Justice: A Billionaire Romance (7 page)

"Fuck you Carter," I shot back. We were in the gym, me needing time to work off my rage and frustration at the incident. I was stripped down to just my sports bra and compression shorts when Carter came in. He'd not said a word to me as he stripped down too, going with just his compression shorts. For nearly a half hour we'd worked out, each on our own routine, but not needing words. I knew that he'd been pissed off at me about the whole thing. Heck, I was pissed off at myself.

Now that he was speaking at least, I was letting some of that anger go at him. "You think I fucking planned to be assaulted by my boyfriend in the middle of the damn stadium?"

"I think you let your guard down," Carter replied. "Jesus, you knew he was temperamental, you've read the papers on the guy. How the hell you even started dating him is beyond me. Yeah, yeah he looks like a movie star, but he's an asshole."

"Something you know a lot about," I seethed. We were both dripping in sweat, and I couldn't help but notice Carter’s body. "You've been an asshole most of your life."

"Wha . . . ? I may be an asshole to you sometimes, but I'm an asshole because I care about you!" Carter yelled back at me. "I never want to see you hurt, and when I heard about . . . FUCK!"

Carter screamed and turned, going over to the heavy bags that were hanging near the walls. Punching out, his fists blasted into the leather, thunderous booms accompanying each blow. The sounds beat Carter's words into my head, and suddenly things about the way we acted together became so clear. I thought about the ways he was so strict about my gear when we went patrolling, or the way that he would always call dibs on the most dangerous-looking opponents the few times we'd had to fight so far. I thought of the way he pushed me on the mats training harder than even Mom or Dad did, and how the few times I’d gotten bruised or injured, it was at Carter's hands. Each time, he'd been concerned, but each time he'd push me that much harder, trying to exploit his advantages until I got better.

And that was the reason, too. He wanted me better, not to protect himself, but to protect me. I went over to Carter, who was still hitting the bag with blind frustration. I waited until the frustration died off, and he grabbed the bag, leaning his head against the leather, gasping. "What? I don't want to fight any more, Andi."

I didn't say anything, just went with what my instincts told me was the right thing to do. Touching his shoulder, I ran my hand down his arm until I took his hand. With my other hand I cupped his face, turning him towards me. The surprise in his eyes at my touch turned to hot desire as he saw my expression, and our lips came together in wordless juncture.

Pulling Carter with me, we crossed the short gap between the bags and the edge of the stretching mats, our lips never separating. Finally, kneeling down, I pulled back enough to speak. "No more fighting, Carter. Not between us."

I reached for the band of my sports bra underneath my breasts, stopping when Carter's hands grabbed mine. "Let me," he said, his voice different than before. He was dripping with arousal, but also something more, something no other man had ever expressed to me. I let my arms rest instead on the inside of his elbows as Carter lifted the bra up and pulled it off with my assistance. Supporting my head and back, he guided me to the ground, his eyes enraptured by what he saw in front of him. I'd never felt more beautiful in all my life.

Carter sat down, and I maneuvered to sit in his lap, swinging my leg over him. Taking his face in my hands, I kissed him again, our tongues touching for the first time in electric sparks of passion.

He seemed to know that what I needed was tenderness. We explored each other's mouths for long, blissful minutes, his arms holding me close to him. I could feel his cock inside his compression shorts, and knew how aroused he had to be.

Now, with Carter hard and throbbing beneath me, I knew how much he wanted me. "Carter," I said, pushing back just enough to speak again. "Carter . . . ”

"Andi?" he asked, stopping. We both knew the enormity of what we were doing it seemed, and if there was ever going to be a point that we stopped, it would have to be now.

It was at that moment that part of me knew Carter was the man for me, even though it took me weeks and months afterwards to realize it consciously. He stopped, respecting me, and giving me a choice. I could see the concern in his eyes, not for his chance to get his rocks off, but for me. It made my choice easy. "Make me feel good."

