Justice

by Piper Davenport

  Jaxon held his hand out, palm up and I put sixty bucks in it. Jaxon shoved the money in his pocket and moved to leave.

  “Wait,” I said, and handed him another twenty. “Grab more beer too.”

  “I didn’t even get breakfast,” Jaxon grumbled as he walked out the door.

  I locked up behind him and then went to find my tornado of rage. She was lying on the master bed, a pillow between her knees and a look of total and complete despair covering her face.

  “Hey, baby.”

  “Hi,” she snipped.

  “Want some company?”

  “Not really.”

  I smiled. “Want me to get your Kindle?”

  “No.”

  “Want me to finish breakfast?”

  “I don’t care.” She flopped onto her other side, facing the window. “Just go somewhere else to do it.”

  “You got it, Mace,” I said, and left the room. I forced myself not to laugh, but I couldn’t control a smile. God, I loved her.

  Jaxon returned an hour later with the goods, plus a box of donuts he’d already plowed into.

  “I saved you a burrito, man,” I said with a laugh.

  “I’ll take it.” Jaxon grabbed the burrito wrapped in foil from the fridge and put it on a plate to warm up. “Where’s Mace?”

  “In the bedroom,” I said. I grabbed the ice cream and a spoon. “I’ll be back.”

  I walked down the hall and into the bedroom, finding Macey sound asleep. I grinned and snuck back out, throwing the ice cream into the freezer.

  “She okay?” Jaxon asked, and bit into his food.

  “Yeah, she’s asleep.” I leaned against the counter and crossed my arms. “So, what have you got?”

  “Not much,” Jaxon admitted. “No prints on the note, no DNA on the envelope. A little powder, so the guy was wearing latex gloves when he put it together.”

  “How do you know it was a guy?”

  “Security video.”

  I nodded. “Any idea on who the guy is?”

  “Not yet.”

  “That’s not good.”

  “No.” Jaxon cocked his head. “Have you thought that Nita might know something?”

  “About the guy?”

  “Or anyone,” Jaxon said. “She gave you the information you wanted… what are the odds she’d give it to someone else?”

  “Come on, Jax. Nita’s not naïve and she’s loyal to us… not just the bureau, but us specifically. She’s also not a gossip.”

  “What if it’s someone on the inside?”

  “Fuck me. Another agent?”

  Jaxon shrugged. “Or a cop.”

  I took a deep, steadying breath. “You mean Bruce.”

  “I’m not sayin’ it is, Dal, but he’s not right,” Jaxon said. “And he’s covering something up. Something to do with his family. Matt can’t quite get a lock on it.”

  “I know the guy’s a bastard, and I don’t like his obsession with Macey, but I’m not sure I’m ready to jump to him stalking and leaving her notes.” I frowned. “I’m not saying I’m not willing to look at that angle, but if I jump to conclusions and find out he’s just a douche with asshole parents who could potentially buy their way out of something, then we’re screwed. If it’s him, I want enough proof to nail him to the wall.”

  “I get it,” Jaxon said.

  “When do you have to head back?”

  “Two hours.”

  “Okay. Was thinking Mace and I might take a walk on the beach before you go.”

  Jaxon nodded. “Fine by me.”

  I heard the creek from the hallway that couldn’t be missed, which meant Macey was moving toward us. Jaxon slipped off his stool and looked ready to bolt should he need to.

  She walked into the kitchen, yawning as she gave Jaxon a sad smile.

  “Well, hi there, Sleeping Beauty,” I said.

  “I’m so sorry, Jaxon,” she said, ignoring me. “I was being a total bitch. I didn’t mean what I said. Will you forgive me?”

  “Of course.”

  “Thank you.” She relaxed and smiled, finally letting me wrap an arm around her.

  I kissed her temple. “I thought you and I could head down to the water for a bit. Jax is gonna watch the house for us. He has to drive back in a couple of hours.”

  “I’d like that. I’ll grab a hoodie and my flip-flops.”

  “Grab my hoodie too, babe, yeah?”

  “Yep,” she said, and headed back to the bedroom.

