Love or Justice Read online

  “Kissing Ricky Pearson by the soccer field.”

  They nearly choked on their laughter.

  Laurie rolled her eyes.

  “I hope it was a good kiss.” Cheyn gave a mischievous smile.

  “Well, it was my first kiss, and he was my big high school crush at the time. I went home thinking it was the best day of my life. Then I sat at home, waiting for my parents to get back from picking up my little brother, and this police officer shows up at my door. Well, that was that.”

  “What happened then?” Dante moved closer to her.

  “My uncle in Seattle couldn’t take care of me. They have too many kids of their own. I went into foster care until I was eighteen. They helped me get the job at the resort, and that’s where I’ve been ever since.”

  Dante sat close enough to Laurie to see her eyes mist over. He should have left Cheyn at the house and taken her hiking by himself. Dante wanted to cheer her up with this trip. Now she was sad again. He wanted to reach for her hand, to offer some comfort, but he wouldn’t dare, even if they were alone.

  “I’m sorry you lost your family, Laurie.” He shifted forward until his knee pressed against hers just a hair. He would settle for that brief contact. “It’s a tough life growing up in foster care. It’s probably what makes you so brave now.”

  Laurie smiled. She hugged her knees into her chest, taking away the brief contact Dante had with her.

  “I’m not brave.” She turned her face away to stare at the waterfall

  “Now that’s not true, Miz Laurie. You attacked the guy at the resort, and you’re in the Witness Protection Program instead of just running off to your uncle in Seattle.” Cheyn’s expression sobered.

  “Well, it’s the right thing to do isn’t it? Serve the greater good?” Laurie pulled up a few pieces of grass and twirled them around her fingers.

  “Do you mean the greater good for you or for everyone else? Because most people will just choose the greater good for them. A lot of people won’t agree to go into Witsec because they’re too scared. You are brave.” Dante locked eyes with her.

  “Yes, you’re a super woman.” Cheyn flexed a bicep. “You attack bad guys and fight crime. Most of all, you eat what Dante cooks for you—now that shows a lot of bravery.”

  Dante turned on him with a look designed to melt metal.

  “I don’t see you pulling out the frying pan in the morning.” Dante shoved his snacks back in his pack.

  “Of course not. They invented cereal so you don’t have to.”

  Laurie laughed at both of them. She laughed so hard, she fell back onto the grass clasping her mid-section. She stared up at the sky peeking through the dense foliage above. Then she turned her face toward Dante.

  He smiled at her, and he felt the ground shift beneath him when she smiled back. He was in trouble. If he wasn’t careful, he was going to be in big trouble. Giving in to this electric, delicious attraction would be foolish. She wasn’t going to be in Hawaii much longer. He would eventually lose her and maybe his job too. He broke the connection and looked back at the waterfall.

  They sat for a while in silence, watching the water pour down from the sky. The sun dipped behind the waterfall’s horizon, and several rainbows appeared. They hovered in mid-air above the waterfall’s mist.

  “That is so beautiful,” Laurie breathed. She turned to Dante. “Thank you for bringing me here.”

  Dante’s breath caught in his chest. All he could do was nod in response. The sun illuminated Laurie’s face, bathing it in a rosy gold. Her hair caught the light, glowing around her face like a halo. Gratitude shone in her eyes as she smiled at him. It was the most striking picture of beauty Dante had ever seen, and he would remember that vision of her for the rest of his life.

  CHAPTER SIX

  Laurie

  Laurie was in the car. Her parents were in the front seat. Her brother sat with her in the back. They were going out to get ice cream. Her brother played with a new etch-a-sketch. He broke one every couple of months, but he would create the most elaborate scenes on them. Laurie was positive he would be an amazing artist someday. In honor of their trip out for ice cream, which did not happen often, he sketched out the ice cream sundae he wanted to get.

  Right as he poured on the chocolate syrup, Laurie looked up to see a tractor-trailer heading straight for their vehicle.

  “No, stop! Look out!” She braced herself. But it was too late.

