Fixing Justice

by Halliday, Suzanne

  “What?” Alex boomed, turning an angry glower on Draegyn. “Please tell me you didn’t actually say that. Goddammit Drae.” The tension swirling around them went off the scale right then and there.

  Snarling like a wounded animal, Draegyn suddenly grabbed her arm, forcefully pulling her toward him as if he intended to march her out of the room. “Leave it Alex. This is between Victoria and me.”

  Tori struggled to free herself from his grasp although she knew it was a losing battle. Aware that Alex was moving to get in between them, she yelped, pretending distress, as if Draegyn’s grip was hurting her. Just as she knew he would, her outburst made him quickly drop her arm.

  She glared at him and rubbed at her arm. “Um, sorry but, there is nothing between you and me.” Oddly, she didn’t feel much satisfaction at the harsh, sarcastic jibe.

  “Drae,” Alex warned. “Back off.”

  “No!” Turning dark eyes on her he hissed, “We’re going to settle this right now.”

  “There’s nothing to settle, Mr. St. John.”

  “Stop with the mister shit Victoria. You know damn well we have to talk. Now!” He made two mistakes right then. Trying to order her around and looking her up and down with an expression of disgust. “I mean, look at you! What the fuck are you wearing?” he swore.

  Tori quietly considered the plain blue slacks and oversize sweater she had on and couldn’t hide from the accusation he’d hurled at her. She’d returned to type after their return from Vegas, dressing down and basically schlepping about like a fashion casualty. It had been too much for her to start dressing differently especially since the only reason she’d bothered in the first place was to shock the man shouting at her. Tears burned in her eyes. Dammit. She couldn’t afford to cry right now. With her emotions spiraling out of control from several days of no sleep and little food, it was all she could do to not kick him in his shins. Everything went to hell in the next heartbeat.

  Alex stepped up and put his hand on Draegyn’s shoulder, muttering under his breath, earning a stern glare from his friend. When Draegyn went to snatch his arm away, Tori was standing close enough to get hit by the backlash as his elbow slammed into her chest, knocking her back a step. Then the yelling started as the two men went after each other, with Alex angrily chastising Draegyn’s actions, and Draegyn barking at him to mind his own fucking business.

  She didn’t know why she did, but Tori took the excuse of the two men hollering angrily at one another to burst into tears and run frantically from the room, knocking over a chair in her urgent retreat. Somewhere in the commotion she’d also managed to squeak out an “I hate you!” Shit. This was turning into a banner day.

  “What in the goddamn fuck is wrong with you?” Alex yelled.

  Drae’s equilibrium was quickly unraveling. When he’d approached Victoria he wasn’t sure what would happen next, but at Alex’s urging he knew he had to try and diffuse their antagonistic situation. Other people were beginning to notice and comment on their odd behavior.

  Whatever he’d planned to say flew out the window when she’d turned to face him and he got a good look at her. Fury blazed to life as he took in the ugly glasses and dowdy wardrobe. In his mind she’d promised not to dress like some spinster librarian anymore and finding her doing just that had enraged him. That and the unavoidable fact that he’d been longing to see her again. Be around her. Listen to her voice and drown in those chocolate eyes once more. Finding her in little brown mouse mode struck him as a fuck you, directed at him and him alone.

  “I’ll tell you what the goddamn fuck is wrong with me! Those glasses,” he yelled pointing at the broken pieces on the floor, “are a joke! Did you know they were fake? She doesn’t even need them.” He was pacing back and forth like a caged animal looking for a victim or escape. Either would do. “And those clothes! Jesus Christ, Alex. You know that’s all bullshit, right?”

  Alex was clearly furious with him and shouted, “So? What fucking difference does it make to you? Where do you get off acting like that, Drae? Shit. It’s not like you to make somebody cry.”

  “I’ll tell you what difference it makes to me,” he bellowed. “She’s my goddamn…..”

  Alex cut him off before he could finish the sentence. “Watch it buddy. You are stepping pretty far over the line.”

