Adam's Angel

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Chapter One

Victoria “Tori” Dore set her black leather briefcase down on the marble floor and exhaled deeply. The courthouse’s hallways seemed overcrowded even though the media had been forced off grounds while the jury deliberated. The trial against Zephaniah had ended and now judgment was in the hands of twelve men and women. The case had consumed the greater part of the last year of her life.

If it kept a criminal mastermind such as Zephaniah off the streets, it was worth every second of it. Maybe more. Zephaniah’s reign of terror had lasted decades. He’d done his part in making humans fear anything different from them. Thankfully, many still held out hope that supernaturals weren’t all evil.

A man she’d come to know fairly well approached, with coffee in hand. He smiled, his blue eyes twinkling with delight. She stared at Adam Shafer, who stood nearly six and half feet tall, with a head of shoulder-length chestnut brown hair and muscles that begged to be touched. She clenched her fingers, resisting the urge to do just that, as she’d wanted to do for the greater part of a year. “Mr. Shafer, please tell me one of those cups is for me.”

Very few men could pull off suave the way he managed to. He had a certain swagger about him she couldn’t quite put her finger on, but it was something indeed. “It is and I’d appreciate it if you called me Adam, Ms. Dore.”

She took the cup from him and moved over on the bench in the courthouse hallway, making room for him. She wasn’t sure he even wanted to spend additional time with her. Didn’t hurt to see. “Have a seat.”

He did, his body brushing hers in the process. “Do you think the jury will deliberate long?”

As a special case prosecutor for the city, Tori had never thought she’d have the pleasure of putting Zephaniah on trial, let alone get to the point she might really get a conviction. The man’s connections ran as deep as his pockets. “I don’t know.”

“It’s been almost three hours,” Adam offered. “Is that good or bad?”

A nervous smile crept over her face. “Both. It means they didn’t rush a verdict but it also means they’re hung up on something.”

“Fear,” he said. The one word hung in the air between them.

Adam was right. Zephaniah wasn’t someone anyone in their right mind would go up against. Thankfully, Tori wasn’t known for taking the sane approach to life. Already she’d received numerous threats from Zephaniah’s cult-like followers. That didn’t bother her. She wasn’t your everyday, garden-variety girl and could take care of herself. Her purpose was to uphold justice—no matter what. Even if crazed people wanted to threaten her as often as they could.

“Have you seen the headlines?” Adam fingered the rim of his coffee cup. “They’re already speculating he’ll be acquitted on all charges.”

Tori shrugged, knowing how the majority felt on the situation. But her gut told her a guilty verdict would arise and Tori tended to follow her instincts. A shroud of silence fell over them and Tori sipped her coffee, her mind wandering to the past year’s events. She’d lived and breathed the case. What would life be like after the trial? It would never be the same, that much was for sure. The tabloids had thrust her into the limelight. The last time a case received as much media attention, a Bronco and a low-speed chase were involved. While that too had occurred within her district, she didn’t handle human trials. Only the supernatural for her.

Her gaze drifted lazily toward Adam. He sat, his posture relaxed, much like his attitude. Tori grinned. “Without you and your fellow League Members, this trial wouldn’t have been possible.”

Red crept over his cheeks. He didn’t strike her as a modest man.

“Have I thanked you for capturing him?”

He shifted awkwardly, something she wasn’t accustomed to seeing from Adam. “It’s my job,” he muttered.

“Still,” she countered, “without the evidence you collected, none of this would have been possible. Not to mention, your team captured him. Thank you for that.” It was something she should have told him when the trial first began.

For a year she’d kept Adam at arm’s length because he was considered a vital key witness for the prosecution. It had been difficult to do. It was easy to get lost in his blue gaze or stare dreamily at the cleft in his chin. Men shouldn’t come in such hunky, delicious packages. At least not men she was supposed to ignore and treat as nothing more than a witness.

Tori sipped her coffee and rolled her shoulders, hoping the kink in them would give soon. Adam touched her upper thigh and she jerked, nearly dumping coffee down herself.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you.”

Tori bumped his muscular arm and smiled, feeling her cheeks flush. “It’s fine. I’m sorry. It’s not you. I wasn’t paying attention. I was zoning. Again.”

The edges of his mouth lifted just enough to hint at a smile. It was sexy regardless how barely there it was. Adam had a certain understated way about him. “Want to talk about it?”

“About what?” she asked, caught off-guard from being transfixed by his smile.

