Unlawful Justice

by K. Langston

  Jealousy moves swiftly through my veins.

  “What do you care anyway? I’m surprised you even noticed since you were so absorbed with your ex.”

  “What the hell are you talking about?”

  I scoff. “What? You think I didn’t see you? How do you think it made me feel to see her rubbing against you and you doing nothing about it?”

  His jaw flexes. “That’s not what happened.”

  “No? It sure looked like that to me. Was it as innocent as my talk with Ben? I have a hard time believing that considering the run-in I had with her earlier in the bathroom.” My blood rushes hotter and faster with the intruding memory. “Ben respected you and tried introducing himself. What I got from Mandy was an insult that I would never be able to keep your attention. Guess she was right.”

  Okay, that was a low blow, but I’m so upset and hurt right now that I don’t give thought to the words flying from my mouth.

  “Are you fucking serious?” He bellows so loud it makes me flinch.

  “Very,” I grind out.

  As we pull onto the farm he drives all the way up to the guesthouse, throwing the truck in park and killing the engine. “How can you even fucking say that? And why the hell didn’t you tell me what happened?”

  “It didn’t matter because I trust you.” My words come out harsh and raw, burning my throat. “I thought we trusted each other. But after I saw her with you, and the way you’re acting about Ben, clearly, I was very wrong.” Leaving him with that, I swing open the door and jump out into the monsoon, the cool rain washing over my heated skin.

  “Liv! Get the fuck back here. This isn’t over,” he shouts.

  Shaking my head I turn to walk around the truck, heading for the main house.

  I refuse to sleep in the same room with him tonight.

  However, before I can make it far, he meets me at the front of the truck and grabs my arm, spinning me around to face him. Rain pours down his face, not affecting his hardened expression. “That’s bullshit and you know it,” he roars, his face inches from mine. “You fucking tell me right now that you know what she said is bullshit.”

  “NO! Because I don’t. Not anymore.” Tears burn the back of my eyes and my heart pounds inside my chest.

  “Then I’ll fucking show you.”

  As soon as the words pass his lips, his mouth crashes to mine, hot and demanding. My hands immediately weave through his sopping wet strands, and I match him stroke for stroke. All of my pent-up hurt and frustration pouring into the kiss.

  It’s hot, punishing and downright beautiful, eliminating any and all doubt that this man undeniably belongs to me.

  With a growl he lifts me off my feet and pins me against the front of his truck, my legs locking into place around his waist. The hardness and heat from the engine greet my back. One arm holds me in place, his lips still attacking mine with fevered hunger. I feel his other hand dip between our soaked bodies as he quickly works to free himself. I grasp at his face, pulling him closer, needing him to eliminate any remaining space between us.

  Then, seconds later, that same hand is pulling my panties aside. He poises at my entrance, his wild eyes holding mine. “Tell me yes, Liv. Tell me you want this.”

  I don’t think I’ve ever wanted anything more in my life. It claws at me, desperately seeking for him to claim me.

  “Yes. I need you soo…” My words die on my lips as he glides in on one easy thrust, filling me with every smooth inch of his hard cock.

  I gasp at the delicious intrusion.

  “Do you feel this?” he asks, slamming into me again. “I’m yours, Liv. Yours. I could never belong to anyone else.” His mouth moves across my chilled, wet skin, setting fire to my heated blood. His hot breath finds the shell of my ear. “And you’re mine, baby. From this perfect body, all the way down to your beautiful fucking soul. Mine.”

  Each stroke grows more powerful with every word spoken, and my heart surges with more love than I’ve ever known. Both hands maintain a firm grip on the back of my thighs, squeezing and gripping with each deliberate thrust. “Say it. Tell me you’re mine.”

  My fingers dig into his shoulder, fisting the saturated material of his shirt, every part of me clinging to every single part of him. “I’m yours.”

  “Damn right you are. And I won’t ever let you fucking forget it.”

  The rain continues to fall, pounding on the hood of the truck, washing away what is left of my inhibitions as he takes me in a way no other man has. “God, Grayson, it’s so good.”

