Love or Justice Read online

  Laurie smiled up at Dante, who just shook his head, rolling his eyes.

  The descent was smooth and graceful. They pulled up toward the main building at the airport. The airport resembled concrete World War II bunkers. Laurie felt she had gone back in time.

  Bob exited the cockpit, smiling at them as he opened the door. The ground crew wheeled a set of stairs up to the door. Weary from the long hours on board, they disembarked.

  As a group, they moved toward the square concrete buildings with peeling cream paint. The heavy, metal door was propped open with a large rock. The room beyond the door was clean and desolate. It had bland, short blue carpeting with white concrete walls. There were two people in the building, an older man and woman. The woman, with salt and pepper hair, cried out when she saw them. She ran to Dante with open arms, her bright, hazel eyes shining with tears.

  “Mom!” Dante dropped his bag and opened his arms.

  “My son, my son! Oh God, I had thought I would never see you again.” Tears flowed freely down her bronze cheeks as she smiled.

  Dante’s mother cupped his face.

  Dante hugged her tightly. He rested his chin on her head.

  “I’m sorry, Mom. I’m sorry it’s been this long,” Laurie heard him whisper into her ear, his voice husky with emotion. “It’s really good to see you.”

  Laurie unconsciously laid her hand over her heart. Their emotion touched her, and she was still a bit homesick herself. She was on the verge of tears. She looked down to clear her throat, taking a deep breath before she made a fool of herself. Then a heavy arm wrapped around her shoulders. She looked up to find Bob leaning against her.

  “Well, gorgeous, I guess this is goodbye.” His eyes twinkled.

  “Not staying for dinner, Bob?” asked Dante’s father.

  Laurie had overlooked him in the ecstatic exchange between mother and son.

  Dante’s father ambled over toward her and Bob. He was tall, lean, with long, muscled limbs. His face was sharp, angular, and tanned from ample time outdoors. He wore a red flannel shirt with a faded leather vest. He had a non-descript belt over faded jeans. With his work boots on as well, he looked like every farmer Laurie had ever seen on TV or in pictures. Unassuming, unnoticeable. Laurie guessed that was very deliberate.

  “No, no. Gabriella will want me home for dinner. I’ve had some fun with these kids, but it’s time to get on home to my family.” Bob gave Laurie’s shoulder a squeeze.

  “Bob, I can’t begin to thank you,” Dante’s mom said. Her emotions now spent, she was content to stand beside her son with an arm wrapped around his waist, while he rubbed her shoulders.

  “No thanks necessary, Emma. It was a lot of fun to get in the air again.” Bob sounded a bit wistful. “Gabriella and the kids and I will come for a visit real soon. I imagine these two will need some entertainment after they settle in.”

  Bob winked at Laurie.

  “Behave yourself now. No more getting in the way of mobsters.” He gave her a gruff hug. Laurie laughed.

  “I’ll try really hard this time.” Laurie squeezed him right back.

  Then he released her and went to Dante.

  “You—take care of her and your mom. I want a good report when I come back for a visit.” He pulled Dante into a bear hug.

  “Yes, sir, Lt. General Stark.” Dante smirked. Bob shook his head.

  “Don’t. Don’t even get me started.” He laughed as he walked back toward the door to the airstrip. “I’ll see you all soon.”

  He gave a short salute and disappeared out of the airport door. When Laurie looked back at the room, both of Dante’s parents were now staring at her. Laurie smiled, blushing while her stomach fluttered.

  “Mom, Dad—this is Laurie. She’s a witness I’ve been protecting.” Dante put his hand on her shoulder.

  “Hello, Laurie. I’m Emma.” She clasped both of Laurie’s hands in hers.

  “It’s nice to meet you. Thank you so much for taking me in.” Laurie looked from Dante’s mother to his father.

  “Oh, of course. We wouldn’t have thought twice about saying yes. I hope you’ll feel right at home.” Emma gave Laurie a hug, which caught Laurie off guard, but she was extremely grateful. Some of the tension in her shoulders eased. After a slight pause, she hugged Emma back.

  “This is Albert.” Emma gestured to her husband. Albert gave a polite nod, extending his hand to her.