We kissed again, Carter's hands growing bolder. He reached down and squeezed my ass, a thrill shooting through my body as we explored each other. My hips rubbed back and forth, the thin layers of Lycra and underpants barely containing the heat coming from below. Still, the friction sent heat flooding my already warm body, and I let myself go with it.

"That's it," Carter said when I threw my head back, groaning thickly.

His voice galvanized my body, and within seconds I was shaking as my first orgasm rippled through me. I clutched Carter to me as I came, and for the first time his lips wrapped themselves around my nipples, adding to the wonderful sensation. When it passed, he stayed where he was, nursing and kissing slowly, letting my body come down slightly while still stoking the flames of our passion. Finally, I was able to relax, and pushed him back. "Time for me to see what you've been keeping down here."

I was perplexed momentarily by the nervousness in Carter's eyes as I reached for the waistband of his shorts, but my attention was soon drawn as his cock sprang out of its compressed prison.

"Holy fuck," I whispered, taking the massive erection in visually. "No wonder you looked nervous. Don’t worry, I’m no petite waif, Carter," I teased, wrapping my fingers around the base. Carter had a penchant for dating smaller women, girls who he dwarfed. "I think it looks damn sexy."

I pumped Carter's cock slowly, relishing the look on his face as the sensations filled his body. Letting go momentarily, I pulled my shorts down, clenching in the relative chill of the air in the gym. Grabbing his cock again, I swung myself up and over, holding him at my entrance. I looked him in the eye, wanting to savor this moment. Regardless of what else happened, I knew that from this moment on, we'd never be the same again.

Sinking down, I let gravity take care of the work of letting Carter fill me. With each inch, it felt like not only was I being filled, but my mind was opening, my heart unlocking to places that it had never been before. I'd found the man who was perfect for me, and even though I'd been looking for years, he was closer than I could have ever expected.

Finally, with a small squeak of astonishment, I realized that Carter was all the way inside me. "So big."

"Are you okay?” Carter asked nervously, his hands coming to my waist to ease me up if I needed it. They relaxed when I nodded my head, grinning down at him.

"Carter, this is the best feeling I've ever had in my life," I said.

I lifted myself up and sank down again, this time using my thighs to control myself, letting each inch of the pleasure sear its way into my memory. I was grinning like a fiend when I settled down again, and looked Carter in the eyes once more. "Tell me this is as good for you as it is for me.”

Carter nodded, his nervousness evaporating and a smile spreading on his face. "You have no idea."

I began to ride him, letting my instincts take over, sliding back and forth on top of him. Faster and faster my hips slid back and forth, each time his hard cock sliding deep inside me, filling me better than I could’ve imagined. I pitched forward, my breasts pressed against his chest while we kissed, lifting myself up and down on his cock. Both of us were moaning, unable to form words, but not needing to.

It should have lasted hours, and later on it would. But that first time, both of us were so worked up, there was no way we could hold back. We were hungry for each other, and it wasn't long before Carter's hands came to my waist. Holding me still, he began to thrust upward, faster and faster, until an explosion went off inside me and the world went temporarily gray as I climaxed a second time. In that moment, he lifted me up, pulling out as he came.

Afterwards, I lay on the mats with Carter, our clothes still discarded on the side, nestled in his arms. "Why?" he asked, kissing my forehead.

"Why what?" I answered. "Why you, or why now?"

"Both, I guess," he said.

"I could ask you the same thing," I said. "I didn't think I was your type, with your penchant for teeny-tiny types."

Carter chuckled. "I could probably give you some half baked psych analysis from Sophie’s old books, but I'm not going to worry about it. I'm just glad we did."

"
A
ndi
? Yo, Earth to Andrea?"

I shook my head, looking up at Riley, who was grinning at me. His cowl over his eyes, but he was uncovered from the nose down, and he was certainly amused. "Yeah, what's up?"