  The car careened into the tractor-trailer. Laurie was pinned in the backseat. She could sense that her parents and her brother were dead. They weren’t moving, but Laurie was still alive. The tractor-trailer backed up and rammed the car again.

  “No! Stop! Please!”

  She screamed as the tractor-trailer backed up again.

  “Help!”

  “Laurie! Wake up!” Dante’s voice sliced through the nightmare.

  Laurie opened her eyes.

  Dante pressed her against his chest.

  She moaned.

  “I’m so sorry, Dante. I’m so sorry.”

  “Are you okay?”

  “Yes. That was an old nightmare.”

  “Have you always had nightmares this often?” Dante wrapped both arms around her.

  Laurie’s hand combed through her disheveled hair as Dante continued to clutch her to his chest. He was warm and solid beneath her cheek. He smelled of spicy aftershave, soap, and the slightest hint of coffee. Laurie couldn’t stop herself from nuzzling his shoulder as he pressed his hand to her hair.

  “I had them for a while after my parents died. For a few years. Dreams like the one I just had, where I’m in the car and I’m watching them die, but I can’t do anything to save them. After a while, the nightmares went away. Then Kaimi waved his gun in my face. I haven’t had a peaceful night since.”

  She twisted her fingers into Dante’s t-shirt. The strength under her hands soothed her.

  He ran his hands over her hair, rubbing her back. He pulled back to hold her hands.

  “Laurie, if these nightmares are going to keep happening, I may need to start sleeping in your room with you. I can sleep on the floor in here just fine, but I can’t sleep in the other room when I think you’re being attacked in here.”

  “I’m sorry, Dante.” Tears welled in her eyes. “I just can’t get them to go away.”

  “No, I know. I know.” Dante embraced her again. “I just need to know you’re safe, okay? You can think about it and let me know what you’re comfortable with.”

  “I’ll think about it.” She sniffled, trying to keep the tears at bay.

  Dante repositioned himself on the bed so he could lean up against the wall, propped up by one of Laurie’s pillows. He held her for a long while.

  Laurie curled up against him, her chest lying on top of his. She tucked her head up under his chin, and laid her hand over his heart.

  He rubbed her back.

  She fell into an exhausted sleep.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  Dante

  Dante woke up uncomfortable. Something poked his leg, and he felt someone sleeping beside him. Where was he? He couldn’t remember. In the dim light in the room, he began to make out Laurie’s sleeping form. Her knee prodded his leg. All at once, reality spun into focus. Dante was horrified. Not only had he slept in Laurie’s room, he had slept beside her. If his boss ever found out, he could lose his job. A disciplinary action at the very least. He would be pulled off the most important assignment in his career. Fuming, he berated himself for what he’d done.

  Dante eased Laurie back onto her bed. He had to get back to his room. The clock read 7:00 a.m. It was long before he usually got up, but he was awake now. He crept to the door, and opened it. As he walked to his door on the balls of his feet, he heard a cough behind him. Whirling around, Dante flinched. Cheyn stood there, wearing a stern expression Dante had never seen before.

  “What the hell are you doing?” Cheyn crossed his arms over his chest.

  “Shhhh. It’s not
what you think.” He held up his hands, palms out.

  “It’s not?”

  “Let’s go downstairs before we wake everyone up.” Dante turned without waiting for a response.

  He was mortified. Not only had he stayed in Laurie’s room, but one of his own men caught him coming out. At least it was Cheyn and not David or Max. Cheyn was his best friend. Surely, he would understand, wouldn’t he?

  They reached the living room. Dante turned to see Cheyn standing with his arms crossed, his legs planted outside the width of his hips. He looked furious now. Dante jammed his fingers through his hair.

  “Listen—” Dante began.

  “What the hell were you thinking?”

  “Cheyn, it’s not what you think.”

  “Really, are you sure about that?”

  “She has nightmares. I can hear her on the other side of the wall. I wake up in the middle of the night and she sounds like she’s being attacked. I go into her room. I shake her out of them. I just fell asleep there last night. That’s all.”

