Justice

by Debra Webb

  “ Your friend knew what had been done to her,” Hadden said, his voice sounding loud after nearly two hours of silence.

  He was digging.

  “ Apparently.” Kayla wasn’ t going to give him anything more than what she already had. Not yet.

  “ I suppose that’ s why she called her friends together for that promise you told me about.”

  She shifted in the seat, wishing they would get to her house so she could say good-night and be rid of him.

  Kayla told herself over and over that she simply didn’ t want to answer his questions. But it was a lie. She wanted away from him, period. He made her tense. Made her uncomfortable. At this point he didn’ t even have to flash her that awesome smile. His mere presence prompted a reaction from her. That sexy male scent.

  Bad, bad, bad.

  “ That would be my guess,” she relinquished, knowing that to ignore him would only raise his suspicions.

  She resisted the urge to power the window down or to hold her breath. When had her senses latched onto his scent and become so sensitive? That natural male essence combined with something subtle and vaguely citrusy nagged at her.

  Her gaze kept wandering back to the steering wheel and his hands. She’ d never really been a hands kind of girl. Sure, she noticed them. Big ones, small ones, dirty and well manicured. It was part of her job to notice things about suspects. But this was different. She wanted to study Hadden’ s. In the dim light from the dashboard she could see that his hands were big and square, but not too much so. Long fingers, not the delicate, artistic sort. Nope, those fingers were strong and capable-looking, blunt-tipped. She could imagine how they would feel skimming her body. A shiver of heat slid through her.

  She looked away in hopes of distracting herself but it didn’ t work. He’ d touched her once or twice and she’ d noted that his skin felt nice. Though his hands were hard and male, the texture wasn’ t rough. Pleasant and smooth, warm.

  Her eyes rolled so far back in her head at her ridiculous thoughts that she would surely have seen her brain had it not been missing in action.

  Okay, he was a good-looking guy. Get over it. He was also the detective who thought Marshall was a criminal! She had to remember that. Thinking badly of her friends definitely lowered his standing. Or it should, for Christ’ s sake.

  Kayla shook off the bizarre lapses in her mental processes and focused on the dark night outside the passenger side window. It was past seven already. She hated missing out on that time with Jazz. But it couldn’ t be helped.

  She’ d have to do something special with her this weekend to make up for her recent extra-long hours. The curse of motherhood. One always felt intensely guilty even about the little things.

  But time was precious. She’ d learned that the hard way with Rainy’ s death as well as her grandmother’ s. No one was promised tomorrow. Better to make the best of today.

  Hadden parked in her drive behind her Jeep. He sat there for a moment in the darkness not saying anything. The tension vibrating between them was palpable. She should speak up and get the parting comments over with before he had a chance to spill what was on his mind. He probably had more questions about Rainy.

  He might as well forget it. She wasn’ t telling him any more than she already had.

  “ We have to talk about this.”

  Too late. Dammit. What was it about him that made her hesitate that single instant too long?

  Kayla turned to him. His profile was just visible in the straining glow of her porch light. “ What’ s to talk about? I’ ve told you all I can.” It wasn’ t an outright lie, but close.

  He laughed softly. “ I know this is seriously out of line, but I wasn’ t referring to the case.”

  Confusion snapped her mouth shut, the smart-ass remark she’ d intended to toss at him evaporating.

  Hadden turned to her, his new position combined with the sparse illumination displaying his best features in an even sexier way. God, he looked good in the dark. Her heart thumped anxiously. How long had it been since she’ d sat this close, looked this deeply at a man in the near darkness? Stakeouts with her partner didn’ t count.

  “ Maybe I’ m alone in this.” He trailed a finger down her cheek. “ But I have to get it out in the open.”

  Her pulse leapt. Between the heat and the shiver his touch elicited, she was losing ground fast here. But she couldn’ t do this. Not now. Maybe not ever. There were too many obstacles to overcome. Jazz had to be her first priority. And there was Jazz’ s father. Not to mention Kayla’ s career and determination not to get involved with the wrong man ever again.

