Hard Justice

by Lori Foster

  Kern laughed. “No one is ever safe.”

  Again, York tried to silence him, but Kern was beyond reason, intent on bragging.

  “You think tucking that little slut away with a friend somehow protects her?” He leaned closer. “You’ll do exactly what I say, and you’ll do it now.”

  Fallon was with Leese, and no way would Leese let anything happen to her. Knowing it and convincing himself of it were two very different things, especially with the signs of insanity right in front of him. “Or what?”

  Kern examined a nail. “Or I’ll have my man burn Leese Phelp’s house to the ground with everyone in it. Ah, I see that got your attention.”

  York said, “Jesus, Kern, you have to shut—”

  Kern didn’t listen. “I have men there, you know. It’ll look like a gas leak. There’s been no alteration to any insurance they have, the two pet dogs are still present, and they’re all in the house. It’ll be so tragic, no one will suspect a thing.”

  Panic tried to take hold, but Justice held it back. “You’re full of shit.”

  “Boom,” Kern said, fluttering his fingers into the air. “There will be nothing left but splintered debris. No one will ever suspect foul play.”

  Justice couldn’t breathe. “That’s not possible.” Don’t let it be possible.

  “His house has natural gas, so of course it’s possible. I’ve done it before,” Kern bragged, “and no one suspected. Even if they did, so what? They couldn’t confirm it, and they sure as hell could never peg it on me.”

  It hasn’t happened yet. Justice clenched his fists, knowing he’d do whatever was necessary to keep Fallon from being hurt—even if it meant killing the man in front of him.

  As Kern studied Justice’s face, he whispered with satisfaction, “Yes, now you understand, don’t you?”

  “I understand.”

  “So throw a goddamned punch, already!”

  Justice let out a breath. “Gladly.” With one big step, he closed the distance between them.

  Belatedly, Kern realized his error. He tried to lurch back and tripped into his brother.

  Catching him by the wrist, Justice brutally squeezed until the cell phone dropped to the cement floor. He crushed it with his heel and, smiling at Kern, twisted his arm until a bone popped.

  Kern screamed.

  Justice silenced him with one solid hit to the jaw, breaking that, too.

  York started to run and plowed headlong into Tom. “I don’t think so,” Tom said.

  Police swarmed into the area.

  York turned at the sight of a photographer recording everything, and his mouth flapped like a fish out of water.

  Sahara stepped out, making a beeline for Justice. “I called Leese with the phone on speaker so he could hear. I didn’t dare say anything to him for fear these miscreants would hear me.” She touched his arm. “The line is dead now. An officer is already on his way there.”

  Justice inhaled shakily.

  “Go,” she whispered, “before you get detained here. Tom and I can handle this. But Justice, be careful.”

  Without another word, Justice ran out.

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  FALLON STOOD ACROSS the street, her arms wrapped around herself, taking in the scene with disbelief. It wasn’t that cold, but she couldn’t stop shivering.

  Brand looked down at her, then slipped his arm around her shoulders. “Reaction,” he said in explanation. “It’s a son of a bitch.”

  Brand was big and warm...but he wasn’t Justice. “They wanted to blow us up.” She still couldn’t believe it. “All of us.”

  “Yeah.” Brand pulled her in against his chest, now with both arms around her while he briskly stroked her back. “But they didn’t succeed and we’re fine. All of us,” he repeated.

  She didn’t feel fine. Tears threatened, but she ruthlessly blinked them away. Her stomach knotted and her legs didn’t want to support her.

  “Come on,” Brand said, leading her over to his car.

  Fear squeezed her throat and she croaked, “I don’t want to be alone.”

  “You’re not.” He didn’t put her in the car, but guided her to sit on the front bumper. It was better. At least her knees weren’t knocking anymore.

  Leese and Miles had two men corralled on the curb a few feet away. The men’s faces were badly battered. So were Leese’s and Miles’s knuckles.

