She remembered how each of them had treated her as Justice's girlfriend instead of his client. "Well, you guys are more perceptive than I am." And I was afraid to hope.
"So what are you going to do?" Leese asked.
Was he concerned for his friend, worried about her breaking Justice's heart? Not likely. "I'm not sure yet, but I love him, too. Right now, nothing else seems as important as that."
Her statement effectively lightened the mood and the rest of the drive was spent with the fighters asking her various questions about bodyguards, assuring her Justice could handle himself just fine, and telling her more about his past.
If so much weren't on the line, if she didn't have so many legitimate reasons to fret, she would have honestly enjoyed herself.
EVEN IN GYM SHOES, the cavernous room of the abandoned warehouse echoed his every footfall. Dust motes danced in the stale air and damp mold blackened the walls. Without being too obvious, Justice searched the perimeter of the room.
Broken equipment, piled off to the sides, offered lots of concealment. Only gray light filtered through the grime-covered windows.
The setting was perfect.
He strode to the middle of the cleared floor to join Tom.
Leaning against a section of dusty conveyor belt, anticipation bright in their eyes, York and Kern watched.
"You brought backup?" Justice asked Tom.
"Those two?" Tom laughed with derision. "They're just here to watch."
"Witnesses to your confessions, huh? I didn't think it'd be that easy."
"I'm not confessing shit." Tom squared off.
Impatient and very, very stupid, Kern shouted, "Enough chitchat, boys. Get on with it."
Justice stared at him with all the rage he felt. "Get on with what? You want to see us fight?" He curled his lip. "I wouldn't waste my time."
Tom bristled. "Then why the hell did you come?"
"To tell you to your face how pathetic you are." Justice pointed at him, his voice cold as ice. "And to warn you for the last time to stay away from Fallon."
Red faced, Tom shouted, "I told you, I never touched her!"
"You're a miserable liar."
Hands clenched in his hair, Tom strode away in mock frustration.
Smiling, Justice turned to go.
A hunk of metal sailed across the room and crashed into the wall with a clatter. "No," Kern shouted. "Hell, no, it's not stopping here! You two have to fight."
Justice flipped him off and kept going.
"Damn you, Tom, do something!"
That's it, Justice thought. Take the bait.
Tom asked, "What the hell do you expect me to do?"
"Throw a punch!"
More quietly, Tom said, "Then I'd be the coward he accuses me of being."
Justice paused to look at him.
"I didn't touch your lady," Tom swore.
"She's not his lady," York snapped. "She went back to Marcus."
"Doesn't matter." Justice folded his arms over his chest. "A real man never threatens a lady, any lady."
Throwing up his arms, Tom raged, "I agree with you!"
Wearing a mask of scorn, Justice moved closer. "Admit what you did. Admit you're a pussy that picks on women, and maybe then I'll annihilate you."
Through his teeth, looking far too sincere, Tom said, "I have never abused a woman in my life."
Maybe because Justice had once accused Tom of exactly that, Tom wore his insult with convincing umbrage.
"Then fuck it. No fight." He turned his back and strode away.
"Wait!" Kern threw something else, making a terrible racket.
A temper tantrum, Justice thought. The lack of control disgusted him.
"Tom didn't do it!"
At the sound of Kern's frantic voice, followed by the equally appalled rush of his brother's whispers, Justice paused.
"I did it."
Slowly, Justice turned. Pretending he didn't understand, he narrowed his eyes on Kern. "You did what?"
York gripped Kern's arm, trying to hold him back, but Kern had lost all sense. "I was coercing you."
"Coercing me?"
Unashamed, almost boasting, Kern explained, "I had her pushed down the stairs."
Icy anger filled Justice's veins, but he feigned only mild surprise. "And the flowers and the paint on the driveway?
"The call to the agency accusing me?" Tom asked.
"Yes, all of it."
York gaped at his brother. "Shut up, you idiot!"
"What does it matter? They can't do shit." Kern pulled out his wallet. "I'll pay for the flowers and the paint." He threw a thick wad of bills at them. The money separated midair, fluttering in individual bills to the dirty ground, ignored by both fighters. "I'll give you each an extra twenty grand, too."
