Flawed Justice

by Tibby Armstrong

  That got Matt’s attention. He took a deep breath. “He’s on edge a lot lately. Things have been tense around the bar, but...can you just trust me? You don’t need to find him a Dom. He’ll sort things out on his own.”

  “I do trust you, that’s not the issue.” Lawson rolled his shoulders to loosen the stiffness between them. “Reed is pushing for what he needs. Not as hard as you were—yet—but I won’t let it get to that point.”

  “Then don’t. He feels safe with you and Curtis.”

  “That’s not an option.” He glanced over at Matt and let out a soft laugh. “But now I’m questioning your motives. I appreciate that you’re not the jealous type, but I prefer to focus my attention on one sub.”

  “And you don’t want to piss Noah off.” Matt held up his hands when Lawson gave him a dark look. “I’m not being a smartass, it’s just an observation. Not sure I get it, though. Reed’s an adult and it’s not like he’s been kept away from the lifestyle.”

  Lawson inclined his head. “Once he hit eighteen Noah couldn’t keep him out of it no matter how hard he tried. I’m assuming that’s why you’ve been leaving applications for universities in California around Curtis’s loft for your brother to find.”

  Matt ducked his head. “No comment.”

  “Uh huh.” Lawson reached out and took Matt’s hand. “Getting away from here would be good for him. If you need help paying his tuition. Let me know.”

  “I will, but depending on which school he chooses, I think I can cover it.” He drew in a shaky breath. “Fuck, it’s gonna be hard without him around. But I’m excited for him. He never really cared about school and now it’s all he talks about.”

  They spent the rest of the drive discussing the different universities and courses Garet had shown interest in, and the possibility of a weeklong vacation nearby so Matt could visit his brother and he and Lawson could get a break from the harsh New York winter. They stopped for a quick lunch at the halfway mark, then continued on, arriving at the upstate prison about two hours later because of an accident on the road which slowed traffic to a standstill.

  Lawson always arrived early to avoid the long lines, but today the reception was full, with a few people waiting outside for space within to clear up. Parking the car, Lawson eyed the box in the backseat, and decided to ask at the front desk before attempting to bring it in. With all the effort Reed had made to build the collection for Noah, it would be a shame if the prison decided to keep the books. Noah would want them when he got out.

  He checked to make sure he had all his ID before getting out of the car. Turning with the door open, he rested his arm on the roof of the car and leaned down to meet Matt’s steady gaze. “I wish I could bring you in to meet him. He’ll like you.”

  Matt undid his seatbelt and leaned over the driver’s seat, rising up enough to kiss Lawson. “I’ll meet him when he gets out—unless he starts being more comfortable with visitors. Convince him to let Ezran come. Reed too.”

  “No one convinces Noah of anything he doesn’t want to do.” Lawson curved his hand around the side of Matt’s neck and kissed him again. “I won’t be long.”

  The line inside moved faster than expected as each guest was sent through the security checkpoint and directed to the visiting room. The receptionist waved Lawson on, ignoring his question, which made his jaw tic, but a glance from a guard made him rethink pressing the issue. Noah would probably know the rules about what items were permitted in any case.

  A chill settled over Lawson as he followed the guard to the large room which had a dozen small round tables with four built-in stools around each one. The walls were a clean, off white and dark grey tiles covered the floor, the scent and atmosphere of the space not much different than one would find in a hospital, only without the medical beeps or doctors and nurses rushing around. The guards walked the prisoners into the room in an orderly fashion, then stood against the wall, watching as each man greeted friends and family.

  Across the room, a woman with two children burst into tears as a man approached her and the little boy hanging to her leg started whimpering. She hugged the man, apologizing over and over as the man crouched and held out his arms to the child. The older boy plunked down on a stool, glaring at the man who he resembled enough for him to be his father. When Lawson had seen the boy in the hall, he’d seemed nervous, but excited. His demeanor had changed with the imposing presence of the guards on the long walk through the halls with their grated windows. Almost as though he was facing the reality of where he was for the first time and resented the need to be here at all.

  Was that what Noah feared would happen with Ezran? Right now prison was an abstract idea to the teen, something he’d only seen on TV. Being here would change that.