  Brand had helped some with that, until he’d noticed her standing there, useless, scared...

  “You’re not a trained fighter,” he said.

  Fallon shook her head. No denying that. Until recently, until Justice, she’d barely been an adult. No, that wasn’t true and she wouldn’t insult herself. She’d been overly reserved, but she’d known all along what she wanted.

  Justice had helped her to get it.

  Where are you, Justice? “All I did was panic and get in the way.”

  “Not true. You were the first to hear the noise outside. Then we got that call from Sahara.” He fell silent, his shoulders tensing, probably in memory.

  For a second, they’d all been in indecision. The threats they’d heard... If they rushed outside, were there men waiting to cut them down? For a certainty, they couldn’t stay in the house while being threatened with a gas explosion. After she’d heard the noise, Leese had made the decisions. He’d settled, uncomfortably, on going out first with Miles while Brand waited just inside the door with her.

  Repeatedly, she had sniffed the air, but she hadn’t smelled anything. That hadn’t reassured her, though. How much of a gas leak was needed? How did a person go about causing a gas leak? The stove wasn’t on—what else should she check?

  Fortunately, Leese’s wife, Catalina, along with their two dogs, was visiting Yvette. Leese hadn’t wanted her to be anywhere near possible trouble.

  She and Brand heard the scuffle outside, the sounds of thuds and grunts and...pain.

  Shortly afterward, Miles had called them out.

  Did Brand resent having to babysit her while the others...engaged? Maybe. He’d gotten involved, only briefly, before returning to her side.

  When Brand sat beside her on the bumper, Fallon leaned against him, seeking and offering comfort.

  Sirens sounded in the distance, and shortly there were both police and firefighters on-site. Officers handcuffed the two battered thugs and dragged them away.

  Miles, flexing his knuckles, came to stand before her. “You okay?”

  “Yes.”

  Leese stepped up next, his hands still fisted. He looked to be in a killing mood but he said calmly, “Here comes Justice.”

  Heart leaping, she twisted around to see the car haphazardly parked. Before the engine had died, Justice jumped out.

  Fallon said, “Excuse me,” and then ran to him.

  Behind her, she heard Miles laugh.

  Laugh! How could any of them—

  Justice caught her up in his arms and held her tight. One hand on the back of her head pressed her to his shoulder, the other low on her spine supported her since her feet were off the ground. He didn’t say anything, just tucked his face to her neck and breathed heavily.

  “I’m okay,” Fallon whispered, teasing her fingers over his short-cropped hair, inhaling his hot scent and relishing the strength in his embrace. “Justice? Let me look at you.”

  “No.”

  He sounded choked, and her heart swelled. She squeezed him tighter and said, “I don’t want an apartment.”

  That loosened his hold enough for him to search her face. “You don’t?”

  Damn it, now she felt choked. Shaking her head, she swallowed the stupid tears and whispered brokenly, “I only want you.”

  His gaze warmed. “You have me, babe. I promise.” He smoothed bac
k her hair. “Tell me you love me.”

  “I love you so much.”

  His breathing evened out and he smiled. Then he laughed. Lifting her in his arms, he strode over to the others. “Hell of a night.”

  Brand cocked his head at Leese and Miles. “Those two had all the fun.”

  “It was fun,” Miles said. “I mean, now that everything is okay. Hell of an adrenaline rush.”

  “So you’re really going to do it?” Leese asked. “You’re going to join Body Armor?”

  “I think so.” Before anyone could ask him why, he walked off to talk to an officer.

  Fallon rested her head against Justice’s shoulder. She didn’t need him to hold her, but she liked it. She especially liked that Justice was such a big, buff guy who could do so with ease.

  Before long, though, things got too chaotic for cuddling.

  It was hours later when they congregated inside Leese’s house. Catalina had come home and her two dogs were ecstatic with the company. Fallon sat on the floor in front of Justice, letting the dogs shower her with love.

