Justice Falling

by Audrey Carlan

  “I’m sorry about your mum. What of your Dad?”

  Camille nodded and pinched her lips together. “That’s the crazy part. He’s alive and living in New Jersey.”

  “That’s bloody fantastic! We’ll look him up, ring him!” I said happily.

  She shook her head. “I don’t know. Maybe. There’s more. His name is William Devereux.”

  I scratched at my goatee and the scruff on my cheeks. I hadn’t had a chance to shave before our argument and I was beside myself while she was gone. The name was familiar though. Our mate shared the last name, but that was pretty common. “What else?”

  “I have two brothers.”

  “And how is that a problem? Precious, this is amazing news! You wanted siblings. Now we can find them.” I didn’t understand why her face seemed so concerned.

  “Nate, one of my brother’s name is Marcus. He’s a college football player in Michigan.”

  “Excellent sport! We can go see one of his games. What of the other brother?” She didn’t seem quite herself. I would have expected this news to have her shouting through the rooftops not sulking in a hospital bed. And why did she have a panic attack? This was incredible news not something to panic over.

  Camille took a deep breath. “Nate, my other brother is Tripp Devereaux.” At that moment, my head literally spun on its axis.

  “No fucking way!”

  “Daddy! You promise-did no more cusses. Mom says those are f-bombs and you cannot have any bombs. No a-bombs, b-bombs…” He kept going until he got to the right letter in the alphabet. Our little man was a true comedian. “Mommy says f-bombs are the worstest ever!”

  I ruffled Tanner’s hair. “You’re right, sport. No more f-bombs.” I grinned. He smiled and continued hugging his mum.

  “That’s insane! I mean…” I shook my head as the doctor entered.

  “Ms. Johnston, your x-ray looks good. No damage, just a nice size goose-egg. It will go down with ice and time. Take it easy a few days, take ibuprofen and let me know if you feel any dizziness. You the husband?” the doctor asked me.

  “Yes,” I said without a second thought. It wasn’t his business if it was official or not. It would be soon enough.

  “Wake her every four hours tonight, just in case. She didn’t incur a concussion but you can never be too careful when it comes to head trauma.”

  I saluted the doctor. “Will do. But she’s okay?”

  “Yes. Just needs to rest. Says here you have a history of panic attacks?”

  Camille nodded. “I used to have them a lot when I was a kid. Hadn’t had one since bringing this guy into the world though.” She hugged Tan Man to her chest and he giggled. “I’ll be fine. Just some really shocking news. I’ll be more careful.”

  The doctor handed her discharge papers.

  We checked out of the hospital and hailed a cab home. Once I had her back in our flat and cuddled up in bed, I tended to Tanner, putting him down for his afternoon nap. He went out like a light. It blew me away how well the kid slept.

  I made tea, put together some chicken salad sandwiches I’d prepared while Camille was out, and took them to the bedroom. I set the tray down on the side of the bed and kissed my girl’s forehead.

  “How you doing, love?”

  She smiled sleepily. It made my heartbeat quicken. Seeing her cuddled under the covers in our bed was the most beautiful sight. I never wanted her to leave again. Even if it was for the afternoon. Had I told her in advance about the file, she wouldn’t have hurt herself or been alone when she found out this startling information. I could have supported her through it.

  “I’m fine. You don’t have to hover. Really. Just processing it all,” she said drowsily.

  “Yeah. It is quite a lot to take in. I do want to apologize again. I feel responsible for what happened. If I told you earlier…”

  “Stop Nate. We make mistakes. I should have told you right away about Tanner and Gems. But I didn’t. Sometimes we make bad choices. Surviving them together, that’s what makes us stronger.”

  God, I loved her.

  “I’d do anything to make you happy. You know that right?”

  “Oh Nate, I do know that, and baby, you do make me happy. I’ve never been happier in my life. Soon we’ll married and adding to our family. But I still have to figure out how to deal with this information. Especially about Tripp. I mean, he’s our friend.” She put her hand to her forehead and shook her head. “He’s your brother’s best friend. So weird.”