"You need a nap or something?" Riley asked. "You've been spacing out for quite a while over there."

I shook my head. "Sorry. Just lost in the memories. Your mentioning Alex Young got me thinking about him."

Riley laughed quietly. "Yeah. Hey, did you read? He actually did sign a contract with New England during the off season. Though it was for the veteran minimum instead of the big money contract he was hoping for.”

“Well, on the positive side, that was the first night Carter and I got together."

"I know," Riley said. When I looked at him surprised, he laughed. "Oh, you and Carter played it off for a while, so I don't know if Mom or Dad knew, but Barb and I knew right away. She came to my room that night in fact."

"What did she say?" I asked, curious. The area next to the Circle K was still pretty quiet, our sensors weren't saying anything.

Riley shook his head. “I don’t remember exactly, but you know her.”

One of our sensors began to give off its ultrasonic beep. "We've got movement," Riley said, checking it out. The sensors were designed to only trigger if a group of four or more in a tight configuration came into range. "Let's look."

Riley looked out over the area, while I gathered up our sensors. Thankfully they collapsed into a pack smaller than my forearm and could be attached to various points on my costume. "What do we have?"

"Six white males, two of them with shaved heads, all of them rocking Doc Martens or jungle boots," Riley said. "What do you think?"

"Duh," I retorted with a smirk. "Think they could have been any more obvious?"

Riley shook his head, and pulled his directional mike from his pants pocket. He tapped the side, then flashed me two upheld fingers. I changed my cowl's radio over to frequency two, so I could listen to the same thing as him.

The feed was clear as a bell, so much better than the microphones that Dad and Patrick had used. It was nearly as good as standing next to the group.

"
So where are you meeting them tonight?
"

I looked down, and saw that most of the group was gathered around two of the others, who were obviously the leaders. I guessed that one of the group gathered around had asked the question. The young gang member continued. "
I mean, if we're supposed to put this new product on the streets, we have to have some, even if it's just samples.
"

"
What do you know about it?
" one of the other members asked. "
I mean, is this supposed to make you fly, chill, buzz, what?
"

"
From what Mr. Clean's people told me, it's supposed to turn you into Superman
," one of the men said. "
Dunno what the fuck that means, but that's what they promised me.
"

"Drop in or wait?" Riley asked. "Part of me wants to kick some ass."

I shook my head, holding up my hand. "We need intel more than intimidation. You're recording this?"

"Of course," Riley whispered back. "It's automatic."

I nodded, knowing my gear was set up the same way, but it had been a while since Riley did such a job. I turned my attention back to the conversation below.

"
What if one of the masked people show up?
" one of the Eighty-Eights asked. "
They've been more active recently.
"

"
Mr. Clean's people assure me that the Fire and Ice group won't be an issue. Apparently, one of them won't even be in action for a while soon anyway.
"

The words shook me, and I looked over at Riley, who shrugged. Could there be someone that knew or suspected who we were? There was no time for discussion about it now, we had to gather information first. Analysis would come later.

"
Who's going to be occupado?
" one of the Eighty-Eights asked. "
Please tell me I'm going to find Ice Princess tied up in my bed. My birthday's next week, and I could use an early present.
"

What was it with street criminals having a hard-on for me? "
You wish. No, Mr. Clean's people said they are taking out Crimson Justice tonight. He was seen heading out towards the airport. They take him out, and the other two will be easy.
"

My eyes widened, and I looked at Riley. Time to move. I switched my comm unit back to the main frequency, leaving Riley behind to get the gear while I put distance between the Eighty-Eights and me. "Mom!"

"Honey, not now," Mom's voice came back, tense. "Carter's got a situation."

No shit.

T
he first sign
of trouble was the fact that I was able to penetrate so deeply into the airport without any sign of security. I mean, I'm good, but I'm not
that
stealthy, and I should have had to work for it. Instead, I practically walked into the private cargo area of the airport without even having to look twice over my shoulder. Ever since the terror incident five years ago down in Miami, the TSA had been much stricter than before. Not enough to stop someone with my level of training, but still it made penetrating the airport a challenge.

