Love or Justice (9 page)

Rick stood off to the side, wringing his hands.

“I’m sorry about all this.” Rick squinted up at Dante as he strode past.

“We’ll talk about it tomorrow. Just keep him away from her.” Dante turned his back and walked away.

Dante entered the kitchen.

Max stood by the counter trying very hard to look like he hadn’t been watching out the window.

Dante locked the door.

“Max, watch the car. Make sure they leave.” Dante stomped past him.

Max went back to the window.

Dante heard two car doors slam. He went into the living room.

Laurie sat on the couch, sniffling.

David knelt next to her, holding her hand.

Cheyn sat across from her.

Dante rounded the couch.

Laurie looked up at him, stricken and pale, and he wished he’d beaten Evan James within an inch of his life.

Dante sat down beside Laurie on the couch.

She threw her arms around his neck.

He wrapped his arms around her, rubbing her back.

“I’m sorry, Laurie,” he murmured into her hair. “I’m sorry he put you through that.”

“It’s not right what he said, Ms. Laurie.” David stood up.

“He just wants to find them. I understand.” Laurie nuzzled into his neck.

“That doesn’t mean he should have done what he did.” Dante stroked her hair with one hand while caressing her back with the other. He glanced up and saw Cheyn’s disapproving look, but he didn’t care. Dante pulled her tighter against his chest as she shuddered.

“Can he have me taken out of protective—”

“No, he can’t do anything to harm you. We won’t let him.” Dante rested his chin on the crown of her hair.

“But he’s a…and it’s his wife and son.” She sniffled.

“It’s a federal case, Laurie. You know this. Even though he’s a federal prosecutor, he can’t just cancel the case. We’re not even in his jurisdiction. He’s just another victim’s family member.” He cupped her face in his hands, looking into her eyes. “I won’t let him jeopardize your safety.”

Relief swept across her delicate features. She let out a deep breath, and Dante pulled her against his chest again.

“They’re gone, boss. I watched them leave,” Max said behind him.

“Good. In fifteen, I need a perimeter check. We’ll do them every fifteen minutes from now on.”

The men nodded. Dante cradled Laurie in his arms, resting his chin on her head.

She slowly calmed. Her breathing returned to normal, and she no longer clutched at his shirt like a lifeline.

He felt the muscles in her back become soft and pliant under his hand.

“I wish I could have told him where his family is.” Her voice was raw and scraped.

Dante closed his eyes.

“I know you do, but you can’t tell him what you don’t know.” Dante brushed his hand over her golden hair.

“I hope he’s not like that with his wife, or his son.” She took a shuddering breath. “I mean, I hope it was just the grief and anxiety talking.”

Dante rubbed his chin against her smooth hair. He heard the question in her voice, the slightest sliver of doubt had crept in.

“It’s hard to know what he’s really like. People can do crazy things when they’re pushed to a breaking point. My guess is that he’s probably like this when he’s under stress. I hope you won’t let that influence your decision to testify, Laurie. Even if Evan James is an asshole, Katherine and Easton deserve some justice.” He stroked the back of her neck in circles.

Laurie nodded her agreement against his shoulder.

“No, I know that. I do.” She buried her face in his shoulder.

Satisfied, Dante gave her a gentle squeeze. He didn’t know what else to do to make her feel better, so he just held her.

Max went outside to walk around the house, and Cheyn moved upstairs to go back to bed.

David settled by the window again. Dante turned on the TV for some mindless noise. He flipped through until he found an old movie, with Barbra Streisand roller-skating around and singing. It was exactly what they needed.

“Let’s just watch a movie for a while, okay?”

Laurie nodded.

Dante put his arm around Laurie’s shoulders, tucking her against his side.

Laurie’s head rested on his chest. She fit perfectly beside him, though he tried not to notice, and they passed much of the afternoon that way.

CHAPTER EIGHT

Laurie

That night, Dante appeared at Laurie’s door, sleeping bag in hand.

“Can I come in for a minute?” He nodded toward her room.

“Of course.” Laurie stepped back.

She felt a jolt of nervousness. Dante looked at her, and she stared up at him. Something inside her trembled. He ran his hand through his hair. He looked at the rumpled bed and then his eyes darted away.

“Have you thought about what I said last night…with sleeping in the room with you?”

“Oh, yes.” She looked away, thinking.

Laurie felt her cheeks flush. It seemed to happen around him frequently. She forced herself to look at him.

“If you’re uncomfortable with it, then I don’t want—” He coughed and cleared his throat.

“No, no. You’re just going to end up in here anyway. Might as well start out in here, I guess.”

Laurie felt her temperature rise exponentially. The thought of Dante sleeping in her room stirred something in her. She was suddenly hyper-aware of her surroundings. She ran a dull fingernail along the spine of the book in her hand. She could feel the heat of his gaze on her, warming her skin. Laurie could even hear the soft hiss of the wind as it blew past her window.

