Page 10 of The Prey (The Hillers of Barratt County #6)

Jason had known it was going to happen sometime. And soon. He had known exactly where she was. Like she’d been waiting all this time. She’d looked better than Jason had remembered. It didn’t seem possible, but she had.

It had been her hair that had first caught his attention two years ago—it had been braided and long. He’d always loved long dark hair on a woman. And then her eyes—the woman’s eyes were intense. Saw right into a man’s soul.

And she had been extraordinary. Beautiful. Smart. Connected.

He had wanted her instantly.

Jason leaned back in the chair, waiting for his current supervisor to speak.

Jason kept his mouth shut and just waited.

Walters would get around to it eventually.

Jason needed this gig with the public defender’s office to work out.

He had some things to… fix… after that little problem in Wichita Falls had become so public.

Now, he was playing the good boy.

Across from him, his superior shuffled through the file again. The guy always fidgeted. It wasn’t like he had sat still for five minutes. That was just one of the things about Walters that got under his skin.

Everyone said Tom Walters was good at the job. He was one hell of an attorney, no denying that. Walters could make a killing in Finley Creek or Barrattville. He’d once worked at Barratt, Barratt but Beatrice Collins bites their heads off to their knees. She’s one of the Garrity County Collinses.

Old Texas money. She’s very intelligent and she knows the law.

Keep that in mind. She doesn’t tolerate shit.

And she’s far more vicious than she looks.

Like a little viper when she wants to be.

” And it was clear Walters found that intriguing.

Well, Jason had always enjoyed a woman with some fire, too.

Jason leaned back in his chair. “Define shit . And…vicious.”

There wasn’t a single small-town judge that scared him. Jason had seen it all before.

Walters’s blue eyes narrowed, right on Jason’s face.

His entire demeanor turned…tense. “You know exactly what shit is. I know all about what happened in Wichita Falls. Any creative liberties with courtroom procedures won’t work with her.

Anything she suspects is theatrical, she’ll rip you up one side and down the other and feed you your own liver.

You won’t know what hit you. Save it for another judge. Don’t mess with Beatrice Collins.”

Jason was going to look forward to the challenge. Surely something in this bumfuck town would be worth his time. A battle of the minds with a female judge might be diverting. “I get it. She’s strict. I’ll make sure everything I do is by the book.”

“It always had better be by the book. I take this office very seriously, Clarke. You need to remember that. This case will be challenging enough for you without making it worse by irritating her from the onset. Your best bet, honestly, is to plead it down.”

Jason wasn’t going to make a deal with that asshole Hanan. He just wouldn’t. He wasn’t going to start off giving Hanan that kind of win. He knew how to handle clients like this punk. And he knew how to handle Tom Walters. He also knew how to handle judges like this bitch Collins, too.

He was just so damned tired of everyone underestimating him.

Walters just kept talking. “You’ll have to watch closely on this one—look for any technicality you can find. The evidence is overwhelming. And Hanan’s people don’t mess up.”

“Heard he was in an accident recently. Didn’t even slow him down.” Jason had his thoughts about that, but for now, he was going to keep them to himself.

Walters snorted. “Nothing slows that man down.”

“Which prosecutor is taking first chair?” Jason suspected he knew.

He wasn’t worried about that Mike Tavler guy.

Guy had come across as just a good old boy when Jason had been introduced.

That just left Hanan and Giavonna and some girl he hadn’t met yet Hanan had told him was just a year out of law school. Jason wasn’t worried about her at all.

Hanan and Giavonna, those would be his challenges.

Walters shook his head. “Hanan’s taken this one personally. He sent word over this morning about the change. Thought it would be Giavonna, honestly. She usually handles cases with female victims. You will be dealing directly with him.”

Interesting.

He’d known he’d be facing Hanan eventually. Jason was the kind who always did his research. He was looking forward to the challenge. It was all part of his plan. He would take Hanan down. Make him pay for every damned thing he’d said about Jason behind his back two years ago. Fix things with B-3.

And then…

Jason would do whatever he had to do to make sure Hanan and the Barratts of Barratt County never fucked with him again.