  His eyes hold mine, blazing with deep love and dark desire. The shared breaths between us have become desperate and ragged. “That’s because it’s you and me, baby. Only. Ever. Us.”

  “Yes!” I throw my head back as the building pressure reaches its peak. He fills me deeper, touching a place inside of me I never even knew existed.

  The result is beautifully devastating.

  I explode around him, clenching and writhing beneath his tense, hard body as my orgasm completely destroys me. Grayson grits his teeth on a harsh curse, burying his face in the crook of my neck as my teeth scrape the slope of his shoulder, stifling my screams.

  By the time we both come to our senses the rain has tapered to a drizzle, and any question whether Grayson is irrevocably mine or that I am undeniably his, has been completely obliterated.

  He carries me inside, walking straight to the bathroom where he quickly undresses us both after he starts the shower.

  Once we both step inside, his strong hands cradle my face, eyes full of remorse. “Tell me. Tell me you trust me and you know I would never do that to you.”

  I nod, my heart aching as the hot water begins to warm my freezing body. My hand reaches for his wrist, feeling the strong pulse beneath my fingers. “I do. I shouldn’t have let her get to me. She was one of the many women Clint cheated on me with. Then she had the nerve to throw it in my face while we were in the bathroom. What happened with Clint hurt so badly because it wounded my pride, but if it ever happened with you… I wouldn’t be able to take it. It would destroy me.”

  “Never, Liv, there is no one else that matters to me but you. What you saw was us arguing, and me telling her to fuck off.”

  “I believe you.” I look at him sadly. “Now I need you to believe me. What you saw of Ben and me was his sympathy for what happened. Even if I haven’t seen him in a few years he was a really good friend of mine. You hurt me, and I was embarrassed by the way you treated him.”

  Through the billowing steam I catch a glimpse of remorse wash over his face. “I’m sorry I hurt you. I didn’t like seeing his hands on you. You’re mine, Liv, and only I touch you like that. But I overreacted, and I’ll apologize to him. I’ll make it right for you.”

  “Thank you,” I respond, pressing a kiss to his bare, wet chest.

  He lifts my face back up to his. “We good?”

  “Yeah, we’re good.”

  “Good. Now tell me you love me.”

  I smile.

  This is the kind of bossy I love from him. “I love you.”

  “And I love you.” He presses his lips to my forehead, and my heart fills with relief.

  Everything will always be right in my world as long as I have this.

  As long as I have him.

  CHAPTER 27

  Grayson

  The sound of Rosie, snorting and stomping, yanks me from my sleep. I blink twice, fully alert. Looking down I find Liv sleeping soundly next to me. I lie here for several seconds, listening carefully. When Rosie only seems to get more worked up I tentatively slide out from under Liv’s warm, naked body and reach for my jeans.

  A loud thump coming from the side of the house has me reaching for the 9 mm in the bedside table.

  “Liv, baby. Wake up.”

  She stirs, lifting her head to look at me through sleepy eyes. “What is it?”

  I throw her my shirt. “Put this on, quick.”

  My hard tone prompts her immediately following t
he order. “What’s going on?”

  “I think someone’s outside.”

  “What?” she shrieks.

  “Shhh.” I clap a hand over her mouth. “Stay here and don’t leave this room, not unless I tell you to. Understand?”

  She nods, her eyes wide with fear.

  “Everything will be okay. I promise.”

  “Please be careful.”

  I kiss her forehead. “I’ll be fine.”

  Making sure all is clear I slip out into the small hallway, closing the bedroom door quietly behind me. I keep the lights off and move carefully through the dark living room to the front door. Reaching for the knob, I twist it slowly and ease it open to peek outside.

  After a few quiet seconds, a shadow darts across the yard, heading from the main house toward the crops.

  “Fuck!” I take chase, striking out on bare feet across the wet grass. “You fucked with the wrong house, asshole,” I yell, gaining on him. Thoughts of what he had planned for Walt or Liv fuels my speed.