“If you have any objections, I don’t want to—”

“No, it’s fine. It’s completely fine.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes. I’m sure.”

Laurie laughed nervously. Dante let out the breath he was holding. They looked at each other for a minute, and then they both looked away.

“I’ll lay out my sleeping bag.”

“Do you have anything more comfortable to sleep on?”

“No. I’ll be fine. I’ve slept on the ground in this and it was just fine.”

He gave a half smile and she got the feeling he was lying.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes. I’ll sleep better on the floor, knowing you’re okay, then in my bed worrying.”

Laurie smiled a little. He did care deeply about the people he protected. She wished it was more than that, but she knew it wasn’t.

“I’m sorry you have to go to all this trouble.”

“No. Don’t worry about it. No reason to be sorry. What position would you like me in?”

Laurie stared at him for a minute, wide-eyed. Dante froze.

“I mean…um. I mean, on the floor.” He waved the sleeping bag at the floor. “Is there anywhere specific on the floor you’d like me to sleep?”

“Oh, oh.” Laurie giggled a little and Dante let out a nervous chuckle. “No, it doesn’t matter.”

“Okay. Sorry. I guess this is a little awkward.” He gave her a bashful smile.

“Yeah, just a little.”

“It’s much easier when you’re calling out for me in the middle of the night.”

Laurie looked up at him again, putting her hand over her mouth.

Dante winced. Then he cringed, his brow furrowing in embarrassment as he turned scarlet.

“I hope no one is listening to this conversation.” Laurie started laughing uncontrollably.

“Oh God. I’m sorry! Jesus! I’m such…ugh.” Dante closed his eyes and threw his head back, jamming his hand through his hair.

Laurie’s laughter got to him, and he started laughing too. They laughed for a few minutes, standing in the center of her room. Laurie held her waist, almost doubled over.

Dante still held his sleeping bag in one hand, wiping tears from his eyes with the other. Laughing felt so good right now.

“Maybe we should just go to bed.” Laurie sat down on her bed.

“Right.”

Laurie slipped between her sheets, throwing her covers over her.

Dante spread out his sleeping bag in the corner opposite her, against the wall. When he was finished, he turned off the light.

“Good night.” Laurie tossed her hair over her pillow.

“Good night.”

Both of them lay awake for a while, not moving. The sound of their breathing seemed to echo in the room. They stared at the ceiling, until Laurie rolled onto her side to look at him.

“Dante?”

“Yeah?”

“Do you think they’ll find Kaimi soon?”

“I’m sure they will—”

“I mean for real, not just to make me feel better.”

Dante paused. He rolled over on his side, facing her. Much of him was in shadow, but enough light filtered in from the window so Laurie could make out his face and the clean lines of his jaw.

“There are a lot of places he can hide on the islands, Laurie. He has many friends, people willing to hide him. But they will find him. He can’t hide forever.”

Laurie nodded. She rolled onto her back, staring at the ceiling again. Dante rolled onto his back as well, listening to the faint sounds emanating from the TV downstairs. Max and Cheyn hated silence during their watch. He and Laurie listened until sleep took them both.

***

Dante

Dante woke up hearing a low moaning sound.

“No, please.” Laurie tossed on the bed.

Dante rolled over. He watched through half-veiled eyes. He didn’t want to wake her up unless he had to, and he hoped she would pull out of it.

“Please, don’t. I promise I’ll testify. I promise, just don’t make me leave, Mr. James.” Laurie clutched at the sheets.

Dante’s blood started to boil. He had never hated a victim’s family before, but this was a good time to start. He opened his eyes. The moonlight streamed through the blinds, falling on Laurie’s bed in rectangles.

Her hands knotted and twisted in the sheets. She had already kicked her blanket off, and it sat in clumps and waves at the foot of her bed.

He watched Laurie’s face contort in pain, as she rolled to face him.

“No! No! Please! He’ll kill me!”

Dante got out of his sleeping bag. He couldn’t listen to her like that. He sat down beside her on the bed, and leaned over to whisper in her ear.

“Laurie, no one’s going to hurt you. Evan James can’t make you leave. I’ll keep you safe.”

She whimpered a little. He took her face in his hands, stroking her flushed cheeks with his thumbs. She sniffled, but quieted. He didn’t think she woke up at all. He waited a little while, and her breathing returned to normal. He brushed the hair back from her face. Then he untangled her hands from the sheet. They were relaxed and limp as he placed them on her stomach. He gave her a last look, filled with a mixture of longing and concern, as he stroked her arm. Then he went back to his sleeping bag, yawned, and fell asleep.

Another hour passed and Dante woke up abruptly to Laurie begging and pleading, clutching at her sheets again.

