Arriving at the Sylvan City Courthouse gave Cage a terrible itch between his shoulder blades. Any enclosed building with walls that thick weren’t his thing to begin with, but the reason they were at the courthouse, that really got to him.

He reached out to take hold of the doorknob to pull it open and found someone else’s hand on the knob. Turning his head, he saw Frances’ now familiar golden-brown eyes and the shock of green hair that had miraculously appeared in her hair that morning.

“I got it.” She wrenched the door open and stepped inside.

Cage had to grab for the door to keep it from slamming in his face. “I guess I had to get it too.”

He caught sight of Frances over at the directory and started in that direction. Before he got there, she turned and started to walk off. Cage caught up with her and took a hold of her shoulder. “Frances, wait.”

“You don’t need to stay. I know where to go.” She pulled away and started off down the hall.

“Frances. Stop.” He managed to get in front of her, which was something since they were both shifters. “I’m staying here with you. I know you don’t want me to stay but you’re my-”

“Responsibility? You don’t owe me anything,” she groaned. “My dad may have wanted me to be here, and I know I’m stuck here until I’m eighteen, but you don’t have to worry about me. No one said you had to care about me.”

“I care for you. Your father was one of my friends, and he wanted me to take care of your needs.”

“I,” she stepped back away from him with a narrowed gaze, “I don’t need you.”

“Well, you’ve got me, either way. Todd wanted me to watch out for you and that’s what I’m going to do.”

“You’re just like everyone else, thinking you can order me around.”

“That’s not what I’m trying to do.”

The courtroom door opened and Frances’ lawyer, a man in a loose brown suit, gestured to the both of them. “They’re going to start. You need to be inside. Now.”

Frances didn’t look up at Cage, walking straight toward the lawyer, she disappeared inside the courtroom. Looking up at the hallway clock, Cage had a momentary twist of worry in his gut. Maggie had said she would be there for the hearing, but what if she didn’t come?

She’s coming.

He scoffed at his jaguar. What do you know? You can’t tell time.

She’s our mate. She’s coming.

The lawyer, Mr. Weathers cleared his throat and held out his hands. “You coming inside, Mr. Gamble?”

Nodding, Cage followed him inside. First things first, he needed to be there for Frances.

* * *

Frances looked up at the judge, her mouth a tight white line, as if she was waiting for the judge to throw something at her. Instead the older woman addressed her attorney. “Mr. Weathers, would you care to explain why we’re here today?”

Standing, and nudging Frances’ arm the attorney cleared his throat. “Your Honor, my client, Frances Billings had a bit of an issue last night.”

The judge looked at the paperwork on her desk. “Your client’s ‘bit of an issue’ included slashing the tires of a BMW outside of a night club.”

Mr. Weather tried to put a smile on his face. “At least she wasn’t inside the club, hmm?”

The cold look on the judge’s countenance made Cage shift on the hardwood bench in the courtroom.

“I am concerned, Miss Billings, that this is becoming quite the habit with you, and-”

“Twice isn’t exactly a habit.” Frances certainly had no issue speaking up.

Cage leaned his head back against the wall and felt his fangs bite into the soft flesh of his lip.

The judge leaned forward, bracing her forearms on the edge of her desk. “Miss? If I was you, I would keep quiet until spoken to.”

“The story,” Frances ground out in the natural clip of her British accent, “of my fecking life.”

The judge narrowed her gaze at the young woman. “I’m afraid that with your attitude, young lady, it might be a good idea to sentence you to a juvenile justice facility.”

Cage lifted his head and scooted forward to the edge of the bench, ready to stand up and say… something, but the judge beat him to it.

“However, I have someone who would like to speak on your behalf.” She lifted her hand and gestured to the bailiff. He opened the courtroom door and gestured into the hall.

From where he was sitting, Cage could barely see what was going on until the bailiff stepped back inside and they were joined by one last person.

Maggie Fordice walked in and down toward the bar and stopped just at the gate. “Your Honor, I would like to thank you for allowing me to come in to speak on Frances’ behalf.”

Cage looked over at Frances and saw the way she dropped her chin down and started to stare at her hands folded in her lap. At least she was holding her tongue.

The judge nodded. “Granted.”

“Your Honor, perhaps you’ll remember me from a few years ago when I appeared before you in this very courtroom.”

The corners of the judge’s mouth curled up just a tiny bit. “Yes, Miss Fordice, I remember it well. You were quite the-”

“Hellion? Wild Child? If you’ll recall, you gave me a hearing much like this one.”

“Your father was deployed overseas and you, Miss Fordice, seemed determined to let everybody know how unhappy you were.” She shook her head. “But I am glad to know that you’ve made your life a success.”

“I don’t know about a success,” Maggie grinned back, “but I am doing my level best to make a go of it. Every day is a struggle for so many people.”

Cage watched Maggie turn and look at France’s downturned head.