  “If I get home and see that you don’t own a pair of jeans, we’re going to have words.”

  Noah’s voice brought Lawson’s head up and he grinned as the other man pulled him into a rough hug. He stepped back, looking Noah over, pleased to see not much had changed.

  Since being incarcerated, Noah had taken to a more close-cut hairstyle and beard, lending a harder edge to his appearance. He’d lost the golden hue to his naturally tanned skin, and there were shadows under his eyes that hadn’t been there before, but none of that distracted from his good looks or the sharp intelligence in his startlingly pale gray eyes.

  A closer look and Lawson could see there was a newer scar on Noah’s bottom lip and another cutting through his left eyebrow. A fading bruise marked the side of his neck. His grey prison uniform was snug around his broad shoulders, but the way it fit told Lawson he’d lost some weight.

  “Don’t say a word.” Noah gave him a hard look and motioned for him to sit. “If I wanted to be fussed over, I’d let Curtis visit.”

  “I’ll make sure he doesn’t comment on how little you must be eating. Or the fresh scars.” Lawson settled on the hard, metal stool and folded his forearms on the table as Noah sat, facing him. “I’m sure your mother didn’t notice either.”

  Noah shook his head and made a dismissive motion with his hand. “My mother was too busy trying to charm the guards into letting her bring me cookies. She doesn’t…” Forcing a smile, Noah shrugged. “Looking at her son in this particular uniform isn’t exactly pleasant. So no, I don’t think she noticed.”

  “She’s been tired, Noah. The lawyer added to your team gave her hope that your case could be revisited, but—”

  “What you’re not going to do is bullshit me, Law. I’m aware of how my mother feels. If need be, I’ll discuss it with her.” Noah rested his elbows on the table and steepled his hands. His gaze locked onto Lawson in that way that always seemed to shatter any attempt to conceal his thoughts. As though Noah could learn whatever he wanted to know with that one look. “There’s been more trouble at the club than you let on.”

  Lawson held his gaze. He’d expected news of the latest events to reach Noah at some point. “Nothing I can’t handle.”

  “Ram is no longer a member?” Noah waited for his confirmation, but not as though he really needed it. He sat back and shook his head. “How exactly are you going to handle that? He’s one of the more popular fighters. Unless you and Curtis start getting off your asses and into that ring a lot more often than you have been, you won’t pull in enough money to keep the place running.”

  Letting out a bitter laugh, Lawson nodded slowly. “You’re right. We should have fought to keep Ram around. That he’d decided to target Reed in his latest attempt to fuck with me is irrelevant. The boy should’ve taken one for the team.”

  Noah stilled. Took a long, deep breath. “He went after Reed.”

  “Which you clearly weren’t informed of.” Lawson’s lips tightened. “Ram’s the one you’ve been getting updates from.”

  Inclining his head, Noah fisted his hand on the table. “His brother’s in for armed robbery. He told me you’d gotten with some little twink that was part of the gang that…” Noah stared down at the table. “I
wasn’t pleased that you’d let someone like that distract you, but I had some doubts from what Derrik relayed of his brother’s description.”

  “Do I even want to know?”

  Noah chuckled. “Probably not.” He cocked his head. “This boy of yours...it’s pretty serious?”

  “Yes.” Lawson relaxed, his lips curving slightly. “He may give me a few gray hairs, but he’s a good man. He took the challenge Ram had issued Reed. He’s a traditionally trained fighter who didn’t stand a chance against that dirty fucker, but he didn’t even hesitate.”

  “I like him already.” Noah grinned, then reached out to squeeze Lawson’s hand. “Thank him for me. Reed’s always been a hard one to take care of. He’s good at pretending life’s all rainbows and unicorn shit. Ezran was the one I worried about.”

  “I promised I’d look out for both of them.”

  “And now you’ve got them another mommy. That’s precious.” Noah’s eyes shone with amusement. “Speaking of Curtis, he mentioned he’d finally leased a place for his training center. Can you get him something from me? Not sure what he needs, but a gift to celebrate an impressive damn accomplishment that took him a lot of fucking work. I’m proud of him.”