  I can hear his panicked grunts as I get closer. Once I have him in my grasp, I take him to the ground with crushing force. I flip him over, aiming the barrel of my gun right between his eyes. The bright moonlight lends enough light to see his face.

  Fuck, he’s just a kid.

  “Please don’t hurt me. I swear to God I don’t have anything on me. Don’t shoot.” Fear floods his face, making him look even younger.

  “Who the fuck are you?”

  “Br-Brandon. Brandon Gaines. I’m a student of Miss Bradshaw’s. I don’t want to hurt her. I swear!”

  “Then what the hell are you doing out here in the middle of the night?”

  “I was leaving a note for her. I need…I need to speak with her.”

  “You ever hear of a phone?”

  “I couldn’t. I had to—”

  “I got your back, Grayson.” Walter moves into my peripheral vision, holding up his shotgun, aimed and ready.

  Christ.

  “Oh shit!” The kid looks ready to piss himself. “Please don’t shoot me.”

  “It’s okay, Walt. I got him.” I start patting him down, making sure he doesn’t have a weapon. “See what happens when you sneak onto someone’s property in the middle of the night, kid,” I say, tucking my gun back in my jeans when I realize he’s clean.

  “Yeah, boy, you trying to get yourself killed?” Walter asks, lowering the shotgun.

  “I’m sorry. I should’ve thought it through more.”

  “Yeah, you should have. You alone?”

  “Yeah,” he replies, not looking me in the eye.

  I fist the collar of his T-shirt in my hands, jerking his face closer to mine. “You better not be fucking lying to me.”

  “I’m not. I swear.” He looks me dead in the eyes this time, and aside from fear I also see the truth. “The note’s tucked in the screen door.”

  I look over at Walter. “Go check.”

  He comes back a couple of minutes later with an envelope. He opens and reads it before telling me what’s in it. “Yeah, it’s for Livy, asking her to meet him tomorrow to talk.”

  “What do you want with her?”

  He watches me, his jaw tight with determination. “It’s between me and Miss Bradshaw. I don’t trust no cops.”

  “Well, you do now, because no one gets to my girl without going through me first.”

  “Look. I don’t want to hurt her. I’m…I’m trying to make things right.”

  His response intrigues me, but I have a feeling he’s not going to talk without Liv. “Come on.” I drag him toward the guesthouse with Walter following close behind.

  “Liv,” I shout once I step inside, flipping on the light. “Come out into the living room, will ya?”

  The bedroom door opens slowly and she steps out cautiously in her robe, cell phone clutched tightly to her chest.

  “It’s all right, baby. He says he’s a student of yours?”

  Her tired eyes widen as she reaches the living room. “Brandon?”

  “Hey, Miss Bradshaw.”

  “What on earth are you doing here? Especially this late.”

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to frighten you.” At least he has the decency to look ashamed.

  “Of course you didn’t.” She gasps as she steps closer, reaching out to touch the small cut on his face. “What happened? Are you all right?”

  “Yeah. It happened when this guy tackled me to the ground like a sumo wrestler.”

  The little fucker has the balls to jut his thumb in my direction and glare at me.

  “That’s what you get for trespassing at three o’clock in the damn morning.”

  “Yeah,” Walt chimes in, backing me up.

  “All right, all right. That’s enough. All of you. Come on. Let’s clean you up.” She ushers the kid to the kitchen, settling him in one of the chairs before retrieving the first aid kit from the cabinet.

  Walt puts away his gun before returning to the kitchen to take a seat next to the kid. It makes him uneasy and he scoots away, putting some more distance between them.

  Liv soaks a cotton ball with alcohol before applying it to his scratch, making him flinch. “Shit.”

  “Sorry, you don’t want it to get infected.” She finishes cleaning the small wound and puts a Band-Aid on it. “Now tell me, why are you here?”

  He looks at Walt then shifts his eyes up to where I stand next to him with my arms crossed.

  “Can we talk alone, please?” he asks, turning his attention back to Liv.

  “No.” I answer before she can. Her eyes seek mine with a silent plea. I shake my head. “Not happening. Whatever he has to say he can say in front of me.”

