She tugs out of my grasp with a snort. “Are you afraid Councilor Hildebrand will pin a scarlet A to my chest and make me stand on a scaffold in the courtyard? Shit, you know what? I wouldn’t be surprised.” She pops the pill out of its packaging and sets it on her tongue, then drinks a swallow of coffee. She opens her mouth to show me she swallowed it. “Satisfied?”
“This is for your own good, Mercedes.”
“Because you’ll never marry me.”
“I’ll never marry anyone.”
“Can you go? I need some privacy.”
I brush her cheek, but she pulls away from me. “I care about you. You know that, right?”
“I do, Judge.” She turns to me. “You just don’t care enough.”
That cuts deep, but it’s no less than I deserve. I open my mouth to speak, but the phone in my pocket dings with a message. I reach for it but catch myself because it’s her phone. Mine is silenced. Mercedes rolls her eyes and turns away from me.
“You’d better get that. I’m sure it’s important. Close the door on your way out.”
“Mercedes—”
A second message makes it chime again. I walk out of her bedroom to dig the phone out and read the new texts.
Cunt, you see how easy it was to get close to you? That was a trial run. The big event will be much more… hands-on.
By the way, that girlfriend of yours is pretty smokin’. She should know better than to leave her windows unlocked. People are too trusting these days.
“Fuck!” I text Raul to bring the car around and dial Ezra as I climb in. “The apothecary,” I tell Raul as Ezra answers.
“Judge? What is it?”
“Is security still in place for Solana and Georgie?”
“Yes, they’ve each got a man watching.”
“And where are they? Where’s Solana right now?”
“Just a minute,” he says, and I hear him have another quick conversation before coming back on the line. “They’re both at her shop.” I’m guessing Solana and Georgie have figured out that I have soldiers watching them, but I’m not sure they realize why. As far as they know, what happened to Mercedes was an accident. I don’t want to alarm anyone, but I’m also not taking any chances.
“You’re sure?”
“I just confirmed. Why?”
“I want more men on them. And I need someone at Solana’s house. I just received a text from our friend. He made a comment about her I don’t like. We need to search the house. Make sure no one’s been in there and make certain it’s secure. We may need to change the locks.”
“Have you discussed this with her?” Ezra asks cautiously.
“No, of course not.”
“Do you think you should?”
I sigh. Christ. “Just get some men there and have a look around. I’ll let her know about the locks.”
“That’s a good idea, Judge.”
When we pull up to the apothecary, Georgie is just getting ready to leave. But when he sees me climbing out of the Rolls, he stops.
“What are you doing here?” he asks after peering into the car and seeing I’m alone.
Looking around, I note the man sitting in his sedan with its tinted windows across the street. When I turn back to Georgie, his eyebrows are raised.
“They’re about as subtle as a UFO,” he says.
After I glance up and down the street once more, I gesture to go in. “I need to talk to you two.”
His expression grows serious, and we enter the shop where Solana is finishing up with a customer. She falters when she sees me, then smiles at the woman and locks the door behind her once she’s gone.
“Is Mercedes okay?” she asks.
“Mercedes is fine.” I see her as Douglas would for a moment. She’s petite and would be easy to overpower. Georgie very clearly works out. And he has a toughness to him. He isn’t a stranger to the streets. “Can we sit down?”
“Sure. Do you want coffee or something?”
I shake my head. “Mercedes doesn’t know I’m here. I’d like to keep it that way.” We sit at the same table as last time, and I remember that day. The terrible moments of powerlessness as her throat closed up.
“Judge? What the fuck is going on?” Georgie asks.
“The man who delivered those beignets, he thinks he knows Mercedes.”
“What?” Solana asks.
“It was on purpose?” Georgie asks. “Someone hurt her on purpose?”
“You can’t talk to her about this, do you understand? I don’t want her scared.”
“She has a right to know if she’s in danger.”
“She knows enough, and she’s safe at the house. Outside of it, I won’t let her out of my sight. But I’m here because of you.” I look at Solana.