  Drae raked his hand repeatedly back and forth across his head feeling like it was going to explode any minute. In the angry silence that followed he could feel Alex’s mind working over-time.

  “Wait a goddamn minute,” Alex snarled with bared teeth. Two seconds passed then, “Oh my God!” he yelled at the top of his lungs. “She’s your goddamn what, Drae? Holy fuckballs! What did you do?”

  “Shit.”

  “I’m waiting, Lieutenant,” his former commanding officer bit out. The reminder was meant to put him in his place, which it did quite effectively. Some habits die hard.

  The two battlefield brothers stood silently, eyeing each other. Alex with his burly physique, barely containing his disapproval, ready to knock his fucking lights out and Drae, all restless, edgy energy and a guilty conscience as he fought for control before he made things worse. Throwing his hands up in surrender, Drae groaned, “Wife. She’s my wife.”

  Alex’s jaw almost hit the floor. It would have been funny under different circumstances. He even blinked a few times and shook his head as he absorbed what Drae had just admitted. “Uh…”

  “Yeah, exactly,” Drae muttered, shocked at how easily the word wife rolled off his tongue.

  “You and Tori are married? When?” The dawning realization of when hit him before the question was fully out of his mouth. “Vegas?” At Drae’s shaky head nod, Alex blanched.

  “In all honesty, we didn’t so much get married as we had a moment that many hours later revealed itself to have been a wedding ceremony.”

  “Jesus Drae. I hope you never get called to testify for anything because that explanation sucked a bag of dicks. Want to try that again?”

  “Look, it’s a long story and since it obviously involves Victoria, I don’t want to say any more. It’s partially her story to tell so let’s leave it at that.”

  “Well, this explains a lot.” Alex glanced at the doorway that a crying Victoria had just exited from. “Does anyone else know?”

  “Fuck no! Well, one person knows, I suppose. I called Ted Collins and asked him to look into the legalities and see about how to clean this mess up.”

  “An annulment?”

  Drae couldn’t believe the heated flush that worked its way from his feet to his face. When he winced and muttered an inelegant, “Uh”, Alex looked like he was going to throttle him.

  “Ah fuck. You didn’t! Did you? Goddammit Drae.”

  His world had become overrun with a series of firsts and an unending parade of uncharacteristic behavior since the moment Victoria had wandered into his life. Even so, he was surprised when all he could do was hang his head, not so much from mortification at what he’d done but because the truth was much deeper than that. He’d made love to Victoria. A couple of times and had not been able to diminish the impact of that or the way it made him feel, no matter how angry he’d been at what happened later. “I’m handling this, Alex,” he tried to explain.

  “Really? From where I’m standing, it looks like you’ve pretty much lost your damn mind. If by handling it you mean holing up for days off the radar and then coming here and in five short minutes managing to assault an employee and make her cry, then yeah. You’re fucking handling it.” For good measure, Alex pointedly kicked at the broken glasses on the floor.

  Drae honestly didn’t know what to say or do. Everything he’d ever thought about himself was suddenly no longer valid. With his legendary cool in tatters there didn’t seem to be much he could cling to as normal. Yelling at Victoria as she stood there with her chin in the air, daring him to mess with her, had not been one of his finer moments.

  “One of us has to go and check on Tori. Make sure she’s n
ot packing her stuff, or worse, plotting your murder.”

  At the mention that she might up and run away from him, Drae tensed. He didn’t want her to leave, an admission that gave him uncharacteristic butterflies in his gut. Fuck. The woman was scarier than a whole team of bad guys. From his days on the battlefield to some of his agency assignments, he was used to feeling off the chart adrenaline. Kept him on his toes. This feeling however was wholly different. And he didn’t know how to deal with it.

  “I’ll go find her.”

  “Are you sure, man? Don’t want to get into your business Drae but maybe it would be better to let things settle down. She seemed pretty pissed off.”

  What a mess. “Yeah, I know.”

  “Alright. I’ll stay out of it for now, but know this,” his friend glowered at him. “I like Tori. Don’t fuck this up, Drae.”

