stuffed chair. Sean started to rise, and she quickly said, “You stay there. I can do this. If I need you, I’ll let you know.” She opened the top left drawer and went through the personal items she kept in it. “After I’ve gone through my office, I’ll drive your car and take you to the ER to make sure you’re okay.”
He opened his mouth to reply, but she held up her palm. “No arguments on that. If something is wrong and you didn’t get help, it would be my fault.” She shut the top drawer and reached for the bottom one.
Their gazes clashed. A war of emotions played across his face while Aubrey pulled the second compartment out.
A rattling sound sent shivers down her body as she stared at the coiled rattlesnake, poised to strike.
The sound of a rattlesnake shaking his tail reverberated through the office. Sean shoved to his feet while drawing his gun. Eyes wide, Aubrey leaped to her feet, thrusting her chair back at the same time the snake launched itself at her. Sean raised his weapon and shot the reptile. It fell to the floor as he rushed around the desk to Aubrey. The sudden movements sent the room tilting. He clutched the ledge of the desk and steadied himself.
The office door slammed open, and both guards aimed their guns into the room. Sean pivoted toward them. “I need a first-aid kit and something to take a dead rattlesnake to the hospital. I’m calling 911.”
One deputy sheriff turned and left while the other stood inside the entrance. “Where was it?”
“In a desk drawer. This office will need to be thoroughly searched in case there’s something else dangerous in here.” Aubrey held her arm against her chest, the color washing from her face. Blood oozed from the bite wound on her forearm.
As he peered at the snake to make sure it was dead, Sean clasped her shoulders, guiding her back and sitting her down in her chair. “Hold your arm still and let it bleed.” After calling 911 and requesting an ambulance, he said, “I want you to limit your movements. Help is on the way. I need to find a bag or container to take the snake to the hospital. That way they’ll know exactly what bit you.”
Aubrey stared at the rattlesnake. “First a rat and now a snake. Was this the purpose of the break-in?”
“Probably, but the crime might have been done for other reasons, too. Stay seated.” Sean removed his tie and made a sling for Aubrey. “This will help keep your arm still.” When he obtained a first-aid kit, he would place a sterile bandage over the wound. “I need to take off your rings on your left hand in case it swells.”
She started to lift her arm toward him, but he stopped her. “The less movement you make, the less the venom will circulate through your body. I’ll do it and keep them safe for you.” Gently he removed her wedding and engagement rings and stuffed them in his pants pocket.
She looked up at him, sweat beading on her face. “Thanks.”
“Let me know if your vision blurs or you become dizzy.”
Aubrey attempted a smile, but it didn’t last a second. “That’s what I should be saying to you.”
“The paramedics will be here soon.”
“If I’m going to the hospital, you need to go, too.”
“You don’t need to worry about me.”
“Sorry, I am.”
The deputy sheriff who left to get the first-aid kit and paper bag hurried into the office and gave them to Sean. “I’m going downstairs to wait for the ambulance.”
“I appreciate it.”
As he left, Sean found a clean bandage and placed it over her wound, then he took the sack and placed the dead snake in it.
“After we’re looked at, we need to come back here and see if the intruder took anything, especially concerning Villa’s trial.”
Sean plopped the bag onto the desk. “We?”
“I’m the only one who can tell you if something is missing or added. You can’t do it without me.”
“You’ll have to stay in the hospital,” he said as a bead of sweat rolled down her face.
“Maybe not. I hope I don’t.”
“My best friend was bit by a rattlesnake once. He was in the hospital for a few days.”
“But my family needs—”
The door opening stopped her words. She glanced at the paramedics rolling a gurney into the office.
Sean leaned down and whispered into her ear, “I’ll take care of your family. Don’t worry about them. Focus on your recovery.”
“Promise me you’ll get your head wound checked out.”
Her look of appeal made it impossible to say no. As the paramedics moved the desk to give them more room, Sean smiled and cupped her shoulder. “I will.”
While the EMTs readied her to be transported to the hospital, Sean called the police officer on duty at her house, Officer Carter. After explaining what had happened, he said, “I want you to bring them to the hospital when she’s admitted.”
“The kids, too?”
Sean turned his back to Aubrey. “Leave that up to Camilla Roberts. If the kids stay at the house, have the other officer stay and guard them. Let your police chief know, and have another officer at the house with her children. There’s no doubt Judge Madison is being targeted. Someone wants to harm her.”
* * *
Aubrey lay in her hospital bed, staring at the window with its blinds closed. The pain medication and muscle relaxer were starting to work. She prayed that the antivenin would, too, and quickly. She switched her attention to her left arm, which had a red streak moving up it. The nurse was marking how much it was spreading every hour.
She wished she knew more about rattlesnake bites. She wished she knew how Sean was doing. All she wanted to do was leave the hospital. She hated being here. The last couple days had made her think about Samuel and his murder. He’d left for work one morning, and she never saw him again.
Her eyelids grew heavy. She needed to stay awake. What if someone came in here and completed the job the rattlesnake had been planted in her office to do? But she couldn’t keep her eyes open any longer. As she began to drift off, the sound of her door opening jerked Aubrey away from sleep.
She looked toward the entrance and didn’t recognize the person entering. Instantly she fumbled for the call button. The man was dressed in blue scrubs with a name tag, but he hadn’t been in her room before. After what had happened the last twenty-four hours, she couldn’t shake her suspicions.
“I’m your nurse this evening. I wanted to check in with you.” He stopped next to her bed and peered at her left arm. “It looks like the red line is slowing down.”
She didn’t know what to say. Her heartbeat doubled its rate. Where was Sean?
“How are you feeling? Is the pain medication helping?” He moved even closer.
Words stuck in her throat. She kept replaying the rattlesnake attack while pressing the call button.
The door opened. The nurse swiveled his attention toward the entrance. “Judge Madison, I’m Deputy Sheriff Simpson. I’ve been assigned to guard you. I’ll be right outside your door if you need me.” He started to leave.
She’d seen him at the courthouse. He was a familiar face. “Wait!”
The deputy sheriff paused and glanced at her.
“I have a couple of questions.”
Simpson approached her.