Again I picked my way through the crowd, and again I knelt down on the blanket; but this time I was kneeling next to Jess, and she was adorably ruffled, unable to hide her anger.
“I dare you to come with me and go skinny dipping in Bandit Lake for the next hour.”
Her brown eyes widened, rimmed with shock, and the crowd erupted in opinions. I heard someone say, I should have thought of that one, that’s a good one.
“Well?” I pushed, suppressing my enthusiasm under an expression of boredom. “What’s it going to be?”
Finally she sputtered, “An hour? That lake is near freezing; we’ll get hypothermia.”
“Okay, thirty minutes then.”
“Thirty minutes?”
“Fifteen. Final offer. Or else you have to choose truth.”
A wrinkle formed above her nose, and her eyes bounced between mine. Then, abruptly, she lifted her chin and said, “Fine. I accept.”
She stood, unzipped her jacket, tossed it to Cletus, then jogged out of the circle of the bonfire’s light. I was too surprised to move at first, but then Beau punched me in the shoulder.
“What are you waiting for, dumbass? Go get her!”
I stared at my brother for a beat and saw what I’d been blind to earlier. Beau wasn’t interested in Jessica, not because she wasn't beautiful or amazing. She was. She was gorgeous. She was breathtaking. She was too good for either of us.
Beau wasn't interested in Jess, because he knew how I felt. Of course he did. We were twins. He must’ve always known.
We exchanged a brotherly grin, and he punched me again. “Go on, get.”
I nodded once then stood, toeing my boots off and pulling both my sweater and shirt over my head. I left everything but my pants in a pile on the blanket then sprinted into the woods after Jessica James.
I was always running after her, but this time I wasn't going to let her get away.
END
About the Author
This is the fifth full-length novel published by Penny Reid. Her days are spent writing federal grant proposals for biomedical research; her evenings are either spent playing dress-up or mad-scientist with her two people-children (boy-7, girl-4) or knitting with her knitting group at the local coffee shop. Please feel free to drop her a line. She'd be happy to hijack your thoughts!
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Other books by Penny Reid
Knitting in the City Series
Neanderthal Seeks Human: A Smart Romance (#1)
Neanderthal Marries Human: A Smarter Romance (#1.5)
Friends without Benefits: An Unrequited Romance (#2)
Love Hacked: A Reluctant Romance (#3)
Beauty and the Mustache: A Philosophical Romance (#4)
Happily Ever Ninja: A Married Romance (#5 coming Fall 2015)
Book #6 - TBD
Book #7 - TBD
The Hypothesis Series
The Elements of Chemistry
(#1, coming Spring 2015; continuation of Bunsen Burner Bingo)
The Winston Brother’s Series
Double Dare (#1, coming Summer 2015)
Nightmare in Night Court by N.M. Silber
When lusty lawyers meet creepy criminals
Copyright © 2014/N.M. Silber
Proofed by Proofing Style, Inc./Marla Esposito
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. This book contains material protected under International and Federal Copyright Laws and Treaties. Any unauthorized reprint or use of this material is prohibited. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without express written permission from the author / publisher.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Dedication
I dedicate this story to Shaggy, Scooby, Freddie, Daphne, and especially Velma, because it’s hard to be the brainy chick (even though that orange turtleneck was just awful). Thanks for the memories. I forgive you for the Scrappy years.
NOTICE: This is an adult contemporary romance novel and contains EXPLICIT descriptions of sexual acts and mature language. It is intended for readers over the age of eighteen.
Chapter One
“So, how’s it going, honey?” my best friend, Jess, asked as soon as I answered my cell phone. I watched as a sheriff escorted a six-foot-five leprechaun away in handcuffs.
“How’s it going? I’m in Night Court in Philly. That’s a nightmare under the best of circumstances. Throw in the fact that it’s Halloween and there’s a full moon tonight, and you have the makings of a bad horror movie. Part sixteen.”
“At least your hottie hubby is there with you, and you two only have one case.”
“Correction, we only had one case. Judge Epstein appointed us to several other cases, because the place is hopping, and she didn’t want us to feel left out. By the way, that one case we were here for, do you remember the charge?”
“Disorderly Conduct? What about him?”
“He admitted to being in the U.S. without a visa.”
“Oh no, an illegal alien …”
“He’s originally from the planet Nebulon Six.”
“Is that anywhere near Tijuana?”
“One galaxy over.”
“What are the other cases like?”
“Would you rather hear about the guy whose file says he died in 1905, or the guy who I think might be a vampire?”
“They’re two different people? Is anyone on your caseload human?”
“Mr. Harris, the shoplifter is back. This time they caught him with three bags of candy corn, a gallon of spiced cider and about 500 miniature Snickers bars in his pants.”
“Well, it is Halloween, honey.” She sighed. “I suppose this means you and Braden won’t be joining the party anytime soon. I’ll send someone else out for ice.”
“Probably a good idea.” I looked up at that moment and saw my tall blonde husband stalking across the courtroom to question a witness, and it made me shiver in a good way. “You know, I have to admit, that even though this is like punishment for doing something bad in a former life, seeing Braden being commanding in a courtroom again, makes it much more bearable.”