  I nodded. “Yeah, it is unusual, but now that I think about it. The two of you look a lot alike. Dark hair, the same exact eyes. Your smiles are different and obviously he’s manlier.” I tickled her knee and she laughed. “But yeah, I can see it clearly now.”

  I laid the tray of small sandwiches and tea on her lap then grabbed my own plate and sat cross legged across from her. We ate and sipped our tea in silence, both of us content with our own thoughts.

  “What do you think he’ll say when I show him this information?” She worried her lip.

  I looked at her nervous face and pondered it. “I can’t say. Only way to find out is to tell him. Want me to invite him over?”

  “Yeah, but not right away. Let me process this first. Think about the best way to bring it up.”

  I respected her decision to wait. She needed to accept the information and figure out how she wanted to handle it. When we were done with our food, her eyes got heavy and it was hard for her to keep them open.

  “Will you hold me?” she asked.

  I slipped off my jeans and got into bed in my underwear and t-shirt. She snuggled into my chest. Best feeling ever. Having my woman in my arms, right where she should be. “Whatever you decide to do with this information, I’m here for you. To talk, vent, cry, laugh, whatever it is you need, you can count on me, love.”

  “I know I can. Thank you.”

  I pulled back and looked at her. “Why are you thanking me?”

  “For loving me,” she whispered and snuggled closer into my chest. Her eyes closed, her breath left her lips in a soft puff.

  “And I always will, Precious. Always.”

  Chapter 18

  Secrets sucked. Having them, knowing them, spreading them, and telling them all made for a giant knot of tension swirling and festering in my gut. I’d known Tripp was my brother for the better part of a week and I still hadn’t figured out what to do with the information.

  Worse, I’d avoided Collier and London all together for fear I’d accidentally slip and mention the secret I’d been harboring all week.

  Nate had been wonderful about it all. He hadn’t pushed, though I knew he worried about me. We agreed it was my problem but he’d be there to get me through whatever I decided. He thought it was best to just schedule a time to meet with Tripp as if it was that easy. I’d gone almost twenty four years not having one soul to call my own besides Tanner. Now to find out I had not one brother but two? What would it do to Marcus? The last thing he probably needed during schooling and sports work was for me to show up unannounced and say, “Hey, I’m your big sister Cami. Want to hang out and get to know one another?” It sounded incredibly lame. I couldn’t bring myself to even call the number the private investigator had supplied for him.

  Calling William Devereux was also out. The man’s name was on my birth certificate but in two wet swipes of a pen, he’d given me my name and signed away his rights as a parent. He probably assumed I’d been adopted. Maybe I would have been if the young couple I’d been given to hadn’t divorced and then turned me over to the courts at two years old. Who knows? It was all so far in the past, yet it kept bubbling to the surface like an overflowing pot of boiling water.

  I looked up at the clock and noticed it was close to lunch time. Just as I was about to grab my purse and head to the little sandwich shop down the block, the doors to the office opened and Oliver followed by a very pregnant Aspen walked in. I’d rarely seen them the past month as I focused on getting my life wit
h Nate in order.

  “Hey, sweetie,” Oliver waved. “You’re coming to lunch with us.”

  I set my purse on my shoulder. “I am?”

  “You are.” Aspen rubbed her protruding belly. It was huge. It looked like a perfectly round beach ball had been shoved under her form fitting dress. Even with the added weight, the slight woman still looked amazing, not a hair out of place.

  “Did I miss something?” I asked, walking around my desk.

  Oliver shook his head. “Nope. We’re just ready to celebrate.” He looked at his nails, analyzing his fingers.

  “Celebrate? The baby?” I asked cheerfully.

  Aspen was in her last trimester and I hadn’t been invited to a baby shower. Maybe the obscenely wealthy didn’t have baby showers. Then again, even though I was extremely poor, I didn’t have a baby shower. At the time, there was no one in my life who cared, aside from Jin.

  “Baby showers are so last decade. We’re going to have a party after our girl here is born. Aspen has bought everything under the sun for the little one and she doesn’t need any more pink outfits. I swear, if I open one more package with a pink dress in it, I’m going to hurl.” He stuck his finger in his mouth and made a fake gagging sound. “Newborns in pink look like old chewed up pieces of bubblegum.” His face contorted into a look of horror as he shivered.

