All the reasons why he hated being the guy in charge happened in the past couple of days. On the battlefield or in a crisis when a clear head was needed—he was the man. But all the other crap? Jesus. He barely had his own shit together. Expecting him to manage everyone else’s shit was a disaster in the making.
Another waitress, one who knew better than to make a scene, removed his empty glass and replaced it with another. It was his last night in civilization, so he was indulging his preference with three fingers of Glenfiddich over ice.
Sawyer and Parker got up and moved next to Alex. Drae’s interest was piqued, so he and Cam also moved closer. Parker took a sheet of paper out of his suit jacket and unfolded it.
“Gentlemen. This is an ad hoc agreement authorizing me to pursue the formation of a Justice Agency. Scribble your signature, and we’ll see where the winds of fate blow everyone.”
Alex clicked a pen several times, slid the paper in front of him, and signed his name with a flourish.
Drae was next.
Cam didn’t hesitate, and as he signed, he explained that from here on out, he wanted to be called Cameron Justice.
Sawyer snickered. “Hey, can I sign on as your first employee? I’ve got a business plan of my own and don’t want to overextend.”
Parker slapped the man on the back. “Absolutely.”
“By the way,” Sawyer drawled, “if Fisty McNasty gets to declare a Justice name, then I do too. After today, I will call in a hit if my first name is ever divulged by any of you. Capisce?”
As he signed, Parker called the other three over. “Any of you girls want in on this?” He held up a pen and motioned to the paper on the table.
“Hell, I’ll freelance,” Roman said. “I’ve got an iron in the fire too so that’s the best I can do.”
Alex noticed Roman and Sawyer looked at each other and wondered what the hell they were up to.
Domineau had a good laugh and made a ton of smartass jokes but passed. She was a free agent, or so she insisted.
Rafe just shook his head. “Got family to take care of. Dad has a gas station and wants me to take over.”
When everyone who wanted to sign had, they made a bunch of toasts and sent their crazy idea out into the universe.
Team Justice survived an alcohol soaked and drama driven Bangkok adventure. And if that wasn’t providential enough, they ended their getaway with a valid business plan and a muddy vision for the future.
Now, all Alex had to do was make it through another year, and then he was pulling the plug. They all were. He’d given his all for God and country. When this was over, he was headed home. To Arizona. And a future that didn’t seem half bad.
Real time ~ Los Angeles, California
“Hi, Miguel. Hook me up with a number seventeen and a plain burrito. And you know the drill. Scoop some of that diablo salsa into a cup and put it on the side.”
“I’m surprised you still have teeth after how much of that fire sauce you’ve ordered.” He fist bumped the affable owner of Casa Garcia and laughed at the man’s good-natured joke.
“Haven’t seen you around much lately. We get worried when a regular vanishes.”
Rafe paid for his order and cocked a hip against the counter while he waited for his food.
“Out of town on business. Glad to be back, though. LA might be a shit show, but it’s home.”
“I hear that,” Miguel said in agreement. “Bet you missed your lady, huh?”
He chuckled. “You have no idea.”
A big white bag slid across the counter into his waiting hands. He gave a wave and headed for the door. “I’ll be in for Taco Tuesday,” he promised before heading to his SUV.
No amount of wishful thinking would make the shitty drive on the 101 freeway move faster than the standard crawl, so he relaxed his grip on the wheel and searched the satellite for something to play in the background. The surface streets would be just as slow moving and congested, so there was no use in getting worked up about something that was the norm.
The hula girl on the dashboard started shaking her hips as he crawled along. It seemed odd since the SUV wasn’t really moving.
In the background, he heard a familiar tune. He turned the radio up and watched the hula girl shimmy to Van Halen’s “Dance the Night Away.”
Trying to force the instant memory back into its lockbox was impossible now that he’d seen her again. This was one of the songs they’d got down to that night in Bangkok when the shit hit the fan. The long-drawn-out aftermath of that fateful night had nearly destroyed him, so it was easier to pretend it had never happened than engage in futile guessing about why it went so wrong.
And that strict denial had been okay—especially once Marielle came into his life. After that, he stopped pining for something out of reach and settled down. Hell, he even bought a damn house and started a personal trainer business that paid the bills.
But this song. Ugh. It triggered memories made a thousand times easier to access because they’d been forced to spend time together—as Team Justice.
Now? Shit. Now she was all he thought about.
His skin prickled as he recalled the raunchy bump and grind they’d put on that night in a shitty Bangkok rock-n-roll dive. She did dirty dancing better than anyone he knew—and he knew a lot because he was a veteran of the male dance circuit.
After that night in Bangkok, everything changed, and try as he might, even after all these years, he couldn’t force her from either his mind or his heart.
Rafe shifted in his seat. Discomfort roiled in his gut. He had Marielle to consider. He’d made promises and went about building the sort of life she deserved. A life he worried was in jeopardy now that he’d seen Domineau Rivera again. In the flesh.
Nothing had changed. She was still the flame he couldn’t resist.
But in month of being thrown together, they’d barely spoken. The silence had a lot to do with the hellacious fight they had when they came face to face in the Justice compound after total silence for the past seven years. Before a backdrop of an old wound ripped open once more, they were forced to deal with each other for the sake of the mission.
And now here he was back home again, and Domineau was wherever. Despite a stateside affair that started a year after Bangkok, he hadn’t kept track after their final disastrous encounter. That would have been it except for one thing.
When he called Alex to congratulate him on the birth of his twins, he told Rafe that Domineau would be hanging her hat in Bendover for the next year and a half because she agreed to run the Justice programming. He’d been speechless. Domineau and Justice? Maybe the wallops to the head she took in Pakistan rattled her brains because staying in one place—even if only for eighteen months—didn’t seem like something she’d do.
Still, Alex assured him that she was on board and enthusiastic about the challenge.
If she wasn’t in Arizona by now, she would be soon.
Knowing where she was and with Bendover just a seven-hour drive away from Los Angeles, he found himself slipping deeper and deeper into a screwy plan to drop in at Alex’s villa under the guise of meeting the twins.
The hula girl shimmied her approval of his plan.
Was it in any way fair or cool to drag Marielle to Arizona under the guise of a vacation and open this particularly life-changing can of surprises?
No.
But he couldn’t help it.
He needed to know, once and for all, if Domineau Rivera was out of reach. Or if she was simply waiting for him to stake a claim from long ago that never really died off.
The exit for Calabasas was next, and he eased the SUV into the right lane. Knowing he was out of his mind and inviting trouble didn’t stop excitement from taking root inside him.
He loved Marielle, and he loved his life in California, but that wasn’t going to stop him from taking one hell of a leap of faith.
It was time to settle this matter once and for all.
To be continued ….<
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Stay tuned to AuthorSuzanneHalliday.com for news and updates about The Justice Brothers and Family Justice.
The follow-up to Everlasting will be out later this year. Will Rafe throw his life into turmoil for another chance with Domineau? Is there a happily ever after in their future?
We’ll have to wait and see!
Acknowledgements
TEAM HALLIDAY!
Simply the best!
H.E.A.R.T
Halliday Ever After Review Team
You rock my world!
Ella Fox
Novella word count ~ pinky swear!
Cam & Lacey
Without them, this story wouldn’t exist.
Original Justice (Justice Brothers Book 4) Page 10