Broken Justice (Justice Brothers) (22 page)

“I don’t know why.”

“Well, to get to the second hand shop, of course!”she responded playfully.

Oh my fucking God.
She was trying to get a rise out of him with a joke. Could she be any more adorable? Was that half a smile working its way onto his face? Why had he thought they needed to keep their distance? Damned if he knew.

“Knock, Knock! “

Okay. So she wasn’t going to give up. Thank God. “Who's there?”

“Cows go.”

Hmmmm
. He didn’t know this one. “Cows go who?”

“No, cows go moo!” The giggle in her voice wrapped around his heart in the darkened truck. “Wow. Still no smile? What’s a girl gotta do to wipe that somber look off your face? Oh, I know,” she trilled excitedly, turning her body toward his as he drove them on into the night.

With a charmingly dramatic throat clearing she cooed the next joke in that sexy, husky voice that turned him inside out. “What do you see when the stewardess bends over?”

He thought about it for a second and then gave in when nothing obvious sprang to life in his mind. “Uh, you got me there. I have
no
idea. What do you see?”

“You silly!” she chuckled. “Why, the co…….
ooomph
,” came her reply when she suddenly clamped her hand over her mouth.

“The what?” he asked.

“Oh, uh, never mind. I forgot the punch line.”

“Like hell, Ponytail! You can’t leave me hanging like that. C’mon! Tickle my funny bone and tell me the rest.”

He watched her shake her head from the corner of his eye. “I can’t!” She laughed.

“Why not?” This was getting good. She started it and he was going to make sure she finished it, whatever
it
was.

Slapping her hands on her thighs for good measure she turned back to him giggling in what sounded like embarrassment.

“Let me guess,” he said. “There’s a naughty word involved, right?” He’d noticed her reluctance to swear and found the trait charming. The expression,
swearing like a Marine
, was true for him in so many ways.

When she laughed some more he lightened at the sound. He really, really liked this woman. “Please.”

“”Uh uh,” came her reply.

“Pretty please! With a cherry on top?”
Good Lord.
Where the hell had that come from? Was he actually engaging in some foolish banter?

She sighed theatrically and threw up her hands in surrender. “Oh, okay. For a cherry on top I suppose I have to.”

Yep. A smile was threatening to break out across his face. “So, tell me Ponytail. What do you see when the stewardess bends over?”

Cupping her hand to her mouth as if she was telling a secret he heard her blurt out, “The cockpit. You see the cockpit!”

No amount of self-control could help the enormous bark of laughter that rumbled from his chest at her reply. For the first time in forever, Cam threw back his head and laughed like fucking hell. The cockpit.
Holy shit.
Priceless.

She giggled right along with him as they spent the next half hour exchanging horrible jokes and one-liners. He smiled. She beamed. They both laughed.
Now what was he supposed to do?
With very little effort she’d pierced the dark veil of brooding that he’d been wrapped in for far too long.

It was late when they finally arrived. Lacey hadn’t a clue what to expect and in no way was she prepared for the reality of where Cameron lived and worked. Far from the nearest town, they turned down a darkened road and drove for a bit before coming upon an ancient-looking arched gate complete with a state-of-the art keypad and an obvious security camera. Punching in a series of numbers, alerting whoever was on the other end to their arrival, they drove on.

In the looming darkness Lacey made out tall trees, bushy shrubs, and cactus lining their drive. She detected the faint smell of sage and experienced a sensation much like coming home. The feeling rattled her.
Big time.

Continuing around an outcropping of rocks in a hilly landscape she saw the first glimmer of lights indicating the presence of buildings. Her small gasp of surprise when they drew closer to the main house hung suspended in the air when she caught her first view of the old Spanish Villa that served as the home base for the Justice Agency.

Words could never adequately describe that initial sight of the rambling, multi-storied hacienda with its massive cobbled courtyard nestled amongst Cyprus, Piñon, and Juniper trees. It was huge, sprawling, and even in the darkness, absolutely beautiful. She was surprised when they kept driving a short distance away from the courtyard, behind a spread out series of buildings.

This wasn’t at all what she expected.
Had she imagined a sterile office building or a warehouse full of high-tech security toys?
She couldn’t remember now that she was presented with reality. Under the twinkling lights of the big house she was awed by the heavy Spanish influence of the architecture and the undeniably romantic setting.
Wow.

Before too long they stopped beside a charming, single-story casita with a red tile roof and a large front window. Spanish style lantern lamps glowed in welcome next to an arched front door under a sturdy pergola. If this was Cameron’s home, the unexpected simple beauty of it enchanted her.

“Welcome home, Ponytail. This is Casita de Corazon which, if you know any Spanish, means Home of the Heart. It’s a guesthouse that Alex keeps for his sisters and Mother when they come to visit. He’s invited you to stay here while you’re working for the agency.”

He was kidding, right?
Lacey couldn’t quite wrap her mind around what he was saying.
This quaint little house was where she’d be staying?
No. This couldn’t be for her. She’d been so grateful for the chance to start fresh that she’d have willingly set up a tent in Cameron’s back yard. Being told she was being moved into the small guesthouse was so much more than anything she could have dreamed of.

Cameron was out of the truck and yanking open her door before she recovered her composure. Turning eyes filled with questions on her travelling companion, she could only blink in speechless silence at the hand he held out to help her from the truck.

