She waited for Meghan to maneuver the twin stroller around the bend and then hurried to catch up.
“Afternoon, ladies,” a rough voice drawled.
It was Duke, stomping along the path in the opposite direction. A no-nonsense looking security guy and his dog followed at his heels. Nothing seemed unusual if you discounted the obvious fact that chief of security was rocking an armed escort.
She sighed heavily. Now what?
“Chief,” Meghan politely replied as he breezed on by. “What the hell is that about, I wonder?”
Lacey shrugged. “Didn’t you say Alex got a call and immediately took off into the compound? Seems to me as if something is definitely up.”
“Has Cam mentioned anything?”
The quiet but evident worry in her friend’s voice triggered Lacey’s protective instincts. They all knew something was going on—Alex was putting off a weird vibe. So was Parker. But so far, her husband was being held out of the loop and since this fact didn’t bother him, she hadn’t wasted any time on wondering.
“No. Mr. Sphinx has his inscrutable mask on again. You know him. He’s a watcher. Until his brain collects all the data and is satisfied, he’ll say nothing.”
“Does it drive you nuts?”
She had to admit that sometimes Cameron’s knee jerk response of shutting down and going inward made things interesting. Especially since she had made it clear from day one that he better cut that crap out.
“I’m used to it,” Lacey sighed. “And it doesn’t bother me. Not like you’d think.”
Meghan’s face registered her interest. “How’s that?”
Lacey laughed and glanced around dramatically and gave the impression that she was about to divulge trade secrets. With a finger at her lips she said, “Shh! Top secret. My husband has a couple of ‘tells’. Don’t let him know this, though,” she giggled. “Jason Cameron wouldn’t like hearing that a chick figured him out without breaking a fingernail.”
Laughing into the sky, Meghan’s amusement rang out. “Do tell!”
“It’s simple, really. My husband has three overlapping settings. The boys, of course, and by boys you know I mean Alex and Drae. Then there’s Justice. Those two overlap. Both are default settings. Number three is family and when it comes to the kids, and me his default is transparent. Only the guys and Justice are opaque. Where this matter is concerned, all I’m getting is blur. Until I sense family is involved, I’m happy to play along.”
“Men,” Meghan mumbled.
“Exactly,” she responded.
Zeus came tearing along the path and blew past with an acknowledging woof. “Alex must be nearby.” Meghan scanned the stable area. “She’s headed to the garage. Look,” she pointed.
Lacey tracked the running black Labrador as she scooted under and around fence posts and hay bales before taking off in a low and go fast maneuver that sent her in the direction of Remy’s garage complex.
“Wanna go check it out?”
Meghan grumbled. “Hell, no. The Major doesn’t like it when I poke my nose in. He tells me what I need to know and, since the twins were born, he goes out of his way to include me in bigger picture stuff. I’m good.”
They picked up speed as they wheeled around the stable buildings and ended up laughing like goofballs when they hit the paved straightaway between two barns and started running. The kids laughed. Sometimes when they all got together, they’d stage stroller races and do rolling chair challenges.
Stephanie met them outside her office with Wolfie cradled in her arms. The boy was a looker with big eyes, a sweet personality and chubby cheeks. Nobody doubted he’d be breaking hearts one day.
She crouched next to Lily’s stroller and softly cooed to her son. “Look sweetie. It’s Lily Rose.” Wolfie gurgled and Lily grinned. Though technically an older woman by two months, Lily had an instant bond with Wolf.
Not happy that he was being ignored, Aiden let out one of his lord of the jungle yells and made them laugh. Stevie squeaked and unless Lacey was mistaken, Aiden’s little sister also rolled her eyes at his attention grabbing antics.
“Come on. Inside. Hurry. It’s nice and cool in my office,” Stephanie said while shooing them through the door.
“This place looks more and more like an advertisement for country baby.”
Lacey agreed with Meghan. The once testosterone infused stable manager’s office had been transformed—courtesy of a redesign and a knocked down wall—into an eye-opening wild west rumpus room. Stephanie’s desk was a work of art made by Draegyn with maple wood from Colorado. The wall behind the desk was a floor to ceiling bookcase filled with trophies, horse sculptures, books and cowboy paraphernalia most of which looked like it had been collecting over time.
