Justice (13 page)

“Good. Well, I don’t imagine he’d be comfortable with someone like me hanging around, even out here, so I’ll be moving on. If I can, I’ll make sure none of the shifters looking for him finds him. Unfortunately, there’s only one of me. I can’t be everywhere at once.” Cliff grinned, and before Justice could make a scathing comeback, Cliff shifted and took off, yipping like the goofiest wolf in existence.

Justice knew better. He’d felt the power the man wielded, and that whole glowing shit was weird.

He had other things to dwell on, however. Paul was going to argue with him about leaving his job, but… Maybe they’d get to have make-up sex.

That in itself would be worth giving up his job.

Chapter Ten

He’d known it was probably going to be a fruitless effort to have a session with Vivian when all he was able to think about was Justice leaving. The idea that something bad would happen to one or both of them if he did leave was preying on Paul’s mind.

Vivian had mentioned coping skills and possible OCD. Paul didn’t have obsessive-compulsive disorder. He just wanted his mate.

Paul closed his eyes and let that word roll around in his head. He murmured it, at first soundlessly, then softly. Justice had come to mean so much to him in such a short time. It shouldn’t have been possible, but it had happened.

It was too bad humans didn’t have such bonds. How many heartaches would be spared, how many marriages and divorces prevented? If you knew there was possibly a soulmate out there, waiting to find you or to be found, rushing into a marriage wouldn’t happen.

Humans as a whole weren’t so lucky. Every day, Paul would treasure the gift he’d been given. His fear of shifters was still there, but not of snow leopard shifters. Justice and his family’s kindness was greater than Paul’s fear.

Wolf shifters, however, were still nightmarish abominations as far as he was concerned. Maybe that would change once Oscar and Josiah were back. Paul wouldn’t be able to avoid Josiah forever.

Maybe just until I can join Justice in Phoenix. I could stay in my cabin all the time. With Justice gone, I won’t be sitting outside, the grass beneath me and the sunlight warming my skin while I wait for him to return. Damn, I’ll miss this.

There was an odd sort of tension coming from Justice when Paul reached for him through their link. Something was bothering Justice, and it wasn’t only their impending separation. Paul could feel the worry coming off his mate. He sat up and shaded his eyes with one hand as he looked at the brushes from where Justice always emerged after a run.

Paul heard Justice first. The heavy thud of paws on the ground, then silence before the unnerving sound of him shifting. Jesus, it sounded like it hurt.

Justice emerged minutes later, sweaty and sexy and so beautiful in his masculinity that it made Paul’s heart race. “How was your run?”

Justice walked over, his cock already hardening, bobbing with every step. Paul dragged his gaze up, following Justice’s treasure trail to his sculpted abs, then up farther to his taut nipples. By the time he reached Justice’s face, his own erection was begging for attention.

“We need to talk.”

“God damn it,” Paul grumbled. “Four words sure to kill a hard-on.”

Justice snorted and held a hand out to help him up. “Sorry. Didn’t have an adverse reaction on my dick, though.”

“Mine either,” Paul admitted, “But it’s making me nervous as hell. Nothing fun ever follows those words.” He slipped one hand in Justice’s. “What’s wrong?”

“Let’s go inside,” Justice murmured as he surveyed the area.

That in itself unnerved Paul. “Okay.”

Once they were in the cabin—Justice’s this time—Paul leaned against the locked door and pulled Justice to him for a kiss. He didn’t remember enjoying kissing so much when he’d been younger. It’d been part of the steps to getting laid, so he’d done it and it’d been okay, but nothing like this.

He felt Justice’s kisses all the way down to his toes as he curled them against the wooden floor. Justice moaned and rested his hands on Paul’s hips. Paul did a little shimmy that moved him closer. They could talk after they fooled around, couldn’t they?

But Justice ended the kiss with sweet little pecks to Paul’s lips. Paul protested by grabbing Justice’s nape and trying to get more pressure.

“I’m not going back,” Justice murmured against his lips.

That slapped Paul right out of horny-land. He jerked his head back and thumped the door. “Ow. What?” He was trying not to let out a celebratory whoop over that news. “No, no, you have to go. You love your job.”

“It’s a job I can do somewhere else, too, if they won’t grant me an emergency leave of absence.”

