Justice Incarnate Read Online Free PDF Page B

the classroom to her apartment upstairs. In the kitchen she began brewing her personal blend of comforting tea.
    When Brenda's hands were wrapped around a warm mug, Jaden tried to make it as painless as possible. "You have to think about it. Has he made any threats?"
    "Not while the TRO's been in effect."
    "Brenda, a temporary restraint is only temporary."
    "I know, I know." She looked at Jaden with frightened blue eyes filled with tears. "But I like my job. Jobs," she smiled and glanced in the direction of the classroom. "I have real friends, a real life again."
    "Any family who could keep an eye out for you?"
    "Not in town."
    "Where?" Jaden pushed. "You have to consider running. If the court rules you've accused falsely you won't have any legal support."
    The tears fell and Brenda wiped at them, but it didn't stem the tide.
    Uncomfortable, Jaden reached out, hoping the touch would calm Brenda. The girl needed to start thinking clearly again.
    "You think I'll lose," she whispered.
    "It's likely."
    "But you have the pictures."
    She had more, but wouldn't mention it yet. "Pictures or not, Brenda, it doesn't look good."
    "Can you help?" Brenda whispered at last.
    "I can testify." Regretfully, at the moment it was all she could do.
    She'd gladly kill Judge Albertson with her bare hands in front of a thousand witnesses. But she'd been there and done that. Instead of a T-shirt, she'd been awarded a lethal bullet.
    And had been given yet another life to try again.
    "I can get you out of town. If you lose, we'll both have to disappear."
    "But your school, the students." Brenda's head landed in her hands. "Oh, Jaden. I'm sorry I ever got you into this."
    Jaden stood to pace, her racing mind demanding a physical outlet. "Trust me. I was hip deep before we ever met."
    "What?"
    "Never mind. If the case goes bad tomorrow, I'll see you safely out of town. In the meantime, teach this next class. And when you get home, pack a bag and be alert."
    Brenda nodded, with a little more confidence, then headed off to follow Jaden's orders, leaving Jaden with cold tea and boiling thoughts.
    Nothing she knew added up to anything she could use to eliminate the judge legally. Albertson's reach was increasing. In all the lives she'd known him, he'd never been sloppy about the people he chose to use, whether for his own perverse delight or to increase his power within a community. Which meant Chief Thomas was a vital link. Again.
    "Great," she muttered to the empty kitchen. "He's even named for a doubter this time."
    The control panel chimed, announcing the arrival of more students. Jaden shoved back from the table and went to make some calls. Whether or not Chief Thomas would kill her in the days to come, she first had to arrange for Brenda to survive tomorrow.
     
     
     
    Chapter Three
     
    "The more corrupt the state, the more numerous the laws." –Tacitus
     
    Jaden resented the chime of midnight and her complete sleeplessness. Shoving fingers through her hair, she loosened the braid she'd woven minutes earlier.
    So far, the diary revealed nothing of value. No new or vital tidbit of information she'd forgotten in the living of a dozen lives. She locked it back in her safe.
    With a gusty sigh, she let herself long for the sort of rest that was impossible in her current state of existence. She ached for eternity's blissful peace.
    Irritable, she strode through the kitchen and down the hall to pound her stress into the punching bag.
    She could feel the Judge on the far edge of her conscious mind, and knew without doubt the outcome of Brenda's case. With no authenticated video or still shots of the damage her ex-boyfriend caused, Brenda was doomed to serve time as a false accuser.
    A swift kick sent the bag out and Jaden caught it in a hard hug on the return. Her first instinct was to make contact with her one link inside the system, but Larry had died en route to a crime scene starring her as the criminal.
    Correction–he'd died when the police chief