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I didn’t respond. But after they were gone, I dragged my ass upstairs and got into the shower. My stomach was full, but the more I sobered up, the hungrier I got.

I woke up to my phone buzzing. The sound drilled into my skull, which was already pounding from the hangover I’d earned through days of dedicated drinking. I grabbed the phone, ready to tell whoever it was to eat shit and leave me alone.

Then I saw the name on the screen.

Jack Montana.

I squinted at the time. Seven thirty in the morning. Jack wouldn’t be calling this early unless there was some kind of emergency. Knowing Jack, it could be anything from a contract dispute to an animal control complaint to a request for bail money. The man attracted chaos like a magnet. Great for my coffers because that man burned through a retainer pretty quick. He’d be writing me another check very soon.

I answered, my voice rough. “What?”

“Finally, man.” Jack sounded stressed, which was unusual for him. “I need you in court this morning.”

That woke me up. I sat up too fast. The room spun and my stomach rolled. “Court? What the hell, Jack? You don’t have any hearings scheduled this morning.”

“It’s some kind of emergency injunction. Just got served with the papers like an hour ago.”

I rubbed my eyes, trying to force my brain into lawyer mode despite the hangover. “An injunction for what?”

“Llama drama.” Jack’s voice dripped with frustration. “What do you think? Some neighbor is claiming Clover ate her rosebush. I don’t know, man, the paperwork is confusing. I just need you there. This is why I pay you all that money. You’re supposed to be here when I call.”

I sighed heavily. Of course it was llama drama. With Jack, it was always llama drama. When you had ten fucking llamas in your backyard, there tended to be a lot of drama.

“Fine. I’ll be at the courthouse in half an hour.”

“Courtroom two,” Jack said. “And hurry. That judge isn’t messing around.”

I hung up and dragged myself out of bed. I took a cold shower. It shocked some life back into my system. I threw on a suit without really looking at it, ran my fingers through my hair, and grabbed my keys.

I wasn’t entirely sure I was legal to drive. Technically, it had been a good fourteen hours since my last drink, but I was still fucked up. Not by alcohol. By life. The pounding in my skull was next level. I kept one hand on the wheel while I dug through my glove compartment for aspirin. I found some, dry-swallowed three pills, and prayed they’d kick in before I had to form coherent legal arguments.

Parking was a nightmare, as usual. I spotted a security guard I knew near the entrance and rolled down my window.

“Hey, Cory. Do me a favor and park this thing for me?”

Cory raised an eyebrow. “Do I look like a valet?”

I climbed out of the car and pulled out my wallet. Thank God, I had a hundred dollar bill. I shoved it in his hand and gave him the keys. “Please. Thank you.”

“You’re lucky I like you, Blackwell.”

“I know. You’re a saint.”

I ran up the courthouse steps, dodging other lawyers and clerks and the usual morning crowd. Courtroom two. Jack had said courtroom two. I made my way through security, nodding at the guard who knew me well. The grimace on his face told me I didn’t look as put together as I hoped for.

I found Jack standing outside the doors, arms crossed, looking more amused than stressed now.

“Finally,” he said. “You better get in there, man. That judge isn’t messing around.”

I didn’t stop to question it. I pushed through the courtroom doors, an apology already forming on my lips for whatever judge I was about to face.

I stopped dead, confused. No opposing counsel at the tables. No bailiff, no clerk, no court reporter. Just rows of empty seats and the faint smell of wood polish.

Then I saw her.

Darcy sat on the bench where the judge should have been. She wore a simple white blouse, her hair down around her shoulders. She looked nervous. Uncertain. Nothing like the confident woman with her hair pulled up in a severe style.

I looked back over my shoulder to see Jack grinning through the small window before he disappeared from view. That son of a bitch had set me up.