  Tori was a mess. She’d been so shocked at her cry-baby reaction to what happened that she hadn’t been able to turn off the waterworks. Luckily she hadn’t encountered anyone else after she fled Alex’s office making her way swiftly to the privacy of her apartment. Half a box of tissues later, she almost started bawling like a baby again when she caught sight of herself in the bathroom mirror. Red, unhappy looking eyes above a nose rubbed raw, her hair in shambles, she looked like someone who had weathered a terrible emotional storm. Her full lips were hideously swollen and puffy after chewing on them trying to get control of herself. In short – she looked like bloody hell.

  Seeing Draegyn again had unleashed a metric fuck-ton of emotions, good and bad. His imperious tone and attitude when he’d accused her of breaking a promise she hadn’t actually made pushed every one of her buttons. It was he who demanded she never dress like a bag lady again. She hadn’t promised him anything but the simple fact that she’d been ass up on his lap as he smacked her backside while he issued that particular demand probably constituted her agreement.

  She’d gotten snarky with him out of habit and also because she wanted to protect herself from the growing realization that she was, quite impossibly, falling in love with him. The admission sat in her belly like a lump of burning coal, making her emotionally fragile in a way she’d never experienced.

  Tori always imagined that if or when she truly fell in love, it would be all hearts and flowers and involve someone much like herself, a tad on the nerd side and fairly down-to-earth. Never in her wildest dreams had she ever fancied being attracted to a man like Draegyn St. John. Someone sophisticated and drop-dead sexy, worldly with enough notches on his bedpost to be considered a legend. That sort of scenario only happened in the romance books she read. It didn’t actually happen in real life to simple girls like her. Knowing he didn’t feel the same wasn’t helping things. When he’d accidentally jostled her as he and Alex started growling at each other, it had been the last straw. Running from the room like a hysterical teenager as the tears broke free, knocking furniture over in her rush to get away from the situation, made her feel like an idiot.

  Was that her phone buzzing? She seriously hoped it wasn’t her mother calling because she doubted her ability to keep it together through a conversation. Her mom would know within seconds that she was upset – parents were like that, but she wasn’t ready to share what was going on with anyone.

  Making a beeline for the table by the front door where she’d tossed the phone, she saw immediately that it wasn’t a phone call coming through at all. No, it was a text. A text from Draegyn. We need to talk.

  Worrying her swollen bottom lip with her teeth, Tori hesitated and then tapped out a short reply. You’ve said enough, thanks.

  Several minutes ticked by in heavy silence. She supposed he was considering what to say next. Glancing up quickly, she made sure she’d put the latch on the door, suddenly fearful that he might actually show up to start round two.

  Your choice Victoria. Either you come here or I’m coming to your place. This isn’t negotiable. My door is open. If you’re not here in the next half hour expect me to come knocking and if you don’t open up I’ll simply break the door down.

  She let a good, long minute creep by before answering. You made me cry. Nobody makes me cry. Why would I want to ever speak to you again?

  He instantly replied. I’m sorry. Please. We really need to talk.

  Wow. Sorry? That couldn’t have been easy for him. Okay. I’ll be there within the hour.

  Thank you.

  A flight of butterflies opened up inside her. Remembering how god-awful she looked Tori made for the bathroom to try and repair the damage before she faced him. It was foolish to avoid talking to him, after all they had some pretty serious issues to discuss, but she’d be damned before appearing on his doorstep looking like hell.

  Drae was pacing in the foyer of his home. More than half an hour had passed since their last text message, and he knew she’d be arriving on his doorstep at any moment. At least he hoped she would. Nervous, he kept checking the phone clutched in his hand to keep track of time and assure himself that she hadn’t changed her mind and texted him a fuck you message.

  After their ugly confrontation, he’d video chatted with his lawyer before texting her. It wouldn’t do much good to talk without all the necessary information. He wondered how she’d react to what he was about to tell her. Not only was an annulment out of the question, he’d found out that details of their union had been officially filed and were available for prying eyes. Any resourceful reporter would have no problem finding out they were married with very little digging.

