Redeeming Justice (19 page)

“Don’t say a fucking word Drae,” Alex muttered darkly when he came up for air to find
the man standing at the end of the pool where Alex had flung himself after retreating
from the scene with Meghan in the driveway.

Drae snickered and crossed his arms over his chest fixing Alex with a mocking look.
“Dude. Your clothes are in a pile; I find you naked and swimming like you’re trying
to escape the devil. Not saying anything isn’t an option.”

Heaving a sigh, Alex hauled himself out of the water and wrapped a towel around his
hips before collapsing on a nearby lounger. His leg was fucking killing him whether
from the strain of picking Meghan up off the ground or from sheer guilt for having
been such a complete dick. Both were viable options.

“I fucked up bad, bro,” he muttered to his friend.

“
Uh.
No shit Sherlock,” Drae sneered. “You put Cam and I to shame with how fast you managed
to fuck yourself up your own ass. I think you set a new land speed record with this
girl. You might want to consider an asbestos suit because that’s one seriously pissed
off lady. Unless I’m woefully mistaken, and I doubt that I am, I’d say you’re in for
some well-deserved fire breathing.”

Ah shit
. Drae was so right. He was fucked. She was furious and hurt too. If she turned on
him it would be nothing less than he deserved.

“Want to talk about it?”

Alex snorted in frustrated amusement and glared at his brother. “Did
you
wanna talk about it when it was you being a complete ass-hat?”

“
Mmm
, probably not,” Drae answered solemnly. “But then again, my situation wasn’t quite
as fucked up or as tied to the past as your is.”

Alex threw his arm over his face to block out the sun and to shield his expression
from the knowing eyes of someone who knew him too well.

Standing over him so his body cast a shadow, Drae went for the gusto, making Alex
wince at the frank way he spoke.

“
Alex.
Fucking get over it, man. You are
not
responsible for what happened to her fiancé. There was not a single thing you could
have done to stop what happened.”

“The botched raid…” Alex said but Drae was having none of it.

“That’s tired bullshit, and you know it. If it hadn’t been that raid, it would have
been something else—something equally unexplainable. Those dickheads would use any
excuse – fuck, they had no problem making shit up – to force what happened. Come hell
or high water, they were going to eventually get explosives inside the perimeter.
Yeah, people died. It’s part of embracing the suck, man. We all watched those body
bags fly out but at some point you gotta let it go.”

“She thinks I’m some sort of war hero.”

Drae burst out laughing. “No she doesn’t you asshole. That’s your fucking ego talking.
Meghan knows the score. Didn’t she tell us that her entire family was a bunch of first
responders? Do you honestly think that you’re the only guy to ever think he’s responsible
for bad shit when it happens? Give her some credit, man. The girl has a great head
on her shoulders, and I’m sure if you just explain why this is so hard for you, she’ll
understand.”

There was a lot of truth to what Drae was saying. That was why he was the intellect
in the family. He might be a cold-hearted bastard at times with the sort of nerves
of steel that gets idolized in comic books, but he was also deeply intuitive.

“Time to pull it together, Dad,” he mocked. “The kids want a mommy.”

“Jesus. Don’t even joke about that.”

“I wasn’t joking. Now pull it together and stop with the wah-wah shit. You’ve got
a lady to talk down off the ledge. Ben’s had the smoker going all afternoon and we’re
supposed to meet up in an hour for a family cook-out.”

“Oh my God! She’s so adorable,” Lacey squealed with delight when she saw the puppy
Brody was introducing to Tori and Drae. “What are you going to name her?”

The couple laughed and answered in unison, “Raven.”

“You do realize she’s a
blond
Lab, right?” Cam quipped. “Raven seems an odd choice.”

Drae roared with laughter. “Excuse me, but Zeus for a female canine? Seems like we’re
just keeping with tradition.”

“Well played, bro,” Cam answered with a snicker. “Well played.”

While Tori and Lacey cuddled and cooed over the new addition to Family Justice, Drae
and Cam went to the big wood table set up for their cookout dinner and sat across
from each other, cold beer in hand.

“So I missed all the fun earlier, huh?” Cam smirked.

“It wasn’t pretty,” Drae told him. “ When they got back, Meghan had that freshly mauled
look and she slammed every door in her path. Tonight oughta be fascinating.”

“Think he’s in love with this girl?”

Drae almost choked on the beer he was swallowing. “What the fuck, man? How unreal
is it that we both have pregnant wives and we’re sitting around talking about love?
Go figure.”

“Guys,” Brody called out. “And ladies too, sorry but I gotta roll. My crew is having
a tough time with one of the Shepherds. Enjoy the puppy Tori!” On his way out he slapped
Drae on the shoulder and whispered, “Good luck. Puppies are a handful, y’know.”

Drae smirked and said, “That’s what you’re for Jensen.”

Alex passed Brody as he left and the two men nodded at each other but didn’t speak.
After having ripped his head off over absolutely nothing, Alex was wise enough to
steer clear of the dog trainer. Something about the good-looking loner being around
Meghan didn’t sit well with him. He was being unreasonable but especially after what
had gone down earlier, he didn’t give a shit.

After greeting the ladies present and saying all the appropriate things about the
new puppy he went to join the men who sat shooting the shit while Ben and Gus fussed
with the grill. Betty had gone into town but Carmen, Ria, and Meghan were nowhere
to be found. He wondered what the hell that was all about.

Didn’t take long to find out when his housekeeper appeared wearing an expression directed
solely at him, which suggested he go fuck himself. Ria, on the other hand, ignored
him completely. To make matters worse, Zeus who had been ambling along by their sides
also dissed him, choosing to investigate the new puppy instead of sitting adoringly
at his feet. And Meghan was a no-show. Fucking fantastic.