“Uh oh, there will be no sexy deliberations in the jury room for old time’s sake. The quicker you get out of there, the quicker you can find a more private place to examine his briefs. Besides, nobody wants to make an ice run.”
“I’m overwhelmed by your sympathy.”
“Have fun! Say ‘hi’ to Mr. Harris for me, and thank him for helping me to stick to my diet.”
“Later.” I clicked my phone off and took a deep breath, steeling my nerves. Before my husband and I had founded our own legal non-profit, I'd been a public defender here in the City of Brotherly Love, so this wasn’t my first time at the rodeo. Nevertheless, tonight was already shaping up to be a whole new level of crazy.
“Mrs. Pierce,” Judge Debra Epstein, originally of Bayonne, New Jersey, shouted across the courtroom, “what’s going awn with Mowrk from Owrk?” She was such a delicate snowflake.
“Mr. Smith went to get a drink of water. He isn’t feeling well, Your Honor,” I explained.
“Well, go get him and tell him it’s time to take him to your leader, counselor!”
“Yes, Your Honor,” I replied as m
y husband caught my eye and gave me an amused, but sympathetic, look. Even amused sympathy looked sexy on Braden. I headed for the hall, but before I exited the courtroom, Mr. Smith, my interstellar client, returned.
“I need to get out of here,” he said with a desperate look.
“We all do, Mr. Smith.”
“No! You don’t understand! This atmosphere is toxic.”
“I do understand. I had to work this courtroom for a whole month once.”
“Counselor!” Judge Epstein bellowed, in case I'd forgotten.
“Coming Your Honor!” I bellowed back. I was from New York. I could bellow. “We are not helping your case by keeping her waiting. Let’s go.” I turned and headed to the bench with E.T. right behind me.
“Mr. Brenner, what are the charges?” Judge Epstein glared at the handsome dark-haired, young prosecutor standing next to me. She was an equal opportunity Gorgon.
“Disorderly Conduct, Your Honor. However, since the defendant confessed to being in this country illegally, we were obligated to inform the INS. We’re still waiting for an agent to arrive.” He sighed and shifted his weight to the other foot. Poor Mr. Brenner. He had obviously pissed off somebody in his office. Assigning a young guy, barely out of law school, to Night Court on Halloween had to be a malicious act.
“Ha! You’re waiting for a federal employee to show up in Night Court on Halloween! That’s rich. I hope you brought a snack. Call the next case!”
“Judge!” Mr. Smith broke in. “The gravity …”
“I’m glad you realize this is serious. Now go sit down and contemplate.” She banged her gavel and gave him a gaze that would have withered a lesser alien.
“You don’t understand,” he tried again undaunted, clearly unfamiliar with Judge Epstein’s species. “The level of gravity where I come from is significantly lower. If I don’t get out of here, I may implode.”
“Yeah, you and me both, honey. Mr. Brenner, I don’t have all night! Move it along!” She banged her gavel again for good measure, narrowly missing the fingers of her clerk who was placing a file in front of her. I noticed that he had a nervous twitch, and I wondered whether or not that would be covered under Workmen’s Compensation.
“I’m warning you,” Mr. Smith said, giving me an earnest look, “if I don’t get back to the Mother Ship soon, it will be very ugly.”
“Look, Mr. Smith. I’m doing the best I can here, but the federal government is not noted for the speed of its response even during normal business hours. I wouldn’t exactly expect them to race down here at,” I glanced at my watch, “eleven-thirty PM on Halloween night because some guy from Nebulon Six doesn’t have the proper visa.”
“I’m not trying to be difficult, Mrs. Pierce. I’m merely letting you know that there could be green innards all over the floor in here if I don’t get out of this gravity.”
“It won’t be the first time, I’m sure, Mr. Smith. Now, go have a seat and I’ll let you know as soon as immigration gets here.”
I turned and headed for the defense table to get the file for my next case. Braden was there shuffling through some papers. Even after a year of married life, the sight of him still made my pulse race. He was big and blonde, like a Norse God, and he could do things to my body that sent me to another planet. Braden took sexy to illegal heights.
Back in the day, the two of us had been known to engage in some very interesting negotiations in various locations here at the criminal courts building. Ironically, though, now that we worked together, we hardly ever appeared in court at the same time. I had almost forgotten how seeing him so cool, confident and in control could melt my panties and make me want to be a bad girl.
He looked up and I saw his eyes darken. He gave me his hot Braden sex look, and I was tempted to throw myself down on the defense table in front of him and plead for mercy. The fact that we could turn each other on with just a look, while standing in the middle of Philly Night Court, was a testament to the volcanic level of sexual chemistry we had.
“Hey, Mr. Pierce,” I said in what I fancied to be my sultry voice.
“Mrs. Pierce, have you come to make a motion?” He gave me a cocky smile.