  Lawson smiled, a few ideas in mind for Noah’s gift. He’d have to swing by the center to make sure he chose something that would fit in with what Curtis had already put together, but it shouldn’t be too hard. “So am I.”

  Noah blinked at him. “Who are you and what the fuck did you do with my Law?”

  “Curtis and I have a...new understanding.”

  “And I suspect this boy of yours has a sweet fucking mouth.” Noah smirked. “Hey, whatever works. You haven’t killed one another. The Asylum hasn’t burned down. And Ezran got an A in biology.” He shook his head with a mock sigh. “Which means Doc’s been tutoring him and the therapy bill is going to bury me.”

  “Speaking of Ezran—”

  “Lawson, this has been a good visit.” Noah’s tone dropped and his eyes narrowed. “Tread carefully.”

  That commanding tone would have been enough to kill the conversation once, but Lawson wasn’t Noah’s submissive any longer. The man had put him in charge of Ezran’s wellbeing and he’d made the boy a promise.

  “He needs you, Noah.” Lawson remained seated as Noah stood and paced away from the table, then back at a guard’s warning look. Leaning forward, Lawson stared at Noah as he rested his hands on the table and lowered his head between his arms. “He doesn’t understand why you won’t let him visit. It’s tearing him up. You’re the closest thing to family he has.”

  “You’re supposed to be his family now, Law. You and Curtis and Reed. Hell, your new man. All of you, out there where he can be a normal fucking kid.” Noah swallowed and looked over his shoulder as the boy who’d been glaring at his father before broke down and wrapped his arms around his father’s neck.

  “None of us are you.” Lawson turned his palms upward on the table as Noah returned to his seat. “He’s not that little eleven-year-old you tried to adopt anymore. You raised him away from the darker side of our lives and I’m doing my damndest to keep that up. But you’re not part of what he needs to be protected from. You saved him.”

  “He wouldn’t have been in danger in the first place if I’d kept him with my mom.”

  “You tried that with Reed and he ended up auditioning for a job as a stripper.”

  Noah covered his face with his hands and groaned. “Don’t remind me.”

  “Ezran isn’t Reed. He’s not interested in the club. He likes fighting, but he spends more time doing art. He gets that from you.” Lawson gave Noah’s shoulder a light shove. “Let him come tell you about his progress. Encourage him to keep at it. You’ll see, he won’t care where you are.”

  “Damn it, you’re a pushy fucker.” Noah lifted his head, nodding slowly. “Fine. In a couple weeks you can come back with him. Tell him to bring me one of his drawings. I wanna see how he’s coming along.”

  “I will.” Lawson’s throat tightened as the alert came on, announcing that visiting hours had ended. “Damn it, I almost forgot. Reed got you a bunch of books and wanted to know if you could have them.”

  Regret filled Noah’s eyes. He shook his head. “I can have a couple of books in my cell, but I can’t leave with them.” He stilled, then seemed to recall something and let out a soft laugh. “Since you’ve got my loft all set up and waiting for me, have him fill up my new bookshelves.”

  “On it.” There weren’t bookshelves in Noah’s loft yet, or much of anything, but damn it, Lawson would build the man a damn library.

  The guards were ushering visitors from the room as prisoners began lining up. Lawson pushed to his feet, and mentally plotted out the distance between the visitor’s room and the front door. Irrational as it was, he always had a moment where he wondered how far Noah would get if Lawson managed to take down a few guards.

  Not that Noah would run.

  And Matt...Matt was out in the car. Waiting. Aside from his responsibility toward Reed and Ezran, Lawson couldn’t do anything foolish because Matt needed him.

  “Go on.” Noah hugged him when he stood, speaking softly in his ear. “You look good, man. Happy. Tell this new boy of yours thank you for that too.”

  Back in the car, Lawson rested his hands on the steering wheel, giving himself a few breaths to pull himself together, grateful for Matt’s silence as he gazed out the window at large gray prison walls that cut across the golden glow of the horizon where the sun had begun to set. How could time go so fast when he was visiting Noah, yet out here, only one more day had passed? One more out of almost fifteen hundred.