Paul looked into Justice’s eyes, searching for regret or anger, and saw none. “You can’t just give it up, Justice. Do you think they’ll allow you to take off?”

Justice hesitated, then shook his head. “Honestly, I don’t, but what I realised is, I can’t leave you. I was dreading it, trying to convince myself that it was a crazy thing to do. My leopard, he was chewing me a new one. Turns out I should listen to my critter sometimes. You’re my priority, and leaving won’t make either of us happy.”

“You staying won’t make me happy, either,” Paul argued, even though he wanted nothing more than for Justice to stay. “It won’t make you happy, either.”

“I’ll be less unhappy than if I went to Phoenix,” Justice countered with.

Paul frowned at him. “Don’t confuse me. You have to go back.” He held onto Justice a little tighter before he realised what he was doing, then he let go. “Seriously, you’ll regret it if you don’t.”

Justice rubbed his nose alongside of Paul’s, rumbling softly.
“No
,
I won’t. I’ll be distracted if I go, and that’s never something a cop should be. I’ll check the agencies in this area and the surrounding ones. Maybe I can find something here.”

Paul pushed him back. “You’re distracting me, and you know it. Why would you look for a job out here? Are we staying here for a while? Did I get asked if that’s what I wanted?” God, some of his forgotten flounce came back as he spoke. Paul cocked one hip and flapped a hand. The gesture and pose felt so familiar, it made him snap his mouth shut in surprise.

Justice stared at him fondly, his mouth curving into a sweet smile. “Preston told me you used to be more…uh.”

Paul hated to see that smile vanish, so he didn’t take offence. “I believe he used to say I had the swish and he had the sense. So not true. I’ve seen him prance for Nischal. He works those hips and Nischal follows him, leaving behind a trail of drool.” The hard tone eased from his voice, and something in Paul’s chest loosened. “I also have more sense. That’s just not debatable.”

“You’re fucking perfect,” Justice said. “Gods, Paul. It doesn’t matter if you swish or swagger, you’re perfect.”

That was just too sweet. Paul was going to melt into a puddle of pure happiness. He would have, except for the whole job thing.

“We don’t have to stay in this area, either. I shouldn’t have presumed. We can go back to Denver—”

“No,” Paul said sharply, his happy mood sinking. “Not Denver. They found me there.”

“About that,” Justice began before clearing his throat. “We really do have to talk.”

The serious expression Justice wore scared the shit out of Paul, but he wasn’t a coward. “Okay. Should we maybe have a seat first?”

“That’s a good idea.” They walked to the couch and sat beside each other. “I met someone in the forest today. I want you to listen to me before you react or make up your mind about anything.”

“That doesn’t sound good at all, and who would you meet in the woods?” Paul frowned. “I know it wasn’t someone bad, because you aren’t freaked out and trying to pack me off. Although, you have suddenly decided to stay—”

“The shifter who saved you in Denver,” Justice cut in. “That’s who, and he is a wolf shifter, but he’s not—”

Paul tried, he really did, but hearing that there was a vicious wolf shifter nearby sent him into a panic attack. His chest went painfully tight as his lungs seemed incapable of getting enough air. Sucking in short, quick breaths didn’t help, but Paul couldn’t seem to stop it. His fingers and toes tingled as the lack of oxygen began to affect his appendages.

Paul’s heart raced erratically. His head spun as his thoughts scattered. The loss of control was unbearable. He wouldn’t give in, not again. Stronger, he was stronger than the panic attack.

It wouldn’t defeat him. Paul tried the techniques he’d been working on with Vivian, and being able to somewhat get a handle on it helped his mental state greatly. He wasn’t as weak as he had been.

“Paul, honey, please,” Justice murmured. His presence in Paul’s mind was comforting. “He isn’t one of the bad guys. In fact, he kills the bad shifters who put our kind at risk.”

So it wasn’t about Paul himself, but about the risk to shifters. Paul bobbed his head.

“You’re what it’s about for me, not all the other shifters in the world,” Justice continued. “I don’t care what’s happening on that level, not right now. I only want you safe, and happy.”

“What did he look like?” Paul got the question out, needing to know in case Justice was wrong and the shifter was one of the ones who’d hurt Paul.

“Taller than me, black curly hair. He had a gold eye and a silver one, it was weird as hell.” Justice grunted. “He was a smartass, too. Said his name was Cliff.”

