Fatal Judgment Read Online Free Page A

irritating twinge of tenderness tugged at his heart.
    “They must be rationing heat.” She gave an apologetic shrug.
    He reached for her coffee. “Maybe this will help.”
    “I already tried that. It’s as cold as I am. I should have brought my jacket with me when I left the house, but I . . . I wasn’t thinking straight.”
    Jacket.
    He had a jacket.
    Shrugging out of it, Jake draped it around her shoulders and spoke before she could voice the protest he sensed was coming. “Don’t bother objecting, Liz. I’m not cold.”
    She closed her mouth. Snuggled into the warmth. Let out a sigh. “Okay, I won’t. This feels too good.”
    Her gaze flicked to the exposed pistol in the holster on his belt. She moistened her lips and eased back into her chair. Looking desperately in need of comforting.
    He shoved his hands in his pockets and balled them into fists. “Look . . . is there someone I can call who could come and stay with you?”
    “No. The police already asked. I’ve only been in town four months. Not long enough to make a lot of friends. Besides, I wouldn’t want to drag anyone else into a mess like this.”
    His BlackBerry began to vibrate, and he pulled it off his belt. “Taylor.”
    “It’s Spence. The room’s secure.”
    Jake listened as his colleague recited the directions. “Okay. We’ll be there in five minutes.”
    “I also gave the recovery room and neuro-intensive care unit my cell number, in case anyone needs to reach the judge.”
    “Good.”
    Slipping the phone back on his belt, he focused on Liz. “We have a room nearby where you can rest.”
    “In the hospital?”
    “Yes.”
    Taking a deep breath, she stood. The effort seemed to sap her energy, and she grabbed the back of the chair to steady herself as she slung her purse over her shoulder.
    Jake opened the door, alerted the two officers that they were preparing to leave, then turned to Liz.
    “Okay. We’re set. Let’s do this quickly. You ready?”
    “Yes.”
    Exiting first, Jake scanned the corridor. Typical ER activity. Nothing to raise a red flag. He took her arm and led her down the hall at a brisk pace, one officer in front, the other in back.
    Spence was waiting outside the designated room, and he opened the door as they drew close. Jake ushered her inside.
    One quick, sweeping glance told him it was a standard hospital room. Bare bones and impersonal, imbued with a faint antiseptic smell. But it had a bed and a bathroom, and they could keep it secure. It would do.
    “If you need anything, we’ll be outside the door. Leave the blinds closed. The ICU and recovery room have my colleague’s cell number, and they know where we are.”
    “Okay.” She regarded the bed and gripped her arms across her chest. “I hate hospitals.”
    Join the club.
    He tried to blank out the image of Jen’s still form lying on a gurney, the eyes of the woman he loved shuttered forever. All because he . . .
    “I doubt I’ll be able to sleep.”
    Liz’s comment gave him a welcome excuse to switch gears. “You can rest, if nothing else.”
    “Easier said than done.”
    He didn’t respond to her soft comment.
    She didn’t seem to expect him to as she dropped her purse onto the nightstand, slipped off his jacket, then handed it back. “I won’t need this now. There are blankets on the bed. Thank you for the loan.”
    He watched as she pulled back the covers, sat, and scooted back onto the raised mattress until her legs were dangling. Looking once again like a vulnerable, lost, innocent little girl.
    Jake quashed that thought at once.
    Liz Michaels wasn’t a little girl. She was a federal judge. A brilliant attorney. A strong woman who went after what she wanted with singular determination. She was not vulnerable. She was not lost. And she most certainly was not innocent.
    With an abrupt move, he hooked the collar of his jacket on one finger and slung it over his shoulder. “We’ll let you know if we hear anything. Good