by Fall, Carly
“Enough!” Noah bellowed.
“Jesus, Hudson. You just got beaten up by a girl,” Jovan murmured, staring at Holly approvingly.
She turned and palmed her gun, keeping it trained on all three of them.
“I’m not afraid to shoot you,” she said, her breathing coming in short spurts. “Now get out of my apartment.”
Noah raised his hands to his shoulders. “There’s no need for guns and violence. We just wanted to talk to you. We wanted to find Justice. That’s it.”
The question was why, but she didn’t think he’d be giving her any answers.
“You found me. He’s not here. Get out.”
She moved forward, and all three stepped back into the living room. “Keep going, boys. Keep going all the way out the door.”
Griffin squawked and bobbed his head up and down, obviously excited or upset about the day’s events so far.
“Holly—”
“Go!” she yelled, interrupting Noah.
Suddenly, a knock on the door sounded. She hoped it wouldn’t be her neighbors, because she had no excuse for all the noise and the fact that she had a gun pointed at three huge men.
“Should we get that?” Noah asked.
“No.”
A voice called from the hallway. “Holly?”
She immediately recognized Justice’s voice and relief went through her. With him here, she’d have someone on her side. Or, could he be working with Noah?
Only one way to find out.
“It’s open, Justice.”
Chapter 49
Justice opened the door, his anger immediately spiking at the sight of Noah, Hudson, and Jovan in Holly’s apartment. “What the hell is going on here?”
He pushed through them and found Holly standing there with a gun leveled at the three males.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
She nodded, and he turned back to the Saviors. Hudson’s nose bled down the front of his white, silk t-shirt as he tried to capture it with his hands.
The ‘new’ smell of the apartment tickled his senses, and he glanced down at the light grey carpet.
“Get something on that nose before you ruin her place,” he growled at Hudson. “And you have some explaining to do, Noah.”
Hudson moved into the kitchen, his gaze never leaving Holly, but a smile twitched on his lips.
“You left. We wondered where the hell you’d gone, what you were up to. We figured out Kade had helped you try to find Holly, so we put a trace on her. She bought some groceries last night with her credit card down at the store on the corner, so we had the neighborhood. The property manager cashed her check this morning, so we had an address. We’re looking for you.”
He sighed. He didn’t understand how all their technology worked, but at this point, it didn’t matter.
“What do you need me for?”
Noah sighed. “Justice, what have you told her?”
Justice turned to Holly and gave her a brief smile. Placing his hand on her shoulders, he spoke. “Can you give us a minute? Please?”
She shook her head, her blue eyes blazing with anger. “No. My apartment. If you want to talk, get the hell out.”
Justice nodded, loving her spunk and no bullshit attitude. “Please, Holly? I respect your position, but we need just a few minutes of privacy.”
As she searched his face, he longed to bring his lips to hers, to feel her tiny frame against him.
“Okay. I trust you here, Justice. I’ll run down the corner to the coffee shop, but when I get back, they better be gone.”
He nodded. “I’ll do my best.”
She tucked the gun in the back of her jeans and walked over to the couch, grabbing her sweatshirt. Pulling it over her head, she glared at all of them for a moment, then left.
Justice let his anger loose. “What the fuck is going on here?”
“What did you tell her?” Noah asked again.
He took a deep breath, deciding he was done being Noah’s underling. He would do what he wanted, when he wanted, with whomever he decided. “Everything. I told her everything.”
“Oh, for fuck sakes,” Hudson murmured.
“What happened to your face?” Justice asked.
“Holly did that,” Jovan chimed in. “Hudson just got schooled by that little female.”
Hudson chuckled. “Yeah, I did. I certainly didn’t see that one coming.”
“You told her everything? As in everything about us?” Noah asked incredulously.
Justice nodded. “Everything. She knows I’m not human, that you aren’t human.”
“She recognized me from that Area 2 thing a few years ago,” Jovan murmured.
“So the cat’s out of the bag,” Noah began, pacing the living room. “We have a human female who works for the government and knows for certain that aliens walk among the humans. In fact, she not only works for the government, but the section of the government that deals with the strange things that happen on Earth. The section of the government that tries to keep things like aliens secret from the general population.”
Noah ran his hand through his hair and glared at him. “And she just walked out of here. Hell, she could be calling the cavalry right now, and we could all end up in a facility like Area 2. Wouldn’t that be fun, boys?”
“That’s not going to happen,” Justice said through gritted teeth.
Noah rushed him and slammed him up against the wall. Justice pushed him off, then swept his leg under Noah’s and shoved him to the floor.
Noah retaliated with a kick to the stomach, then got to his feet as Justice tried to catch his breath. Justice lunged at him, driving him into the front door.
“Oh, for God’s sake,” Hudson murmured, stepping between the two. “Jovan, you babysit Noah. I’ve got Justice.”
Hudson forced him back through the living room and into the bedroom, then slammed the door and stood in front of it.