  “Feel free to eat anything you want,” I offered. “Just don’t touch the Macey stash.”

  Jaxon laughed. “Got it.”

  I rinsed out my coffee cup and met Macey by the French doors. “Ready?”

  “Definitely,” she said, and linked her fingers with mine as we maneuvered down the embankment and onto the sand. “Does Jaxon hate me?”

  I chuckled. “Does Jaxon hate anyone?”

  “Not the point.” She sighed. “I was such a bitch.”

  “He doesn’t hate you.” I pulled her to a stop and lifted her chin. “You’re a little emotionally raw right now. He gets it.”

  “But he shouldn’t have to get it. You should, but he shouldn’t.”

  I laughed. “Babe, we’re men, but we’re men who get women. And do I have to point out that Jaxon can, on occasion, manstrate?”

  “Huh?”

  “He’s a damn good agent, Mace, but he’s also an artsy, fartsy, melancholic musician who goes on a man period every few months.”

  Macey laughed. “Are you kidding me?”

  “No. He really does. He shuts himself away for a few days and won’t talk to anyone.”

  “Wait, what are you saying?”

  “That you’re about to start your period and, for three days before it, you’re—”

  She laid her fingers over my lips. “Don’t even.”

  I kissed her palm. “I took precautions.”

  “What kind of precautions?”

  “Let’s just say you’re stocked with your happy juice and a few other necessities.”

  She grinned. “You bought my wine?”

  “I bought you that Kool Aid you try to pass off as wine, yes. And chocolate among other things.”

  “And more beer,” she retorted.

  “Hell, yeah, I bought more beer. I’ve done this with you a few times, baby, I need a little something to take the edge off myself.”

  She giggled. “Mmmm. I love you.”

  Macey faced the water and I wrapped my arms around her shoulders, pulling her back to my chest. “You know one of the things I love the most about you?”

  “What?” she asked and dropped her head so she could see me.

  “The fact I can point out you’re PMSing and you don’t decapitate me.”

  She laughed. “You’re just speaking the truth, honey. Can’t get mad at you for doing that.”

  I kissed her cheek and we stood watching the sun set as the breeze picked up along Nye beach. My phone buzzed, and I pulled it from my pocket. “We need to head back.”

  Macey smiled. “Okay.”

  I took her hand and led her back up the embankment and into the house, securing the French doors before closing the drapes. Jaxon walked out of the kitchen, my face relaxed, but my body locked.

  “I’m going to take a shower,” Macey said. “Thanks for everything, Jax.”

  “No problem, babe. I’ll see you later.”

  Macey nodded, kissed me quickly, and then headed back to the bedroom.

  Dallas

  “WHAT DO YOU have?” I asked Jaxon.

  Jaxon nodded toward the kitchen. “Let’s talk in there.”

  I followed Jaxon inside and closed the swinging door, leaning against the counter.

  Jaxon grabbed a beer and sat at the peninsula. “The guy who raped Macey is Bruce’s uncle.”

  “What?” I snapped.

  “It’s actually his great uncle on his mother’s side.”

  “Bruce knew the bastard?” I asked, s
eething.

  Jaxon shook his head. “That’s what we’re trying to find out.”

  I scowled. “What is there to find out, Jax? They’re related.”

  “Yeah, but from all accounts, Bruce’s mom hasn’t talked to her side of the family in years, and Bruce hasn’t seen his great uncle in almost twenty, so it’s possible he’s unaware of his uncle’s… proclivities.”

  “Fuck, fuck, fuck,” I snapped as I dragged my hands through my hair.

  “It was Bruce’s mom who changed the file.”

  “You’re shittin’ me.” I shook my head.

  “She’s sleeping with Robert Mann.”

  “Attorney General, Robert Mann?” I snapped.

  Jaxon nodded.

  “Well, then how exactly did she change the file?”

  “Our C.I. says he has evidence, which Brock’s getting tomorrow,” Jaxon said. “We’re trying to find out if she did it directly, if she made him or someone else do it, and if Bruce knew anything about it.”