“Cameron, no,” she stuttered. “This is too much. Isn’t there a room someplace or maybe …….” She didn’t get out another word as he reached into the truck and lifted her out.

“No, Ponytail. There is no maybe. You’ll stay here and that’s all there is to it. My home is a little further along the main road. Alex lives in the main house and Drae, if he’s even here, has a place another quarter mile behind mine. I know it’s hard to see in the darkness but there are a dozen or so building in the main compound and another bunch spread out around the property. Tomorrow I’ll introduce you to everyone. There are several people living full-time on the compound and a world-class security system connects all the buildings. You’ll be well-protected here, Lacey.”

He must have sensed her reticence and confusion because he just kept shuffling her along the path from the truck to the door of the casita before she could resist. Just like at the front gate, he punched in a security code on the entry keypad and pushed open the heavy wooden door. Just like that, Lacey’s world tilted on its axis again.

Small but unique, the inside of the modest casita had Moorish arches, tiled floors, and low wood beams across the ceiling. A stone fireplace took up one side of the quaint living room and through another beautiful archway she spied a modern, tiled kitchen. The overall effect of the tiny home was undeniably welcoming and warm.

Leaving her to look around, Cameron returned to the truck to grab her meager belongings. When he reappeared and walked through to the bedroom at the rear of the house, she followed in his footsteps. Tossing her bags on the high, queen-size bed he looked around and motioned with his head toward the en suite.

“Bedroom, check. Bathroom, check. Kitchen, check. Everything is right here. It’s small but cozy and just a short walk from the office.”

“I don’t know what to say. It’s really too much.” Lacey was struggling for composure. She wanted so badly to walk into his arms and let his embrace soothe her frazzled nerves. She didn’t though because even overwhelmed as she was, she hadn’t missed that Cameron seemed equally so. For some reason he was avoiding looking directly at her and had started nervously prowling the room making sure all the lights worked properly while flicking on the ceiling fan which he made quite the project of setting on low.

“Th…thank you. It’s perfect.” Running her hands across a magnificent wooden armoire she tried to quell the upwelling of emotions that were clogging her throat. “I don’t know what to say, Cameron. You might have to pinch me so I know all of this is real.”

Just like that he wasn’t avoiding her eyes any longer. In two long strides he reached out, pulling her into his arms. “I can think of better things to let you know this is real than a pinch,” and with those few words his sexy mouth swooped down on hers. Unlike the fevered kisses they’d shared previously, this one was tender, almost reverent.

He used his tongue to trace her full bottom lip before sucking on the flesh in a way that elicited a quiet moan from her. When her tongue shyly swiped across his, it was Cameron’s turn to moan. About the last thing she expected after the day’s tortured silence and the way he’d pulled away following their wild night together was for him to kiss her like she meant something to him.
Maybe he was going to let his guard down.
She wished he would. There was something so special about the way they were with each other.

Unfortunately, the kiss ended before her thoughts went much further. “If you need me, dial nineteen on the phone system and you’ll be connected with my private line. I can be here in minutes if ……well….. if you need me.”

God, he was something else.
He wanted to stay but she was certain he wouldn’t. He wasn’t ready yet and she knew he needed time to work out some of his issues on his own. She had to let him run this time but she was damn sure going to make certain he ran with a solid case of wood in his jeans. Reaching up she ran her fingers along the side of his beautiful, brooding face and across the sexy lips she wanted to devour. His eyes flared at her touch.

“Last night was …… well, it was amazing. I’ll let you leave this time. But if
you
need
me
, I’ll be here.” The emphasis she placed on those two words was meant to give him something to think about as he walked away.

He nodded just once at her words and then quietly left the room. She walked silently behind him to the front door where he turned around and fixed her with a searing look that left her breathless. One glance down the front of his jeans and her mind shouted,
mission accomplished
!

“I’ll come by in the morning and take you up to the big house.”

As the door clicked shut and she heard the sound of his truck starting up, Lacey turned back to the interior of the charming house and crossed her fingers.

Letting himself in to the enormous Spanish Villa that dominated the property, Cam made quietly for the back of the main floor where he knew Alex would be holed up. While other guys fashioned man-caves, Alexander Valleja-Marquez, Don of all he surveyed, went the high-tech route with something a bit more cyber-geeky.

The property that housed the Justice Agency assets was the hereditary home of the Valleja-Marquez family. The glorious hacienda-style villa at the heart of it all was a masterpiece of Spanish architecture. Alex had inherited the house and nearly six hundred acres of land years ago. He, of course, lived in the main house while Cam and Drae built separate homes set apart from the central compound.

At the entrance to Alex’s tech-cave, Cam leaned indolently against the door-jam and studied the scene before him. As usual, the dark room hummed and throbbed with blinking lights and flashing screens. Classic rock turned low on the sound system hung in the air while at the center of it all, sat the man himself.

Alex Marquez, the “Major”, hunched over a piece of machinery that appeared to be emitting a hologram.
Typical.
Dude always ran light years ahead from where most of the cyber-geeks were stuck. Seeing him dressed in a ridiculous pink golf shirt and an ugly pair of patterned pants, Cam smirked knowing he’d come here straight from the golf course. When Alex had something on his mind, he was like a dog with a bone. Distract him and he’d snarl. Fuck with him in any way when he was on to something and get your head neatly ripped off, shredded to bits, and then handed back to you on a silver tray.