choose who was worthy of my protection and service the way Conrad Lawton had.

  Flicking a finger over the screen of my cell I called my son. It blew my mind Hayes was more of a man these days than a teenager. He was almost as tall as me but had my younger brother’s long, lanky build. Hayes had the usual Lawton black hair–blue eyes combo that both my brother and I had. He was already a ladies’ man and had a flair on the football field just like his old man. Fortunately, he was also much smarter and more careful with his heart than I’d been back in those days. He was the single thing I’d gotten right in this world, and I couldn’t love him more if I tried.

  When his surprisingly deep voice answered my call, I couldn’t hold back the smile that tugged at my face. Hayes was going to turn eighteen soon, and then he was headed off to college. He was at the start of creating a life of his own, so it always thrilled me when he made time for his old man. We grew very close when he got older and Becca could no longer pull the strings tied to our relationship. And I worked hard every day to make sure he and I stayed that way. I never wanted him to see me the way I saw my own father.

  “Hey. Sorry I didn’t call. I got caught up on a last-minute case. I should be home within the hour. I hope you ate without me.” I rubbed a hand over my face and stared out into the darkness through the windshield. “Did you get your homework done?”

  A low chuckle hit my ear, and it warmed me all the way down to my toes. He was such a good kid. I was lucky I got the chance to be his dad.

  “Yeah, Dad. It’s all done. I put your dinner in the oven so you can eat when you get home. Were you dealing with the vandalism of Mrs. Barlow’s office on Main Street? Mrs. Clooney said she overheard some people talking about it at bingo tonight.” There was a soft fondness for our eighty-year-old neighbor in his tone. The older woman had helped me out with Hayes regularly since he came to live with me full-time when he was fourteen years old. I wouldn’t be surprised if he’d taken his homework over to her house and worked on it while keeping her company before taking her to the church for bingo like he did every week.