  He wasn’t quite sure how he felt about that. Besides the fact that being married wasn’t on his life-agenda, wanting to protect Victoria from gossip and innuendo was also a factor. It took Ted reminding him that his parents would freak the fuck out if they heard about it to bring the situation into focus. Frankly, he didn’t want them and their plastic, fake caring anywhere near him. He much preferred things just as they were with them and their society-fueled meddling ways far away from his life. It was better for everyone involved.

  His sister on the other hand was another matter entirely. He adored Desirée and didn’t want her to find out something so private and personal about him from the wrong source. There was also Victoria’s mother. Alex considered the widowed Stephanie Bennett to be a friend. Not only that, Victoria was her only child. He wasn’t a complete ass, he only acted like one where his wife was concerned, and he didn’t want to inadvertently cause the woman any distress over her daughter’s well-being. Not after the European fiasco. There certainly was a lot to consider.

  Practicalities aside, Drae stumbled as he paced when the nagging reality of the intense desire he felt for Victoria shredded his nerves. He might not want to be married but he was and the truth of the matter was that he hadn’t had his fill of the delicate waif. Not by a long shot. Her sassy mouth, and the way she flew at him when he acted like a dick, only made him want her more.

  And then there was the unprotected sex issue. It didn’t help to wonder what the fuck he’d been thinking because he hadn’t been. Thinking, that was. Not with the head on his shoulders, anyway. Definitely with his other head though. As long as he lived he’d never forget the sight she made that morning in the tiny crop top and the workout pants that molded to her like skin. He couldn’t get inside her fast enough. The way she’d responded set them on a course neither had intended.

  A motion-sensor light flickered on at the end of the drive alerting him to Victoria’s imminent arrival. No longer needing the phone, he chucked it aside and headed for the door as his heart thumped heavily in his chest. Drae stepped out onto the wide deck and watched her as she slowly came to him. Oh my dear sweet God, he thought. How was he going to keep his hands off her when she looked the way she did?

  Dusk was at hand and in the dimming light she looked ethereal and almost dream-like as she approached. Wearing a simple white t-shirt and a pair of jeans that hugged her modest curves, she’d left her hair loose and falling against her shoulders. He never considered himself mu
ch of a blue jeans kind of a guy, but there was something about the way her slim hips swayed in the tight denim that made his mouth go dry. Stopping at the foot of the front steps, she shoved her hands into her back pockets, making the t-shirt stretch and highlighting the shape of her breasts. He tried to swallow but there wasn’t enough saliva in his mouth to lick a stamp.

  “Hey,” she said.

  Clearing his throat as best he could, he muttered a hoarse, “Hi”. For a long moment they just stood there and eyed each other; she warily, and Drae with a hunger that wiped rational thought and the real purpose for this visit from his brain.

  An uncomfortable surge of emotion cleared his vision fast when she glanced over her shoulder as if reconsidering being there. Turning back toward him, he noticed the tension bracketing her mouth and dark shadows under her eyes. Drae suddenly felt like a swine, ogling her tiny figure like a ravenous beast on the prey while she showed obvious signs of not having had an easy time of it the last few days.

  “Why didn’t you grab a cart and drive down here?” He growled, thinking of her making her way in the setting sun the quarter of a mile down the lane behind the villa in a groin-tightening pair of strappy sandals. Dammit. She could have stumbled or fallen, and he wouldn’t have known she needed help. Good grief. When had he become some kind of frustrated hero, grinding away with concern for a woman’s safety?

  She lifted her shoulders in a half shrug that said more than words could. “I didn’t want everyone and their brother to know where I was going,” she sighed. The pained look that swept across her features reminded Drae how unusual their situation really was.

  Holding out his hand to her he said, “C’mon inside. Have you eaten dinner? If you’re hungry there’s a humongous pot of chili in the oven that Ria sent over. I thought we’d sit out back and relax.” He was babbling like a fucking teenage boy on his first date.