  Catalina was in the kitchen making coffee, whistling as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened. She saw Leese leave the room, go to his wife and hug her from behind.

  They had such a wonderful life—a life she wanted, as well.

  With Justice.

  Behind her, the men talked quietly. Fallon was tired, but she enjoyed listening in on their conversation, learning more about how they thought, how they reacted to everything. Notes of serious reflection interspersed the joking insults and occasional murmurs of disbelief over what had happened.

  When Tom and a beautiful woman showed up, Fallon could only stare in wonder.

  Justice leaned down to say, “My boss, Sahara Silver. She owns the agency.” Then he warned, “Prepare to be amazed.”

  And amazed she was.

  Exhaustion and frustration weighed on Tom, but Sahara looked as if she’d stepped into a party—polished, fresh and energetic. Fallon knew she’d been at the warehouse during the entire confrontation, that she’d just spent hours talking to police and high-level contacts, ensuring that the brothers wouldn’t be able to buy their way out of legal consequences, but looking at her, no one would know it.

  Smiling, her stylish high heels dangling from the fingers of one hand—Sahara’s only concession to the long, troubled night—she said, “I already talked with Senator Loy, and the prosecutor, of course. The Arnolds will not wiggle free this time. And, Tom, you were beautiful. So brave, so selfless. Please know that you’ll be rewarded. I have friends at the SBC—that’s the acronym, yes, for the Supreme Battle Challenge? Anyway, I’ve praised you and they’re thrilled. You’ll get great coverage from this. Who doesn’t want to see a homegrown hero compete? I already feel sorry for your challenger.”

  As if he’d been listening to similar plans for a while, Tom’s dazed but exhausted expression never changed.

  Still talking nonstop, Sahara breezed in behind a dragging Tom—but drew to a halt when she spotted Brand. She drew a shaky breath and murmured, “Well, well. What have we here?”

  “Hello, Sahara.”

  “Mr. Berry, what a pleasant surprise to see you again.”

  Fallon swiveled to see Brand, who only smiled lazily.

  The rest of the men stared first at Sahara, then their friend and then each other.

  When Fallon’s gaze met Justice’s, he only raised his brows, slowly smiled, and hauled her up to sit in his lap. “Tom will be okay,” he whispered into her ear. “Sahara will see to it.”

  They drank coffee and ate some supposedly healthy treats that Leese had made. Catalina confided that Leese was an organized, neat-freak health nut, but in the very nicest ways. To Fallon, it sounded like bragging.

  It was almost morning before Justice and Fallon headed home...to his house. They didn’t speak much, but once inside, he led her straight to the bedroom.

  “Tired?” he asked.

  Seeing that look in his eyes, she nodded, but said, “Never too tired for that, though.” Never too tired for him.

  He gave her a crooked grin, and as he stripped, he said, “Tell me again.”

  “I love you.”

  “I’m never going to get tired of hearing it.”

  * * *

  JUSTICE SAT WITH Fallon and her parents at his modest dining room table, using his inexpensive dishware and his stainless-steel utensils. Together, he and Fallon had prepared baked chicken, potatoes and carrots. Candles burned in the middle of the table.

  He felt damned domestic—and liked it.

  After finishing off seconds, Clayton Wade looked stiff and was mostly silent.

  Rebecca, bless her heart, praised everything. His house, his yard, his food...

  Suddenly Clayton laid his fork beside his plate and looked up. “You have good security here?”

  An odd, out-of-the-blue question, but Justice didn’t hesitate. “Yes, sir.” He detailed the measures taken, doing what he could to reassure the man.

  “I like what you did with my system. You’re knowledgeable about it?”

  Justice scratched his forehead, and realized that he was. Huh. So Leese was good with research, and he was good with security systems. “Yes, sir.”

  Clayton nodded, and drank more of his wine.

  Fallon touched Justice’s hand, then said, “I’ve been trying to look at apartments.”

  Rebecca’s head snapped up.

  Clayton froze. “Trying?”