Not that night, that was for sure. I jumped the security fence with ease, landing in the grass in between the sensors that the airport had installed, and quickly hopped again before the sweeping radar beams could pick me out. "I'm in, Sophie.”

Sophie was working communications for us that night, and would have a hot mic for me the whole time. "Understood, Carter. When the other two patch in, I'll tie you in too if you want."

"Sounds good. I'm going to check out the small spots near the swamps first, then work my way toward the east."

"Okay," she said. "Just remember, you get out of there as soon as you see any trouble. I don’t want to send Mark after you."

"Is he on backup?" I asked, surprised and touched. Mark had done a patrol with Riley a few days before, but he wasn't an active fighter any longer. Sure, he was in pretty good shape, but he was fifty now. He didn't need this kind of life any longer.

"He insisted," Sophie told me. "His comment to me was that there was no way in hell he wasn't going to give his baby girl her wedding. So if you get yourself killed, he might just dig you up, resuscitate you, and then kill you again."

"What's he packing?" I asked. "He doesn't have a suit like mine."

"That’s not going to stop him," Sophie said. "I checked in with him, he's at the strike base now, and he's loaded for bear. Both Glocks, and his SCAR-H chambered in 7.62."

I whistled. With the rise of more modern rounds and pistols like what I carried, warriors like Mark who’d learned on so-called 'dumb rifles' had faced a new generation of threats. On the surface, his skills were out of date. After all, any idiot with enough money could drop a couple of thousand on a high tech device like what I carried, and have something that could be recoilless and fire straight as a laser.

But there was a disadvantage to my generation of weapons, our stuff was both fueled and hamstrung by technology. A magnetic pulse or even just forgetting to charge the damn thing could leave you with nothing more than a very expensive paperweight. Also, while I carried some weapons that could be heavy duty, the trend for over fifty years had been toward smaller and smaller rounds, which meant less penetration, less lethality at long distance.

Mark didn't have any of those problems. I'd seen the man with his Glocks on the pistol range, and knew he could damn near out-shoot a laser guided pistol with just his instincts and his skills. Add to that the SCAR-H he carried on his back, and he was a one man walking destruction crew. Between the two of us, we'd probably be able to take on a platoon of Marines without an issue.

"Well, let's make sure the only thing he has to do is drive home and give you a back rub," I replied with a chuckle. "Think we can do that?"

"For sure. By the way, he's listening in, so watch things, okay?"

"Understood. So no movie lines tonight?"

"None that could be construed as being inappropriate to say to your parents," Sophie said with a laugh. I liked it when Sophie was on comms, she could blend humor with seriousness very easily with me. That, and her use of the term
parent
really was true with her, she was like a second mother to me.

"Gotcha. Once more unto the breach then, dear friends."

Sophie’s chuckle caused me to smile, and I proceeded with my investigation. After checking in with Riley and Andi, I finished up the first set of warehouses. I hadn't expected much there after the explosion Mark caused years ago. Almost nobody used the old sites anymore; they'd acquired an unlucky reputation. Each and every business that tried to move into the old Confederation warehouses at the airport seemed to run into business trouble. It wasn't even trouble caused by Dad and Mark, either. Just bad luck.

I headed east, towards the area that I knew was more likely. Modern smugglers and drug runners didn't use a centralized warehousing system like the Confederation had, they just didn't have the power or influence any longer. However, they did still try to bring in as much of their stuff as they could by air, since it was faster and could be processed quicker.

Things stayed boring for nearly an hour, with me checking first the normal warehouses, then doing a quick sweep of the FedEx warehouse. It didn't happen often, but some criminals liked to try and slip something in through the massive processing center, depending on an inside contact to get things out.

