Broken Justice (Justice Brothers) (36 page)

Coming upon Draegyn and Alex in deep conversation as he entered the Villa’s large kitchen, Cameron searched for evidence of Lacey’s presence but found none. He didn’t especially want to talk to anyone but her right now but having been seen by both men he couldn’t exactly turn his back and walk away.

“Yo, dude!” Drae chuckled. “You look like shit. Too much partying last night? Couldn’t help but notice that you and Blondie went missing at the same time.”

The man’s smirk did nothing to lighten Cam’s mood. “Shut up, Drae.” Holy crap, he sounded like a wounded animal even to his own ears. The knowing look Alex fixed on him didn’t help.

Drae held his hands up in mock surrender. “My bad, my bad. Sorry. Who you sleep with is none of my business.”

Cam caught the flash of a conspiratorial look between his two brothers but didn’t slow down long enough to consider what it meant. “I mean it. Shut the fuck up! You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Well, I know enough to see that there’s more going on than just the naked rhumba with someone who I might add is technically your employee.” At Cam’s stern look Drae laughed and continued, “Oh, like I’m gonna shrink from one of your dark scowls! Get real. Look bro, all I’m trying to say is I really hope you know what you’re doing. That girl is out of your fucking league, man.” Alex nodded in agreement.

“Everyone here thinks she’s the tits
and
the balls. Even that grumpy bastard over there,” Drae added with the jerk of his head in Alex’s direction. “And by the way, if you don’t get an assistant soon,” he said still looking at Alex while swinging his finger back and forth between himself and Cam, “we’re gonna fucking mutiny. Capisce?”

Cam had to admire the way Drae had diplomatically placed himself as antagonist and co-conspirator with each of them. Smart move. Meant he could say whatever the fuck he wanted and he’d have to stand there and take it.

“Back to
Ponytail
,” Drae challenged with dripping emphasis on the endearment Cam had let slip earlier. “She’s got quite a posse of friends and admirers, my friend. The lady’s smart and quick as shit. Word around the barn is that not only did she get the office back in shape, she’s even added a few touches of her own to our management style. I believe you’ll be getting a MEMO about Throwback Thursday. Apparently, we’re all gonna bond over crappy eighties music and grungy nineties fashion!”

Alex and Drae laughed in unison, shaking their heads in wonder at the idea. Cam wasn’t surprised that she’d fit in so easily or that she’d taken on her new life with determination.
Why had he been trying so hard to act like her appearance in his life had been no big deal?

Drae moved a few feet from his shoulder and crossed his arms over his chest. “What I’m trying to say is, if you’re just messing with her, you might want to think that through. She’s not like your usual emotionless fembots. She deserves better, man.” He shrugged. “If you think you have some obligation to look after her, that’s cool. But believe me, she won’t be by herself for very long. There isn’t anyone here, ladies included, who don’t have some form of a crush on her.” Drae and Alex both laughed in unison again, and Cam felt the white-hot flare of insane jealousy rise up again in his mind.

The feeling scared the shit out of him, it made him feel hot and cold at the same time. He didn’t like it, not one bit. Jealousy set the beast inside him on an angry prowl the minute it shot through his mind. Feeling out-of-control and not knowing how to contain the flood of feelings and emotions sweeping him away, Cam reverted to form while he tried to get a grip.

“You looking for a new conquest, Drae? Need a fuck buddy? Well,” he growled, “won’t be the first time you had my sloppy seconds.”

The startled gasp that split the air behind him brought three pair of eyes in search of whoever had let it loose. The last thing Cam expected was to swing around and find Lacey hovering in the doorway, a bunch of papers in her hand and a look of absolute horror on her face. She’d clearly heard what he’d said.

He reflexively moved toward her gesturing as if in supplication. “Lacey, I can ……..”

Crack!
Her hand hauled back and smacked him so hard he was staggered for a moment. From somewhere behind him, Cam heard Drae mutter,
Whoa!
He silently wished a hole would open up in the floor and swallow him whole before this awful moment got any messier.

“Fuck you, Cameron!” a white-faced Lacey screamed at him. “Who the fuck do you think you are?”

She had never uttered a single swear word in his presence until now. All three men gasped at her foul language.

“I can explain,” he gritted out, hating that Alex and Drae were witnessing what was essentially going to be his downfall.

“No!” she spat out as she slapped the stack of papers she’d been holding on the marble counter. Turning on him with both hands on her hips and a look of complete disgust on her face, she looked him up and down with derision dripping from her every pore. “There is no explaining
sloppy seconds
. Ever! You’re a fucking pig. And I hate you!”

Her words hit him square in the face even harder than the slap. He’d been right all along, that she was too good for him. Too real. Too honest. Look what he’d done to her. The self-loathing that lashed at his soul was too much for him to bear.
She hated him.

Escape seemed like the only option in the face of what had just detonated between them. He made for the door, looking back one last time, to see her shove trembling knuckles against her mouth as her body shook with the emotion she was choking back. Seeing her like that cracked open a hole in his heart. He really
was
broken now.

Lacey stood there frozen but not numb. No, the pain from what she’d overheard was tearing her apart inside. She’d been such a fool to hope they were moving to a better place in their relationship after last night.
They hadn’t shared anything but body fluids.
Sloppy seconds? How could he say that?
She felt sick.

