Hard to Fight

“Morning,” I mutter.

“Late night?” Don asks.

I shrug, flopping down into the chair next to Vance – then I carefully balance my coffee in my lap. He reaches across, wrapping an arm around my shoulders and pulling me close where he presses a kiss to the side of my temple. The other guys in the office are used to this kind of behavior, now. So am I, if I’m being honest. Vance is affectionate, and over five years we have had the chance to grow close. This is just how he is with me. He’s never made a move, or overstepped his mark.

I know Vance has some sort of feeling for me. I suspect it’s romantic, but I can’t be sure because he’s never admitted that. I just know there are times I catch him looking at me with a longing that makes me uneasy. I adore Vance, but in the big brother kind of way. It’s always been like that. He’s always been a friend, someone I can confide in and that guy who teases me and is allowed to get away with it.

Most women, however, wouldn’t hesitate to snap him up. He’s a handsome man. He has this sandy blonde hair that flows around his shoulders and the brightest, most genuine blue eyes I’ve ever seen. His skin is flawless olive and he’s tall and lean. He looks like he belongs on a surfboard, riding the waves. Not to mention he has a killer smile that usually makes women swoon before he has even introduced himself.

“We got a rather large case in last night,” Don begins, getting right to the point.

“How big are we talking?” Julio asks before I can.

He always gets the big cases, well, he and Vance. I get the mediocre ones. Figures.

“We’re talking thirty thousand to bring this guy in.”

My eyes widen. Thirty thousand dollars? The most I’ve ever gotten is around seven thousand. Thirty is a big deal. Thirty would make the rest of my year extremely comfortable.

“What has he done?” I breathe.

“Skipped bail,” Don continues. “He is standing trial for assault with a deadly weapon and he’s also the main suspect for murder.”

Yeesh. This dude is nasty.

“I’m free,” Julio says. “I’ll get started on it right away.”

I scowl at him. I hate how he just assumes the job is his.

“Actually,” Don begins, and then turns to me. “I was going to offer this one to Grace.”

To me? What? I mean, I know Vance said if I wanted it to get in here, but I figured it was a medium case, not something massive like this. Don never offers me the big ones, ever. Why the hell would he change his mind now?

“This is a prank, right?” I stammer.

“No, Grace. You made a valid point last night. You’ve been here five years, you’ve shown your worth and we hold you back. I’m giving you the chance to show us what you’re made of.”

My chance.

Oh God, my chance.

I’ve been waiting five years for a decent case, something big, something substantial. My heart pounds and I feel Vance squeeze my shoulder. I open my mouth to respond, but nothing comes out. I’m overwhelmed; finally, they’re taking me seriously. This is my chance to prove to Don that I’m worth equally as much as Vance and Julio.

“Don,” I breathe.

Don puts up a hand, his eyes soft. “You deserve this, Gracie. I’m sorry I didn’t see that sooner.”

Shit, I need to pull myself together. I close my eyes, take a few steadying breaths and compose myself. While I’m doing this, Julio begins his usual protest.

“She’s a woman, Donald,” he yells. “How is a woman going to restrain and bring in a man his size?”

I jerk and lift my head to glare at Julio. “And you’re a dick, but that doesn’t stop you doing your job properly, even though I’m sure the size of your ego constantly gets in the way. Careful, Julio, one day you’ll trip over it and it’ll be me pointing fingers at you.”

He opens his mouth to fire something equally as harsh back, but Don cuts him off.

“You disrespect anyone on my team like that again, Julio, you’ll find yourself without a job,” Don barks. “I don’t tolerate that kind of behavior. Grace has the same rights as any member of this team; her being a woman has nothing to do with it. Grace is smart, she’s well trained and she knows what she’s doing. I have all faith she will find a way to bring him in.”

“She’s tiny,” Julio protests but it comes out as a pathetic huff.

Don flinches and leans forward on his elbows. “And you’re walking a fine line, Julio. I’ve made my decision.”

Go Don!

Julio’s chair skids back and he throws his hands down onto the table, glaring at me. “You’ll fail, and I’ll be waiting when you do.”

With that, he storms out.

“Such a child,” I mutter as he leaves.

Vance chuckles and Don clears his throat. I turn back and straighten my back. “I can do this Don, so hit me with it. What am I dealing with?”

He slides a folder towards me, and I flick it open. My entire world comes to a screeching halt when I take in the picture of the drop dead gorgeous male on the front and I gasp. Then my eyes move to the name, Raide Knox. Oh no. Oh fucking no. This can’t be right. This can’t be the man who had me pinned against a wall last night. The man that made my knees weak. The man who burned himself into my brain.

Shit.

“Is everything okay?” Don asks.

“Ah,” I squeak. “Raide Knox?”

“You’ve heard of him?”

You could say that. I didn’t know his name until now but I’ve seen enough of everything else. I’m not about to tell Don I was getting aroused over the man, and smart mouthing him, less than twenty-four hours ago. That’s hardly going to show him I’m good at my job. No, he can’t know that I came that close to Raide and that we discussed his sword. Raide the criminal. He didn’t look like a criminal. He certainly didn’t look like a murderer … or at least someone who wanted to murder another person.

“I’ve heard his name, yes,” I answer, giving him the best I’ve got.

“Well you know he is quite well known and powerful. You need to be careful with this one, he’s smart and he’s cunning.”

That he is.

I flick through the folder, reading over his charges, his trial dates and when he was meant to check back in for those. “Where was he last seen?” I ask, even though I already know the answer.

“He was sighted three days ago at East Gun Shop.”

“Okay,” I say, closing the file. “I’ll study this over the weekend and on Monday, I’ll get started. What’s my deadline?”

“Two months.”

I nod, and stand. I turn to Vance. “You still coming around tonight?”

He nods, grinning up at me. We have a weekly movie night, where we watch all the action comedies. It’s just our thing. I flash him a smile and then turn to Don who is rolling his eyes – he knows about Vance and my weekly movie night and he chooses to stay out of it, after all, we’re not breaking any rules. “Thank you, Don. I won’t let you down.”

“I know that, Gracie,” he smiles.

And with that, I leave.

* * *

“I’m freaking out, Kady,” I whisper down the phone. “How the hell am I supposed to get him in?”