  “It’s nice to meet you.” Laurie shook his hand with all the warmth she could muster.

  Dante’s father didn’t intimidate Laurie at all. He was nothing like what she had imagined after listening to Dante and Bob. She could see an underlying sternness, a hard edge in his features. Yet, his brown eyes softened when he looked at Dante. Laurie wondered if he wanted to hug his son as his wife had.

  “Dad.” Dante extended his hand.

  Dante shifted on his feet. His father’s gaze was guarded. Dante and Albert tensed, as Albert’s eyes flickered to Dante’s hand with a frown.

  “Son.” Albert shook his hand. “Glad to see you made it out here all right.”

  “Yeah. Bob had everything under control.” Dante took a step back.

  Albert nodded thoughtfully. There was a lull in the conversation, as Emma stood beside Laurie, both of them watching father and son. Neither of the two subjects moved nor spoke. They just stood there, staring at the floor or the ceiling, both struggling to speak. Albert coughed.

  “Well, we should be on our way. We don’t live too far from here.” Albert gestured to the door.

  “Where exactly is here?” Laurie fell into step beside Dante.

  “Nebraska.” Emma answered the question over her shoulder. “Farm country. I hope you like gardening!”

  “I’ve never gardened before.” Some of Laurie’s anxiety returned.

  “Well, I’ll teach you, honey.” Emma smiled and put her hand on Laurie’s forearm.

  “Oh, okay.” Laurie’s brow furrowed. Taking gardening lessons wasn’t something she associated with protective custody.

  They all moved toward the exit to the parking lot. Emma told Laurie and Dante all about their cozy little farm with chickens, a garden, and acres of sweet corn. They had just started a tiny little orchard on the neighbor’s farm they bought last spring. They piled into an old dark green Chevy, and Albert pulled out onto the tiny two-lane road that led out to the highway. The highway was only a larger two-lane road, which cut through the farms that comprised the landscape far out into the horizon.

  It was late, but Laurie could see one thing in the dusk of the setting sun: corn. It was everywhere. She was in a sea of corn. There were no visible homes or churches or dark shadows of them leaning over the road. There were dirt roads leading away from the highway, which disappeared into the corn. Occasionally, there was a cattle paddock and a large barn. Then there were machines. Bulldozers, ploughs, tractors, seeders and all manner of machinery Laurie couldn’t even name. They were parked by the side of the road, laying there like the scattered toys of an errant child. Laurie couldn’t believe her eyes when a tractor pulled out in front of them on the road they turned down from the highway.

  “God damn it.” Albert slammed on the horn.

  “Albert.” Emma gave a sharp reprimand and then tsked at him.

  “It’s Dale. I know he did it on purpose. He knows we’ll be stuck back here for miles.” Albert beeped again.

  “They let those out on the roads?” Laurie’s mouth fell open.

  “Honey, this is Nebraska. Farming is the biggest business here. That would be like banning boats or planes in Hawaii.” Emma peered over her shoulder from the passenger’s seat.

  Laurie turned to Dante, baffled.

  Dante smiled and shrugged.

  They drove behind the tractor for a few miles, Albert fuming the whole way, until they hit a passing zone. With nothing coming as far as the eye could see, Albert gunned the engine and sped around the tractor, blaring his horn.

  “Oh, Albert stop that.” E
mma slapped her thigh.

  “I know he did it on purpose.” Albert pointed his finger at nothing in particular.

  “He’s just ribbing you. All that man has ever done is tried to be friends with you.” Emma lifted her hands in frustration.

  “I don’t want to be friends with him—he’s suspicious.” Albert’s voice dipped to a whisper.

  Emma let out an exasperated sigh. She turned her head to Dante in the back seat.

  “I’m so glad you came. Otherwise, I might have killed your father.” Emma rolled her eyes.

  Albert snorted derisively.

  “Glad I could help, Mom.” Dante grinned.

  They pulled onto a dirt road, which wound back through rows and rows of tall corn. After a few minutes, the corn opened up into a wide lawn with a lone farmhouse. A wooden porch spanned the front of the house. A two-seat, wooden swing was hanging on the front porch, and a large barn and several tall trees framed the house, with a pick-up truck parked out front.

