Love or Justice Read online

  Dante snorted.

  “Do you honestly expect anyone to believe that? You have trouble written all over you in capital letters.” He turned to her with a smirk.

  Laurie closed the couple of steps between them with a slow stride. She got as close to Dante as possible without touching him. She turned her face up to him, and gave him a seductive half-smile. God, she knew how to make a man burn for her.

  “Well, if you don’t like it, Mr. Stark, then why don’t you leave?”

  “Can’t do that, ma’am. I have to protect you.” He placed his hands on either side of her waist.

  “Hmmmm. Who’s supposed to protect me from you?” She locked her hands around his neck.

  “I wish I knew.”

  He brushed his lips against hers. Then he licked at her lower lip.

  Now that his desire for Laurie had been unleashed, Dante knew he wouldn’t be able to contain it again. Even though he knew what he risked to have her, there was something about her that compelled him against reason. He simply lost all sense of direction when he looked at her. He bent his head and caressed her lips with his again, because it was the only thing he could think about. Laurie sighed and broke away from him with a smile of apology so they could finish putting everything away.

  Laurie took Dante’s hand and led him into the bedroom. Laurie kissed him and they sat down on the rumpled blue bedspread, holding one another.

  Just as he took hold of one plump breast, a car door slammed outside the house. He lifted Laurie in his arms, carrying her to the closet. He set her on her feet with rough, hurried hands.

  “Stay here until I come and get you. Go in the safe room if I call out. Don’t move from this spot.”

  Dante took out his gun and left her, fear twisting his heart. Adrenaline pumped through his veins as he moved toward the front of the house. He could hear footsteps approaching. He checked out the living room window and saw two familiar faces.

  Instead of relief, Dante felt disappointment. He had hoped for another hour or two alone with Laurie before his reinforcements showed up. That wasn’t going to happen. With resignation, he opened the front door.

  “Dante,” greeted the tall, thin man on his right. The two men entered and shut the door. “Boss told us you needed some extra hands.”

  “Dean, John.” Dante nodded to each in turn. “I think that’s a bit of an understatement.”

  Dean, the shorter of the two men, sat down on the arm of the couch. He stretched his legs out in front of him as he balanced there. He was a bit stocky. He had a round, youthful face set with brilliant green eyes. Dante had last seen Dean with a military crew cut, but now he wore it a few inches longer, and gelled to a spiked point near his forehead. Dean leaned toward Dante, crossing his arms.

  “David was killed last night? Is it true?” His usual lazy grin was gone, a look of grave concern in its place.

  “Yes,” Dante winced.

  “Jesus Christ. How many assailants?” John sat down next to Dean on the couch.

  John was taller than Dean. In fact, he was Dean’s opposite in many ways. John was lanky, with dirty blonde hair and light blue eyes. When Dean would laugh, John would glare. When John wanted pizza, Dean wanted to order sandwiches. They couldn’t be more different from one another. Yet, right now, John wore the same concerned expression Dean wore.

  “Four. All dead.” Dante crossed his arms, rocking back on his heels.

  There was stunned silence, as both men shook their heads.

  “Well, at least you got ’em. That part of the night went right.” Dean leaned back.

  Dante cracked a wan smile, while John glowered at Dean. Then Dante heard a noise behind him, soft footsteps approaching from the hallway. He turned to see Laurie enter the room. He scowled at her.

  “I told you not to move until I came and got you.” He turned to her, hands on his hips.

  “I could hear you all talking. They’re obviously other Marshals.” Laurie gestured to the new arrivals.

  “I told you not to move until I came and got you,” Dante repeated.

  Laurie rolled her eyes, sighing.

  “Dante, is this your wife or your witness?” John smirked at him.

  “Yeah, man. Why weren’t we invited to the wedding? I thought we were friends.” Dean raised his eyebrows at him.

  They were both grinning from ear to ear. Dante fought the smile and shot them what he hoped was a warning look.

  Laurie laughed nervously.

  “I’m Laurie.” She extended a hand to John.

