Page 10 of Dirty Judge

“And since you’ve made a mockery of me and my previous warrants…” He leaned forward. “If you get a single ticket this year—no matter how small the infraction, I’ll sentence you to a minimum of ten nights in the county jail.”

“Be grateful for my leniency, Miss Spencer.” He banged his gavel. “Next case.”

“Case number 51436, Freya Montana…”

I glared at the asshole judge, ready to rip into him for callously dismissing me, but an officer gently grabbed my hand and led me away from the podium.

“You need to meet with the court clerk, Miss Spencer,” he said. “Let’s go.”

I took one last look at the judge.

This isn’t the end of this…

REVOKE( V.):

TO ANNUL OR CANCEL AN ACT, PARTICULARLY A STATEMENT, DOCUMENT OR PROMISE, AS IF IT NO LONGER EXISTED.

LIAM

Two Hours Later

“Miss Tucker, I’m going to set your bail at five thousand dollars,” I said to the final defendant standing before me. “You are also banned from setting foot in any zoo, pet store, or park until your trial. Clear?”

The look in her eyes made it clear that she wouldn’t follow my instructions—that weeks from now she’d be right back here for unleashing dogs or kidnapping cats.

I gave a look to the undercover officer who’d be watching her and picked up my gavel.

“The court will take an hour recess before the evening arraignments.” I banged it against the wood, desperate for an escape that was far too delayed.

The bailiff escorted the remaining audience members from the room while I slipped into my chambers.

I hung my robe on the door and immediately headed outside to my car.

In all my years on the bench, I could count on one hand the number of defendants that I remembered after a day.

There were three, and that was only because they were high-profile celebrities.

The thousands of others faded into a faceless blur.

Until Olivia Spencer.

She was the only defendant who'd managed to argue with both the prosecutor and the judge in under five minutes. Instead of immediately shutting her down like I usually would, I was too distracted by how sexy she was…

“Excuse me, Judge Ashton?” a soft voice said from behind.

I looked over my shoulder to see the exact reason why I was taking a break.

Olivia Spencer was walking toward me, shielding herself beneath a small umbrella, her deep almond eyes as alluring as they were in my courtroom.

Her silk green blouse teased me all over again, giving me a glimpse of the swell of her breasts. Her dark blue jeans were still clinging to her curves in a way that was detrimental to my focus.

“Um…” She stopped right in front of me. “Can I please talk to you for a second?”

“As long as it’s not about your case.”

“What else could it possibly be about?” She crossed her arms. “Like what else do we have in common?”

I blinked.