No True Justice

by H. L. Wegley

  “When they should be going to the people they trust for help, rather than going it alone?”

  Gemma’s gaze dropped to the pine needles covering the ground. “Yes.”

  “Do you know what that says about a person’s level of commitment to those they supposedly trust?”

  Lex had struck a live emotional nerve, more painful than a nerve hit by a dentist’s drill.

  “All the feelings mean nothing until commitment validates them. Isn’t that what you said that day we were hiding by the river? And I haven’t demonstrated enough commitment. You think I’m just like Melissa. Maybe if Blade had killed me, you would have seen enough commitment.” Tears started flowing before Lex replied, because she knew what was coming.

  “After all that happened to us and between us, how could you write that note and say those things—that you were never meant to be a wife or a mother. You know how the boys feel about you.”

  Gemma wiped her cheeks. “The boys aren’t the problem. It’s what you feel, or don’t, that’s the problem.”

  “But I need you, Gemma.”

  “You need me for your story, for exposing the corruption. I’m just part of your agenda.”

  “The boys need you too.”

  “Lex, if we work together through the entire story, the whole conspiracy against President Gramm, Marsh McDowell’s retrial, and the congressional hearings where we will have to testify, we will be together for months. You can’t ask me to let those two boys further into my heart only to have you rip them away again.”

  Lex opened his mouth to speak—

  “I’m not finished. How can I do that, with the boys, and with you, with no commitment. I was going to give my life for you and the boys. Lex, you’re the one with commitment issues and you can’t even see that.”

  His shoulders slumped. He broke eye contact.

  She had never seen Lex look so defeated. Should she have been so—yes. Lex needed to hear the truth about himself.

  And about me.

  * * *

  Dude, what in heaven’s name do you think you’re doing?

  It wasn’t in heaven’s name. It was in Lex James’ name. And, after hearing Gemma slice and dice it, he wasn’t proud of it.

  How could he put Gemma Saint in the same category as a self-absorbed woman like Melissa? Yes, Gemma had lied to him … to save Josh’s and Caleb’s lives. She had gone to die for the boys in a desperate attempt to prevent him from doing the same thing.

  He couldn’t ask anything more from her. She’d proved her love, devotion, commitment—anything a person could prove about love and caring. And the joy on her face when she found him safe in the living room—he had turned it all to tears.

  Lex looked at Gemma leaning against a pine tree, head down, arms folded, crying softly.

  He approached her while his heart tried its best to rip his chest apart. Lex James had never been in this kind of situation before and apologies were not his strong suit.

  “What do you want?” She didn’t look up. But what did he expect?

  “A peace offering?”

  “Maybe I don’t want peace. How about nuclear war?”

  Not good. “A love offering, then?”

  Gemma sniffed and wiped her nose. “I’m listening.”

  “I’m a fool.”

  “You got that right. Maybe I should call you Mel.”

  Ouch. The masculine form of Melissa. Gemma had a point. A sharp point. And, in his estimation, it had penetrated right where she had wanted it to.

  “Could you ever love a fool, Gemma?”

  “Aren’t you forgetting something?” Her eyes now bored into him. Gemma was looking for something, and her searing gaze burned away everything else.

  The question was, would there be anything left when she was done?

  But he had forgotten something. “Gemma, could you ever forgive a fool like me?”

  “That depends.”

  “On?”

  “Give me a reason, Lex.”

  “I need you.”

  “You already told me that.” She swiped at her cheeks. “So what’s new in your part of the world?” She turned her head away.

  “Something that’s been growing for about three days now.”

  “Suspicion? Doubts?”

  “Doggone it, Gemma, I love you. I need you. And I want you.”

  His words brought her head around to face him. The flood lights from the house lit her face. Gemma’s eyes had softened. Everything about Gemma had softened.

  “What do you really want, Lex James? You’d better ask while I’m still in a listening mood.” The corner of her mouth twitched like she wanted to smile … or was about to cry.

  “Please forgive me, Gemma.”

