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Colin nodded. “Sure. Because Steel is a homeboy. He’s probably got the judge in his pocket.”
Marjorie stepped forward then. “You take that back, Colin. My family may have money, but we are decent citizens, and we don’t buy people.”
Colin rolled his eyes. “Do you think I was born yesterday, Marj?”
“Oh my God, Jade. How did you stay with this asshat for seven years?”
I had no clue. Seven years of my life down the toilet. What if I had married him? He stood there, his dirty-blond hair slicked back, looking ever so sanctimonious in his pinstripe navy-blue suit and yellow tie. Who wore yellow ties anymore? Hello, Colin? This is the eighties. We want our tie back.
“What are you doing here now? The court date isn’t until Monday, and you can easily get a hotel room until then. Why can’t you leave me in peace?”
“I want to take you to dinner.”
“Not that I would go to dinner with you anyway, but Marj and I are just about ready to sit down to eat. Felicia made some awesome spaghetti.”
“Oh, I think you’ll come to dinner with me.”
“And why in hell would I do that?”
“Because if you don’t, I’m going to make things really difficult for both you and Talon Steel come Monday morning.”
My heart lurched a bit, but I—hopefully—concealed it, willing myself to remain calm. “Seriously? You’re going to threaten me? Threatening an officer of the court? Threatening a defendant?” I looked over at Marj. “You’re my witness. He just made a threat.”
“That wasn’t a threat, Jade,” Colin said. “It was just a fact. You think this kind of thing doesn’t happen in court all the time? God, you are naïve.”
“If you don’t leave now,” Marjorie said, “I’ll call the cops and have you escorted off my property.”
“Simmer down, Marj,” Colin said. “This is between Jade and me.”
“Well, Jade is on my property and currently under my protection.”
Colin let out a snort. “Under your protection? What are you, a gangster now?”
“It’s a good thing my brothers aren’t here,” Marj said. “They’d kick the shit out of you again, and neither one of us would stop them.”
“You’d better watch what you say too,” Colin said. “That sounded kind of like a threat to me.”
“Just a fact.” Marj curled her lips into a saccharine smile.
I shook my head. “Colin, you think you’re so damned smart, but really what you are is arrogant. You don’t know anything about how the law works. Now get out of here.”
“Not until you agree to have dinner with me.”
“She will do no such thing,” Marj said.
“She has a mouth. Let her speak for herself.”
“I’ll tell you what. If I agree to go to dinner with you, will you be gone by Monday and just let this deal happen?”
Colin was silent a moment, his jaw clenched. Then, “All right. You’ve got a deal. You go to dinner with me tonight, and I won’t appear in court on Monday.”
“Fine.”
“Jade…” Marj began.
“And Marj is coming with us.”
“Oh, no. That wasn’t the deal.”
