Redeeming Justice (2 page)

When he got out of this medical nightmare, whenever that proved to be, Alex had decided
that come hell or high water, the three of them would be together again. He had a
huge spread of land in the Arizona desert where they could escape the fucking war
and build a new life. Thanks to the military, they each had skills and talents that
were unmatched and would be in high demand in the world of private security and counterintelligence.
Might as well put what they’d learned to good use once they were all back in the civilian
world.

Nurse Blake gave him something that was supposed to look like a smile. She wasn’t
an idiot. No one who had to deal with the wounded coming back from the war zones was.
She knew damn well that he relied on those letters to keep him sane almost more than
he needed the endless parade of doctors and specialists who jigsaw puzzled his body
back together.

“Rest assured Major, I will make sure you get your mail before the hour is out. You
okay while I go check?”

Alex nodded even though the fucking morphine they pumped into him made the motion
more of a wobble. “Thanks Blake. If you weren’t a butt kicking Army Nurse who could
crack my skull with one hand, I’d kiss your ugly ass.”

She laughed and patted him on the shoulder. “Said like a butt fucking ugly Special
Forces shithead. Hold that thought and I’ll see what I can do.”

There was no doubt about it. Meghan O’Brien loved sunshine. When the story of her
life was written, surely there would be a notation about her love hate affair with
the sun. Being a fair complexioned Irish beauty meant she’d learned to be clever about
protecting her skin. Tilting her head skyward, Meghan felt a mass of auburn curls
tumble down her back the same second the blazing sun lit up her face. Both sensations
were delicious and made her sigh. As she stood there absorbing the invigorating energy,
she closed her eyes and concentrated on her other senses.

Pressed up against the side of an SUV, her butt was warmed from the heat of the desert
southwest radiating off the vehicle. It was an oddly pleasant feeling that helped
alleviate some of the tension in her back from long hours spent behind the wheel.

There were muffled voices from the people in the roadside rest area where she’d stopped
for a break. Kids laughing. Parents yelling.
The usual
, she chuckled. There was even the low bark of a big dog and the dull rumble of an
idling motorcycle.

She clutched a very cold bottle of water in one hand, while the other rested on the
door handle. Her inner teacher’s voice fed fast facts into her thoughts making Meghan
grin.
Vitamin D is primarily synthesized in skin exposure to UV light and is essential to
healthy skin.
The grin became a laugh. Some things won’t ever change.

Where a year ago she’d known exactly what she wanted to do and how she wanted to live
her life, today she was in a curious limbo. At the age of twenty-eight, her resume
was a study in perfection. Bachelor’s Degree in Education followed by a Master’s in
Kinesiology. Every job known to mankind in those two fields; camp counselor, fitness
trainer, motivational coach, gym teacher, licensed massage therapist—she was a respected
member of the Belmont Circle School District faculty where she’d been assistant athletic
director. Not bad for being a girl in a man’s field.

She was also loud and proud, a true Irish Daughter of Boston and was more than capable
of taking care of herself. Having three brothers taught Meghan how to navigate the
world of men. She was competitive by nature and didn’t cry when she lost. With a straightforward,
take no shit attitude, her students liked her, and the parents and her fellow faculty
members respected her. Life had been damn good. She had no complaints and while the
idea of finding a guy she could put her faith in, someone she could trust, was a shining
ideal, she was content living alone as a successful professional.

And then it happened. One day, one very
ordinary
day, she’d been nesting at home, cartons of takeout food on the table as she hunkered
down with her Kindle to catch up on some reading when the phone rang and her entire
life changed.

Meghan, along with five colleagues from her school, had pooled their money and purchased
lottery tickets that had incredibly won them a mega jackpot. That phone call had done
more than change the direction of her life. With the staggering amount of money she
suddenly had, the mortgages on her parents’ and brothers’ homes got paid off and a
sizeable trust fund established for her nieces and nephews ensuring that each of them
would have the money for college when that time came.

With the job market being such a tough place for educators, Meghan reluctantly stepped
down from her position so someone else could have the chance to chase their dreams.
She didn’t want to stop working but others immediately started showing signs of jealousy
and disdain for her and her fellow jackpot winners. Hanging onto a job when she didn’t
need the income was only inviting judgment.

The midday heat starting to make her clothes feel heavy and uncomfortable got Meghan
moving into the driver’s seat of her shiny, new SUV on a reluctant sigh. As much as
she enjoyed basking for a few minutes in the relentless southwest sun, it didn’t take
long for her to throw in the towel once the heat took over. Starting the engine she
flipped the AC to low and took a long, slow pull off the bottle of chilled water,
settling comfortably into the plush seat. The car had been her first big purchase.
She’d felt giddy at the freedom of having unlimited options and went a little crazy
when it came to all the bells and whistles.

All that stuff, from the navigation system to the satellite radio and heated seats,
had come in handy though. On a whim, she’d packed up her apartment, put everything
she owned in storage, and headed off on a cross-country road trip.
Because she could
. That was three months ago.