I was just about to give up for the night, but there was one more set of buildings to check. They actually belonged to the Air National Guard, which is the main reason why I didn't want to go over there. Sure, I may be able to take on the military, but that didn’t mean I wanted to.

Sighing, I talked with Sophie. "Hey Sophie, I'm going to check out the ANG buildings quickly, then head out. Whatever they're bringing in, it's either not tonight, or it's not coming in via air. You should talk with Mark, see if he wants us to check the rail or the trucking lines next."

"Will do," she replied. "By the way, Mark told me that after tonight, the three of you are taking at least a few days off, until after the wedding. Riley can keep things under control until you two get back. Also, we'll talk to Barbara, she's flying in tomorrow too, remember."

"I remember," I said with a laugh. "But Barb has never taken to this side of the family business. She's too much like Mom."

"Which is a very good thing in my opinion," Sophie said. It was true, Mom — Tabby — is awesome. And nobody could ever say she lacks for guts. But Mom and Barbara both just don’t have the desire and personality to be willing to do what the rest of us did. I mean, I've seen Mom on business deals be absolutely ruthless, but at the same time she cries over a shivering puppy on TV. She's generous to a fault when it comes to personal pain and suffering, and could never deal with the hands-on application of violence.

Barbara is the same way. When we were kids, she'd be the one who played with dolls and had been the
girly-girl
, and while I know that makes me sound sexist or something, I'm not trying to be. Any girl who went on to be as outgoing socially as Barb, can’t be called weak or less-than in any way. But, she also wasn't blood and guts like me and Riley, or even able to segregate her feminine side from her ruthless side like Andi.

“Sophie, Barb's great, but you know that she's not for this stuff. Turn her loose on the computer or research side though, and she's a whiz."

"She can still help Riley, you know," Sophie replied. "You guys didn't get those nicknames for no reason. The streets gave them to you."

"Okay, point taken. But still . . . ”

I shouldn't have been talking. I should have been paying more attention to my surroundings, but that's one of my weak points. The guy hit me from the side, knocking me to the ground and I rolled, getting to my knees. "Well, a playmate."

"What's going on?” Sophie asked.

"I have some new friends to play with," I said, looking as the man who knocked me down was joined by another. They were pretty average-sized, and the guy must have just caught me at the right off-balance point in order to knock me down the way he did. I grinned, and focused on my opponents.

"Come on guys, two of you against one of me? You don't stand a chance," I said, pulling out a carryover from Dad's gear that I liked, the escrima stick. Instead of Dad's aluminum version, mine was a little more high tech, using polycarbonate and carbon fiber to make it as strong as steel but as light as a feather, and it was one of my favorite hand-to-hand weapons. Neither of these guys were carrying firearms from what I could see in the dim light, and they didn't have suits on that would give them my abilities either. Actually, they just looked like two somewhat athletic guys wearing cargo pants and t-shirts.

"You gon' find out, hero boy," one of them said, his voice already panting. Seriously, they both sounded like they’d just gotten done running a four hundred meter sprint after about a thousand pushups. I was worried they'd have a heart attack instead of being able to fight me. "You gon' find out."

The one on the left, who hadn't been talking, attacked, and I was surprised at how fast the guy moved. I mean, I've trained with Mark and Riley, who are both fast, but this guy was
fast
. I barely had the chance to get my stick around in front of me before the guy's right arm shot out in a punch, catching me in the chest.

"Fuck!" I swore. That
hurt
. How in the blue hell does a guy with nothing but his bare fist hurt me through my suit? I'd taken nine millimeter pistol shots at relatively close range and barely felt them. What the hell was this?

"Told you," the other one said, jumping in with his attack. Both of them were sloppy attackers, barely more than street thugs who could throw hands, but with the power and speed both of them were showing, I was stunned. They drove me back, out from between the buildings I'd been moving in and out onto a side flight line.

