Love or Justice Read online

  She chuckled at him, but she didn’t move.

  He pulled her flush against his naked body.

  “Isn’t the new guy supposed to come soon?”

  “Yes.” Dante’s eyes remained firmly closed.

  “Don’t you have to change shifts with John and Dean?” Laurie prodded him with her elbow.

  “Maybe.”

  Laurie chuckled, rolling over onto her back beneath him.

  He growled at her.

  “I’m trying to sleep, Ms. Shelton.”

  “I don’t want you to get in trouble.”

  Dante opened one eye to survey her pointed expression. Then he opened both eyes and yawned, stretching out his limbs. Dante gave Laurie a lazy smile before he brushed her lips with his. Then he rolled over to look at the clock. It was almost 10:00 a.m.

  “You’re right. Time to get up.”

  He rolled out of bed and grabbed the jeans and t-shirt he had worn three days earlier. He buckled his gun into place and ran his fingers through his hair.

  Laurie sat up on the bed, her arms wrapped around her knees. She watched him, still wondering at how they came to be together.

  He walked over to her. He ran his hand over her crown of sunlit hair. Then he bent down and kissed her forehead.

  Laurie leaned back so he could brush her lips with his.

  “Gotta go to work.”

  She laughed.

  Laurie dressed slowly, taking pains to look nice. She brushed out her hair, her thoughts filled with the man who just left the room. When she went into the living room, she waved a greeting at John and Dean. They were absorbed in their TV show.

  In the kitchen, Dante was sitting at the table. He was so engrossed in his thoughts, he didn’t hear Laurie come in behind him.

  She took one look at him scowling at his phone and became concerned.

  “Dante?”

  His head snapped up. He straightened himself. Then he forced a smile.

  “It’s nothing,” he replied to her questioning look. “It was just Rick calling to say the new guy would be here any minute.”

  She looked him over for a moment, but decided to let it pass.

  “What do you want for breakfast?” She came up beside him.

  “Anything is fine.” He got up and went to the coffee maker, avoiding her completely.

  Laurie stared at his back for a moment. Then she sighed and made her way to the refrigerator to get out the eggs and bread. She made them both omelets, while Dante stared at the toaster like it had offended him this morning. They sat down at the table. Before they started eating, Laurie reached over and squeezed his hand. As he looked up, she gave him a reassuring smile. It worked. The scowl on his face slipped away. He smiled back, and squeezed her hand before he let her go.

  “Boss, I think the new guy’s here.”

  Dante excused himself from the table and went into the living room.

  Laurie listened from the kitchen, wondering what could possibly be bothering him.

  “I take it you’re Jason,” said Dante.

  “Yes, sir,” Jason said. He had a deep, booming male voice.

  “Welcome. I’m glad you’re here. You can put your things in one of the rooms on the right down the hall. Then come back here. I’ll brief you.”

  Laurie wandered in from the kitchen.

  Dante introduced Jason to Laurie when he came back from putting down his bags, and then Dean and John decided to head to bed.

  Jason was a quiet character, solemn.

  Laurie sat on the couch reading.

  Dante sat writing his report beside her.

  Jason sat in the chair, reading a magazine or the newspaper.

  Laurie did manage to draw Jason out a tiny bit. She learned he was from San Francisco, and he was divorced from his first wife. He had a four-year-old boy he showed Laurie pictures of on his phone.

  “He told me yesterday he wants to be a police officer for Halloween.” Jason grinned, but Laurie thought of David.

  Jason put his phone back in his pocket. He stood up from where he had perched on the arm of the couch beside her.

  “Wonder where he got that idea from.” Laurie toyed with the remote.

  Jason’s smile stretched up to his eyes, but he didn’t say anything. He excused himself, as he retreated into the hallway toward the bathroom.

  Laurie stared at his retreating back as the young man strode away.

  Laurie’s eyes fell to the cover of her book, sitting in her lap. It had worn edges and dog-earned pages, but Laurie saw none of it. She saw David’s face, then the picture of Mary he had shown her, and she thought of the son David would never get to see. She swallowed hard, taking a deep breath. Pain lanced her heart. She looked up and met Dante’s steady gaze. She looked back down at her book, then back to Dante.