  “ I like you, Kayla,” he said when she remained mute. “ I can’ t keep pretending it’ s only mutual respect. I’ ve been fighting the desire to get to know you better since the day we first met.” He chuckled. “ I drove all the way from Tucson to have time alone with you in the car.”

  She almost laughed at that. She remembered quite well the day they met. Marshall Carrington and David Gracelyn, Allison’ s brother, were at each other’ s throats. Rainy had just died. Things had been so confusing and emotional. But she had to admit that she’ d noticed a number of Hadden’ s assets that very day herself. At least she hadn’ t been alone in her momentary insanity.

  But, she had to get real here. Mike expected a call from her tonight and she hadn’ t even talked to Jazz yet. Wasn’ t even sure what she would say. And then there was the invitation to Athena for her daughter. Too much to deal with already. And there was that little detail that she couldn’ t be completely honest with Hadden. That was no way to start off a relationship.

  No matter how badly she wanted to have at least a physical relationship with him. Incredibly, for the first time in a very long time she felt ready to dive in. Her body quivered then tensed at just the thought of making love with Hadden. He would be good. Thorough, focused. She could very well imagine that his careful attention to detail on the job would carry through to his personal ventures. Need welled inside her. But it would be a mistake.

  “ O… kay,” he said slowly, drawing out the syllables. “ Clearly I’ ve overstepped my bounds here.”

  Kayla managed a smile. She didn’ t know how. “ It’ s okay. I… ” What did she say? Hey, I’ d love to have sex with you but I have real issues. Big-time baggage. Maybe you’ d better rethink your position.

  He faced forward, drawing back emotionally. “ I’ m glad we finally caught up with Dr. Halburg.”

  So… that was that.

  “ Yeah, me too.” She reached for the door. “ Thanks for the ride, Hadden. I’ ll see you around.”

  “ Definitely.”

  Kayla got out of the car and watched him drive away. She tried to analyze the feelings that lingered. A mixture of regret and trampled hope. Why did relationships have to be so complicated?

  Who knew?

  Yet another mystery she doubted she would ever solve.

  She trudged up to her door, unlocked it and went inside. She’ d call Mary and give her a heads-up that she was on her way. Maybe then she’ d call Alex with an update.

  Her sister Mary insisted that Kayla either come over and have dinner with them or give Jazz another forty-five minutes to do so. Kayla agreed to the latter since she could use the time to touch base with Alex. The real point was to avoid almost an hour in her sister’ s presence. Mary would pick up on her worries immediately. Kayla just wasn’ t ready to talk about any of it.

  Alex answered on the second ring. Kayla had worried that she might be away on assignment or out with Justin. Those two were definitely getting closer. Good for Alex. At least one of them was headed for a decent relationship with a great guy.

  It felt good to hear Alex’ s voice. How had they gone the past twelve years without this connection? It was still a little shaky but it was there.

  “ Is everything okay?”

  Like Mary, Alex had noted the slightest change in the nuances of Kayla’ s voice. Damn. Could she not hide anything?

/>   “ I’ ve just had an emotional day. That’ s all,” she admitted in hopes of defusing the unwanted attention. “ I finally caught up with Dr. Halburg.”

  “ Did you learn anything new? Does she keep a backup for her files?”

  “ No backup files.” Kayla answered the simplest question first. She held the phone between her ear and shoulder as she put on a pot of coffee to brew. This was going to be a long night. “ She did say that Rainy had suspected her eggs had been harvested and that she was doing some research on the subject.”

  “ Were her conclusions the same as mine and the medical examiner’ s?”

  “ Close enough.” Kayla pressed the start button on the coffeemaker and took the phone back in hand. “ She recommended Rainy see a specialist for further testing to see if any eggs could be salvaged from the damaged ovaries, but Rainy never contacted the guy.”

  Alex made a speculative sound.

  “ That tells me,” Kayla offered, “ that she was too focused on finding out how and why this happened to her. We both know how badly she wanted children. That she would put her investigation ahead of that desire says a lot.”

  “ I agree.”