  Dante felt his face flush. Hearing himself say it aloud made him even more embarrassed. It was a pathetic explanation—he knew that. Dante ran his hand through his hair again. He started to pace the length of the couch.

  Cheyn didn’t respond. He just narrowed his eyes at Dante and lowered his chin.

  “Look you can ask her about it yourself. I might have to start sleeping in there at night,”

  “Yeah, I bet.”

  “No, I’d sleep on the floor, Cheyn. Jesus!” Dante threw up his hands in anger.

  “I can’t believe you, man. You’re risking your career and this assignment because of a woman. Everyone at the agency is watching this assignment. It can make or break all of us, and you’re up there sleeping with her!”

  “Cheyn, this assignment is no different—”

  “That’s bullshit and you know it.”

  “She’s just another witness to protect. We just do our jobs, like we always do.”

  “No. I see the way you look at her, man. You made her breakfast, you took her up to that waterfall. She’s not just another witness. This is not just you doing your job. This is different. You’re different!”

  Dante hesitated. Heat rose from the pit of his stomach. His chest tightened and his shoulder muscles flexed. He clenched his fists at his sides. He couldn’t believe Cheyn was so ready to think the worst of him.

  “No. I’m not different. I’m just trying to make her time here easy on her. She’s here by herself. She doesn’t have any family to speak of. God, she’s had it tough enough as it is.”

  “We have worked together for three years, man. Three years. And I’m telling you—this is different.”

  Dante stood there. He didn’t know what else to say.

  “You’ve gotta ask the boss to take you off this assignment.”

  “No. I won’t. I hear your concerns, Cheyn. I do, but…” Dante put up a hand as he resumed his pacing.

  “Man, don’t pull that kind of management bullshit on me. Be real with me.”

  “Listen, I hear you, okay. But I’m not different. I’m just trying to make her comfortable here. Make sure she’ll stay long enough for them to find Kaimi and have a trial, okay?”

  Cheyn headed for the front door.

  “I don’t know what’s sadder, you lying to me or you lying to yourself.”

  Dante ground his teeth together. A headache began to form at his temples. He would have shouted at Cheyn if there weren’t people sleeping upstairs. His voice shook, as he tried to keep what he said low and even.

  “Cheyn, stop it. I’m not doing anything wrong here.”

  Cheyn turned back around.

  “Yeah, whatever. Look, you wanna screw up your whole career for this girl, fine. When the boss comes down on you, and he asks me what happened, I’m gonna tell him the truth. You got all sweet on her, and you couldn’t do your job anymore.”

  Cheyn turned and went toward the front door.

  Dante followed him, talking to his back.

  “I’m going to do my job. Just do yours.”

  “Fine. I’m just trying to help you out. But since you don’t wanna hear it, I’ll just go back to my job.”

  Cheyn pushed open the front door and left, slamming the door in his wake.

  Dante stood in the living room, fuming. How dare Cheyn talk to him like that! After everything they had been through together, how could his best friend try to make Dante out to be such a terrible villain? He’d accused him of sleeping with a witness and potentially endangering his whole team. Dante knew it looked bad with him coming out of Laurie’s room, but why didn’t Cheyn trust him? Why would Dante lie to him?

  Dante went back up to his room, his thoughts nagging at him. He didn’t go back to sleep. He sat with his laptop doing paperwork, trying to push his anger and his hurt out of his mind.

  ***

  Laurie

  Laurie woke up with a start. She wasn’t sure what woke her so suddenly. She had the vague impression it was a nightmare, but it slipped away from her. She felt relieved, remembering the horrible nightmare she had about the tractor-trailer during the night. A shiver ran down her back, and she rolled onto her side so she could curl into a ball.