Walking toward him, Justice said, "I don't think so, you gutless prick. How can you pay for terrorizing a woman?" Justice loomed over him, forcing him to back up a step. "How the hell do you pay for her bruises?"
SMUG AND UNCONCERNED, Kern said, "By not bruising anyone else?"
Yet another threat? "What are you talking about?"
"Fight Tom," he said. "Right here, right now."
Resisting the urge to punch the smile off Kern's face, Justice shook his head. "I don't think so."
"Oh, you'll do it," Kern growled, throwing caution to the wind. "Think about your mother, your grandmother."
Justice kept his expression set and said nothing.
"I've had you watched, of course. I know where they live." Kern fished out his phone and shook it at Justice. "One call from me, and my man will find new ways to convince you, I promise you that."
To keep him talking, Justice asked, "You really think you can get away with that? You want the fight so badly that you'd risk everything?"
"There's no risk to me," Kern boasted. "There never is."
Never is? So Kern had done this before?
"I want the fight and by God, you'll give it to me."
The silent "or else" hung in the air. Doing his own bit of gambling, Justice smiled. "If what you say is true, then you should know that I anticipated it." Yes, he had. He'd covered all his bases. "My family is safe, you psycho."
Kern laughed. "No one is ever safe."
Again, York tried to silence him, but Kern was beyond reason, intent on bragging.
"You think tucking that little slut away with a friend somehow protects her?" He leaned closer. "You'll do exactly what I say, and you'll do it now."
Fallon was with Leese, and no way would Leese let anything happen to her. Knowing it and convincing himself of it were two very different things, especially with the signs of insanity right in front of him. "Or what?"
Kern examined a nail. "Or I'll have my man burn Leese Phelp's house to the ground with everyone in it. Ah, I see that got your attention."
York said, "Jesus, Kern, you have to shut-"
Kern didn't listen. "I have men there, you know. It'll look like a gas leak. There's been no alteration to any insurance they have, the two pet dogs are still present, and they're all in the house. It'll be so tragic, no one will suspect a thing."
Panic tried to take hold, but Justice held it back. "You're full of shit."
"Boom," Kern said, fluttering his fingers into the air. "There will be nothing left but splintered debris. No one will ever suspect foul play."
Justice couldn't breathe. "That's not possible." Don't let it be possible.
"His house has natural gas, so of course it's possible. I've done it before," Kern bragged, "and no one suspected. Even if they did, so what? They couldn't confirm it, and they sure as hell could never peg it on me."
It hasn't happened yet. Justice clenched his fists, knowing he'd do whatever was necessary to keep Fallon from being hurt-even if it meant killing the man in front of him.
As Kern studied Justice's face, he whispered with satisfaction, "Yes, now you understand, don't you?"
"I understand."
"So throw a goddamned punch, already!"
Justice let out a breath. "Gladly." With one big step, he closed the distance between them.
Belatedly, Kern realized his error. He tried to lurch back and tripped into his brother.
Catching him by the wrist, Justice brutally squeezed until the cell phone dropped to the cement floor. He crushed it with his heel and, smiling at Kern, twisted his arm until a bone popped.
Kern screamed.
Justice silenced him with one solid hit to the jaw, breaking that, too.
York started to run and plowed headlong into Tom. "I don't think so," Tom said.
Police swarmed into the area.
York turned at the sight of a photographer recording everything, and his mouth flapped like a fish out of water.
Sahara stepped out, making a beeline for Justice. "I called Leese with the phone on speaker so he could hear. I didn't dare say anything to him for fear these miscreants would hear me." She touched his arm. "The line is dead now. An officer is already on his way there."
Justice inhaled shakily.
"Go," she whispered, "before you get detained here. Tom and I can handle this. But Justice, be careful."
Without another word, Justice ran out.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
FALLON STOOD ACROSS the street, her arms wrapped around herself, taking in the scene with disbelief. It wasn't that cold, but she couldn't stop shivering.