  “It seems every time we made plans, something came up.”

  Rebecca shared a knowing look with Justice, then smiled.

  Justice kept silent.

  “Apartments where?” Clayton asked.

  “It doesn’t matter now.” Justice laced his fingers with hers. “She’s going to move in with me.”

  Expression neutral, Clayton repeated, “Move in with...”

  “Me.” Justice held his gaze. Damn, this was awkward. It’d be a whole lot easier to say she’d be his wife. Her parents were old-fashioned, protective beyond belief, and Fallon was their only child. But what Fallon wanted mattered most to him. “I love her. I’ll take good care of her.”

  Rebecca tipped her head to one side. “You’re going to live together?”

  “A first step, ma’am.” Hopefully with a second step to follow, but Justice wanted to give Fallon the time she needed just to be, as she often put it, free. “You know Fallon has lived a reserved life.”

  “But no more,” Fallon said.

  “She deserves a long courtship.” Justice grinned, knowing he’d marry her tomorrow, but... “She deserves romance. She deserves to be chased for a while.”

  Fallon fought a smile. “I do.” Then she flushed. “I mean—”

  Rebecca laughed.

  Clayton shot his wife a quelling frown before turning his serious gaze on Justice. “Rebecca is correct. You have a very nice home. You may not know this, but Rebecca grew up in a house this size.” His voice lowered, going thoughtful, then he covered his wife’s hand with his own. “Her father was a welder and her mother a bus driver. My parents, second-generation hoteliers, were resistant to our marriage. None of it mattered to me, though, and none of it mattered to Rebecca.”

  With clear exasperation, Fallon said, “None of what, Dad? Those are both good jobs. Besides, it’s not like Justice is a slug who refuses to hold a job. He’s not into hotels, but he is a well-known, accomplished sports figure, and now he’s a highly valued bodyguard at one of the most reputable, prestigious agencies. He’s the most dedicated, motivated, sweet—”

  With a one-arm hug and a quick laugh, Justice kept her from extolling him straight into sainthood. “I think your dad was giving his approval, honey.”

  “I was,” Clayton assured
him, “and I hope I didn’t insult you.”

  “I’m not blind, sir. There’s a huge difference in what I can offer her and what she has in store from you.”

  “Financially,” Clayton said. “But then, Fallon has never been all that concerned with luxury.”

  “And there are other things,” Rebecca added, “that are far more important.”

  Fallon beamed at them.

  Giving them their due, Justice said, “You raised a wonderful daughter. She’s beautiful inside and out.”

  Rebecca sighed. “He’s also very romantic, Fallon. I like him a lot.”

  The next part, Justice knew, would be tricky. He hoped he didn’t trip himself up. “Speaking of finances, I want you to know that I’m not a gold digger. If you and Rebecca were...” He used the same example Clayton had. “Well, a welder and a bus driver, it’d be all the same to me.”

  “Still,” Clayton said, “you stand to inherit—”

  “No, sir.” Justice needed them to know that money didn’t influence him. “I make my own way.”

  Clayton studied him. “Well, we can certainly discuss this further in the future.”

  Once we marry. That’s what her dad was thinking, no doubt expecting. Justice said only, “The future is up to Fallon. But I’m here for the long haul.”

  Justice didn’t mean to pressure her, but her parents’ gazes shifted to pin her with their undivided attention.

  She flushed before giving in to a laugh. “I’m here for the long haul, too, but I’m having so much fun right now, I don’t want to spend time planning the future. I’d rather just enjoy the present for a while.”

  He could work with that, Justice decided. “Whatever you want, honey.”

  She fiddled with her napkin, glanced at him then lifted her chin. “Justice will no longer be my bodyguard. It’s not necessary and of course he’ll be taking other assignments. I was thinking of getting more involved in my own work.”

  “Travel?” Clayton asked.

  “Yes, eventually. If that’s okay?”

  While her parents assured her they’d love it, Justice grinned, so damned proud of her.