  Laurie crossed her arms, rubbing her own shoulder—a gesture more of self-comfort than a need for warmth. The past few days had jumbled her nerves. She felt like they were tied in a knot, and she didn’t know what end she would pull out as each moment passed. Would it be the crying string, the laughing string, or just pure exhaustion? She wished she had some handbook, some guide to being a witness. She’d read countless books on being a lawyer and how to work with a witness on everything from making a statement to cross-examination, but she never came across a single book that even remotely described the witness experience.

  She toyed with the idea of talking to Dante about it. Perhaps his counsel would alleviate the pressure building in her chest, but she rejected it. She knew she was already too much of a burden to him. He couldn’t even get a good night’s sleep around her. She had no idea how to repay his kindness to her.

  Yet, he wanted to do more. He offered to sleep in her room with her. She wasn’t sure how she felt about that. It was tantalizing, to be sure. She wouldn’t mind having such a handsome man in her room. He would be sleeping dutifully on the floor, and she knew he would never take advantage of the situation. Yet, his proximity would heighten her interest in him, a fascination that was bound to lead to unhappiness.

  This whole situation was fleeting. She accepted that, and she had to keep reminding herself of it. They were going to relocate her to another state. Dante worked and lived in Hawaii. They were together for the moment, nothing more. The more time she spent with him, the more she let him get close, the more it would hurt when she had to separate from him. Or the more it would hurt when he pushed her away. She couldn’t let herself go down this road, emotionally or mentally. She just had to keep a tight rein on her desire and not let it run rampant in her head.

  Laurie dragged herself into a seated position. She wrapped her arms around her legs and thought of everything Dante did to protect her and make her comfortable. It was a long list, longer than any list she could make for anyone else.

  She was grateful to all of these men. She was determined that no matter how steep or messy or terrifying this trail became, Laurie would make it as easy on them as she could. If that meant putting on a smile no matter how she felt, then so be it. It was the least she could do.

  Laurie got out of bed. When she came downstairs, it was already mid-morning. Dante wasn’t anywhere to be seen from the landing, just David. Standing in the same spot as always. She clamped down on her disappointment as she came down the remaining steps. Now would be a good time to exercise some restraint, while putting on a smile.

  “Morning, David!”

  “Morning, ma’am.”

  “Is everyone else asleep?”

  “I guess so. I haven’t seen the boss this
morning. I took over for Cheyn at eight, but I think he went for a jog. Max is asleep.”

  “Oh, okay. Do you want some breakfast, David?”

  “Already had some, but you go on ahead.”

  She smiled at him. So far, so good. Laurie turned and went into the kitchen. She got out the griddle. She thought she would make French toast for breakfast. She guessed Dante must have stayed up late with her, so she would just have to fix him some breakfast this morning.

  She cracked the eggs, whisked in some milk, and went in search of vanilla and cinnamon. She found the cinnamon hiding at the back of a cupboard, but no vanilla. She dipped in the bread and set it on the griddle. Once she finished making hers, she started making Dante’s breakfast.

  Just as she laid the second batch on the griddle, the front door slammed open. Laurie jumped. Cheyn strode in, looking surprisingly cross.

  “Sorry,” he muttered.

  “Oh, that’s okay. You scared me.” She gave him a smile as she clutched her heart. He didn’t respond, he just moved toward the stairs.

  “Cheyn, do you want some French toast? I can make some for you.”

  He paused, and then pivoted on the spot.

  “Sure.”

  “Are you okay? You must be tired.”

  “Yeah, I’m pretty tired. How about you? Did you sleep okay?”

  Laurie remembered her nightmare. She turned back toward the griddle to take off the French toast and put it on a plate for Cheyn.

  “Yeah, I slept okay.”

  “Just okay?” Laurie looked over her shoulder and he was watching her.

  She gave him a crooked smile and turned back to her bowl as she whisked up some more French toast mix for Dante’s breakfast.

  “He told you didn’t he?”

  “Who told me what?”

  “About my nightmares, don’t act like he didn’t.” She tossed a look over her shoulder.

  “He told me, but I wanted you to tell me.” Cheyn smiled with a wink.

  “Well, I just did.”

  “What are they like?”