  “Can we try to call Cheyn and Max again?”

  “Yeah.” He reached into his pocket for his cell phone.

  He dialed what was supposed to be Cheyn’s number, she prayed for it to connect. It rang once, twice, three times. It just kept ringing until the machine picked up. She saw worry flicker across his face as he left another message. Max’s line just did the same. Dante’s concern transformed into her anxiety.

  “We’ll reach one of them soon, Laurie. Rick said they’ve both been on a lot of painkillers, but they’re both fine,” he said.

  Laurie nodded, but she didn’t meet his gaze.

  “Are you calling the guys who survived?” Jason asked, as he re-entered and took his seat.

  “Yes.” Dante looked up, his mouth set in hard lines.

  “That’s bad business,” Jason said. “But with two former Marines, you’ll be just fine, ma’am.”

  “That’s not what worries me.” Laurie shifted in her seat, looking at Dante.

  “Maybe I’ll just try the hospital switchboard.” Dante looked up the hospital’s number.

  He dialed. A machine picked up. Dante punched in the numbers to spell Cheyn’s last name. He jabbed at each number with his index finger, each hit increasing in vehemence and pure annoyance. The computer confirmed Cheyn’s name, but it gave him a different room number than the one Rick had given him. He hit one to transfer. The phone began to ring. Dante let out a breath in a whoosh of air from his mouth.

  “Hellooo?” Laurie could hear Cheyn’s answer. She leaned towards Dante, her heart lifting. His voice was raspy. He sounded drugged or half-asleep or both, but to Laurie he never sounded better.

  Dante smiled at Laurie.

  “Cheyn! It’s Dante. How are you? I’ve been trying to call but Rick gave me the wrong room number.” Dante swatted at Laurie’s hand as she tried to take the phone.

  “Dante, man. It’s so good to talk to you.”

  “How are you doing? Are they treating you right over there?”

  “There are some very sweet nurses here, man. They have me all patched up. I should be released tomorrow.”

  “Good. I’m relieved. You had everyone pretty shaken.” Dante reached for her hand, surprising her.

  She glanced at Jason, but he was reading his newspaper.

  “How are you, boss? Did you make it out okay?”

  “A bullet grazed me, but I’m fine. After they put you in the helicopter, I grabbed Laurie and got the hell out of there.”

  “How’s Miz Laurie? Is she okay?”

  “Yeah, she’s fine. We drove to the other safe house. She’d like to talk to you, too.”

  “I’m so glad she made it out. I should be able to come back soon. Real soon.”

  “You don’t need to worry about that. You can’t come back to active duty that fast.”

  “Aww, come on boss. You know I live for the job.”

  “I know you do, Cheyn, but you gotta rest up for the next one. I’ll take care of Laurie.”

  “Yeah, I bet you will.” Cheyn let out a drug-induced giggle, and it made Laurie nervous. What if Cheyn said something to Rick?

  “Uh, well, we got a new Marshal from Californi
a. He flew in this morning. Dean and John came last night. So I’m all set. You need to go back to your place and get ready for the next assignment.”

  Cheyn chuckled on the other end of the phone.

  “Can I talk to him? Please?” She gripped Dante’s hand, while holding out her other one for the phone.

  “Cheyn, Laurie’s about to wrestle me for the phone. I think she wants to talk to you now.”

  Dante turned his head away from Laurie, as she tried to snatch the phone from him. His hand still held one of hers, so he held it up to block her.

  “Yeah, let me talk to Miz Laurie.”

  “All right, all right. I’ll give you the phone,” he said to Laurie. “I gotta go, Cheyn. She’s getting insistent. You take care of yourself. I’ll see you soon.”

  “You take good care of her. Be very careful. Real careful with these Kaimi people.”

  “We will. I’m giving the phone to Laurie before she attacks me. Bye.” Dante handed over the phone.

  Laurie gave him a light punch on the shoulder. She turned her head away as she took the cell phone.