  “I’ll consider it.”

  “The note hurt, but I should never have mentioned you and Melissa in the same sentence. The same paragraph. The same story. The same—”

  “Make that the same universe and I might go for it.” A smile tweaked one side of her mouth, then disappeared. “Are you through, Lex?”

  “No, I’m just starting. Gemma, would you consider—”

  Ramirez and Cody had left the house and strode toward Lex and Gemma. Their timing stunk.

  KC put out a hand, giving them the universal stop signal.

  The twins used the opportunity to break free. They made a bee line for Gemma.

  “I—I need a partner, Gemma.”

  Where had those words come from?

  Dude, you really are an idiot.

  “We all need somebody, Lex … someone who knows our mistakes and loves us anyway.”

  Who was she talking about, herself or him?

  Josh got to Gemma first. He grabbed one hand.

  Caleb latched onto the other.

  Josh opened his mouth first. Shock and awe time. “We want you to stay and be our mama. We don't want nobody else.”

  “Yeah,” Caleb said. “If you don’t stay and watch us, who knows what we might do. We might get captured by the Fibbies again and get shot or somethin’.”

  Gemma brushed a tear from her cheek and looked at Lex. “Did you send two boys to do a man's job?”

  The boys tugged on her, pulling her closer to Lex.

  “It's not Josh’s and Caleb’s opinion that concerns me. They love me, and they trust me, but … are we finished with the note? I told you why, to exchange myself for the twins.”

  Josh looked up into Gemma’s eyes. “The Fibbies lie and cheat. They was gonna grab you and kill us all.”

  “Yeah,” Caleb said. “They don't give a rip about lyin’ and stuff like that.”

  “Caleb,” Lex pulled Caleb's chin around until Caleb faced him. “Where did you get this ‘don't give a rip’ talk?”

  “You say it all the time, Uncalex. But don't ya’ think ya’ should give a rip about Gemma?”

  “Yes. Gemma is just about perfect for me. She has the right degree and some experience. I could use a business partner like her.”

  “I can find my own job, Lex James. And I don't have enough money to buy into your business.”

  “What if I offer you a full partnership? Fifty-fifty?”

  “Like I said, I—”

  “For life, Gemma.”

  “So I'm going to be indentured for life to The American Motto?”

  “Yeah. Just like me.”

  “What's that supposed to mean?”

  “That the boys need a mother and I need a partner.”

  “How romantic. I give you a career-making story and you reward me with two jobs, a nanny and a reporter. Will I be fired if I don't meet expectations?”

  “No. I love you.”

  “You already told me that. But what do you plan to do about it?”

  “Could you ever love a man like me?”

  “One like you? Certainly not. Because I already love you, Lex James.”

  Josh pulled away from his huddle with Caleb. “Uncalex, in the movies this is the part where—it's really gross—but the
y always kiss.”

  “Yeah.” Caleb said. “And all the people clap and whistle.”

  Lex closed the distance between them. “We wouldn't want to violate movie protocol and disappoint the boys, would we?”

  “I don’t know. You tell me.”

  “You mean tell you like this?” He kissed her.

  Or did Gemma kiss him?

  * * *

  Who kissed whom?

  Regardless, Gemma was certain of one thing. Gemma's jinx had ended, buried in the graveyard of dead thoughts that would never again be resurrected. Gemma’s jinx had been replaced by Gemma’s geniuses, Josh and Caleb … and, of course, Lex.

  He held her shoulders and studied her eyes. “Marry me, Gemma.”

  “Was that a command or a question?”

  “Both.”

  “You can’t do both, Lex.”

  “Alright then, a question.”

  “Finally. Four whole days since we met. I thought you'd never ask.”

  Josh tugged on her arm. “Please say yes. You gotta stay and marry Uncalex. We don’t want you to be Aunt Gemma, and we don’t want Uncalex no more. You gotta be our mama and Uncalex our dad. If you don’t, who knows, we might grow to be like Blade.”