“I’d like to give Frances the same opportunity that I was given.”

The judge hissed in a breath as she looked through the reports on her desk. “You are aware that Miss Billings’ offences are a bit more… destructive than yours were.”

“I haven’t had the chance to speak with her yet, but I believe we’ll be able to make this work, Your Honor. While we both acted out in completely different ways,” she admitted, “I think the pain that is at the root of her troubles may very well come from the same place as mine.”

Cage could see how thoughtful the judge was, listening to Maggie’s words.

“What do you propose?”

Cage saw Frances look up, set her eyes firmly on the side of Maggie’s face, watching intently as well.

“I spent almost a year in a juvenile facility before I was released into a work program under Paulie Houseman. He was willing to take me in and show me my way around a kitchen. I waited tables and did some cooking from time to time. I learned how to be dependable and work out a lot of my anger.”

Frances’ lip curled a little as if the very thought was making her stomach twist.

“I bought his diner here in Sylvan City now that he retired, and it just so happens that I’m looking for help in the kitchen and waiting tables.”

“I’m not a slave.”

Cage grabbed a hold of the bench back in front of him and clenched his back teeth together. “Frances!”

Frances’ attorney and the judge had similar reactions to the little outburst, but Maggie let it roll right over her. “That’s not how it works, Frances. It’s a job, you get paid for the work you’ve done-”

“Sweet,” Frances nodded, “I could use a little cash.”

“And the first thing you’re going to do is pay back the people whose property that you damaged.” She looked right at the young girl as she spoke, “This is going to be work, but when you’re done with it, you’ll have skills that will last you the rest of your life.”

“Slopping crappy food on plates is not my idea of a job.”

Maggie’s expression didn’t change, but Cage saw her shoulders tighten up just a little.

“I could work at the Club.”

“Club?” The pitch of the judge’s voice was a little too high for Cage’s peace of mind. He saw her turn toward him with an owlish look in her eyes.

Standing, Cage held up his hands in surrender. “I’m sorry, Your Honor. I don’t think I should have Frances at the Arena. We sell alcohol during the fight events. It makes me a decent living, but it’s not a suitable place for a young girl to work.”

“Girl,” Frances scoffed. “Right.”

Cage avoided responding to her outburst, digging his fingers into the top of the bench, trying desperately not to break through the wood with his natural strength.

“Your Honor?”

Maggie again, but this time she had a look of determination on her face. The way the tip of her nose tilted ever-so-slightly up at the end kept her from looking too serious.

“May I speak to Frances in private?”

The judge nodded and gave an instruction looking directly at Frances. “You will be polite, Miss Billings.” The judge looked at her bailiff. “We’ll be in recess for five minutes.” The judge stood and followed her bailiff into the back hallway.

Maggie pushed on the gate and stepped past the bar. Sitting on the edge of the table, she gave the lawyer a pleading look before he would step away.

Cage watched as Maggie began to talk to Frances. He could have used his preternaturally sharp hearing to eavesdrop on their conversation, but he held back.

He could read Frances’ body language better than he could understand her words and emotions. So, he settled back and let the scene unfold.

* * *

“Okay,” Maggie let out a breath, “let’s hear it.”

Frances folded her arms over her chest and slumped back against the chair. “I don’t have anything to say to you.”

“Then that’s going to make working for me a pain in your rear.”

“I told the judge I’m not working for you.”

“You know you can’t work for Cage.”

“Look, lady-”

“Maggie. My name is Maggie.”

“Your father named you that?”

“My mother named me Margaret, but she left us when I was a kid, so I called myself Maggie.”

Frances sat up a little in her chair. “My mum named me Frances trying to make her family okay with the fact that she’d married ‘beneath’ her.”

Maggie nodded and shrugged. “They didn’t mind the shifter thing?”

That brought a smile to Frances’ lips. “They hated that most of all. One of my little asshole cousins tried to push me in a lake because ‘cats don’t like water.’”

Maggie felt an odd frisson of dread roll through her. “What happened?”

Unfolding her arms, Frances leaned forward, bracing her forearms on the defense table. “I grabbed him to keep from falling in and last I heard he still has three parallel scars on his arse.”

The two looked at each other for a moment and then burst into laughter.

Maggie’s cheeks flushed. “I’d never say so in public, but the little dork sounded like he deserved it.”

“None of them tried to push me around after that.”

“I don’t doubt it. But this isn’t just teaching your cousin a lesson,” Maggie explained. “You’re headed down the same dark tunnel I was, and I want to help you pull yourself out of it.”

“I can do it myself,” Frances insisted.

Maggie slid off the table and onto the seat beside Frances. “Take a look around. You’re in court. The judge is talking about time in a juvenile center. If you think Cage looking after you and me offering you a job is such a bummer, they’ll be crawling all over you in a place like that.”

“You can’t scare me.”