But it was the partition covered in a vibrant painting of Sedona’s famous red rocks and gorgeous vistas that took the breath away. Charlie did the artwork and the moveable wall was a stroke of genius from Calder that gave Wolf a private mini-nursery to hang out in.
“Well shugah,” Stephanie drawled, “I don’t mind occasionally slumming but if I’m really going to run this place, a bit of comfort and some targeted spoiling by my husband is necessary. Check out the powder room.”
She and Meghan took a peek into the bathroom and started laughing. It looked exactly like a modern movie set for a classic western bathhouse complete with a vintage steel washtub for a sink and horseshoe towel holders on the wall. The changing table was a repurposed dresser done with every conceivable type of western cowboy hardware.
“Nicely done,” Meghan faintly mocked in a funny drawl. “Maybe at the next squad meeting you can give us a few pointers.”
“Pointers?” Stephanie questioned.
Lacey looked back and forth between the two.
Meghan sniggered. “Yeah, you know. Top ten ways to train your spouse. Secrets to a happy marriage. Guaranteed turn-ons for todays’ modern alpha.”
Stephanie blushed slightly and wrinkled her nose. “A lady never tells.”
Meghan hooted her amusement. “Yeah, right. Fuck the lady thing, Mrs. Dane. Please share what slutterella moves earned all of this.”
“You should talk,” Stephanie smartly countered. “Cristián let slip that Alex is building you a she-shed. Like you need one,” she scoffed. Pfft.
“Oh, gawd!” Meghan rolled her eyes. “Nah. I put the kibosh on that ridiculous plan. My babe cave is the yoga studio.”
Lacey smirked when Red went into full golly gosh, gee-whiz mode.
“However,” she said with droll glee, “I did manage to get an additional room. Since the studio is an adobe modular, it will be easy to stack a second unit onto the first. Room for everyone—including the kids.”
Alex would build her a root beer powered rocket ship from marshmallows and duct tape if she asked him to.
They fussed and organized until all four babies were in seats on the floor with the three of them cross-legged in the center.
Satisfied that they’d have twenty minutes before the kids became rammy, Lacey got started. “Let’s call this meeting that isn’t a meeting to order,” she said.
Stephanie surprised her with an immediate confession. “Truth time, ladies—and if you breathe one word of this to my husband, my reaction will not be ladylike. Here goes. I’m exhausted. For real. This super-woman crap is for you younger gals. I love being around the stable and can run this place with one hand tied but I also have a baby and a husband who doesn’t like to share. It’s killing me to act like all of this is easy. It’s not.”
“Never let ‘em see you sweat,” Lacey muttered.
Meghan nodded.
“And what happens in the autumn when we head to Colorado? Two months is a long time to be gone. Someone will have to step up while I’m away.”
“Cameron loved your cabin, Stephanie. Our time there with Dylan was special. He’s been making noises about buying a vacation home nearby so don’t be surprised if we’re Colorado neighbors too.”
“Sounds to me,” Meghan pointed out, “like we better light a fire under the assistant plan. You need help, Duchess.”
“Heather has some ideas on this subject,” she told them. “The sooner we call a squad goals meeting, the better.”
“I’m going to ask a question,” Stephanie said with a slight nod to Meghan. “And you can tell me to shut up but I hope you won’t.”
Red shrugged. “Give it a shot.”
“Without knowing details,” Stephanie said but she didn’t finish because right away Meghan growled.
“Aw, come on.”
Meghan’s reluctance was obvious but Stephanie plowed ahead. “Domineau and Remington. What’s up with that?”
Lacey knew enough to purse her lips by reflex while her spine stiffened. She’d put up with a lot of crap before Cameron came along and dealt with some pretty scary homeless situations but the cards Remy was dealt were not okay. At all. She wasn’t an aggressive or confrontational person by nature but she knew without question that if Remy’s situation had been left to her and the other Justice ladies, the recompense for what she went through would be … severe.