When Ben shot him a murderous look as his wife stood close whispering fuck knows what,
he almost groaned out loud. Whatever this was, it wasn’t good. For him.

“Let’s eat everybody,” Gus called out as the family took their places at the big outdoor
table.

Alex gritted his teeth but took his place at the head of the table as a bead of sweat
rolled down his back. Scraping his hands through his hair, he hunched over with a
dark scowl on his face aware that Meghan’s absence was not lost on anyone. He couldn’t
remember ever having to endure such a painfully silent meal.

There wasn’t any use in ignoring the fucking elephant in the room, especially not
with the meaningful glares being sent his way.

Everyone around the table was surprised by his outburst, even Alex, when he’d finally
had enough.

“Alright, goddammit. You can all stop with they dirty looks.”

Carmen’s
fuck you
look never wavered, something she’d never done before. He tasted the distinctive
flavor of shoe leather as the image of his foot protruding from his mouth lit up his
mind.
Shit.
Ria, Lacey, Tori, and even Zeus were also looking at him in a way that made him squirm.
Apparently they were all on Team Meghan. Besides the one black look Ben had shot him,
the men were wisely staying silent. That was what happened when women got added to
the mix. Even Gus—the old fucker said nothing and seemed to be taking his cues from
the testy housekeeper. Great.

Alex stood up and tossed his napkin onto the table. Looking to Carmen who seemed to
be the lead bitch in this scenario he barked, “Where the fuck is she?” No one misunderstood
the question or the meaning behind it.

Seemingly satisfied that she’d managed to rattle his cage, Carmen smiled sweetly then
smirked right to his damn face. “She has a headache,” was all she said although she
made the term headache sound like,
she’s putting bullets in a gun to blow your damn head off you fucking idiot.

A headache? Women actually used that stupid excuse for real? Alex knew that
headache
was code for
bite me
.

Turning, he stormed from the group, hearing the distinct titter of laughter as he
marched away.

He was at her door in record time, just barely managing to stop from flinging it open
without knocking first. Trying to reign in the aggression coursing through his body
was a lost cause although he didn’t know why he was pissed off and that was part of
the problem. It was his damn need for control he was sure of it. He wanted her with
him and by not joining them for dinner she had provoked him beyond words. Headache,
yeah right. More like a female manipulation; something he was having none of.

The moment he rapped on the door with his knuckles, he remembered that it was his
rejection of the beautiful woman after she’d given herself to him that brought this
situation about. That didn’t stop him from wanting an explanation. This type of behavior
wasn’t what he’d come to expect from Meghan. The woman had brass balls so why was
she playing the headache game?

When she didn’t answer the door he simply pushed it open and strode in like he owned
the place. Which he did but that wasn’t the point. The primal man inside him had staked
a claim on the red-haired woman when he buried his dick inside her hot wet heat and
that was all he could focus on.

It took a few seconds once he entered the room to realize he’d made a huge mistake.
The curtains were drawn making the atmosphere shadowy and silent. He saw her right
away, curled on her side in the bed, with her knees drawn up and a hand covering her
eyes.

Moving to her side he reached out and ran his hand across her hip making her moan
out loud.

“Jesus, Meghan,” he hissed, alarmed and chastised at the same time. “Are you alright?”

She flopped onto her back and looked at him through narrowed eyes, discomfort etched
on her face. The words
ass
and
clown
flared in his mind. She really did have a headache.

Her voice sounded small and thready. “I feel like shit. Too much sun. Too much…well,
I don’t know. Everything’s just too much. Don’t be mad.”

Mad? He wasn’t mad. Okay. Maybe he had been a minute ago but seeing her in such a
state instantly wiped all that from his head.

She was wearing one of those flimsy nightie things guys fantasized about, which got
his dick throbbing in record time. Nothing but a bit of silk and lace, it barely covered
her tits, tying underneath the glorious mounds and stopping at the top of her thighs.
He saw matching silk panties peeking out which all but destroyed what little self-control
he was clinging to.

After the blinding surge of lust cleared he immediately saw bright red strips of skin
alongside the straps of her nightie that extended down her arms. Her nose was hot
pink, and she looked like someone who’d spent way too much time under the blazing
Arizona sun. Add to that what happened between them and it was understandable why
she was in a funk.

“I was worried about you.”

She struggled to sit up making him swiftly move to assist her, bringing him close
enough to pick up on that delicious scent of hers that had been fucking with his head
from moment one.

Getting her situated against a stack of pillows, he saw a bottle of water on the nightstand
and handed it over.

“Drink this, baby. You’re dehydrated. Have you taken anything for the headache?”

“Yeah. Carmen gave me a couple of tablets; they just haven’t kicked in yet. I took
a shower and was starting to dress for dinner when it all hit me.”

They were talking but she was avoiding his eyes. He didn’t like it. Not one bit.

“Look at me Meghan,” he growled at her.

When she finally did he saw so many emotions flash across her expression he didn’t
know which one to deal with first.

Before he could say anything, she beat him to the punch.

“I’m sorry about earlier.”

The comment, innocent as it was, fired up a replay in his head of their provocative
coupling and the ugly aftermath.

“You have nothing to be sorry for.”

“I shouldn’t have forced myself on you like that. It’s so unlike me.”

He knew that without her saying it.

“There’s something you need to know but first, I want to tell you, uh…what I mean
is you don’t have anything to worry about.”

He looked at her searching for meaning. She was blushing so hard her neck looked like
it was on fire. She cleared her throat and put on what he suspected was her teacher
face.