“I don’t know that we would have a chance to fully reach a resolution. The pace here is pretty frantic.” One thing I didn’t need was the pressure of trying to reach the Promised Land before Judge Epstein started bellowing somewhere nearby.
“She has to take a recess eventually. Nobody can sustain that much wrath for too long without a break. I’ve already spoken to my two clients, so I’m free and ready to engage in some private negotiations anytime you are.”
“I’ve spoken to both of mine too. If she calls a recess of at least half an hour, you’re on. In the meanwhile, while we have a moment, let’s compare notes.”
“Okay, for round one, I have this Mr. Marley, charged with trespass and prowling at night,” he said picking up a file and furrowing his brows. “He’s odd.”
“No, really? Imagine that,” I commented, dryly.
“I mean odd even for Philly criminal court,” he clarified.
“How so?” I leaned against the table and looked up at my handsome husband. There were still moments that I couldn’t believe that a clumsy, socially awkward woman like me, had charmed a gorgeous, sexy, guy like him. Braden loved me, though, quirks and all. In fact, I suspected that he loved me because of them.
“It’s weird, I can’t put my finger on it exactly, something about the way he talks, and the way he’s dressed.”
“He’s wearing a suit,” I noted, looking up at the gallery, where people sat waiting for cases to be heard. Mr. Marley was staring at a wall as if he were watching it do something. Okay, I could see Braden’s point.
“Yeah, but it’s the cut of it …”
“The cut of it? What are you, his tailor?”
“I don’t know.” He shrugged, looking sheepish. “It’s probably my imagination.”
“Oh wait, he’s the guy whose file said that he died in 1905. So, there you go. He’s odd because he’s been dead for over a century.”
“Yeah, right.” Braden rolled his eyes. “They still haven’t gotten that straightened out by the way. His case is all messed up. It’s listed on the docket for October 31st, but the year of his trial is also listed as 1905. There must have been some glitch in Records.”
“Either that or he’s a ghost.”
“Well then, I should introduce him to them.” Braden gestured at a team of guys in black t-shirts and ball caps who were laying wire and setting up some kind of equipment.
“Who are they? They don’t look like the Maintenance Department. For one thing, they’re not sitting in the lobby eating doughnuts.”
“Don’t you recognize the Spirit Hunters Team from television? They’re here to try to capture paranormal activity.”
“Well, they’re in the right place. Nothing here is normal.”
“How’s your close encounter of the annoying kind going?”
“Mr. Smith has an urgent need to return to the Mother Ship as soon as possible. He has warned me that Earth’s gravitational pull might result in him imploding into a puddle of green slime.”
“That would suck.”
“Yeah, especially since nothing involving Night Court is urgent to the Feds. It’s going to be a green bloodbath.” I nodded. “How about your other case?”
“Delores Crowley? She’s a strange woman who does creepy things.”
“Have small children mysteriously gone missing in her yard?”
“Nah, she’s charged with Disorderly Conduct, and Terroristic Threats.” He glanced at the file he was holding. “Oh, and, uh, littering.”
“Glad they tacked that on there. God forbid, a disorderly litterbug walk free. What’s her story?”
“She’s an exorcist.”
“Who did she threaten, Satan? And more importantly, will he be testifying?” You needed to have a sense of humor in this business. And alcohol. It was also important to hav
e alcohol.
“Testifying for the Commonwealth will be Mr. Evan Drake. You’re going to love Ev. Trust me. He’s such a winner.” Braden smiled.
“Even better. Speaking of people who you would never want to bring home to meet mom, my other client is Mr. Bates. There’s something really creepy about him.”
“How so?’
“He has a weird way of staring at you, and he’s so pale and still.”
“What’s he charged with?”
“Abuse of a corpse. He’s an undertaker’s assistant.”
“That last one might be the biggest reason he’s creepy. Just sayin’. ”
“Yeah. I should introduce him to Mr. Marley. He likes dead people.”
Just then Judge Epstein summoned Braden, so I decided that I would chat with the Crypt Keeper some more. He was sitting in the only shadow in the entire courtroom. It figured. I grabbed his file and headed in his direction.
He was a tall, thin, pale guy with beady eyes and a hawk-like nose. He looked like the love child of Monty Burns from The Simpsons, and Riff Raff from The Rocky Horror Picture Show. What a cutie.
“Mrs. Pierce.” He had the bubbly voice of a spokesmodel. Okay, not really, he sounded like he looked, which was like the Grim Reaper.
“Mr. Bates, we’re just waiting for your case to be called. The docket is very full this evening,” I explained in case that fact had eluded him.
“It’s the full moon,” he replied, eyes widening. A wolf cry echoed from somewhere in the distance, or it might have been Judge Epstein.
“You know, I think that’s true,” I agreed. “It seems like the full moon really does bring out all the crazies. Oh! Uh, no offense.”
“None taken.”
“So let’s go over the facts of the case once again. This was just a mistake …” I had never heard that one before.
“I had moved the object in question …”
“That would be Mr. Peterman?” I interrupted.
“It would be the mortal remains of Mr. Peterman. It’s kind of a funny story.”