“I won’t need to Frances. Those kinds of places, they’re scary all on their own.” Maggie felt her heart slow to a crawl in her own chest as the old darkness she’d tried to put behind her came back, coating her skin like tar.

“If you’re worried that they’re going to come after me, I’m not. I’ve got claws, muscles, and teeth. I can fight them off.”

Maggie nodded, slow ponderous movements that were all she could manage at the moment. “You’re right, maybe you could. Better than I did, for sure.” Maggie swallowed and felt her mouth go dry as a bone. “But in facilities like that, it’s a matter of time and numbers. How much time you’re stuck in there, and how many people want to get you.”

Maggie went quiet for a few seconds and had no idea how her words had affected Frances. She couldn’t bring herself to look for fear that the younger woman would see the desolation in her eyes.

“I want to give you a way out of the facility before you find your way in.”

For a long moment Maggie worried that she’d lost Frances entirely. Just before she stood up to leave, she heard the legs of Frances’ chair squeak on the floor. Looking up into her face, Frances searched her eyes. “I’m just going to mess this up too.”

Maggie shook her head. “No, you’re not, Frances. If you’re willing to try this, really give it your best, I know we’re both going to make this work out.” Maggie held out her hand and watched as Frances stared at her hand before she put her hand out and took hold. “Okay?”

“What choice do I have?”

Maggie heard her words, but she saw something else in her eyes. Those beautiful eyes that looked like the desert sand. “You have choices. And your choices brought you here. Maybe it’s time to make some different choices. Instead of doing things on your own… maybe you can accept some help. Try that for a bit?”

Frances narrowed her eyes at Maggie and a low crawling growl purred through her throat. And her eyes, those beautiful eyes went black and then shifted into those of a lion.

Her power crawled over Maggie and yet, she wasn’t afraid.

She was amazed. Looking into a soul as wild and hurt as her own was a special gift.

And as the power subsided from Frances, as it pulled back from her eyes like a wave rolling back to sea, the younger woman’s eyes blinked back at her. “I’ll try.”

Maggie felt relief roll through her. “Good.”

The door behind the bailiff’s desk swung open and the judge entered the courtroom. She was nearly to her desk when Frances’ lawyer jogged back into the courtroom and made a half-hearted dash for the defense table.

The judge didn’t even sit down. She took one look at Frances standing beside Maggie at the table. “Dare I hope that you have seen reason, Miss Billings?”

Frances nodded. And beside her, Maggie smiled. The judge returned the gesture.

“Good.” She turned to look at Maggie. “My bailiff will schedule an appointment with you and Mr. Gamble to discuss the parameters of the release program, and-”

“Your Honor?”

Maggie saw the cautionary look on the judge’s face and swore she could feel Cage’s tension against her back like the heat from the sun. She couldn’t tell if it was comfort he was offering or his own warning, but she wasn’t going to stop. Not when she felt Frances squeeze her hand.

“I’d like Frances to be there at the meeting. She’s going to be responsible for her part in this, and she should be there to know what’s expected of her first hand.”

The judge considered her words… or so Maggie hoped. When the judge finally spoke, it was with the hint of a smile. “I like the way you think Miss Fordice. You’re a pistol and I admire that. Bring Miss Billings to the meeting, she should know what she’s in for.”

Maggie squeezed Frances’ hand back and began to speak, but Frances beat her to it.

“Thank you, Your Honor.”

Everyone could tell that the judge was surprised, but no one made a comment until the judge was back in chambers.

Frances skirted away from the table and stopped short when she found Cage waiting for her on the other side of the bar. Maggie couldn’t help holding her breath to see what would happen.

Cage looked at Frances, and Maggie felt her heart start to melt at the concern she saw there. He’d always been such a hard man to understand, especially when she was a teen with a chip on her shoulder and chaos in her heart, but this man was different.

This Cage made her feel all kinds of warm inside, like he used to, but he also burned her from the inside out with need. A man that was that tough and had a heart for a hard case young girl? That made her all kinds of warm and fuzzy. Wondering if he was warm when he was…

The squeak of the hinge on the gate brought her back to the moment.

“So, now that we’re done here,” Frances turned to look over her shoulder at Maggie and then back to Cage, “are we going to go get something to eat, or what?”

Cage looked up and met Maggie’s eyes over Frances’ shoulder. “You going to come with us?”

“Me?” Maggie touched her hand to her chest and felt her heart pounding a beat under her fingertips. “If you want me there, we can just go to the diner. I can cook something and-”

“No.” Cage shook his head. “We’ll go somewhere you can sit down and enjoy a meal. I owe you plenty for what you did here. I want to do this for you.”

Wow. You could just knock her over with a feather. Cage Gamble was going to take her out for a meal. Of course, it was just a thank you for helping out his foster daughter, but it was a meal, with Cage. Talk about wild-horse wishes come true.

“Well?” Frances gave her a side-long glance. “Are you coming?”

Maggie hoped her smile didn’t look too sappy. “Absolutely.”