Justice (A Science Fiction / Fantasy Romance)

by Fall, Carly

  Guilt washed through her as she padded into the bathroom and splashed cold water on her face. For a few hours, she’d been able to forget her Billy’s murder, and it had felt good to have that weight lifted, even for just a small period of time. However, now, she regretted it. Instead of getting laid, she should be looking to deliver a good dose of justice to her brother’s killer.

  She grinned at the play on words as she dried her face. Justice would help her deliver justice.

  As the shower water warmed up, she brushed her teeth, then stepped into the warm spray. As the water washed over her body, it reminded her of Justice’s gentle touch, his soft tongue lapping at her breast. Heat pooled between her legs as the shampoo cascaded down her torso.

  “You need to stop that right now, you little hussy,” she said, her voice echoing off the brown tiles. If she had her way, Justice would come back downstairs, bend her over the sink, and take her from behind. “Not going to happen, Holly, so just knock it off.”

  Her thoughts were so scattered. One minute, she considered finding her Billy’s killer; the next, being bent over a sink. “Focus, girl. Focus.”

  She quickly dressed, ran her fingers through her hair, then took a deep breath and headed upstairs.

  Justice sat at the kitchen table, a cell phone in his hand as he stared out the window. She studied his strong jawline and the way the morning sun made his dark skin gleam. He looked to be deep in thought, as it seemed he hadn’t heard her.

  “Hi,” she said.

  He turned to her and smiled. “Good morning.”

  At least, he didn’t seem upset or angry about last night.

  “Or should I say afternoon?” he asked.

  She grinned and approached the table. “Yes, I did sleep quite a while.”

  “I guess you needed it.”

  She waited for some type of signal. Should she bend down and kiss him? Give him a hug? Or should she just sit down?

  “Have a seat,” he said, motioning to the chair across the table from him.

  Apparently, there would not be any affection this morning, and relief washed through her, but so did disappointment.

  “There’s been another murder in your apartment building.”

  She gasped and leaned back in her chair.

  “Same M.O. as you and your brother. A woman was murdered and her husband says he’s being framed. He’s sitting in jail right now.”

  Her heart raced as she considered the fact that it could have been her in a jail cell for something she didn’t do. “We have to find out who’s doing this, Justice.”

  He nodded. “I know. We’re heading over to the apartment complex to take a look around.”

  She scoffed. “Do you really think someone’s going to leave a letter of admission on the front door?”

  “No. But my friends have given me some information that will help us.”

  “Like what? Who are these friends?”

  He grinned. “Go get your shoes on.”

  “So you’re going to blow off my question?”

  He reached across the table and took her hands in his. She shivered as he ran his thumb over her palm.

  “Sometimes, it’s better if you don’t know things, Holly,” he said, his voice soft. “When I don’t answer your questions, it’s to keep you safe. Being privy to my ‘friends’ can be dangerous for you, so please, just take my word that the information is solid.”

  He hadn’t wronged her yet, and besides, if he was getting the intel from an illegal source, he was right. She didn’t need to know anything. Perhaps he had friends higher up in the military who could access classified information.

  “Okay.”

  As he let go of her hands, she reluctantly stood and headed for the staircase.

  “Holly?”

  She turned back to him.

  “Last night … well, thank you. It … it was amazing.”

  Heat warmed her cheeks, and she smiled. “Yeah, it was.”

  They stared at each other for a beat. She didn’t want to hear about how wrong it had been. She wanted to just bask in the perfection of their shared experience, just for a bit.

  Hence, she quickly added, “I’ll go get my shoes on.”

  Chapter 36

  As they sped down the highway, Holly looked out the passenger window in silence. Justice wanted to tell her that last night had been wrong, that it couldn’t happen again, but he couldn’t find the words to say so.

  On one level, it had been a mistake of epic proportions. They needed to address the things Blake had mentioned, such as birth control and diseases. He wanted to tell her the truth about everything—who he really was, how he’d been watching her for a year, how he felt he knew her, and how hard he seemed to be falling for her.

  But he couldn’t.

  He’d put himself at substantial risk if she were to go to the authorities, as well as the Saviors and his crew. No one could know of their existence.

  “Justice, I feel weird asking this, but we’re both adults, so I know I shouldn’t. But, do you have any STDs?”

  He frowned trying to figure out the acronym.

  “Sexually transmitted diseases?” she asked again. “We had unprotected sex last night, in case you don’t recall.”

  He grinned. “I’ve been thinking of little else.”

  “Well?”

  “No. I’m clean, Holly.” Hell, she’d taken his human form virginity. “What about you?”

  She sighed. “I’m clean, as well.”

  He glanced over at her, and she seemed more relaxed.

  “And birth control?” he asked.

  “We’re good, Justice. We’re fine.”

  He nodded, glad that discussion was out of the way.

  “You aren’t married, are you?”

  He chuckled. “No. Not even close.”

  “Okay. I feel better having all that out in the open.”

  “I … uh … I really enjoyed last night,” he ventured a few minutes later.