  Aspen smiled. “He’s funny, but right. You should see how many pink dresses have been sent. As if a newborn could wear forty pink party dresses? I donated them all to the local women’s center. Hank has already nixed the idea of taking her anywhere but to close friends and family the first month. Says he read it in one of the books.” She rolled her blue eyes and her lips twitched.

  “He has both of your best interests at heart, and the first month you just want to get to know your baby. Learn her likes, dislikes, little sounds.” I took in a deep breath and remembered when I had Tanner. He was the most beautiful angel baby. I looked forward to that again. To feel a baby move within my stomach, this time sharing it with the father and Tanner would make it all the more special.

  “So back to grubbing. Our girl here…” He rubbed Aspen’s belly and she sighed. “…is hungry and we want to celebrate your pending nuptials to my Gandy Candy doppelganger. Yummo!”

  Aspen shook her head. “You’re not supposed to crush on other people’s fiancé’s, Ollie. How many times do I have to tell you that?”

  “One hundred and forty five might do the trick,” he quipped.

  I laughed. These two were straight crazy but I adored their relationship and appreciated my new friendship with them. Then an idea hit. Maybe I could talk to them about what to do about Tripp without telling them it was Tripp?

  “What would you like to have?” I asked as we entered Aspen’s private elevator.

  “I’m dying for breakfast. I could really go for some eggs and bacon right now.”

  Oliver snorted and covered his laugh with his hand.

  “What?” I enjoyed the unending banter and bickering between the two.

  “It’s just that she’s said that every day this week. Ollie, order me some breakfast. Hank, let’s have breakfast for dinner. If we’re not careful that baby’s going to come out yellow and with feathers as many eggs as she’s been feeding her.”

  Aspen huffed. “Eggs and bacon are the most amazing food in the entire universe.” She closed her eyes and licked her lips. “God, it’s so good. I can almost taste it now.” She rubbed her belly. The sound of Ollie and I chuckling bounced off the elevator walls as the door opened.

  “What’s so funny?” a deep voice asked as we exited.

  My heart stopped. Standing there smiling was a bright faced, incredibly handsome man with eyes the colors of emeralds.

  “Hey Tripp. We’re just about to go to lunch. Come join us?” Aspen grabbed his arm. He patted her forearm.

  “I thought we were meeting at noon?” He looked at his watch.

  Oliver’s eyes narrowed as he put a hand on his hip and stomped his foot.

  “You didn’t get my text then.” Aspen grinned.

  “You said Tripp changed our twelve to one?” Oliver twisted his lips, his pointed features showed his annoyance.

  “Did I say that? I don’t remember saying that?” Aspen flipped her hair over her shoulder and gripped Tripp’s arm.

  I stayed completely silent. Tripp looked over his shoulder and winked at me, showing that he’d noticed me.

  “Don’t try to change the subject, Missy. You purposely changed our meeting! I hate when you mess with my schedule.”

  Aspen inhaled and continued bickering all the way into a shiny black limo.

  Wow. This I would never get used to. My friends rode around in limos when I had never even owned a car. Public transportation had always been my mode of getting from point A to point B. Oliver spoke to the driver. “Take us to the same damn place for lunch we’ve been going all week,” he huffed.

  The driver smirked and pulled out into traffic.

  “So I take it you’re hungry,” Tripp said lightly.

  Aspen rubbed her belly and cringed for a second. I noticed but she covered it easily. Maybe it was a twinge or her back hurting. I know in my last trimester, everything was uncomfortable. “If you must know, I am craving eggs, okay? Lots and lots of eggs with a side of crispy bacon. I have no idea why. It’s not something I usually eat.”

  “I remember when I was pregnant with Tanner I ate so many pineapples I ended up with canker sores in my mouth from all the acid. It didn’t stop me. I ate through the pain. Now, I rarely eat the stuff. I’m convinced babies tell their mom’s what they need in-utero. Maybe baby Jensen needs protein?”