  The silence dragged on a couple dozen seconds as the scent of strong coffee filled Kayla’ s kitchen. Apparently her attempts at alleviating her friend’ s concern hadn’ t worked.

  “ Has something else happened, Kayla?” Alex sighed. “ I wish you’ d tell me. I know we let the past get in the way for a while, but I want to put that behind us now. Talk to me.”

  Kayla sagged against the counter as her eyes closed with brimming emotion. She and Alex had been slowly inching toward this point since Rainy’ s death. But it wasn’ t until this moment that she felt like it was real.

  “ Mike Bridges showed up at my door this afternoon,” she admitted, hoping like hell that the mention of his name wouldn’ t set back their forward momentum.

  “ He finally wants to be involved,” Alex guessed, her tone leaving no question as to how she still felt about Mike Bridges. Most likely she’ d heard about Josie’ s experience with him as well.

  “ Yeah.” Kayla rubbed at her aching temple. This was definitely the kind of day to prompt a headache. “ I don’ t trust him, Alex.”

  “ I’ d say you’ d be smart not to. However… ” She hesitated as if she either didn’ t know what to say next or resented the words to come to some degree. “ He is her father. I know you’ ll do the right thing.”

  There was no holding back the tears that flowed down Kayla’ s cheeks then. To hear Alex say that meant the world to her.

  “ Christine called me,” Alex went on before Kayla could find her voice. “ She wanted me to hear from her what she’ d told you.”

  Kayla scrubbed a hand over her damp face. “ Betsy Stone must know a lot more than she’ s telling.” Thank God her voice didn’ t sound as shaky as she felt.

  “ Be careful, Kayla. I don’ t trust Betsy. Justin’ s certain she was involved with his sister’ s death. And we have no way of knowing how close she is to those who want to stop us.”

  Kayla couldn’ t have agreed more. If only she could determine if Rainy had made contact with Betsy Stone with her suspicions.

  Fury roared through Kayla. If she learned that Betsy Stone had somehow been involved in Rainy’ s murder, there would be no place on the planet the woman could hide. Kayla would hunt her down and tear her apart with her bare hands.

  “ Christine also mentioned that Jazz has been invited to attend Athena.”

  “ I got the letter yesterday.” Kayla fought hard to pull herself together. Looking at her various quandaries from a rational standpoint was essential. She couldn’ t let Mary or Jazz see that she’ d been crying. The next few hours had to be about reason and good, solid judgment.

  “ I don’ t have to tell you what an amazing opportunity this is,” Alex commented. “ Jazz is your daughter and I know you love her immensely. I’ m certain you wouldn’ t want her to miss out on all Athena has to offer.”

  “ No,” Kayla agreed. “ It’ s a once-in-a-lifetime kind of thing. I know. It’ s just that… ” She moistened her lips and dredged up the bitter words that burned in the deepest recesses of her soul. “ What if we learn that Athena Academy was somehow involved in all this, beyond just a staff member or two going rogue?”

  “ If,” Alex said pointedly, “ we learn such a thing then we’ ll see that it’ s taken care of. We won’ t let it happen again. Athena Academy is too important to let anyone use it for evil.”

  Alex was right. Even if Athena was involved more deeply than Kayla wanted to admit out loud, the wrong would be righted. The academy was still the finest school in the country. One that offered a chosen few young women an unequalled education. She would be a fool not to let Jazz take advantage of the invitation.

  Kayla wasn’ t a fool. She had to do what was best for her daughter.

  One way or another she would get to the bottom of this case first.

  There was one more call she needed to make before picking up Jazz. She dreaded this one almost as much as she did the next one she’ d have to make.

  His voice sounded weary when he answered and Kayla’ s heart squeezed instantly. “ Marshall, it’ s Kayla.”

  “ Is everything all right?”

  She hadn’ t called him in a while. It made sense that he would be surprised to hear from her. “ I’ m good,” she assured him. “ I finally caught up with Dr. Halburg today.”

  Marshall listened quietly as she relayed what she had learned, but Kayla could feel the hurt and anxiety building in his silence.