I caught the first guy, who hadn't said anything yet, as he threw a huge looping overhand right. Using my stick I turned, letting his own momentum throw him over my hip before falling to the pavement hard. He could have been stunned, but I didn't want to give him a chance, and nailed him in the top of the head with my stick. The stick was designed so that an actual killing blow is very difficult in one shot, but a knockout isn't. Still, the guy tried to get up, so I hit him again, this time in the back of the neck near the base of the skull, dropping him.

I didn't know if he was knocked out or possibly killed, but I couldn't waste time checking. His partner attacked again, this time with a punch that I blocked, but a sharp flare of pain went through me as it did. Somehow, someway, my shoulder had just been dislocated. Groaning, I kicked out, playing dirty. Sure, it's not the most warrior-like of maneuvers, but everyone drops from a kick to the balls, especially when it's enhanced by my suit which would let me kick hundred yard field goals if I wanted.

He dropped as well, and I staggered off. I heard more footsteps approaching from out of the darkness, and I decided discretion was the better part of valor. My chest hurt like hell, my left shoulder was on fire, and I didn't know what the hell was going on. So I did what I had to do, and ran.

Sophie held her tongue until I was at least a little ways away. "Report."

That's something about Sophie that I can appreciate. She'll joke and smile, allow a bit more of my personality than Mark or Dad does on coms, but when things are tense, she's all business. She'd heard at least some of what had gone down, and knew I was in trouble. "Two unarmed attackers, I disabled them both. Retreating, more coming, don't know how many."

"Do you need backup?" She asked. I knew Mark would make his own decision, but I didn't want him there. Not with as fast as those guys moved.

“No. I’ll need medical treatment when I get home."

“What kind of injuries?"

"Dislocated shoulder, maybe bruised some ribs," I said. Fire coursed through my chest, and I thought that perhaps I had a bit more than just some bruising to my ribs, but if I told Sophie or Mark over the line that I'd possibly fractured something, he'd be on the road before I could tell him not to. "I can ride."

"We'll be ready when you get home."

O
ne of the
reasons that the gym portion of Mount Zion takes up so much space is that, in addition to the weight training equipment, martial arts equipment, and gymnastics equipment that each demand their own space, but a third of the building, not visible to anyone who might come by and be invited into the facility, was a condensed medical clinic. Sophie had continued with her medical training as the years went on, and had even gotten Mom to become a pretty decent ad-hoc assistant when shit really hit the fan. By the time I got back, steering my motorcycle half drunkenly due to the pain in my shoulder, the two of them had the clinic ready to go. Mom's eyes were filled with worry, but she was a lot more composed than she had been the first time she saw Dad with a bullet hole, at least according to her story.

"Sweetie," Mom said before getting control of herself. "All right, let's get that suit off."

I felt strange, letting my own mother help me off with my clothes. I hadn't needed Mom's help with my clothes since I was about four, but there was no way I could lift my arm up above my head to get my outfit off. Thankfully, the sleeves had zips that ran down the inside of the elbow for just this sort of incident. Mark planned for a lot of contingencies. After unzipping up my torso and along the underside of my arms, the front half peeled off while the back half sagged down, exposing me to the waist. "Glad I don't have a suit like Andi," I said, shivering in the air conditioned chill. "That one-piece body suit wouldn’t be good in a time like this."

Mom and Sophie said nothing, easing me up against a diagnostic panel. Using a couple of blind drop businesses, MJT had acquired a lot of the same stuff used on the International Space Station and aboard US Navy aircraft carriers. While Sophie couldn't do an MRI in the space we had, she could do a lot. "Hold still," she said, going over across the room. "Let's take a look inside."

The system Sophie used wasn't X-rays, I knew that much, but other than that, I'm pretty much clueless. I'm trained in field medical techniques, but I let the details on the medicine go to those who were interested in it. In my opinion, I thought that Riley was the one most likely to follow in his mother's footsteps. In five seconds, a complete body scan of my upper body appeared on screen. "Jesus."