  “You said a man left the note on Macey’s car.”

  “Yeah. We haven’t located him yet.”

  “Damn it! What the hell has everyone been doing all this time?”

  “It’s been less than a week,” Jaxon said. “Calm down, Dal.”

  “Don’t tell me to calm the fuck down! I want some answers.”

  “I get it, but it takes time. I told you it would. We’re trying to do this right, brother. Nail these people to the wall, remember?”

  I nodded and pinched the bridge of my nose. “Does Jim know about Mona’s… ah… indiscretion?”

  Jaxon shrugged. “Possibly. Everyone knows he’ll dip his wick into anyone offering. Male or female. Maybe she was sick of not having a little fun.”

  “Or they’ve been living like this forever.”

  “Could be that too,” Jaxon said.

  I paced the small room. “Mona knows Macey.”

  “Well, yeah, she dated Bruce.”

  “No, I mean, she knows her more than that,” I revealed. “She warned Macey away from Bruce.”

  “When?”

  “Not long before Macey dumped him.”

  “And you’re worried the only reason she ended the relationship is because of Mona.”

  I shook my head. “No. I know why she ended it with him; I think Mona was just confirmation.” I slammed my hands down on the counter, my verbal processing suddenly revealing something concerning. “Fuck! Macey’s on her radar, Jax. She’s a class-A, psychotic bitch with money and power, and Macey’s on her radar. Fuck!”

  “We’ll figure this out.”

  “Do it fast,” I demanded. “Because if there’s even a hint of Mona Daniels anywhere near Macey, I will kill her.”

  Jaxon checked his watch. “I’m meeting with Matt and Brock tonight. I’ll keep you posted.”

  I nodded, dragging my hands down my face again. I stood in the kitchen for several minutes after Jaxon left, trying to process the information I’d received and debating on how much to tell Macey. In the end, I knew I had to tell her everything, so I headed back to the bedroom just as she walked from the bathroom, wrapped in a towel.

  She smiled. “Is Jax gone?”

  I nodded.

  Macey frowned. “What’s wrong, honey?”

  “How about you get dressed and we’ll talk?”

  “I hate it when you tell me we have to talk. It’s never good,” she complained. “How about you tell me while I dress?”

  I sat on the edge of the bed. “Mona Daniels is the one who changed the file.”

  “What file?” she asked as she dropped the towel and stepped into a sexy as hell pair of panties.

  I forced myself to look away or we’d never get any further. “Your file.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  “I know.”

  “Dal?”

  I glanced up at her and groaned. She stood with her hands on her hips, naked except her black-lace panties and a towel on her head, and I realized she wasn’t trying to cover her scars. She was totally comfortable with me and all I could think about was throwing her on the bed and fucking her senseless.

  “You need to put some clothes on,” I said.

  She gasped. “Oh my god, I forgot about the scars.” She turned to her suitcase and grabbed a T-shirt. “Sorry, honey.”

  I grabbed her hand and pulled her to me before she could put it on. “Not that,” I said, cupping her breasts. “These. God, baby. You whip these puppies out and I am rendered both speechless and hard.” I tugged the shirt from her hand and dropped it on the bed before running my finger gently over one of her scars. “These don’t bother me on any level.”

  “Are you sure?”

  I lowered myself to the bed again and wrapped my arms around her waist. “You’re beautiful. I can’t really express in words how inadequate that meaning is to me.”

  Macey grinned, looping her arms around my neck and leaning forward. “No motor-boating.”

  I laughed as I drew one nipple into my mouth and then the other. “Perfect, baby.”

  “Still want me to get dressed?”

  I frowned up at her. “Yeah, baby. This is too important to get sidetracked.”

  “Wow, it must be.” She reached for her T-shirt. “Should I be worried?”

  “Physically, never. I’ve got you. But our conversation might bring up some hard memories.”

  Macey nodded. “Okay.”

  I waited while she pulled on yoga pants and, after towel-drying her hair, slipped it into a bun on top of her head. Once she was dressed, we sat on the sofa in front of the fireplace, a bottle of wine open and ready.