  “Cheyn! I’m so glad you’re okay! I’ve been worried.”

  “Aww, Miz Laurie. Of course, I’m okay. Are you okay?”

  “I’m good. I’m good. Getting a little stir crazy, but I’m okay.”

  “How’s Dante been treating you? You know if he gives you any trouble, you can tell me. I can take him out.” Cheyn giggled.

  “No. Dante’s been good to me. Saved my life the other night. You both did.”

  “I was just doin’ my job.”

  “Well, thank you. Thank you for protecting me. I’m sorry you were shot, and Max, and…David.” Her voice had lowered to a scratched whisper.

  Dante put his hand on her back to soothe her.

  “I know, Miz Laurie. I know. I’m fine. I’m leaving the hospital tomorrow. So don’t you worry about me, okay?”

  “Okay. I’m glad you’re going to be fine. We were concerned when we couldn’t reach you.”

  “They just kept switching my room around. Must’ve been in three rooms already. I’m just fine, Miz Laurie. You need to take care of yourself.”

  “Yes, yes, I will. Dante will take good care of me. They all will.”

  “Well, you take good care of him too. That’s my partner right there. Someone needs to have his back while I’m out of commission.”

  Laurie smiled into the phone. She looked up at Dante. His eyes were a dark chocolate she wanted to loose herself in. Her heart constricted under his tender gaze.

  “I will. I’ll take good care of him too.”

  Dante smiled at her. His fingers contracted on her back in an imperceptible caress.

  “Have a good night, Miz Laurie.”

  “Okay, Cheyn. You have a good night too. Feel better!”

  “Aloha.”

  “Aloha.” Laurie hung up the phone.

  Next Dante dialed the operator again and got Max’s new room number. Max didn’t pick up the phone, but Dante saw the hospital care pages. He decided to try to reach Max that way. He and Laurie wrote a very nice ‘get well soon’ message to him, which made them both feel much more lighthearted by the end of the day. The hospital still had Max listed as a patient. Even if he couldn’t pick up the phone yet, he was at least alive.

  ***

  Dante

  Dante rolled onto his back, taking Laurie with him.

  She sank down onto one side of his chest, sighing her contentment. She ran her fingers over his spray of dark chest hair.

  He kissed her forehead. Then he ran his fingers down her neck to her shoulder. His movements were lazy, slow. The world was slightly fuzzy, bathed in the early morning light, as if they were both caught in the tail end of a dream.

  “I love morning sex,” Laurie said.

  Dante chuckled.

  “I’ll have to remember that.” He kissed her, brushing her lips with his in a soft caress.

  They breathed together for a few moments, and Dante closed his eyes. He breathed in her scent, the faint smell of their lovemaking. The sheets were damp from their exercise. Sunlight streamed through the curtains, landing on Laurie’s head, igniting her hair in a blonde halo. He ran his hands through it, like combing warm silk.

  “These past few days have been amazing.” Laurie nuzzled his shoulder.

  Dante gave her a grin as he dropped his hand back onto her shoulder to caress it again.

  “I’m so glad you were the Marshal that showed up at my door.”

  He turned onto his side to embrace her. He pulled her tight to his chest, kissing her deeply. He took a breath, then kissed her with lazy strokes of his tongue. When he pulled away, he just stared into her eyes. He caressed her cheek with his thumb, lightly skimming over the fine-boned surface.

  She smiled at him, with the same tender expression she wore more often lately. He returned it. They laid there for a few minutes, unmoving. Then he tucked her underneath his chin, and ran his hands up and down her back.

  “I should get up.” He had the worst time trying to pull himself away from her bed.

  “You should.” She ran her fingers over his chest.

  He didn’t move. He just laid there, caressing her back.

  She giggled at him. Then she leaned back to brush his lips with hers.

  “You can’t be late for work.”

  He groaned as he smiled. He kissed her back, then unfolded himself from her. He pulled himself off the bed.

  She got up with him, stretching with the lazy grace of a satisfied cat. He watched her, and she gave him a provocative smile. She was the sexiest thing he had ever laid eyes on, and worse, she knew it.