  “Yeah, Gemma,” Caleb said. “We might be crinimals or something if you don’t stay and teach us to—”

  “Teach you not to tell such whoppers?”

  “But we already told whoppers. Do you know how many times we lied to the FBI? That’s a crime. We’re already crinimals, so we need you, Gemma.” Caleb’s voice grew soft and low. “We love you, Gemma.”

  Josh on one side, Caleb on the other. Two sets of arms around her waist.

  Lex’s arms circling her shoulders.

  Gemma Saint was trapped, a trap with irresistible bait. She looked down at the boys. “I love you both …”

  She focused on the warmth in Lex’s blue eyes, clearly visible in the residual light from the house.

  “I love you too, Lex. Yes. I’ll marry you. Y’all shoulda’ known that.”

  “Y’all? Do you mean all one of me?”

  “No. All three of you.”

  Chapter 34

  Twelve hours later.

  Gemma raised her head from the back of the couch in Lex’s living room and grimaced as a cramp knotted the muscles in her neck. Her arm muscles tried to spasm too. How long had her arms been draped around the two rascally angels tucked against her sides?

  Sometime during the short night, Josh and Caleb had crawled onto the couch and nestled in beside her. Their heads had slumped forward revealing two identical cowlicks on the crowns of those tiny heads stuffed with big brains.

  Had those incredible minds gotten them into more trouble yesterday or less? Probably a little of both. Regardless, these two boys had saved Gemma’s life and wormed their way further into her heart, all the way to that place where her deepest love and loyalties resided.

  They were going to be a handful. Certainly more than a half-grown boy like Lex could handle. But they had forced Peter Pan to grow up.

  Now, Gemma needed a place to stay until the day when this would become her home. No way would she go back to her duplex in Madras. Not to live.

  Maybe she would take KC’s offer to stay in her spare bedroom until the wedding. It was a lot closer to Lex’s place than Madras.

  Resolving that issue, her status in WITSEC, and getting assurance that Lex, the boys and Gemma would be kept safe, were on the agenda for today.

  Cody had been benched by his boss and sent back to the hospital to recuperate from his head injuries. But rumor had it that he’d taken some things to work on while in the hospital. So far, there had been no signs of permanent brain damage. Another marshal took Cody’s place and Cody had made sure it wasn’t Marshal Shaw.

  Lex’s agenda, on the other hand …

  The Windows message-arriving alert sounded from another room.

  Gemma wiggled from between the boys, replaced her body with couch pillows, and covered the boys with the throw blanket.

  Josh and Caleb both sighed but didn’t wake.

  The soft sounds of someone working on a keyboard came from the study.

  She tiptoed to the study door.

  Lex had already started work on her story. And the fingers on that keyboard were wide awake, typing at a furious rate.

  She and Lex had dozed off on the couch around 3:00 a.m., after Gemma finished answering Lex’s questions about the conspiracy. Sometime during the night, he had covered her legs with a throw blanket and either went to his bedroom or, more likely, begun work.

  Gemma sauntered into the study. Maybe he would give her a status report.

  He hadn’t spotted her yet, so she slipped behind him and—her foot slid out from under her. Gemma dropped to the hardwood floor with a thump. Probably bruising her rear in the fall.

  Lex swiveled in his office chair. “Gemma, are you okay?”

  “I think so.”

  The offending object lay beside her feet. The sheet of printer paper she had stepped on had turned the polished wooden floor into a sheet of ice.

  Lex stood and gave her his hands.

  Gemma took them and let him pull her to her feet, but Lex continued pulling until both of his arms wrapped around her.

  That breath! “Lex, have you been eating anchovies laced with horseradish.”

  He pulled one hand free and covered his mouth.

  He’d obviously worked since three o’clock and neglected all personal hygiene.

  “You know something? You need more than a wife around here. You need a mother or Supernanny.”

  “That’s a fine thank you for helping you up.”

  “It was your slovenly ways that put me down there. And it’s obvious you didn’t brush your teeth this morning.”