  Macey sat with her back against one of the sofa arms and settled her legs over one of mine. I laid my arm across her thighs.

  “Wine?” I asked.

  “Yeah, probably a good idea.”

  I poured her a glass and handed it to her. “I’ll start at the beginning and we can pick it apart as we go.”

  She nodded and sipped her wine.

  “As you may or may not know, we take notes on any case we do and then we enter those notes into the database and either file or shred our paper trail. A few of the older agents don’t feel comfortable shredding shit, so they hold onto their original notes, but a lot of us don’t.”

  Macey nodded. “Makes sense. The world’s going paperless.”

  “In your case, Brock and Jaxon took detailed notes, entered everything into the database and were ordered… ordered, Macey, not just encouraged to… shred their paper trail. They didn’t.”

  “Why would it matter?”

  “Because it means that whoever changed the details in your electronic file would be able to control the information.”

  “Why would they want to do that?” she asked.

  “Because the man who raped you was Bruce Daniels’ uncle.”

  Macey gasped, dragging in a sip of wine, which brought on a coughing fit. I took her wine from her and rushed to the kitchen for water, handing it to her once she got her choking under control. She gulped the water and then took several deep breaths.

  “You okay?” I asked.

  She shook her head. “Are you saying that Bruce tried to cover this up?”

  I flopped onto the sofa. “I wish I were.”

  “You really hate him that much?”

  “No. I don’t hate the guy. I just hate him.”

  Macey rolled her eyes. “Thanks for clarifying.”

  “Right now we’re not sure where Bruce stands with this. Brock is checking on some evidence that Mona, or someone associated with Mona, changed the Attorney General’s file.”

  “Because she’s sleeping with him.”

  “You knew?”

  “Bruce told me in a moment of weakness. It has been going on for years.” She bit her lip. “I think they’re swingers.”

  “I’m sorry?”

  “Bruce’s parents. I think they swing.”

  I frowned. “Well, that wouldn’t surprise me one
bit.”

  “Yeah, they’re kind of creepy.”

  I nodded.

  “So, did she leave the note on my car?”

  “No. A man did, but we haven’t been able to sort out who it is or what his connection to all of this is.”

  “Do you think it might have been Bruce?” she asked.

  “Not the right height. Bruce is tall,” I said. “The guy who left the note wore a hoodie and made a point to avoid the camera, but he was around five-foot-ten and has a tattoo on his right hand. The video’s grainy, so that’s all we could determine.”

  “So, not like those television shows that just ‘enhance the video’?”

  I chuckled. “Not even close.”

  “What’s the tattoo of?”

  “Can’t tell. It covers most of his hand, though.”

  “If you can see the tattoo, then he must not have been wearing gloves, right?”

  “Yeah, but he also didn’t leave fingerprints,” I said. “So he could have wiped them down.”

  “Crap.” She sipped her wine. “Bruce’s mom warned me away from him.”

  “I know.”

  “Seriously?” she complained.

  “Babe, why are you surprised I know this shit?”

  Macey frowned. “Payton needs to learn to keep her mouth shut.”

  “It wasn’t Payton who told me.”

  She groaned. “But she probably told Brock. She tells Brock everything.”

  I smiled. “To be fair, all the sisters tell Brock everything.”

  “Well, they did until they met their husbands. I have a feeling they tell him a lot less now.”

  “You’re probably right.”

  “You know I broke up with Bruce because of other reasons, right?” she asked. “Not because of his mom.”

  “Yeah, babe. I know. He’s of no threat to me.”

  “Cocky as ever.”

  I chuckled. “Confident.”

  “So what now, Dal? We can’t just hole up here forever. At some point, we need to get back to our lives.”

  I scowled.

  “Look,” she continued, “If Mona’s behind this, then she’s going to have contingencies. It’s not like you can simply waltz in and arrest her. It won’t stick. This is going to take time.”

  “I know that, Macey,” I ground out, and cocked my head. “Why are you so damn calm when ten minutes ago you were ripping Jaxon’s head off?”

  “Because I’m drinking wine,” she quipped.