“It kind of sucks that keeping a secret in Family Justice is next to impossible.” Meghan didn’t sound thrilled. Lacey squirmed. “Remy has enough on her plate without worrying who knows what.”
“Which is why I asked you. The men clammed up big time. Calder wasn’t involved but Alex tells him everything so …”
Lacey tuned in to Meghan. She was getting upset. Big Daddy’s wife was a stern protector when it came to the family.
“You know I can’t discuss it. And not just because she’s Justice. There’s Finn to consider. Those two need all the love and support they can get.” Meghan slowed down and shifted on her butt. She looked at the twins and sighed. “But I know why you’re asking.”
“I like those two,” Stephanie explained. “They got knocked down but dammit if they both didn’t get right back up. I like a gal with balls.”
“Isn’t that how you spelled Bennett?” Lacey innocently asked. “B-A-L-L-S?”
They all laughed because it was true. The Bennett women had serious cojones.
“Look,” Meghan eventually grumbled. “Where all of that is concerned, all I can tell you is this. The boys surrendered operational control of the situation to Domineau. She had carte blanche to handle things in a manner deemed appropriate.”
“Ouch,” Stephanie mumbled.
Yeah, no kidding, Lacey thought. Five minutes in Domineau’s company and she fully understood how the lone female ended up a Justice Brother. The woman was a serious power to be reckoned with. Cameron told her in strictest confidence that if something gratuitously violent or blood thirsty was called for, Smoke was their go-to so she had no doubt whatever that Remy’s vindication would end up one hell of a nasty bitch.
“The Major wants our wagons in a circle with those two. I assured him we were fifty miles ahead.”
Lily was beginning to look bored. Daddy spoiled his little princess so much that their daughter was a bit of a prima donna—preferring to be held than left to amuse herself. Short of carrying her into the shower with him, Cameron covered every other base. She went everywhere with Daddy. Her and Dylan. It occurred to Lacey that her husband was something of a kid Pied Piper. She had a splendid time just last evening watching her hunkerific hubs down on the floor with both kids, teaching Dylan self-defense moves and rolling Lily around like a cat toy. In a flash she wondered if what she was seeing was some of what he learned as a junior camp counselor. It made sense in a way and explained why her previously hermit-like mate had such an easy time around groups of kids.
“We need that squad meeting,” she muttered aloud. “Stephanie—you’ll take care of that, right? And Meghan, one more thing. Don’t believe Sophie’s current sales pitch. She needs an assistant too.”
“I know,” Red grumped. “I’m on it.”
They spent the next half hour coordinating play dates and changing diapers.
According to the calendar, summer was coming to a close but they still had the variety show and Labor Day weekend to get through before fall officially arrived. After that was the highly anticipated, week-long Fall Mega Challenge—Desert Thunder versus Chixie Dicks. Because boys will be boys no matter what age their driver’s license says, this challenge went light years beyond a simple battle of the bands. With a decades long rivalry fueling the fire, they were going full tilt boogie with a baseball game, a chili cook-off, the required musical competition and a field day that was shaping up into something memorable.
Draegyn had taken a crew of apprentice types to the playground and erected a fantastic pergola—perfect for a little sun protection—and Stephanie wanted him to build mini-bleachers for the ball field. She said if we were going to do this, we were going to do it right—which explains why she and Victoria took over designing Team Justice uniforms and cheerleader outfits.
Calder came strolling into the office just as they were wrapping things up.
“Where’s my son?” he barked.
Wolf waved his hands and smiled when he heard his daddy’s voice. Stephanie’s smile was beyond big. “Where were you half an hour ago when I was cleaning up a gigantic poop?”
Calder laughed, grabbed her ass, and kissed her soundly before whisking Wolf from her arms. “Has anyone seen Alex?” he asked. “I stopped up at the house but his study looks like a hoarder’s nightmare and unless he’s trapped under some debris, he wasn’t there.”
