Before they could pick up Adam and make a life together—the three of them—Ashley needed to right a few things and get what was owed to him. She stood in front of Judge Henry’s desk, several of Brice’s navy blue files in her hands in front of her, and stared down at the man who’d broken the law and had given Brice guardianship of a boy he abused.

“You want me to do what?”

“Retract Brice’s guardianship and give it to me.”

“He’s in jail, facing serious charges. Adam is in protective custody. The courts will decide what happens to him next. Have your lawyer make your case and I’m sure you’ll get what you want.”

“I need it now. And you will give it to me for the same reasons you gave it to Brice.” She held up the folder. “Would you like to see the photos? They’re not pretty, but they are powerful.”

“You don’t want to play this game,” he warned. “I’m not an enemy you want.”

Beck stepped forward and folded his arms in front of his chest. “The last thing you want to do is threaten her.”

“You’re DEA. How can you stand by and let her do this?”

“Because the one thing I hate more than drug dealers is corrupt law enforcement. You’re supposed to uphold the law. Instead, you let Brice get away with all his twisted games.”

“He had me by the balls.”

“Now I do,” Ashley snapped. “You will do as I say, or I will publicly take you down. I won’t stop until everyone knows the kind of sick man you are and everything that you’ve done.”

“That’s not fair. I never hurt anyone.”

Ashley pulled out one of the photos. “This girl can’t be more than sixteen. Do you think she grew up wanting to be a prostitute?”

“She never objected to being with me.”

Ashley leaned over the desk and got right in the judge’s face. “Doing what you’re told for your survival isn’t the same as giving consent.”

“Yet, you’re doing the same thing to me right now.”

“Turnabout is fair play. And you’re only getting fucked figuratively. If you end up in prison for your many crimes . . . Well, we know what will happen to you, a judge, in there.”

“You’re a real bitch, you know that?”

“I want what’s owed. A safe and happy life for Adam. Compensation for the loss of his mother. And you off the bench and unable to twist the law to your liking.”

“And you’ll hold a gun to my head to get it. Figuratively,” he added, using her term to get her attention, hoping it would make her back down.

She was doing exactly what he’d done. The thing is, it might be the same, but she had an altruistic reason for doing it and would take down those who had little or no care for the people they hurt.

She’d take the hit to her conscience for going about it this way.

The judge stared up at her for a good thirty seconds, then made up his mind and pulled up the files on his computer. He worked for nearly a half hour on the documents she needed, aligning everything with the signatures he already had on file from Brice. Once printed out, it all looked legit, even if the originals weren’t so legit themselves.

The judge set the papers in front of her and Beck in stacks. “The order terminating Brice’s guardianship. The order giving you both guardianship. And a revised will, backdated to the last time Brice updated it with his actual signature, naming Adam his sole heir.” The judge signed off on all of them. “Anything else I can do for you,” he bit out.

“Yes,” she said cheerfully. “You can retire.”

“What?”

“You have two weeks to get your affairs here in order, then leave the bench for good.”

“I gave you what you wanted. You can’t ask me to do that.”

She picked up the papers in front of him. “I thank you for righting the wrongs you helped Brice perpetrate and ensuring Adam’s future. But I won’t allow you to use your position to help others commit crimes against anyone else. Retire with your reputation intact, or these photos and the recordings of you drunk, rambling, and spouting a whole bunch of bigotry and hate will go public.”

“I think you might be worse than Brice.”

“If you think that, then your compass is so far from north you need to leave this court and find the part of your soul that hasn’t been corrupted by power.”

“Get out!”

Ashley held the folders and papers he’d given her to her heart. The yucky feeling building inside her soured her gut, but she powered through knowing she’d done the right thing even if she’d done it the wrong way.

She and Beck walked to the door. Beck held it open for her, the judge’s assistant’s and office staff’s attention on her, the movie star. She used that to her advantage. “Thank you so much for all your help, Judge Henry. And good luck on your retirement next month.” She spotted the mounted fish over his head. “You’ll finally have all the time you want to go fishing.”

The judge glared so hard at her, she half expected the hate coming at her to hurt. It didn’t. He deserved everything he got.

She spun on her heel, smiled brightly for everyone in the office, even signed a couple of autographs on her way out, and finally breathed easy when Beck helped her into his truck and they drove away, off to their next appointment and one step closer to being a family with Adam.