“About whatever it was your mind was on when I was asking you if you were hungry and if you’d be up for grabbing a bite to eat.” He nudged her lightly. “Whatever you were zoning on.”

Tori thought about his offer of food and was surprised to find herself nodding. “I could eat.”

A coquettish smile slid over his face. “You could, huh?”

Was he flirting with her?

No.

A man like Adam wouldn’t be interested in the likes of her.

Roxy, Tori’s Assistant Special Prosecutor, walked around the corner and came to a dead stop when she spotted Adam sitting next to Tori. “I can come back.”

Tori sat up straight but made no move to leave Adam’s side. It was just too inviting. “What’s up? Is the jury back yet?”

“Pfft, no.” Roxy grinned, holding up a familiar-looking cell phone. “You dropped this, again. And your brother has called twice since I picked it up. Persistent guy.”

“You have no idea,” Tori said with a laugh before pointing to her cell phone. “There are days I think I’d forget my head if it wasn’t attached.”

“Because you have too much on your mind, Victoria.” Roxy gave her a hard stare. “You’re run-down and need to unwind. Let’s go out and celebrate tonight. After we get our guilty verdict.”

“Assuming we get a guilty verdict,” Tori amended.

“We will,” Roxy assured. “Get your dancing shoes picked out.”

Tori laughed. “Me? Out on the town? Uh, I don’t think so. It’s not really my thing.”

Roxy put a well-manicured hand on her hip. “If I didn’t know you’re only thirty, I’d have thought you were a thousand with a really good plastic surgeon. You need to live a little.”

Tori averted her gaze, embarrassed. “I’ve never really been much of a social butterfly, Roxy.”

“Seems like you’re doing fine to me,” her friend said, staring at Adam.

Tori’s brow furrowed. “What? Oh, Adam? He’s stuck here with me. I think he takes pity on me. He doesn’t really scream wallflower. Neither does his file.”

Tori stopped shy of commenting on the number of known females associated with the League member. He was certainly anything but a wallflower.

Roxy lifted a brow. “Uh-huh, I’ll just bet he feels extremely put out by having to spend time with you.”

“Are you mocking me?” Tori asked, laughing slightly. She patted Adam’s leg and yawned, unable to help herself. Roxy was right. She was run-down. Sleep had evaded her as of late and when it came, it generally came bearing bad dreams.  

Roxy took the coffee from Tori’s hands. “No more of this for you. Caffeine is not your friend. Not today, anyways. Rest.”

“In the hall of the courthouse?” she asked, shocked by the suggestion. “Anyone could walk past.”

Roxy snorted. “This section is never used. It’s why you pick it to relax in. You don’t like being around too many people. It’s also how I knew where to find you. Put your head back and relax, Tori.” Her gaze slid to Adam. “I’m guessing your own private League bodyguard will watch over you.”

“He’s not my—” She stopped. “You’re teasing me again, aren’t you?”

“Did you have any friends growing up?” Roxy grinned.

“One,” Tori said with all honesty. “But I didn’t meet her until I was in boarding school.”

“Are you serious?”

 “I didn’t grow up with any children in the area and I was home-schooled.” The truth was she hadn’t even grown up on this plane of existence. She thought about her boarding school roommate and instantly missed her.

Adam set his coffee cup down and put his arm out. “Here, you can lean against me and rest. Roxy is right. You’ve been putting in a lot of hours and you’re run-down. I can sense it.”

Sense it?

Tori gave him a questioning look. “You’re not using those powers of seduction on me or any of other things you can do, are you?” She’d read his file multiple times and was well aware of what the man was capable of.

He mumbled something under his breath that sounded remarkably like, if only they worked on you before smiling. “Nope.”

“Rest, Tori. I’ll come and get you if we hear anything from the judge or jury,” Roxy said before heading off in the other direction.

Tori stared at Adam’s open arms and bit her lower lip. “I’m fine. I don’t need—”

“You could surrender and admit you need a nap or I could use those powers you’re so concerned about and force you to take one.”

She drew in a sharp breath, not really worried he would but rather hoping he might. “You can do that?”

He nodded.

“Can you keep dreams away too?” It was bold of her to ask.

“Yes.” Adam’s blue gaze locked on her. “If you want, I can ensure your dreams are pleasant.”

“For once,” she moved into his arms, “I want to close my eyes and see nothing, Adam. It doesn’t matter if they’re happy or not. I just want to sleep. No dreams.”

“Then so be it.” His magik trickled over her and she drifted off to sleep in the comfort of his arms. It should have been an awkward moment. It was anything but.