In that time she’d traveled from Boston to Seattle then down the California coast,
stopping at every giant wind chime or world’s largest whatever along the way. Putting
her teacher skills to creative good use, she’d been taking thousands of pictures either
with her phone or the fancy digital camera she loved; then designing digital scrapbooks
with a running commentary of her adventures.

While in California, her mother had flown to join Meghan for a weeklong spa retreat
and a sweet mother daughter bonding experience. Maggie O’Brien was everything Meghan
hoped she’d be one day; smart, loving, fiercely devoted to her family, and possessing
a wicked streak a mile wide. They knocked back a couple of bottles of Jameson Irish
Whiskey during their ten days together laughing like schoolgirls, and at night she
would sit at her mother’s knee like she had as a child, listening to her mom’s calming
voice as she smoothed Meghan’s curls.

After California, it was time to get back on the road, which is what brought her to
this rest stop along old Route 66. This portion of her American adventure had been
the most fun she’d had. The rich history turned her on. The desert southwest was so
incredibly beautiful that she pulled over constantly to take pictures.

Tonight she’d be in Flagstaff where she planned to stay for a few days. After that
it was a slight detour south toward Sedona and a visit she’d been thinking about for
a very long time. More than five years in the making, she would at long last be meeting
face to face with a man she barely knew who had been uncommonly kind to her during
a dark time. Knowing that his kindness came during a difficult period in his own life,
she’d always hoped to share her enormous gratitude in person. Now that the opportunity
was upon her, Meghan was excited and a bit apprehensive too.

It had felt so forward and pushy to tap out an email that basically said -
Hey, I’m in town and inviting myself over to your place for a visit
– but that’s what she’d done.
Well
, she thought as her SUV pulled onto the highway,
the deed was done.
Now the stage was set for whatever came of her impulsive desire to settle an emotional
debt that only meant something to her.

Alexander Valleja-Marquez was fit to be tied. Depending on which hat he was wearing
at any given time, whether Spanish Don of inherited nobility or retired Special Forces
Commander or senior partner in a prestigious security agency, or friend, he was a
handful at the best of times. When he had an itch up his butt though, he was a fucking
nightmare to deal with. And he knew it. But frankly, knowing didn’t slow his roll
for a second.

The agency’s summer calendar was fully booked for the season making the Marquez Villa
and surrounding Justice Agency compound a bustling mini-town of activity. It was their
busiest time of year and with both his partners slightly distracted by personal matters,
Alex had assumed a bigger role in overseeing day-to-day agency operations.

As out of sorts as he was, that didn’t stop Alex from a moment of happiness recalling
the unexpected chain of events that found two of the three Justice Brothers married
and with babies on the way. As if Cameron’s life changing romance with his ponytailed
wife wasn’t mind-boggling enough, the approaching birth of their first child had blown
everyone’s mind. And then there was Draegyn who was also a married man with a baby
on the way. Never in a million years had he thought any of them would be the happily
ever after sort.

Snorting in disbelief for the thousandth time, Alex left the dimly lit tech cave where
he spent the majority of his time and made his way to the tiled walk leading to the
pool. Zeus, his constant companion and the only female to speak of in his life, trotted
along amiably at his feet. At least the dog seemed to like him.

He was heading for the pool to work off an excess of nervous energy that was tying
him up in knots. With the non-stop agency activity to keep him busy you’d think he
wouldn’t have time for wandering thoughts, but pretty much the only thing he could
think about for the past couple of days had been an email from someone he’d known
briefly during his special ops days. Back when he ordered people into danger, then
was the one to tell families about their son or daughter’s brave sacrifice.

That last awful day of his command not only ended his military career, it was when
the families of more than a dozen soldiers and civilians he was responsible for had
gotten bad or devastating news. Even though Alex had been one of the severely wounded,
he hadn’t shirked his responsibility as the commanding office in charge to write personally
to each family. It was the least he could do, and while it did nothing to ease the
black mark left on his soul from that day, it did serve as a reminder of his own humanity,
something that came perilously close to being lost in the months before and for a
long time afterward.

One of those he wrote to was the fiancée of a young soldier who hadn’t stood a chance
when the bomb went off. He’d been surprised when she replied, sending a long heartfelt
letter about her fiancé and how much he loved every minute of his time in the service
and respected his C.O. At the time, Alex was struggling through months of endless
surgeries, physical therapy, plus mental and physical anguish that were stripping
his soul. Her letters had been the start of a brief pen pal exchange. By the following
year when he was stateside again and starting to build a life outside the military,
they’d remained Christmas card pals but nothing else. Until she emailed him out of
the blue and said she’d be in the Sedona area soon and could she come by for a visit.

Could she come by for a visit? Alex had been flabbergasted. It wasn’t everyday that
a ghost from the past came a-knocking. Even though they’d never met, she still reminded
him of an awful time. Then he remembered how friendly and sweet she’d been during
his long convalescence – sending long chatty letters full of everyday details that
helped take his mind off the pain and his weary spirit.