  “Well, here we are! Home sweet home!” Emma gestured to the house.

  When they got out of the truck, Dante and Albert grabbed the bags, while Emma ushered Laurie up the porch and into the house.

  “Albert and I always wanted a house like this. When we were raising Dante, we couldn’t really do it because of Albert’s job, but when the opportunity came along, we took it.”

  “It’s lovely, Mrs. Stark. It seems very peaceful.” Laurie let her eyes wander over the porch.

  “Oh, you can call me Emma, Laurie. Call me Emma.” She opened the front door. “Now, are you two hungry?”

  “Yes!” Dante yelled over Laurie’s head.

  Emma led them into the hall of the large, drafty farmhouse. In front of them to the left was a set of stairs leading up to the second floor. At the end of the hall, Laurie could tell there was a large kitchen from the moonlight streaming in the windows there. Emma flicked on the light, illuminating a light grey-blue hallway. Family photos covered the walls, so hardly an inch was bare.

  Laurie looked at some of the photos of Albert and Emma when they got married. The next picture showed them holding a baby, and as she walked down the hall, the baby morphed into a child resembling Dante.

  “Aw, Mom,” Dante groaned, putting the bags down in the hallway. “Did you really have to put all of these up here?”

  “Yes, I did.” Emma flicked on the kitchen light. “Consider it your punishment for not coming to visit.”

  Dante glared in the direction of the kitchen. He caught Laurie by the elbow and started rushing her past the last few feet of the hallway.

  “Hey, I’m looking at those.” Laurie laughed, dragging her feet.

  “Not anymore.” He succeeded in pulling her into the kitchen. “Time to eat.”

  “Dante, don’t be rude to our guest.” His mother stuck her head in the freezer.

  “What about me? Aren’t I a guest?” He took a seat at the kitchen table.

  She shot him a disapproving look, as she pulled out the ice cream. Then she turned on the oven. She started scooping the ice cream onto plates she pulled from the pine cupboards. As she worked, the aroma of a freshly baked cake filled the kitchen.

  “Can I help?” Laurie stood awkwardly in the middle of the room.

  “No, no, no. You’ve been traveling all day. I’m sure you’re exhausted.” Emma waved in the direction of the kitchen table.

  Laurie felt drained. The anxiety that had twisted through her all day seemed to settle in her limbs, making them heavy. She sat down beside Dante, and Albert sat opposite her. She smiled at him, while he studied her. Did he know, could he see, that she and Dante were together? She glanced away to watch Dante’s face light up as Emma pulled a cake from the oven.

  “You baked a German chocolate cake?” His grin stretched from ear to ear.

  “Yes, I did. As soon as your father said you were coming home, I knew I had to make it.” Emma beamed at him.

  Dante got up from the table.

  “Thanks, Mom.” He hugged Emma’s shoulders.

  Emma kissed Dante on the cheek.

  Laurie put her elbow on the table, resting her chin in her hand. She smiled at the sight they made.

  Dante released Emma’s shoulders to grab the plates and add the warm cake to the ice cream. Then he brought over two plates to Laurie and Albert.

  Much to Laurie’s relief, Albert finally looked away from her.

  “My mom makes the best German chocolate cake in the world.” Dante set her plate in front of her.

  “I don’t think I’ve ever had that before.” Laurie furrowed her brow, trying to recall.

  “You haven’t had German chocolate cake? How could you have not had German chocolate cake?” Dante sat next to her, his own plate in hand.

  “I’ve never heard of it.” Laurie shrugged.

  Dante’s moan of pleasure almost drowned out her reply.

  “Mom, this is the best. It really is. God, I’ve dreamed about this cake.” Dante dug into his large piece.

  Laurie stared at him in bemusement, as he downed bite after bite of the cake and ice cream.

  “Why aren’t you eating it? Try it!” He pointed at her cake with his fork.

  Laurie laughed and picked up a bite of cake, soggy from the melting ice cream. She spooned it into her mouth. She instantly loved it.

  “Oh my God. This is amazing.” Laurie scooped up another bite.

  “See. What did I tell you?” His voice was garbled from the cake in his mouth.