“You need to calm down,” Hudson muttered. “This shit isn’t going to get us anywhere except a cell in the downtown jail, and I can guarantee you the Chief of Police is not going to be happy to see one of his go-to guys behind bars.”
Justice sat on the bed and put his head in his hands trying to control his anger.
“We’ve all worked really hard to walk the line of fitting in among the humans, but not letting on who we really are—especially Noah. He’s been our front guy for a long time, and for you to waltz in and get all hot and heavy with a military chick—one that once served security on the very place that imprisoned our people—you can understand his need to try to control it.”
Justice really tried to put himself in Noah’s shoes, but if an honorable male approached him and told him a human female wouldn’t betray their secrets, he wouldn’t treat said female the way Holly had been treated.
“It’s not just us anymore, Justice. There are kids, and kids on the way—their lives are at stake. We’ve got to remain tight now more than ever.”
He nodded, the faces of Killian and Megan coming to mind, as well as the swollen bellies of Annis and Abby. No, he didn’t want to put those innocents in danger, but Holly could be trusted, and he knew it in the very depths of his soul.
“She won’t betray us,” he mumbled.
“How do you know?”
He stood and met Hudson’s gaze. “Because that is my female. I love her, Hudson. I want to mate her, to start my own family.”
Hudson let out a long sigh. “You sure about that?”
He shrugged. “That’s what we were going to discuss when I came over. I told her a couple days ago I loved her after I told her who I was. She didn’t run away from me, she wasn’t afraid. She was hurt at the lies and deceit, but I know she cares about me.” He placed his hand over his heart. “I feel it right here when we’re together.”
“And you’re sure you love her?”
He nodded. “When I’m with her, I feel happy, and my worries disappear. The only thing that matters is her and her needs.�
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“That sounds about right.”
Hudson paced the room and Justice sat back down on the bed.
“We need to tell Noah about this, make sure he understands your position. Right now, I think it would be best if you came back to the silo with us and—”
“No. I’m not going back there.”
“Why not?”
“I can’t live like that, sleeping next to others. I need my space. Besides that, Noah is the leader there, and I seem to have difficulty with that. I’m used to doing the leading, not taking orders.”
“Ah, I see.”
Hudson sat down next to him. “So, what’s your game plan?”
“I want to talk to Holly, to see where her head’s at. After that, I’ll have a better idea. If she won’t have me, maybe I’ll just go back to the bunker. I’m fairly safe there, or maybe I’ll travel. I don’t know. However, I’m certain I can’t go back to the silo.”
“Okay. I’ll let Noah know where you stand. He’s not going to be happy, but this is your circus.”
Justice chuckled. “Yes. Yes, it is.”
Hudson gingerly touched his nose.
“Is it broken?”
“I don’t think so, but I’ll have Bev take a look at it and have Cohen do a healing on me. You’ve got one tough female there, Justice.”
Pride swelled within him as he studied Hudson’s blood-stained shirt and the swollen nose. “You're correct on that one.”
Chapter 50
Holly returned to her apartment with two cups of coffee and two blueberry muffins. She hoped her unwanted visitors would be gone and Justice had remained.
She found it odd that she felt no fear of him. Her time in security of Area 2 had taken care of that.
Her anger had ebbed at Noah and his cronies. How dare he barge into her home like that and start questioning her as if she should be a threat to him. If she wanted to turn in Justice—or any of them, for that matter—she would have done it already. They’d all be in custody so deeply buried in the system, no one would ever find them.
Opening her apartment door, she paused for a moment as she listened for deep voices. She heard none, only Griffin singing. She grinned, happy she’d taken the little guy from her neighbor.
She closed the door behind her with her foot. Justice stood from the couch and came over, taking the bag of pastries from her and setting them down on the kitchen table.
He grinned, but remained silent.
“I brought muffins, if you’re hungry,” she said.
“Starved.”
She pulled the blueberry goodies from the bag and pointed to the cabinet that held the plates.
He turned and opened it, and she snuck a peek at his backside. His broad shoulders tapered down into a tight waist, and a very nice, full, round ass.
“I’m sorry about your visitors,” he said, handing her the plates.
“Did you get things worked out between all of you?”
He shrugged. “As much as we can. There’s just a clash between us.”
They moved to the couch, and Holly took a long drink of her coffee that tasted absolutely fabulous.
“Have you given any more thought to what we talked about?” he asked. “What I told you?”
Taking a deep breath, she nodded. “I have. First, you need to tell Noah and his goons that your secret is safe with me. I’m not telling anyone anything. I saw the way those aliens were treated in Area 2, and it was wrong. I wouldn’t want to be responsible for someone being put through that.”
Justice smiled and took her hand. “Thank you. I’ll let him know.”
She glanced down at their entwined fingers.
Black on white. Alien on human.
Their differences didn’t concern her. The only thing that mattered was what lay on the inside of him, which happened to be a good, decent man.
