Read excerpt from "I'll Do Anything"

The morning of Blythe Turner's bond hearing dawned cool and sunny. It was March, not quite spring, and a tang of south Georgian winter still hung in the air.

The press waited at the top of the staircase, lurking in front of the courthouse doors like vultures waiting to descend on a dying animal. Cade did not mind pushy reporters or being filmed. The media could be a very powerful tool and he intended to use them as often as possible.

As soon as he stepped into view, they swooped down the stairs, nearly knocking over a woman in their mad dash to be the first to get him on camera. Cade braced himself. Though he understood their eagerness, he still could not get used to the way they crowded so close, invading his personal space with microphones and bodies and bright, blinding lights. Questions were shouted before they even reached him.

"Mr. Taylor! Mr. Taylor!" They vied for his attention. "Any comments from Mrs. Turner or Congressman Turner about the four dead teenagers?"

"Mr. Taylor! Will Congressman Turner be staying in Hardin during the trial?"

"Is it true you're trying to move the trial out of Hardin County? Where will you go?"

"Is it true Mrs. Turner refused to be tested for drugs or alcohol? What is she trying to hide?"

"Mr. Taylor!"

Cade smiled into the closest camera. "Congressman Turner will hold a press conference later today to address his concern and heartfelt regret for the families of the victims. And yes, we are trying to move the case. It is our belief that Mrs. Turner would not receive a fair verdict in this county. We'll have to wait and see which venue meets with the judge's approval."

"Mr. Taylor," one persistent reporter shouted and shoved her way to the front. "What do you have to say about Dekalb County's District Attorney trying to move in on the case before a judge's ruling?"

"This is the first I've heard of it," Cade said truthfully. "That's a better question for Ed Slagle, Hardin County's D.A., don't you think?

"Mr. Taylor!"

"That's all for now," he said. The questions grew louder as he tried to push his way through. He smiled easily, feeling the crowd shift and move around him as he tried to clear a path. He glanced up when he saw an opening.
Cade froze and stared.

Julia stood at the top of the stairs, looking exactly how he felt, as though a pile driver had hit her square in the chest.

The media, sensitive to their target, turned to see what had caught his interest.

"It's the ADA from Dekalb. What's her name?" The reporter closest to Cade scanned the small pocket notebook in his hand. "Julia. Julia Campbell. C'mon, let's go."

They lurched as one, surging up the stairs to crowd around her, throwing questions at her as they had him. Cade watched as she coolly ignored them, her attention focused down the stairs. At him.

She looked unruffled by the barrage of voices and bodies pressing in on her. They all shouted her name. Questions about her and the case bounced off the stone façade and echoed down the narrow corridor of the courthouse. Julia looked at him expectantly and he started up the stairs.

"Miss Campbell! Miss Campbell!"

"No comment at this time," she said firmly.

The shouting continued until Cade reached them. The wall of human bodies parted, making a space for him to join in the fray. They quieted, cameras and microphones waved between them, anticipating the exchange.

"It's been a long time," Cade muttered. He ignored the flashes as more pictures were taken.

"Not long enough." Her reply was like a slap in the face. Bitch.

"It seems fate had other ideas," Cade said, fighting his temper.

"Fate has always been a cruel bitch," Julia muttered and the microphones shot beneath her nose.

The avid eyes of the press bounced back and forth as though watching the last seconds of sudden death tennis match. The undercurrent of electricity Cade felt between them would be enough to send their equipment into spasms.

Cade drank in her upswept hair and prim little suit and wondered if she still wore her bad girl underwear. Suddenly, unbidden memories assaulted him. Julia flush with passion, her sinfully sexy black hair tumbled in an erotic mess over law books and legal pads and her silk clad legs wrapped around his naked waist. Damn, now he was hard.

"I think we're losing sight of who the real bitch is here, aren't we," Cade asked icily, striking out at her. After all that happened, how could she possible still have power over him?

Cade sensed more than saw her flinch away from his attack. A sadistic sort of pleasure engulfed him at having cracked her composure.

"I'll see you inside counselor," she said, her voice cool. Julia turned on her heel and pushed through the media barricade.

Cade watched her leave from behind the tinted lenses of his glasses, disgust at their behavior fueling his anger. He brushed past the gaping reporters who battered him with new questions.

"Mr. Taylor, how do you and Ms. Campbell know each other? Mr. Taylor, is there bad blood between you and the District Attorney's office?"

The heavy glass doors closed them out as he followed her inside. Cade fumed and watched the swish of her overcoat, her heels clicking a sharp staccato across the tiled floors of the hall. He caught up with her easily outside the courtroom and pressed the flat of his hand against the door before she could open it. She stiffened and cast a haughty stare over her shoulder. Her sunglasses tilted down her nose and she peered at him with barely veiled disgust.

"Don't ever do that again," he ground out, leaning heavily against the door and effectively trapping her between his body and the thick wooden surface.

"I wasn't the one who resorted to name calling," she replied. "Really Cade. How old are we?"

"Look who's talking, Miss Trash Mouth." Chaining his temper, Cade pushed away from the door and took a step away from her. That close, he could smell her perfume and feel the heat of her through his clothes. Jesus, what was she doing to him? He clenched his jaw and stared, watching Julia take a deep breath.

"Are we finished?"

"What are you doing here?"

"What do you think?"

"It's not your jurisdiction," he said, annoyed that she seemed to get a grip on her emotions a lot faster than he did. "Does Ed Slagle know you're here, poaching on his cases?"

"We discussed the situation with the local DA yesterday. I requested only to attend the hearing. I won't step in until the judge approves your change of venue. You were hoping for Dekalb County, weren't you?" Her brows arched over her sunglasses in question.

"How did you get your information?"

"It's true, isn't it? Why does it matter where I got it?" Julia took off her sunglasses and met his straightforward gaze. How could he have forgotten how beautiful she was?

"Look, Cade," she murmured. "I'm only here because I've got a job to do, just like you. So let's do it and put all of the kindergarten bullshit behind us for today. Okay?"

Cade studied her for a long, thoughtful minute.

"Fine."

"Good." She tugged on the door again. He moved aside and she breezed right through without a backward glance.

This is an uncorrected copy and may differ slightly from the final published novel, which will be available from Triskelion Publishing in March 2006. This work is copyrighted as of December 2005 by Chrystal Kincaid.