Make Me Melt(7)

Her father had spent his life giving to others and striving to make the world a better place. Jason Cooper was living proof of William Banks’s goodness and generosity. But Caroline also knew that as a Supreme Court judge, his rulings on controversial issues had likely gained him enemies. Still, when she thought of his bright blue eyes, full of shrewdness and humor, she couldn’t imagine that anyone would hate him enough to attack him in his own home. She recalled him always being so full of life and so active. When she was growing up, there’d hardly ever been a day when they didn’t have visitors or when her father wasn’t meeting someone for lunch or dinner. The knowledge that he was now fighting for his life left her feeling dazed. He was all she had left, and she didn’t know what she would do if she lost him. He’d been both mother and father to her, had been there for every important event in her life. He’d gone prom dress shopping with her, had hosted more slumber parties than she could recall and had sat up late with her on countless Saturday nights, watching romantic comedies and eating ice cream. He was everything to her, and the thought that she might lose him made her feel sick with both guilt and grief.

“Who would do such a thing?” She swiped a hand across her eyes. “And why?”

“We’ll find the person who did this,” Jason assured her. “We already have a team working it.”

“We have to go. Now.” She rose quickly, feeling a little panicky. “I need to book a flight. He’ll need me there with him.”

“Already done,” Jason said, standing also. “We depart from Richmond airport in two hours. Do you need to go home and pack anything?”

“Yes.” Her mind whirled with all the things she should do before she left, but there was no time. She needed to get to her father’s side. She could make some calls on the way to the airport. She’d talk to Patrick Dougherty and recommend another attorney for Devon Lawton. Then she’d call Arthur MacInness, and explain what had happened and let him know she’d likely be gone for several weeks. The rest would have to wait until she reached San Francisco.

“I’ll drive you to your house, and then we’ll head to the airport.”

“Thank you.” She swallowed. “Did you— Have you seen him?”

Jason shook his head. “No. I got the news just before midnight. An hour later, Deputy Marshal Black and I were on the red-eye from San Diego.”

Caroline could hardly believe her ears. “Why?” she asked. “Why would you come straight here, when you could have gone to San Francisco to be at my father’s bedside?” A small part of her—the part that still held on to girlish fantasies—wondered if he might have come directly to her because, on some level, he did care for her. But in the next instant, those childish thoughts were banished.

“Caroline,” he said patiently, as if she really were no more than a child, “the U.S. Marshals Service is charged with providing protection for federal judges.”

“Yes, I understand. But my father is a judge in San Francisco, and your district is San Diego. Are you saying that you’ve been assigned to protect him?”

He gave her a humorless smile. “No. I’m here to protect you.”

She stared at him, uncomprehending. “Me? But why?”

“Until the assailant is captured, we have to assume the judge’s life is still in danger. It’s standard protocol to assign a protection detail to immediate family members, as well.”

She shook her head, unwilling to accept what he was telling her. She didn’t want Jason to protect her. The news of her father had left her feeling vulnerable and emotionally ragged. She didn’t want Jason to see her like this. Having him witness her fear and grief was far too intimate.

“But why you? This is out of your jurisdiction. Why wouldn’t you assign a marshal from the San Francisco district to protect me?” She couldn’t keep the strain out of her voice. “Why does it have to be you?”


Jason’s expression darkened. “Because despite the fact you clearly don’t give a shit about your old man, you’re the single most important person in his life,” he said, his voice hard. “Call it a professional courtesy. I’m doing this for him, not for you. I owe him that, at least.”

* * *

JASON GLANCED AT the woman who sat beside him in the car, tense and unhappy. She’d hardly spoken during the long flight from Virginia to San Francisco. Not that he blamed her. He hadn’t been overly sympathetic to her.

Even his deputy had given him a look that would have withered most other men. But he and Colton had worked together for more than five years, and the other man was as close to a friend as he’d probably ever have. He glanced into his rearview mirror, noting the unmarked car that carried Colton and another deputy. Between the three of them, they would provide around-the-clock security to ensure Caroline’s safety.

The Caroline Banks he’d once known had changed. Gone was the sweetly passionate teenager who’d worn her heart on her sleeve. In her place was a coolly assured woman whose brittle demeanor and aloofness he hardly recognized. If his own manner toward her had been on the cool side, it was because she’d made so little effort to come home to visit her father. She’d been home once in the past five years. Judge Banks never complained, but Jason knew it hurt him. Caroline was his only child. While Jason loved the judge like a father, they weren’t family. His own frequent trips to San Francisco couldn’t make up for the fact that his daughter never came to visit.