She heard Alex, dear grumpy, disorganized Alex, issue a single terse command. All he needed to say was “Draegyn” in that tone he used that said it wasn’t a good idea not to obey. When Drae moved to go after Cameron, she snapped.

“Oh sure! Run after him, the poor thing. Y’know gentlemen, all that tortured soul bullshit is just that – BULLSHIT!” She almost laughed at the shocked expressions on both their faces but that didn’t stop her from saying what was on her mind.

“Shit happens. In everyone’s life. News flash! You three aren’t the only ones who’ve had bad things happen to them. The thing is though, in Cameron’s case at least, he’s still pissing and moaning about stuff that happened…what? Like decades ago? When is it enough? Seriously! Why does he get to cling to past hurts and traumas but everyone else is expected to move past such things? Run after him if you have to. Clearly, you’d know better than sloppy old me.”

Had she imagined it or did they both just cringe at her choice of words?
Exasperated she glanced around the big, modern kitchen where this strange turn of events had gone down. She liked it here, but this was Cameron’s home. He belonged here, not her. That Alex and Drae’s first instinct was to chase after him said a lot.

She was startled and it showed when Alex moved silently to her side and put his arm around her. “Honey, everything’s gonna be alright.” He tightened his hold on her and jostled her in a friendly way. “C’mon Lacey. Trust me, okay? Let me and Draegyn calm things down. We were taunting him when you walked up. He didn’t mean what he said. Really. He has a habit of running away from the obvious. We all do.” The look he and Drae exchanged was fraught with meaning that she didn’t understand.

“You don’t have to tell me he’s a runner, Alex. He’s been running from what’s been happening between us from the moment we met. I think the message is loud and clear. That’s what he does. I’m no different or more special than anything or anyone else he’s ever turned his back on.”

“Ah, but you are. That’s the whole point and if you hadn’t appeared when you had, I’m pretty sure he would have admitted just that … eventually. Please trust us, Lacey. Don’t do anything rash, okay?”

She nodded hesitantly but didn’t look at either man. Alex left her side and told Drae, “You know what to do.” Drae started to go after Cameron but stopped to squeeze her shoulder before leaving. His look asked her not to rush to judgment and she nodded again.

“I’m going back to work,” she announced twenty seconds after Draegyn left the room. “Those papers,” she pointed to the stack she’d thrown on the counter, “all need your signature.” Clearing her throat she shifted into business mode. “If you need me, you know where I’ll be.”

After leaving the house, Cam made a bee-line to the vehicle garage, jumped on an ATV and headed to his house. From there he grabbed a bottle of whiskey, his sunglasses, and a side-arm for good measure.

About two hours later Drae found him. By then he’d gotten as far as an old cabin, miles from the main area of the compound, where he’d pulled over and plopped down on an old rickety chair by the cabin’s door. A good portion of the whiskey bottle now stood empty, and a fence post some distance away was riddled with bullets from the inebriated target practice he’d been doing.

His old friend didn’t say anything, just climbed out of the truck he’d driven and sat down next to him. A minute went by and then, Drae’s hand shot out and took away the gun. Not that Cam minded. He hated guns. After the military, he’d had enough of that sort of thing. He wasn’t sure why he’d grabbed it in the first place.

Once the pistol had been safely put aside, Drae handed him an ice cold bottle of water. “Take it, dude. Either that or I’ll pour it down your throat myself.”

The heat from the mid-day sun was making his alcohol fueled brain fry so he grabbed the bottle, tore off the cap, and drank the entire thing to the head. “Thanks.”

Silence descended. Drae was waiting him out. Probably a smart move considering how crazy he’d been acting. In the end, he could only think of one thing to say. “Is she alright?”

Drae leaned forward with his forearms on his thighs and didn’t say anything at first. Cam got nervous because his friend was rarely so cautious or tentative.
Fuck
.
Was Lacey alright or not?
He hung his head, catching it with one hand, covering his eyes. The whiskey and the heat had given him a thumping good headache that one bottle of water wasn’t going to cure. The fact that his conscience had been screaming at him from the moment he left the Villa probably hadn’t helped.

Turning to the side with his head still supported by his hand he groaned at his friend, “Please.”

Draegyn straightened in the chair he’d claimed, throwing Cam a serious expression before finally responding. Unfortunately, it wasn’t the answer he wanted to hear.

“She said something after you left that I keep thinking about. Basically,” he snorted, “she accused the three of us of being whiney pussies when it comes to the past.” The smirk on his face told Cam her comment had hit its mark. “I think she may be right.” Grabbing another bottle of water from the rucksack he’d carried, Drae tossed it to Cam, and then retrieved one for himself.

They sat there, downing the water, each lost in their own thoughts about the meaning of her words. “Look at us, man. Successful in every sense of the word, with solid reputations, and more money than we need. But at the end of the day, I’m a fucked up trust-fund baby, Alex is shouldering the aftermath of an entire war, and then there’s you my old friend. You’ve been carrying a tremendous chip on your shoulder because of shit your mom did decades ago. Lacey reminded us in no uncertain terms that all of that is in the past. Dragging it along like luggage through our lives means we each need a personal valet just to handle our bullshit. She wasn’t wrong.”

Drae stood up and gathered his stuff, making moves to leave him alone. He still hadn’t told him whether she was alright or not. Cam started to ask again but got cut off.

“Are you in love with this woman? You do know it’s all right if you are. Fuck dude. If you can fall in love, maybe there’s hope for the whole world, y’know?”