  “I’m John.” John shook her hand. He had an easy, broad grin as he looked Laurie over.

  “Dean.” Dean grasped her hand after John.

  “Now tell us honestly, do you need protection from Kaimi or from this one?” John gestured to Dante.

  Laurie blushed, flicking her eyes at Dante in mild alarm.

  Dante watched Dean appraise Laurie from head to toe while she looked at John. Perfect. Just perfect. The one thing these two could agree on had to be that Laurie was worth drooling over.

  “All right, you two.” Dante fought the urge to drag Laurie back to her room and lock the door. “We had a rough night last night. Stop giving us a hard time.”

  He caught Laurie by the elbow and led her to the couch.

  “Put your stuff in the rooms on the right down the hall and come back so I can brief you.” Dante nodded to the hallway. Dean and John both picked up their bags.

  Dante sat down with Laurie in front of the TV. She stared up at him, smiling. Dante held her hand for the few minutes he knew he had, silently mourning the hour or two alone with her. He ran his thumb over her palm a few times, then gave her hand a squeeze. He let go of it when he heard footsteps coming back down the hall.

  “All right, boss. We’re ready for the download.” Dean bounded into the living room.

  “Kitchen.” Dante jerked his head in that direction. He looked at Laurie. “Please stay here until we’re finished.”

  “Okay, okay. I will.” Laurie shot daggers at him with her eyes.

  Dante smiled in spite of himself as he headed into the kitchen. Dean and John were sitting at the kitchen table waiting on him. He briefed them on Kaimi’s kidnapping job, Laurie’s encounter with him, and everything that had happened with Laurie since he took her into protective custody. Well, almost everything.

  “Damn, she’s been attacked twice already? God, he really wants her dead.” John shook his head.

  “He should. No one’s ever been able to place him in direct connection to a crime. Once we find him, Laurie’s testimony will put him out of work for a long, long time.” Dante ran his hand over Laurie’s file folder. “Now—some ground rules. Given the severity of the situation, Laurie goes nowhere without us. Rick gave us permission to take her out hiking while we were at Hilo, but after last night, that’s no longer an option I’m willing to take. Laurie knows this. She knows she can’t have contact with any family members or friends unless it’s through me.”

  “Mob wives have had more freedom than that. No wonder she doesn’t want to listen to you.” Dean took a sip of his soda, grinning at Dante over the rim.

  “She’s doing just fine with it.” Dante glared. “I will want you two to get some sleep. I’m putting you both on night shift, since I won’t know this Marshal from California, or how much experience he’ll have. I want perimeter sweeps every half-hour, equipment checks every day. I want you both to keep your bags packed at all times, so we can move at a moment’s notice. If anything happens—anything—the first priority is to get Laurie somewhere safe. Is that clear?”

  They nodded.

  “Good. One more thing.” Dante took a breath and lowered his voice. “Laurie has a problem with nightmares. She might seem steady, even content, during the day, but by night, it’s a different story. You might hear her call out for help or to me directly. I’m in the room next to her. I’ll deal with it. She’s used to me waking her up from the nightmare. I don’t want anyone she’s n
ot familiar with doing it. Understood?”

  They nodded, the two men exchanging solemn glances.

  “Good. Get some rest. You take over for me at 10:00 p.m.”

  “What about dinner?” John looked alarmed. “We haven’t eaten yet.”

  “Right. Yeah, Laurie and I got groceries earlier. Fix whatever you want and we’ll eat later.” Dante got up from the table.

  Dean grinned, opening his mouth to say something, but Dante folded his arms. Dean kept ginning but thought better of his comment.

  Satisfied, Dante turned and went into the living room.

  “See, I do follow directions.” Laurie gave him a look of feigned innocence as he sat down beside her.

  “Picking and choosing which directions to follow doesn’t count as following directions.” He turned on his laptop.

  “Have you worked with these men before?” Laurie lowered her voice.

  “Yeah, I have. John and I entered the Marshals Service together. Dean has been in for about two years. They’re good men.” He watched her fidget with the remote and waited.