Paul stopped wringing his hands—
when did I even start doing that?
“Cliff? The shifter who approached Preston and Nischal at a rest area in New Mexico, his name was Cliff. I don’t remember them mentioning that he had weird eyes.”

“He said he wears contacts,” Justice explained. “And what is this about him talking to Preston and Nischal at a rest area?”

“He talked to Sabin first, I think, if I remember the story right.” Paul scratched at his head. “Something about he had followed them and wanted to make sure everyone was safe and happy and he was…” Paul stopped and searched his memory. “Oh my God! He gave Preston—no, Sabin—a paper with the address to the house I’d been kept in! He knew things, but he…but he…” Paul had to stop and put his head between his knees and just breathe.

“He’s on our side. I believe that. He said some things, I don’t know.” Justice caressed his back. “Made me think there was more to who he was and what he did than I’ll ever know.”

“Did he really kill Terence and Pat?”

“Yeah, he says he did. Maybe that should bother me, but it doesn’t. I’m glad they’re dead, and anyway, human justice and shifter justice aren’t the same thing. Not at all. I wouldn’t condone going out and killing like he did if he were a human, but there is no regulating government or police force in the shifter society.”

“Except for this Cliff,” Paul added as he sat up, no longer fearing he’d pass out. “I don’t want to meet him.”

“He said he was moving on. He just wanted to make sure you were okay, and—” Justice sighed and rubbed at his face before looking at Paul. “He says there’re more of the assholes who hurt you, and they’re looking for you. There’s no way in hell I’m leaving your side. Not for a run, not for anything, Paul. I can’t. Please don’t think I’ll let them get you.”

Paul was trying not to have a complete freak-out. Damn it all, he was tired of falling apart! It’d been almost a year since he’d been freed, yet he wasn’t free, not really. Fear held him in a tight grip.

“I want a weapon, something that will take down a shifter,” Paul said. “I’m sorry, but I do. I need to be able to defend myself.”

“I won’t let it come to that, but yes, I think that’s a good idea. Do you have any experience with guns? Tasers?” Justice asked.

Paul huffed out a little laugh. “I know guns can kill and Tasers scare me as much as a gun does. That’s the depth of my knowledge.”

“That’s a good place to start. We’ll go from there.” Justice stood and stretched, grunting as bones popped. “Let me go call the Chief, see what he says. I can’t tell him what’s going on, so whatever happens, happens.”

Paul stood too and pressed his head to Justice’s chest. “I don’t want you to lose your job. Let’s just go back to Phoenix. This is both of us, so I should get a vote in what happens.”

Justice cupped his chin and waited until Paul looked up at him. “If I had to leave you at the apartment all day, or night, depending on my shift, I’d be worried the whole time I was gone. Even if you had a gun, or a Taser, you could still be hurt by someone. I’d never be able to stand it if that happened, and I could have prevented it by staying here for a while, where our family can help us remain safe. Just like you wouldn’t be able to handle it if I were hurt on the job because my head wasn’t in the right place.”

“Guilt, your weapon of choice,” Paul grumbled. “And damn it, you wield it well. I would totally fall apart if you were hurt because of me and my stupid pride.”

“So we can stay here for a while?” Justice asked softly. “It might be weeks, months, longer even, before the wolf shifters are dealt with.”

Paul bit his bottom lip. The slight pain helped push back the threat of panic so that by the time he quit biting himself, his voice was calm. “Whatever it takes, right? So we’re both safe.”

* * * *

“It went better than I thought it would,” Justice said as he turned in his chair to look at Paul. “Chief Warren said he’d try to keep my spot open. Not sure he bought Grandma needing me here to help her out, but at least he didn’t flat-out call me a liar.” Lying didn’t sit well with him, but he couldn’t very well admit the truth.

“Maybe it will be over soon.” Paul stood and strode over to him. “Come on, that pizza you put in the oven should be done any minute now.”

“The timer—” Justice began right before the annoying sound of it hit the air. “Done.”

“Ugh, what a racket,” Paul grumbled. He ran to the stove and swatted at the timer button. “Next time it can burn.”

“Viv would love that. She still at Grandma’s?”

Paul nodded. “Yup. Toss me an oven mitt?”

Justice spotted one on the table. He grabbed it and tossed it to Paul. “This kitchen could use a paint job. It’d be pretty done in a pale gold.”