Chapter 4

I'd never been in the office when nobody else was around, and I quickly discovered that I wasn't a fan of being alone in the dark, empty space. When I flicked on the lights, some of my nerves settled but not all. The sooner I made those copies, the sooner I could leave. So I hurried over to my desk to drop my purse on the corner and pulled my chair out, swiveling it around toward me. As I dropped onto the seat, I glanced up. I had a direct view of the judge's office from my little spot in the corner.

I had been too irritated by the fact that I'd had to go all the way across town to the courthouse to notice that his door was open until I was staring right at it. Judge Timkins was a stickler about staff not invading his privacy, and he kept his door closed most of the time when he was working. One of the first rules I was given when I'd been assigned to his team was to use the ridiculous knocker to announce my presence and wait for the judge to give me permission to enter.

I couldn't recall a single time when he didn't lock that door before he left. "That's weird."

Padding across the room, I paused at the doorway. I was in a lose-lose situation and wasn't sure what the best course of action was.

If the judge found out that I went into his office when he wasn't there, I could lose my internship. But if he learned that the door was open and I didn't check to make sure everything was okay, then I could lose my internship. Either way, my future was at risk, so I figured I might as well assuage my curiosity.

After taking a few steps into the judge's office, I paused to scan the room. With only the moonlight coming through the windows, I couldn't see much, but nothing seemed out of place. I didn't hear anything, either. But I couldn't shake off the eerie feeling that I wasn't alone.

Huffing out a breath that ruffled my bangs, I muttered, "I really should've ignored Miss Stuchy's call. If I hadn't answered right away, she probably would've just moved on to the next person, and then I'd still be cuddled on the couch with Snowball."

I heard the slightest sound near the desk, and my head jerked in that direction. Squinting my eyes, I finally realized the large shadow I was staring at was actually the body of a man. At the realization that I wasn"t alone, I pressed my trembling fingers against my lips.

The guy shouldn't have been able to hide so easily with how big he was. And he definitely shouldn't have been able to move so quickly, either. But before I had the chance to react, he was across the room, wrapping a hand around my biceps and placing the other over my mouth.

Now that he was close enough, I could see what he looked like. And oh my goodness, was he hot. With his thick, dark hair, short-trimmed beard and mustache, dark eyes, and big, muscular body covered in dark leather clothing, he was like a sexy spy but with rougher edges.

He stared at me intently, and somehow, I knew he was silently asking me not to scream. There must have been something seriously wrong with me because instead of yelling at the top of my lungs, I was eating him up with my eyes. It took a lot of effort to gather my scattered wits, but I nodded, and he hesitantly uncovered my mouth and took hold of my other arm.

"What are you doing in here? The judge's chambers are off-limits." I glanced over my shoulder at the room I'd come from. "And the building is closed. Did the security guard let you in? He didn't mention there was anyone else around when he let me in."

"I think the better question is what are you doing here?" His voice was low and gritty, sending tingles straight to my core.

My brows drew together as I rubbed the back of my neck. "Um, no. You can't just turn my question back around on me when that's what I asked you. No way am I answering until you give me a good reason not to scream for the security guard."

I should've already been calling for help, but I didn't get any threatening vibes from this guy. As someone who had spent her life being a wallflower, I had a lot of time to observe people. I was a fairly good judge of character, and I couldn't picture this guy hurting me, no matter how intimidating his size was, especially compared to mine.

"Shit," he hissed, his nostrils flaring. "I get why you'd want to scream, but if you do, I'm gonna wind up in prison…probably for a fuck of a lot longer than the law intends if Timkins has his way, judging by his track record."

I frowned up at him. "The judge would be angry about you being in here, but that doesn't make any sense. He wouldn't be assigned to your case, and judges only have so much leeway. There are very strict guidelines for sentencing."

"Like a fucking lamb to the slaughter." His thumbs stroked over my arms, making me happy I'd thrown on a sweatshirt so he didn't see the goose bumps left in the wake of his touch. "You're too damn sweet to be working in a place like this if you don't realize that there's always a way to get around the rules when you have enough power."

"Is that how you got in here? Because you've got power, too?" I tilted my head to the side, a lock of my hair sliding over my shoulder and curling around his wrist. "Do you have something to do with why the security guard warned me that the biometric scanners are down, and I just needed to use my code to get into the office?"

"The only connections I have are my club brothers."

That wasn't really an answer either way, but it sparked more curiosity in me. "Club brothers?"

"I can't believe I'm doing this," he muttered as he unzipped his leather jacket to show me the vest beneath it. Releasing one of my arms, he tapped one of the patches over his broad chest. "I'm a Silver Saint."

I clearly needed to get out more often because he said it as though I should've known who the Silver Saints were when I'd never heard of them before. I didn't even know there were any motorcycle clubs in the area. The only reason I had any clue what that vest meant was because I'd seen MC cuts just like it on television.

Based on the storylines on those shows, I should've tried to run screaming from the room. But I read an article a month or two ago about how a motorcycle club had helped protect a little girl who'd been bullied at school after her dad died, and I couldn't help but wonder if the reason I wasn't getting a scary vibe from this guy was because he was one of the bikers who tried to make a difference. Considering he hadn't threatened to hurt me—or just gone ahead and done it—I figured the odds were good that my instinct about him was right.

"Here's the thing…I'm not sure why you're here, but if I don't make the copies that I was ordered to take care of, that will raise some questions I'm pretty sure you won't want me to answer. The guard put my name down in the log, so my supervisor will be able to easily confirm that I was here." I lifted my chin while pursing my lips. "And if I'm in here too long, the guard might come looking for me, which I'm guessing is the last thing you want to happen."

He scrubbed his hand over his beard. "Are you trying to protect me from getting caught?"

"Maybe?" I shrugged. "I've been accused of seeing the bright side of everything before, so I guess that could be what I'm doing now. But I figure if you haven't hurt me yet, then you're probably not going to."

"Hurt you?" His head jerked back. "Never."

There was no missing the outrage in his dark eyes. "Then I think I should make those copies so we can get out of here before the security guard shows up."

He stuck close as I completed the task Miss Stuchy had assigned me. Once it was done, he picked up my purse and turned toward me. "Did you drive yourself here?"

"Nope." I shook my head. "I don't have a car, so I took a rideshare."

"A fucking rideshare by yourself on a Friday night." The vein in his temple throbbed as he shook his head. "No way in hell is that happening again."

"Is that your subtle way of offering me a ride?" I asked as he shut the judge's door and scanned the outer office, probably checking to make sure everything looked the way it should so nobody would suspect that he'd been here.

He speared me with his dark gaze. "Are you gonna walk past that security guard without saying a word and meet me at my bike?"

"That depends…do you have a good reason for being here?" I toyed with the rim of my glasses, holding my breath while I waited for his answer.

He nodded. "Yeah, a damn good one."

"Then I guess you're my ride home." At his grimace, I tilted my head to the side and narrowed my eyes. "If not home, then where?"

"My clubhouse. Not sure it's safe for you to go home at the moment, and I'm sure you've got more questions for me."

Not only had he brought my dormant libido to life, he'd also piqued my curiosity. "We should introduce ourselves since it sounds as though we're going to be spending a little more time together. I'm Oakley Collins."

"You're too damn sweet for your own good, Oakley Collins." Before he zipped his leather jacket back up, he patted the other side of his vest. "I'm Kendrick Lawson, but everyone calls me Doc."