“No! No! Dante! Please! Don’t!”

Then she let out a piercing wail. He was up and at her side.

“Laurie, wake up. Wake up!” He shook her. Laurie woke up with a gasp. Then she grasped his arms and began to sob.

“Hey, hey. Don’t cry.” He smoothed back her hair. “It’s okay. I’m here. I’m not going anywhere.”

He sat down on the bed, leaning against the wall. He pulled her onto his chest. He rubbed her back, held her tight, and murmured words to calm her. Nothing he said worked. Wave after wave of tears descended from her eyes, and she gasped and sputtered with them. She clung to him, her hands digging into his shoulders almost to the point of pain. He’d seen her cry before, but not like this.

“Laurie, what’s wrong? Talk to me. What happened?”

“I…dreamed you were shot. You were dying.” She started sobbing again.

He gathered her closer, and rocked her.

“I’m okay, Laurie. I’m fine. Take a deep breath.”

She gulped in air; she was crying so hard. She wasn’t listening to him. He took her face in his hands and pressed his forehead to hers.

“Take a deep breath, Laurie. That’s it. Good. Another. Good.”

He held her face close to his for a little while as he coached her through a few calming breaths. He wiped away her tears. Her crying slowed. Without thinking, he kissed her forehead. Then he tucked her head under his chin.

“This one really scared you, didn’t it?” He stroked her hair.

“Yes.”

He pressed another kiss to the top of her head, and tightened his embrace. It touched him that his death would be so upsetting to her. They hardly knew each other, but God, his shirt was half soaked in her tears from just dreaming about it. He ran his hands over her hair and down her back. She lay awake in his arms, her fingers tracing patterns over his chest. He put his hand over hers.

“Try to go back to sleep. I’ll stay with you.”

“I don’t think I want to.”

Dante smiled, holding Laurie, her hand cradled by his. Dante had every intention of getting up and going back to his own bed. But he never made it there.

In the morning, he woke up late. He found himself sleeping with Laurie on his chest. He had somehow moved into a prone position with her. His arms draped protectively over her torso. She seemed at peace, her jaw relaxed, her brow smooth.

He ran his hand through her wavy hair. He brushed it back from her face. Then his hand traced a path down the side of her angular jaw. He watched her eyelids flutter open. They focused in on him. Confusion crossed her face, then a flash of recognition. He stroked her jaw with his thumb.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered. “I didn’t mean to sleep here. I was going to go back to my bed after you fell asleep.”

“It’s okay.”

“No. It’s not okay.”

“No, it is. After the nightmare I had, I wouldn’t have slept at all if you’d left me.”

He heaved a sigh. Then he looked down at her. Her body pressed against his, warm, soft and sweet. Too sweet. And too accessible. Half of his brain yelled at him to get up, to get out of there. The other half wanted nothing more than to cover her mouth with his. Desire settled hot and heavy in the pit of his stomach. Now he couldn’t get up, or she would see how much she affected him. He brushed his fingers through her hair.

“Morning,” he said with a smile.

She smiled back and chuckled.

“Morning.”

She laid her cheek back on his chest. They laid there like that for a few minutes.

Dante wrestled for control of his body, while he said a silent prayer for the bedspread that hid his desire from her. He looked at the clock. He didn’t want to move yet, but someone would come looking for him soon. This was not where he wanted David to find him. He thought of everything unpleasant and unsexy, while he stared at the ceiling. He didn’t dare look at the gorgeous woman beside him. He thought of ice cold showers, every painful hangover he ever had, and every unattractive woman that ever hit on him. Finally, finally, he felt he could get up without embarrassing himself.

He tapped Laurie’s back.

“All right. Time to get up.”

Laurie rolled off him and sat up. She hugged her knees, her hair hung like a curtain over her shoulders. She rested her chin on her knee, watching him.

Dante walked barefoot over to the bathroom, clothes in hand. When he came back out, she was in the same position.

“You okay?” He raised his eyebrows at her.

“Yeah, just waking up.”

“All right. I’ll see you downstairs in a few minutes.”

He turned and headed for the door.

“Dante?” she said as he reached for the doorknob.

He turned toward her.

“Thank you for being there for me. You don’t have to do everything you do for me, and I know it. Thank you.”

Her words made him smile. His chest lifted. Before he even realized what he was doing, he walked back to her bed. He caught her chin with his thumb and forefinger, tilting her face up to meet him.

“You deserve nothing less.” He caressed her cheek.

She blushed and looked away.

He stared down at her, sitting on her bed, hugging her knees. Her hair was splayed out, her cheeks flushed attractively. He couldn’t explain what he felt looking at her. He knew he needed to leave, or he was going to get himself into more trouble than he could get out of. He traced his hand down to her shoulder and upper arm in a lingering caress. Then he turned and strode out of the room.