  Oliver laughed. “I’m not sure how! She’s getting a side of beefcake every night from my hunky cowboy!”

  Aspen shoved Oliver and he fell over in the seat howling with laughter.

  Oliver laughed and snorted, practically spitting while trying to speak. “Hank’s been hiding at my place! Damn girl is so horny he said his dick is broken and about to fall off!”

  Damn. I remember that phase, being so horny and not having a man to help me through it. Poor Hank.

  “Is he complaining?” Tripp laughed. “I can’t wait to give him a ration of shit the size of AIR Bright. What man hides out from sex?”

  Aspen clenched her teeth and sucked in a breath. “To be fair, I have been a little needy lately.”

  “Needy! A homeless man is needy, Princess. According to the cowboy she’s hopping on pop every hour on the hour! Poor guy has to come to our house to give his baby maker a rest.” Oliver snickered and the three of us laughed. I couldn’t help it. It was pretty funny.

  We made it to the restaurant and feasted on a variety of breakfast foods. Aspen had a dreamy look on her face and if it was up to me, I’d give the poor thing eggs until she’d had her fill. She looked exhausted but beautiful.

  “How much time do you have left?” I asked.

  “Four more weeks. Seems like an eternity.” She frowned.

  I grasped her hand. “It will go by fast.”

  She smiled but her smile turned into a thin line and her lips went white with tension. A soft hiss escaped her mouth. Her eyes widened and her face went deathly pale.

  “What’s the matter?” I clenched her hand. She squeezed tight and then I felt something wet touch my hand as I moved closer to her.

  “Um, I don’t, uh, I don’t know.” She gripped her stomach and pulled my hand to her belly. It went from slightly hard to downright tight. “I think I peed.” she whispered in my ear. I looked down and noticed the wetness along her royal blue skirt. It was much larger than a little pee.

  Her hand tightened on mine and her head dropped to her chest. She breathed hard and moaned in pain.

  “Oh no, Aspen. I think you’re in labor!”

  The two men’s eyes flew to mine, sharing the shocked look I’m sure I had. Oliver jumped up and started dialing. Tripp and I helped her out of the booth. Oliver threw a hundred d
ollar bill on the table. I knew that was double what our lunch cost, but didn’t say anything as we ushered Aspen out of the building and into the limo.

  “Fuck! I can’t get Hank. Where the hell is he?” Oliver tapped frantically on his phone.

  Mentally, I ran through his schedule. “He’s in a meeting giving a presentation with a couple of the investors. It’s going to be a few hours. The presentation I pulled together was slated for two hours. Then they were going to spend the afternoon in the conference room going over the numbers.”

  “Jesus Christ, what are we going to do?” Oliver’s eyes misted as he held Aspen’s hand. “She’s gonna break my God damned fingers!”

  Oliver was not the person you wanted to handle a traumatic situation.

  I pulled out my phone. “I’ll handle this.” I dialed Nate and put him on speaker phone so I could tend to Aspen while talking.

  “Hey Precious--”

  “Nate, I need you to do me a favor.” I cut him off.

  “Just breathe. That’s a good girl. In and out slowly.” Behind me, Tripp mimicked what I’d told him to do.

  “Who the fuck is that in the background?” My alpha male heard another male voice and instantly reacted. I couldn’t stop the eye roll but secretly I loved how possessive he was of me. It made me feel special and desirable.

  “It’s Tripp. We’re in Aspen’s limo…”

  “Brilliant! So you’ve finally decided to talk to Tripp about being his long lost sister?” Oh Jesus! Nate can’t shut up for two damn minutes. Why the hell did I put him on speaker phone?

  The entire car went completely silent except for Aspen’s low moans of pain. Ollie groaned when she mangled his hand during the next contraction. Tripp’s gaze bore into mine. I looked away, not knowing what to do or how to respond.

  “What the fuck is he talking about, Cami?”

  ***

  “Later, Tripp. We’ll talk,” I heard Camille say. Shite, I didn’t realize I was on speaker. Christ. I ruined it for her. She was going to be brassed off. I could see her withholding the bonking for the foreseeable future over this bloody mess-up.