  “I told you, I don’t trust cops.”

  “Too bad. I don’t trust anyone with my woman.”

  Liv lays her hand on his arm. “Brandon, you can trust Grayson and my grandfather. They’re the good guys. I promise.”

  He swallows hard and his eyes fall to the table in front of him. After what seems like a fucking eternity, he finally speaks. “I’m real sorry about what happened to you…about Reggie and them.”

  Suspicion forms in my gut.

  Liv’s face falls. “It’s okay, it wasn’t your fault.”

  Dropping his head, he keeps his eyes averted, mumbling something beneath his breath.

  “What’s that?” she prompts softly. The kid lifts his chin, tears tracking down his face. Her hand moves to his back. “Talk to me, Brandon. What’s going on?”

  His jaw grinds as he tries to speak. “I tried to stop them, but I was too late. My call didn’t make it in time.” He completely breaks down, his body deflating as he lowers his head to his arms, that are resting on the table.

  “Jesus, you’re the one who called in,” I say, as realization hits me like a sledgehammer to the chest. Both Liv and Walter’s eyes snap to me. Before I can stop myself, I reach for the kid and haul him out of the chair. “Tell us what you know,” I demand, my face only inches from his.

  Liv jumps out of her chair, trying to get between us. “Grayson, stop it!”

  “You knew they were going to do this to her, and you didn’t do a goddamn thing to stop it!”

  “I tried, but I knew they would kill me. I had no one I could trust.”

  “The cops, goddammit. You tell the police.”

  “Wrong,” he roars back. “I can’t trust them. But you know what, I made the call anyway. I didn’t want this to happen. I never wanted anything to happen to her.”

  “Grayson, I mean it, let him go now. You’re scaring him.”

  I release him, collecting a step back. “No more stalling. Tell us what you know, right now.”

  His brown eyes harbor an extreme amount of fear, edged with anger. I begin to worry he’s going to bolt but then he looks at Liv, his chest rising and falling harshly. “I’m sorry. So sorry,” he whispers.

  Liv gently pushes him into his chair, keeping her hand on his shoulder. “It’s okay, Brandon. I prom
ise. Just tell us what happened. From the beginning.”

  He wipes his face with the back of his hand. “I hate Reggie, I’ve never liked him or his crew,” he starts. “When Jamal started hanging with them I warned him he was going to get into trouble, but he didn’t listen. He said he was family and Reggie was good to him. Once he made that first run for him all he saw was the money.”

  “You saying he was running drugs for West?” I ask.

  He nods. “Yeah, and by the time he realized I was right about Reggie he was in too deep. He eventually said he wanted out, that he didn’t wanna do it anymore, but Reggie told him he had to do one more run.” He shakes his head. “Jamal came to me that night, begging me to help him, said he didn’t wanna go alone with them. I didn’t want to. I even said no at first, but when I saw how scared he was I had to.”

  “The last run. That was my house?” Liv whispers, hurt evident in her tone. “You were the other one with him?”

  His gaze darts nervously to Walt before he drops his head in shame. “Yeah, but we didn’t know it was your place until it was too late. Reggie pulled up to the back where the fertilizer container was. Once they started siphoning, Reggie told Jamal to douse the barn with gas and light it up. For the first time, he stood up to him and said no. That’s when Reggie hit him and pulled his gun out. Told him to do it or he would kill him.” He lifts his head again, his face soaked with tears. “He didn’t wanna do it. He liked you a lot. He just…he was so scared. We both were, but now he’s dead. My best friend is gone and it’s partly my fault.”

  Liv grabs him, her beautiful face twisting with agony as her own tears begin to fall. I spare a glance at Walt and see him wiping his own guilt-filled eyes.

  “Everything has fallen apart since that night,” Brandon continues. “The whole damn town has gone crazy, and knowing I had a hand in all of this is eating me alive. I didn’t see any way out. But after what I saw today, I can’t do it anymore. I don’t care if they kill me.”

  Liv gasps and leans back, gripping the kid by his shoulders. “No one is going to kill you,” she says firmly. “I won’t let that happen.”