“He got a call, looked less than happy, and then headed to the compound. I don’t know if it’s relevant but Lacey and I passed Duke and a bodyguard earlier as they were booking toward the garage.”
All sorts of looks and nods were exchanged. Calder, the girls, even the kids. An advanced degree was not required to figure out that something was up. Lacey glanced at Meghan. She wore a concerned expression. A tingle of worry danced up her spine when it occurred to her that 99.9% of what went on in the compound was Jace’s purview now. If Alex was involved that meant it was either a big deal or did not involve the agency. Neither scenario gave her comfort.
Did Meghan come to the same conclusion at the same time? Maybe. Because she quickly gathered up the twins and took her leave.
Calder and Stephanie were giving each other looks.
“Looks like I’ve been ditched,” she playfully complained. “Feel like going for a walk?”
“Nah, screw that,” Calder drawled. “Three alarm scorcher in progress. Let’s throw Lily’s stroller in my SUV and take you home in comfort. Where’s Dylan?”
Every mention of her beautiful son made Lacey’s heart sing. “Off building something with Daddy and Sinjin. Tori is home with the boys.” She looked at Stephanie. “Ryder is a handful, huh?”
“Very different from Daniel at that age. He’s barely six weeks. Victoria is doing fine despite new baby sleep deprivation. She’s had to shoo Draegyn out of the house though so she can get the baby on a schedule.”
Calder chuckled. He hugged Wolf close and kissed his son’s face. “It still blows my mind. Draegyn St. John as a husband and father. My stepdaughter has magic powers or something because I’ve never seen the guy happier.”
Lacey high-fived Calder with a laugh. “I have the distinct privilege of having seen and experienced the St. John arrogance up close and personal before Tori came on the scene. That man needed a serious ass kicking. I know what you mean, Calder. The change in him is like sunlight to midnight.”
As they loaded baby stuff into Calder’s fancy Range Rover, Zeus trotted by on her way to the main house.
“Oh, that’s right,” she mumbled. “We saw Zeus running to the garage. And Alex. If she’s going in the other direction, that must mean he’s on the move.”
Calder pulled out his phone—frowned—and slid it back in his pocket. “Well, let’s get moving. If he needs anything, he knows how to find me.”
She’d seen helicopter wreckage in better shape than the torched metal th
at had at one time been a drone. Remy squatted at one corner of the large tarp and studied what was left. Brody’s carefully applied kill shot blew two of the rotors off and sent the device plummeting to the ground. Initial crash damage hadn’t seemed significant. And then the damn thing self-destructed.
Alex was studying the pictures Brody took when they located the wreckage. Duke, like her, was squatting at the other side of the tarp.
“Scorch pattern tells the story,” he growled and pointed.
She looked where he directed. The core of the drone where the electronics would be located was completely obliterated. Whoever sent the destruct command didn’t want anyone getting a look at the technology. And by anyone, she meant Alex Marquez.
When he was through looking at the pictures, the Major started circling the tarp. His slow, deliberate steps had a menacing feeling that made her swallow hard. He was angry.
No, scratch that. Angry wasn’t strong enough. He was livid with an overlay of hostility that had a sense of foreboding.
“This fucking piece of shit is Russian.”
His voice was incredulous and very, very pissed off. She said nothing and paid attention.
“Do I look like a dumbass?” He shouted.
Brody and Duke exchanged looks.
“I can’t believe this shit,” Alex snarled. His footsteps became heavier as he continued sharking around the pile of metal junk. “This thing is a goddamn insult to my intelligence. Probably came from the Kremlin toy store. What the fucking fuck!”
Brody cautiously interjected some explanation. “So, what you’re saying is, the delayed self-destruct was initialized manually. Long after it went down.”
Alex’s response was a blood-curdling growl.
Note to self—never get on this guys’ bad side.
Duke stood. “They wanted you to see it before they blew it up.” He paused for a moment and added, “A taunt?”
Alex stopped pacing. “This is personal. I’m being played.”
Brushing her pants, she stood and crossed her arms. “We should assume we’re being watched.”
Enduring (Family Justice Book 8) Page 16