  Meeting his gaze, she smiled. “I did, too. I also wanted to let you know that whatever happens between us, I won’t report you to the superiors. It’s been consensual, and I’d never do anything to try to get you in trouble.”

  He sighed, the weight of his lies coming back on him. There didn’t seem to be any reason to continue the conversation, and his thoughts drifted back to last night. He wanted the experience again, and as he recalled Holly’s soft skin against his, the feeling of her breasts against his hard chest, his cock throbbed.

  “You’ll want to take this exit,” Holly murmured a while later, bringing him out of his reverie.

  Excitement washed through him at the thought of experiencing Holly’s private life. He wanted to see how and where she lived, to watch her in familiar surroundings. He wondered if the cops had opened up her apartment yet or if it was still considered a crime scene.

  “Go right at the next light.”

  The neighborhood seemed to be fairly nice. Restaurants, bookshops, and stores lined the street, but it definitely didn’t feel like the high-end part of the city. They passed the Veteran’s Hospital, and he remembered the day Holly had come into the bunker talking about moving into the complex. She said they chose this area because the apartment stood close to the hospital.

  “It’s right up here on the left. The grey building.”

  He drove past it slowly to get a feel of the layout.

  “You’ll never get a parking spot around here. I always have to go a couple blocks down.”

  He nodded and turned left, and sure enough, he didn’t see any open parking spots until another block down.

  “There’s one!” Holly exclaimed.

  He veered over and parked the SUV.

  Holly glanced around the neighborhood and then met his gaze. “I’m nervous.”

  “We don’t have anything to worry about. It’s not like the cops are sitting at the front door waiting for you.”

  She nodded.

  They walked the two blocks
in silence, and Holly stopped as they rounded the corner and her building came into view. It seemed to be one of the older ones in the area, the exterior a drab gray color. Every other apartment had a balcony, and he counted six floors.

  She hesitated a moment and looked at him while she crossed her arms over her chest. “I don’t think I can do this.”

  He placed a hand on her shoulder and realized she was shaking. “Why not?”

  Tears welled in her eyes. “What if we see him? What if we see the guy who killed my brother?”

  “What if we do? Are you afraid of him?”

  A tear tracked down her cheek and she shook her head. “No. Well, maybe.”

  His instincts to protect his female roared to the surface. “He’s got to go through me to get to you, Holly.”

  She smiled, despite the tears. “I know. But I think I’m more afraid of what I’ll do. I don’t want to do anything that could actually make me guilty of something.”

  He chuckled, having no doubt Holly could cause some serious damage to someone if she put her mind to it. “I won’t let that happen either, okay? We’re just here to look around.”

  “Okay.”

  They walked the rest of the way to the building and through the front door. Mailboxes lined the walls to the left, an elevator to the right. The cracked, yellowing tile almost matched the white, yellowing walls. The place definitely needed a renovation.

  “I want to go to my apartment first,” Holly murmured under her breath, and he nodded.

  They didn’t bother with the elevator, but climbed the stairs to the second floor.

  She stood before the door, and he noticed a glimmer of sweat on her brow. Her hands shook, and her breathing became shallow.

  There wasn’t any indication that the apartment couldn’t be entered. It seemed the officials had finished processing the scene.

  She reached into her sweatshirt pocket and pulled out her car keys. Dropping them, she bent down, and Justice opened his hand.

  “We should get inside quickly,” he murmured, looking around the empty hallway. “Let me help.”

  She handed him the ring and he opened the door.

  After they stepped inside, he silently closed it. The faint coppery smell of blood hit his nose as he looked around. The police had obviously been through every inch of the apartment and emptied drawers as games, magazines, and books had been tossed on the floor and pictures hung skewed on the walls.

  Holly stared wide-eyed at the mess, her face pale as she carefully made her way into the kitchen. He followed, finding the space in the same condition as the living room. Silverware had been scattered everywhere, a few broken dishes littered the floor, and all the cupboards had been opened. Pots and pans littered the countertops, and someone had left the refrigerator open after emptying its contents.

  She moved down the small hallway to the bedrooms. Looking into the first one, he noted the overturned mattress. The drawers and their contents once again littered the floor. Holly’s mouth became a tight line as she surveyed the mess, and anger flashed over her face. He guessed this had been her brother’s bedroom as boxers laid on the floor and a camouflage blanket had been balled up in the comer of the room. The walls were bare, and a few men’s shirts still hung in the closet, having survived the wrath of the search.

  He followed her to the second bedroom to find it in worse shape than any other room in the house. Standing in the middle of the wreckage, she slowly spun in a small circle. The mattress lay up against the wall; the box spring had been ripped open. All the drawers had been emptied, the pictures removed from the walls and the backs taken off of them. The content of her closet had been dumped on the floor, and papers lay strewn across a small desk.

  “They sure were thorough,” she murmured through a clenched jaw.

  Justice didn’t know what to say. The scene felt terribly intrusive to him, a deliberate invasion of privacy. However, he supposed when the police had a murder on their hands, all concerns of confidentiality went out the window. The most important thing would be to find clues to who the responsible party had been, or in this case, where they’d gone. The police believed Holly had killed Billy.