  Ezran would’ve been twenty before seeing Noah again if Lawson hadn’t gotten through to the man. He laughed as he realized what had finally done it and Matt started at his side.

  Matt put a hand on his forearm, carefully placing it above the bandaged burn. His expression said he wasn’t sure whether or not Lawson had lost his mind. “Are you all right?”

  “Yes, I just realized Reed’s attempted career as a stripper came in handy. And not just to reveal how much he enjoys being spanked.” Perhaps a bit too much honesty?

  Lips forming a shocked O, Matt blinked at him. “I’m not sure what to ask about first. Or why neither surprises me.”

  “I think it surprised Curtis. He was the one who dragged Reed home and administered the punishment. Noah was at a loss. Reed had just turned eighteen. And Curtis…” Lawson shrugged. “He made sure Reed never did anything so foolish again, in any case.”

  “That’s...good?” Matt looked confused. “What brought this on?”

  Lawson exhaled roughly. “Noah agreed to let Ezran visit.”

  “So he doesn’t grow up to be a… Okay, I can see that being effective.” Matt grinned and shook his head. “Maybe I should start looking at universities in Europe.”

  Lips slanted, Lawson nodded. “That’s a good idea. I’ll help.”

  Leaving Noah behind was no less difficult, but the mood was lighter on the way back to the club. Four years was still a long time, but it would have been much longer with the man trying to remove himself from the lives of his family until he was released. Once Noah saw that Ezran could handle visits he’d be less resistant to anyone besides Lawson and his mother being there.

  For now, Lawson would settle with finally having some good news for the boy. After twenty-one months of having to crush Ezran’s hopes and shut down any discussion on the matter, he wouldn’t have to be the asshole anymore.

  Regarding this, in any case.

  They arrived back at the club shortly after seven, an hour before the doors leading up to the lofts would be locked so the boys wouldn’t come down to the bar, and the patrons wouldn’t wander into the living space. Matt carried in the pizza they’d stopped for at Ezran’s favorite pizzeria downtown and Lawson pulled off his suit jacket, laying it on the bar as he pulled out a stool.

  Curtis cut him a contemplative look as he cam
e to Lawson’s side, then reached out to dab his thumb across the edge of Matt’s lips. He flicked his tongue over his thumb and cocked his head. “Hmm, not that unless you’ve gotten better at cleaning up after yourself, which would be a shame. I take it you got some good news?”

  Matt’s face went red.

  Lawson frowned at Curtis. “Don’t bait him, he’s getting a free pass tonight. And I want the boys down here.”

  “On it.” Curtis gave Lawson a sharp mock-salute and headed toward the stairs.

  Bursting out from the gymnasium in only a pair of ridiculously skimpy red gym shorts, towel around his neck, Reed almost slammed right into Curtis. The Dom’s brow furrowed as he looked the young man over.

  “Do you remember the last time I caught you prancing around in a club, wearing that little, Sparkles?” Curtis latched on to the back of Reed’s neck, his tone hard. “Go put some fucking clothes on.”

  Reed’s eyes narrowed. “I wear a lot less in this club, Ponyboy. Or haven’t you noticed?”

  “What did you just call me?”

  Moving fast, Matt slipped behind Reed and put his hand over his mouth. “He called you a killjoy. And he’s right. Good news, how about you not fucking spoil it.”

  Curtis glared at Lawson, likely not enjoying the timing of the free pass, but Lawson simply shrugged and cracked open a soda as Curtis strode off. He’d expected Matt to take full advantage. If Curtis was smart, he’d keep tabs until the pass was revoked.

  A little twisted, but Lawson was eager to see that new paddle in use. And he was curious how far Matt would push before he realized his grave error in judgement.

  Besides that, part of looking out for Reed involved not letting him get on Curtis’s bad side.

  Two birds. One stone.

  After a quiet conversation with Matt, Reed went into the gym to shower and grab his clothes. Lawson pulled Matt to him, trapping him between his thighs, arms restrained in Lawson’s hold, using the brief privacy to torture him with his lips on his throat, fingers skimming along the inner curve of his hip. He chuckled when Matt jumped at the sound of footsteps coming down and turned to hide his swelling erection against the side of the bar.