  “Are they married? Do they have kids?” She studied the remote.

  Dante leaned back into the sofa, looking at her. He wished he could hold her hand, but he knew he couldn’t.

  “They’re not David, Laurie.”

  She looked up at him, sadness sweeping her expression.

  “All of these men have families of some kind. They’re all highly trained. They know the risks.”

  Laurie nodded. She looked away and went back to fidgeting with the remote.

  Dante studied her for a few minutes. Then he turned back to his computer.

  “Dante?”

  “Yeah?” He looked back to her.

  “Have you talked to Cheyn yet? Or Max?”

  “No, I haven’t. Why don’t we call them and see how they’re doing?”

  “Yes, I’d like to do that.”

  “Okay.” He gave her leg a squeeze right above the knee.

  He pulled out his cell phone, dialing one of the numbers Rick had e-mailed to him earlier. The phone rang and rang, but no one picked up. He left a message. He tried the other one, with the same result. Laurie went back to studying the remote.

  “They probably took them for tests, or they might be sleeping. We’ll call again tomorrow, if they don’t call us back first.” He squeezed her leg again.

  She nodded, turning back to the mindless TV show.

  Dante watched her for a minute. He wished he could comfort her, put his arm around her, something. But he didn’t dare. He dashed off an e-mail to Rick, asking about Cheyn and Max. If he had lost another team member due to complications or problems, he didn’t know what he would do.

  He started working on his report just as John and Dean finished dinner and wandered into the living room. John sat down on the arm of the sofa right next to Laurie. Dean flopped down on the chair next to her. Laurie didn’t seem to notice, she was lost in her own thoughts, but Dante clenched his jaw. He stopped typing and began tapping the top of the laptop with his index finger.

  “So what do you like to do during the day, Laurie? Play card games? Watch movies?” John bent over her with a smile.

  “Oh, I read or watch TV, sometimes we watch movies.” Laurie looked up at him, but she didn’t smile back.

  “I can teach you poker. We taught our last witness poker. He kind of got a little too good at it, but we can teach you.” Dean leaned forward until he brushed against her knee.

  Dante felt the muscles in his neck and shoulders tighten.

  “Maybe.” Laurie shrugged.

  “What kind of books do you like to read?” John clasped his hands in his lap.

  “Well, I’ve almost finished my law degree, so I read books related to that, but I’ll read almost anything.” Laurie shifted away from John and Dean.

  “Wow, law school. We have a very smart woman here gentleman.” John tapped her on her shoulder.

  Laurie gave him a half-smile.

  “Didn’t I tell you two you were starting a shift in a few hours? What happened to getting some sleep?” Dante interrupted.

  “Come on, Dante, you know I don’t need much sleep. I can stay up for hours, no problem.” Dean winked at Laurie.

  “I had two team members on last night who thought the same thing, and they both ended up in the hospital. Now, I need you both alert tonight. I’m not joking. Go get some sleep. Now.” Dante gripped the pillow next to him to keep him from launching out of his seat.

  “All right, all right, boss. We’re going!” Dean got up.

  John stared at Dante, not moving. Dante stared back. Neither budged for a minute. Then John gave up and slowly got to his feet. He walked out of the living room, disappearing into the hallway.

  “That was a little harsh.” Laurie turned to him. Dante looked at her.

  “I don’t have the luxury of being lenient anymore.”

  Laurie lowered her gaze, staring at the remote again. Her cheeks were pale, a frown creased her forehead and the corners of her mouth. She poked at the remote buttons with her long, slender fingers. Dante sighed.

  “Why don’t we fix dinner?” He forced a smile. “We can make that tomato sauce you wanted to try.”

  Laurie’s gazed flicked up to meet his. She considered him for a moment, then put the remote down on the coffee table.

  Relieved, Dante put away the laptop, leading her into the kitchen. He got out the pots they needed.

  Laurie pulled out the magazine she saw the recipe in. She took the ingredients from the refrigerator. Conversing little, they set about chopping onions, tomatoes, garlic, and herbs for the sauce.