  Emma looked pleased with herself from all of the praise. She ate her own small piece of cake and ice cream with a self-satisfied smile.

  Laurie ate with great pleasure, not with as much gusto as Dante did, but savoring each bite. It wasn’t until about halfway through that Laurie realized Albert’s eyes had narrowed in on her. She gulped, almost choking on a bite of cake.

  “What is it, Dad? Just come out with it.” Dante put down his fork.

  Albert ate his last bite of cake. Then he set down his fork and leaned over his plate, knitting his fingers together. He looked at his son.

  “I was just wondering how she ended up under your protection.” Albert’s eyes slid back to Laurie.

  “What’s that supposed to mean?” Dante leaned forward.

  “It means I know what type of people end up under protection. I want to know who she is and why.” Albert’s eyes hardened.

  Dante clenched his jaw, his hands curling into fists.

  “How dare—” Dante began.

  “What your father is trying to say, in his own clumsy way, is we would like to know what kind of danger could follow you here, if by some God-awful chance they find out where you are.” Emma’s calm voice sliced through the tension.

  Dante froze for a minute. He stared down his father before leaning back in his seat.

  Uncomfortable with the tension on her behalf, Laurie launched into the story. She told Dante’s parents how she first encountered Kaimi, and everything that had happened after; from Dante knocking on her door, to the last attack on the safe house in Kona. When she finished, Dante’s parents sat for a few minutes looking back and forth from Dante to Laurie.

  “You’ve been attacked three times?” Emma raised her eyebrows at Laurie.

  “Mom, I know I’m asking a lot to stay here. It was the only place I could think of that would be untraceable. I knew no one would even know you’re my parents, let alone where my parents are. But if you’re having second thoughts—”

  “I wouldn’t even think of you being anywhere else. This is the safest place for you.” Emma gave a nod. Her mind was made up.

  Dante let out a sigh of relief. He glanced over to Laurie, who smiled at his mother.

  “What about Bob? Was he careful?” Albert looked at Dante, a hard edge in his voice.

  “Of course. We never got off the plane. We landed at military bases. Marines, Air Force, and then here. The paperwork would be a nightmare to comb through even if you did get a hold of it.” Dante lea
ned back in his seat, his arms folded across his chest.

  Albert smirked.

  “Well, Kaimi is a very dangerous man. Elusive.” A note of intrigue crept into his tone.

  “Do you know much about him? His organization?” Dante asked.

  “I watched him for several years, when he first landed on the federal watch list. He got into the black market weapons trade back in my first few years as an agent.” Albert clasped his hands together.

  “Albert…” Emma gave him a pointed expression.

  “Oh, Emma. I’m sure he already told Laurie why she would be safe here. She knows what I was. It’s a declassified file. He needs to know.” Albert gestured to Dante.

  Emma sighed, rolling her eyes, but Albert continued.

  “When he first started out, Kaimi was a bit clumsy. The FBI almost caught him on a few stupid mistakes. He learned quickly. He learned how to hide when he needed to and be in plain sight when that served him as well. We could never find him when we knew we had him, he always had a solid alibi when we didn’t have him. Then witnesses or evidence would vanish. We’d have nothing else on him. He’s one of the few cases I never closed.” Albert looked from Dante to Laurie.

  Laurie took a shaky breath. She felt alone, like the lone survivor on a deserted island. Kaimi abused the justice system for decades, and now she was the only person that could tie him to a crime. She was it.

  “Goodness, everything you’ve been through.” Emma tsked, looking at Laurie. She shook her head and picked up Laurie’s plate.

  Laurie rested her head on her palm. She didn’t want to leave the table, but she felt exhausted. Her eyelids grew heavy, while she stared out the window into the distance.

  Dante tapped her elbow and she turned to him.

  “Time for bed?” Dante asked with a smile. She nodded. “Come on. I’ll take our stuff upstairs.”

  “Oh, Dante you can have the first room on the left as you go up the stairs. Laurie you can have the one toward the front of the house.” Emma scooped the remaining cake onto a plate to put into the refrigerator.

  “Dante will need the one facing the front, Emma.” Albert waved her off.

  “Albert, the young lady should have the nice view.” Emma glared at him over her shoulder.