  “ This confirms what we thought,” he suggested gruffly.

  “ It does.”

  Another long beat of silence. Kayla knew how hard this was for him. Marshall had worshipped Rainy. He was the most caring man Kayla had ever known outside her own father. The idea that someone had purposely hurt Rainy was killing Marshall.

  “ Find whoever did this, Kayla,” he said, his voice breaking. “ Find them and kill them. They don’ t deserve to live.”

  The pain in his voice, in his words tugged at her heart. “ I will find them, Marshall. They won’ t get away with it. I promise you that.”

  “ I’ m counting on you,” he urged, desperation keen in his voice. “ I’ m counting on you more than you know.”

  Chapter 6

  K ayla paced the floor of her cluttered living room as Jazz dried her hair and got ready for bed. She told herself again that she couldn’ t put off this talk any longer.

  But it was so damned hard. And the conversation with Marshall kept echoing in her head. He was counting on her.

  She let go a weary breath and spun around to retrace her steps. The “ dad” talk had to come first. Kayla just wasn’ t prepared to discuss Jazz going to Athena Academy at this point. There were too many things that had to be cleared up prior to that decision. For her peace of mind.

  It was quarter of ten already, past her daughter’ s usual bedtime. But Mary had insisted that Kayla eat when she arrived to pick up Jazz. A covered dish waited for her on the kitchen counter. What could she say? She had to eat. And snubbing her sister’ s hospitality would only earn her one of those you-need-to-slow-down talks, which would become a whole family discussion within the week.

  Kayla’ s family held dear many Navajo traditions, although those traditions were blended well with modern society. Despite the family’ s contemporary outward appearance, the idea that wisdom comes from the stars and that one should find wonder and splendor on each path was deeply engrained.

  Women were expected to use at least some of their time together to share cultural and family traditions. Like the fry bread her sister had painstakingly made that very day. To disregard such a gift from a family member would be the equivalent of a cardinal sin. Mary had likely included Jazz in the shaping, stretching and clapping of the dough that resulted in the round, golden delicious fry bread.

  To this day Kayla wasn’ t so hot in the ki
tchen. But she had other assets, her mother would boast. Even her unexpected pregnancy at seventeen had been treated as a blessing. Sometimes accidents are better than planning, her mother had said.

  That’ s how Kayla had survived her error in judgment where Mike Bridges was concerned. With her family’ s full support. And that’ s how she and Jazz would carry on. Whatever life threw in their path, family would always be there to back them up.

  Mike would be waiting for her call. And if she didn’ t follow through he would be back tomorrow just as he’ d promised. She remembered that he hated being ignored. His ego just wouldn’ t permit that sort of slight.

  God, the idea had only just crossed her mind that as Jazz’ s father he might want to have some input as to whether she attended Athena Academy or not.

  Kayla chewed her lower lip. Just what she needed. Him interfering with her plans for Jazz. Perfect.

  She plopped down on the sofa. Her fingers automatically fiddled with the colorful throw her mother had woven. Kayla should take more time for that sort of thing. She gazed around at the paintings, all desert scenes, on the walls and thought of all the other cozy touches her family had helped her add to this home when she’ d first bought it. Even the sturdy oak table and chairs of the dining room had been refinished by her father.

  Kayla didn’ t seem to have inherited any basic artistic talent. She never felt as if she’ d done enough at home.

  At work decision-making felt so easy, came naturally. Tracking and taking down bad guys… protecting the community and its citizens. Piece of cake. Why did everything feel so hard at home? She worried over every little step with Jazz. But then, didn’ t every mother? Parenthood was tough.

  A smile slid across her lips. But the rewards were incredible. She wouldn’ t trade the relationship she shared with her daughter for anything in the world. Maybe it was so wonderful because it was hard. Hadn’ t her grandmother always sworn that anything worth having was worth working for? In other words, all good things came with a unique burden.

  Just like the friendships she had forged with the Cassandras. If Jazz attended Athena, would she meet girls her age whose influence would follow her for the rest of her days?