  “Morning? Yeah. I guess it is.” He glanced at the clock on the wall. “8:00 a.m. to be exact.”

  “What have you been working on?” She tried to give him her coy smile, but how does a person express uncertainty in the face of a chemical warfare attack?

  “Been working on the biggest story of my life.”

  “Do you mean the story about how you got your boys to con a naïve, soft-hearted woman into agreeing to marry you?”

  “Not exactly. I mean the story about the saints marching in.”

  “Please tell me you didn’t fill the headlines with puns that use my name.”

  “Sorry, can’t tell you that.”

  “Lex, my school years were filled with smart alecks making off-color puns about Gemma Saint. Shall I give you a sample?”

  “No. I’ve got my own. Come here and you can read them for yourself. The front-page stories are already published and I’m working on an editorial.”

  Gemma scanned the home page on The American Motto’s web site. “When the Saint Comes Marching in to DC? Subtitle … you don’t want to be in that number when the saint starts naming names.”

  “D-O-J, D-O-J. There’s a fountain of corruption deep and wide?”

  “And look at your editorial. Jesus loves the little children, but the FBI doesn’t. Seriously, Lex, are you trying to use every song you learned in Sunday School?”

  “Not every song. Keep reading.”

  In a black operation aimed at preventing President Gramm’s re-election, a group of undercover FBI agents, under the direction of Max Carr, Deputy Director, made several attempts to kill Gemma Saint and me. To lure me, they kidnapped my twin boys, who are only four years old, and then tried to kill them. While I resent it when people try to kill me, I will do them serious harm if they bother my twin boys. But, as it turned out, the FBI was no match for the twins who disabled an FBI agent and then escaped, bringing me the identification of all the men who kidnapped them. Besides the corruption in the DOJ, there are other reasons to clean house, reasons such as incompetence and …

  “Lex, you’re painting certain FBI members as fools. They aren’t going to be happy.”

  “Don’t worry. We k
now who most of the bad apples are. Besides, Cody has already set up U.S. Marshal protection for us.”

  “So, I go from a phony placement in WITSEC, when I didn’t need it, to real witness protection because, not organized crime, but the Justice Department wants to kill me?”

  “That pretty well sums it up. I’m trying to put some people in DC in the hot seat, forcing them to take action against the alligators swimming in their swamp. By the way … do you know what the name Maximillian Carr actually—let me break it down for you. Maximillian is a word meaning great. Carr comes from an old English word borrowed from the Norse. It means swamp.”

  “Are you saying the actual meaning of the name of the man responsible for this conspiracy is great swamp?”

  He turned toward his desk, grabbed a box of breath mints, and popped one into his mouth. “Ironic, huh? This conspiracy needs to be portrayed as what it is, such an egregious violation of federal authority that it must be cut out like a cancer. But, with all the entrenched bureaucrats, we may need something systemic, like chemo.”

  “Or some new treatment, like immunotherapy. Something that targets the cancer. Have you gotten any feedback yet?”

  Lex turned from his desk to her again and nodded. “My crew at the office says the phone is ringing off the hook—The Daily Signal, The Heritage Foundation, The New York Post, and the Wall Street Journal. Now, other mainstream media outlets have caved and started calling. They’re afraid to ignore this.”

  “That’s because it’s too big to ignore. The DOJ, probably with the help of certain Congressmen, Senators and other bureaucrats, planned to control the next presidential election. They could have changed the whole course of the nation. And you laid out the conspiracy, names included. I’m impressed, Mr. James. But, you know, by the end of the day the cable news networks will be calling for interviews.”

  “Maybe. But they get no interviews unless you’re there with me. You’re at the center of this, Gemma. Just like you’ve been at the center of my life, and the twins’ lives, since you knocked on our door.”

  The words she prayed before knocking on that door returned.

  There must be a reason why You’ve allowed all this to happen to me. Please, God, show me what you want me to do.

  The past three days had confirmed the answer. Three people needed her, and she needed them more than Gemma Saint had ever needed anything on planet Earth.