  Dante stirred until he got restless, then Laurie took over. He started boiling the water for the pasta. By the time the noodles were ready, the sauce bubbled merrily.

  They sat next to each other at one end of the long kitchen table. Laurie’s somber expression finally got to him, and Dante covered her hand with his.

  She looked up at him and gave him a small smile. It was a start.

  “I know it’s been hard.I know loosing David was awful, but we’ll get through this.”

  Laurie’s smile brightened. She leaned over, kissing him on the cheek.

  Warmth spread through his chest, and he smiled back at her. He continued to hold her hand as they ate dinner, both trying not to say or do anything that would further upset the other.

  Dante didn’t attempt to work after dinner. Laurie wanted to watch TV to get her mind off everything. Dante agreed without much protest. She sat on the couch, close to him. He stretched his arm over the back of the couch. Around 10:00 p.m., Dante heard a door open down the hall.

  Laurie scooted over to the end of the couch.

  Dante threw her a smile right before John appeared.

  Laurie said hello to him. She pushed herself up from the couch to go the bathroom and get ready for bed.

  Dante was relieved. He didn’t want another scene like the one earlier. Dante followed shortly thereafter. He entered his room, and then crept through the adjoining closet into Laurie’s room. He waited.

  When she returned from the shower, Dante stood just inside the bedroom door. The moment the door closed, he tugged her to him, wrapping his arms around her. They stood there like that for several minutes, as Dante kissed her forehead, her cheeks, and her lips. He nuzzled her neck, licking her freshly scrubbed skin. When he started moving her toward the bed, Laurie chuckled at him.

  “Shhhh. We have to be quiet. They’re right down the hall.” Dante kissed her silent.

  “Sorry,” she mouthed.

  He gave her a lingering, slow kiss. One of his hands tangled in her hair, while the other slid down to the soft curves of her backside. He was amazed at how her touch could make him feel so alive. Heat washed over every place they touched. He ached for her.

  Dante laid her down on the bed. He pulled the nightgown off her then kneaded her breasts with his palms, grazing the nipples with his thumbs. He ran the bac
k of his fingers down the smooth skin of her abdomen, and then massaged the sensitive flesh of her thighs. Every stroke was careful, deliberate, as he sought to heighten her desire.

  Laurie ran her hands up his chest, sliding her hands underneath his t-shirt. He worked himself out of his own clothes. Then he made love to her again, but this time it was slow and sweet. They savored every minute as if tomorrow would never come.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  Laurie

  Laurie woke up in a haze. She lay in a ball on her side, knees drawn up toward her chest. She could feel Dante behind her, his chest pressed against her back. His right arm draped over hers, his hand covering hers. She curled under his chin, so his head rested lightly on the back of her head. She wondered if he was subconsciously trying to shield her from the door. She smiled at the thought.

  Laurie felt his deep, even breathing. He was fast asleep, and she didn’t want to wake him. She studied his strong hand. He had knobby knuckles; strong, thick fingers, and a fleshy palm wrapped in his caramel complexion. How on earth had she ended up with such a lover? He was nothing like the previous men she dated.

  She had dated rarely, but when she did, the men were bookish types. Frail, thin men who wore sweaters into class because of the air conditioning. She didn’t date gun-toting, life-saving, strong, and silent types. Yet she felt a profound sense of comfort and ease tucked beside this man she hardly knew.

  Laurie found herself wondering what it would be like starting a new life without Dante around. He had been her guide in this horrifying adventure. She would only have a few more days with him. Would he have the opportunity to write to her, to call her? Would he want to? Was this was just a mindless fling for him? Laurie sighed. Being lovers for a few days seemed insufficient. She felt a pang of loss more sharp than giving up her friends and her life at the resort. The cost of testifying at this trial rose every day.

  Dante stirred, coughed. Then he nuzzled the back of her head. Laurie stretched out her legs for a second and Dante moved his head so he was cheek to cheek with her.

  “Morning.” She turned her head to kiss his cheek.

  “Go back to sleep,” he whispered back.