“Second, you hurt me, Justice, but I understand why you did what you did. I can’t say I love you at this point. I know you say you think you know me because you’ve been spying on me for a year, and I’m not going to try to change your mind. However, I will tell you this. I can be a bitch in the morning if I don’t get enough sleep. I cry at Kleenex and life insurance commercials, and I hate reality television. I have a hardcore crush on Joe Manganiello, and one of my favorite things to do at night during the weekend is look at the stars and drink too much wine. Did you know any of that about me?’
He shook his head.
“So, see, we have a lot to learn about each other.”
“Who is this Joe Manganiello male? I think I should pay him a visit and let him know that he’s to stay away from you.”
Holly burst out laughing. “You have a lot to learn about the ways of life on Earth. Joe is a huge star. He doesn’t even know I’m alive. He’s just hot.”
“Hot?”
She sighed. “Good-looking. Very good-looking.”
“I see. But he doesn’t live in the area?”
“No, he doesn’t. Not to my knowledge.”
He grinned. “Okay. Please continue with what you were saying.”
She glanced down at their hands again, feeling like she would be stepping off a cliff with her next words.
“Here’s the thing, Justice. I do like you, a lot. I should be afraid of you; I shouldn’t want anything to do with you, but you are a good man, and I’d like to see where all this goes. What we can become together.”
She thought his face would crack in half with the large smile he gave her.
“So, you’ll give us a chance?”
She nodded. “Yes.”
His leg bounced, as if he suddenly had bugs in his pants.
“I want to kiss you, Holly. To hold you. I’ve missed you so much. Can I please do that?”
Heat cascaded through her, and she smiled. “You never have to ask to do that, okay?”
He pulled her close and took her coffee cup from her, setting it down on the table.
His lips grazed hers, and she pulled him close. He seemed hesitant, but as she gently pried his mouth open with her tongue, she had a thought.
“Am I the first … human woman you’ve been with?”
He nodded. “Yes. I never imagined anything more beautiful.”
She shook her head. Of course, it all made sense to her now. He’d been a good lover and when he’d told her to ‘show him’ what she wanted done, she’d just assumed he’d been curious as to what she liked. Now, she realized he simply wasn’t quite sure what to do.
“Show me what you want me to do, what makes you happy, Holly.”
She pulled him down on top of her as heat flooded her core. A lover that she basically got to train and teach? Oh, hell, yes. She had no problem with that one at all.
“The first thing you need to know is, I really like sex. I don’t get much of it, so I have a lot of catching up to do. I’ve been in a bit of a dry spell.”
He nodded seriously as he ran his hand through her hair. “Okay.”
“So, that means we’ll be having a lot of sex, Justice.”
He grinned. “I can think of worse things.”
She palmed the side of his cheek. Her heart knew she would quickly slip into the ‘love’ zone with him. He proved himself to be kind and good, not to mention devastatingly good-looking.
Tracing her fingers over the line of his jaw, she grinned. “Let’s get to work then, shall we?”
He kissed her deeply as he pressed his erection against her thigh. “I’m at your service, pretty lady.”
Later that night, Holly woke with a start, feeling as though someone was in the apartment, and she immediately thought of Billy. Of course, it would be impossible for him to be here as he’d died.
Concentrating on the sounds, she didn’t hear anything out of the ordinary. She let out a breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding and tried to calm her heartbeat. She turned and stared at Justice, who lay next to her naked, but sleeping soundly.
They’d been in bed all afternoon and
into the night. Looking at the clock, it read 8 p.m. Surprisingly, she still felt tired, but hunger overrode that.
Pushing the covers back, she put on her ratty, red terrycloth robe and made her way into the kitchen and couldn’t help the small smile on her face. Justice had proved to be a wonderful lover—eager to learn what she wanted, and damn, did the guy deliver.
Opening the fridge, she knew she had very little in there, but hoped maybe the food fairies had made a delivery. Her hopes were dashed when she saw beer, butter, a carton of eggs, and a bottle of wine. She should have spent her money in a more effective manner at the grocery store, but she also hadn’t been right in the head.
Now, she felt grounded, like she had a tether to this world, one that supported her, lifted her up when she needed it, and loved her. But shouldn’t that be what a relationship was all about? She thought of her brother and what a drain he’d been on her very soul. Guilt crept in, and as hard as she tried, she couldn’t push it aside. She’d done the best she could, but it hadn’t been good enough.
With Justice, it felt as if she had permission to be the person she should be—strong and capable of great things.
She decided to make some scrambled eggs and down some beers.
“What are you doing?” Justice said from right behind her, startling her.
“I thought you were sleeping.”
“I was, until I didn’t feel you next to me.”
He kissed the column of her neck, and a shiver tore down her spine.
“Do you want some eggs and beer?”
He chuckled and grabbed her ass. “Sounds great.”
She turned and smiled at him. His eyes glowed a battleship gray. She’d watched them change from the dark orbs to the gleaming light when the sun went down. It had been fascinating. It started with a little pinprick in the center of his pupil that slowly grew until his full eye shone.
After pulling the eggs and butter from the fridge, she bent down and pulled a pan from the cupboard. She melted the butter and cracked the eggs, then pulled out two beers.