  He grabbed some of her clothes from the duffle bag. He tossed them on the bed. The sooner she was dressed, the more likely he wouldn’t be late for shift change. He slid on her bra, then fumbled with the clasp. He had always hated them anyway.

  Laurie took mercy on him. She turned around so he could fix it.

  Then he pulled on her panties. It felt strange for him to be working in reverse but he liked the intimacy of it. He pulled on her shirt. Then he helped her into her jeans before kissing her.

  Laurie broke away from him to get his clothes from his duffle bag. She helped him into his boxers and jeans. Then pulled his shirt over his head. They stood for a few minutes embracing.

  “I’ll wait here for a little while. So we don’t leave at the same time. Have a good day at work.”

  He chuckled at her. Dante walked out into the hallway via his unused bedroom.

  Dante tried not to swagger in. There was something about taking a beautiful woman as your lover that just screamed from every pore of a man. He bit back a grin and tried to clear his mind before he entered the living room. Dean and John were watching TV, as usual. There hadn’t been a day in the past week he’d seen them do anything else. Dante heard a door open behind him down the hall, and he turned expecting to see Laurie, but he saw Jason instead. Jason walked toward the bathroom, disappearing behind the door.

  Dante turned back to speak to John and Dean, but what he said was drowned out by the sound of shattering glass as two bullets burst in through the window.

  Dean and John dropped to the floor.

  Dante crouched, covering his head as he threw himself into the hallway, away from the windows. Dante’s mind cleared of everything else except getting to Laurie. He ran to her door and opened it to find her on the ground covering her head. A bullet flew through her window, hitting the wall near Dante. He dove down and crawled to Laurie. Bullets flew around him.

  “Stay down and come with me!” he shouted to her.

  He covered her body with his as they crawled to the safe room door. He popped open the door, shoved her in and locked it. He heard more breaking glass, as the windows in the adjoining bedroom shattered. Dante pulled out his cell phone and called for back-up.

  “PD is on their way. ETA five minutes,” the dispatch said in his ear.

  “Behind you,” he he
ard Dean shout from the living room. Then there was a volley of gunshots.

  The assailants were in the house.

  “We don’t have five minutes!” Dante shoved the phone in his pocket.

  He crawled over the bedroom floor on his forearms. The cheap carpet scraped and burned against his skin as he moved to the open bedroom door. He ducked his head around the doorframe to assess the situation.

  Jason was just down the hall in the bathroom, firing his gun into the living room. Dante was about to crawl out into the hallway when he heard an ear piercing scream.

  Laurie.

  He turned to see a large man drag Laurie out of the safe room. Dressed in black, like the hand of death, the behemoth grabbed her by the throat and raised his gun. Dante fired his gun without a second thought.

  Taking a clean shot to the head, the man that held Laurie jerked forward, falling to the ground.

  Laurie screamed and fell with him.

  Fearing the worst, Dante sprinted to her side. He crouched down beside her, as she sat up.

  She shoved at the man’s arm draped over her.

  “Are you okay? Are you okay?” He grabbed her shoulder. Her expression was full of wide-eyed terror.

  She frantically grasped for the dead assailant’s gun. Dante watched as she took aim and shot in front of her into his unused bedroom.

  He looked up to see another man standing there. The armed gunman she shot staggered from the blow, falling to the floor.

  Dante lunged toward the man, who was not dead, but bleeding from the abdomen. Dante wrestled his gun away with a few swift strikes of his fist. Then he pulled a pair of cuffs from his belt. Having cuffed the gunman, he ran back to Laurie.

  She stared at the man she shot in horror.

  Dante crouched beside her, taking the gun from her shaking hands.

  “Are you okay? Are you hurt?” he shouted over the continued gunfire.

  “I’m not hurt.” She shook her head. Her clothes were bloody, but it didn’t appear to be her blood.

  Dante turned back toward the two rooms. He didn’t close the safe room door. Instead, he shielded her with his body. He had to find a way to keep her safe, but the bullets were still flying in the windows. He could hear Dean and John shouting. Then he heard sirens. Relief flooded his veins. Back-up had arrived.