  She bent down and picked up a picture from the floor. He glanced at it over her shoulder. Holly stood with a young man dressed in fatigues, their smiling faces shining in the sun. She wore a light purple sundress and sandals.

  “This was me and my brother when he graduated from boot camp,” she explained. “He was so proud to be following in Dad’s footsteps. I wasn’t even out of high school yet.”

  Shaking her head, she pushed the picture into her sweatshirt pocket. “Let’s go. I’ve seen enough.”

  He followed her, a mix of emotions within him. Anger at her violation, sadness at her loss, and envy that she had a little piece of Billy to take with her.

  It only reminded him that he had nothing.

  Chapter 37

  They took the elevator up one floor and Justice looked for the apartment. Finding it without any problems, he stood in front of the door wanting to beat it down, then meet the person inside. Chances were good this would be the male who’d destroyed Holly’s life, and he wondered how the monster would feel having his spleen removed from his body through his mouth.

  Taking a deep breath, he tried to calm the anger that raged within. He brought up his fist and knocked on the door, almost hoping it would be answered.

  They waited a moment, and he knocked again. Certain no one was home, he then realized he had no way to get into the apartment, and he felt like a fool. Maybe he would have to knock down the damn thing.

  “Here,” Holly said, pulling out a credit card. He watched as she slipped it into the crack between the panel and the frame, jiggling the doorknob with one hand while moving the credit card with the other. A moment later, the ‘snap’ of the door lock opening sounded.

  She stepped back and he grinned at her.

  “I’m impressed.”

  Shrugging, she smiled. “My brother taught me how to do that when I locked myself out of our place once. These locks suck.”

  He stepped inside the apartment, his respect for Holly growing, if that were at all possible.

  The apartment had the same layout as Holly’s and held the basic amenities—a couch, a small coffee table, and a flat screen television lying up against the wall but which hadn’t been bolted to it. No pictures hung on the bare, white walls; no mail on the kitchen counter. He opened the fridge and found a pizza box, some beers, and a gallon of milk.

  Although they hadn’t discovered anything damning, the hairs on the back of his neck began to tingle—they were on the right track.

  “Let’s check the bedroom,” Holly whispered.

  He nodded and led the way down the hall. His body hummed with adrenaline and he tried not to think about the fact that they were breaking the law.

  Opening the first bedroom door, he found an empty room. The neat and tidy bathroom sparkled, the toothbrush on the sink giving the only indication that someone actually used the space.

  The bedroom door at the end of the hall was closed, and he took a deep breath before turning the knob, hoping he wouldn’t run into the apartment’s occupant sleeping. But at the same time, he wanted to lay a fist in the guy’s face.

  A single, twin bed stood in the middle of the room. The black bedspread hung neatly and symmetrically, almost as if the occupant had spent more than a few minutes making it.

  Three pairs of shoes lined the wall just under the window, and when he opened the closet door, four white, button-down shirts hung, all about two inches away from each other.

  Holly stepped up beside him. “It looks like this guy has a little OCD.”

  He had no idea what that could be, but nodded in agreement.

  She turned and moved over by the dresser.

  “Oh my God!” she whispered.

  Her trembling hand reached out and grabbed something hanging off the edge of the mirror. It looked like some type of necklace,
and as he got closer, he realized it seemed to be dog tags covered in what he thought at first had been rust but now figured out was blood.

  “These are my brother’s,” she murmured. “It’s him. The murderer lives here, Justice!”

  Hope brightened her eyes as she stared up at him.

  “We’ve finally got proof!”

  He nodded as relief ran through him. Holly would be safe, cleared to live her life as she pleased.

  His happiness quickly gave way to panic as he heard the front door open, then shut. Taking two large steps to the bedroom door, he silently shut it.

  How the hell would they get out of this one?

  Holly stuffed the dog tags in her pocket, and he put his hand on her forearm to stop her.

  “No,” he whispered. “We need them to stay here so the police can find them.”

  She nodded as panic crossed her face, and she hung them back up as she had found them.

  “We need to get out of here,” she said, turning toward the window and flipping the latch. “Follow me.”

  She climbed out the window to the fire escape, and just as Justice was about to follow, the bedroom door opened.

  His gaze locked with the occupant’s, and rage passed over the man’s face as he lunged for Justice.

  “Watch out!” Holly yelled.

  Justice figured he had a good hundred pounds on the guy, as well as a significant advantage in height. The male hit him in the gut with his shoulder, and Justice grabbed his left arm, spinning him onto the bed. As he took in the plain male with the brown hair, white, hot rage poured through him, and the need to kill him became almost unbearable. This waste of space had caused so much pain in Holly’s life; he couldn’t see anything wrong with avenging her.

  “Come on!” Holly shouted as he walked over to the bed and raised his fist.

  The sound of her voice cut through his anger and he became slightly more reasonable. Killing the killer would bring him a lot of satisfaction, but it wouldn’t be legal, and laws needed to be followed.