Hard Justice(9)

Curious, but what Justice found most interesting was an incident from five years ago when Fallon's sister, older by two years, had tragically died in a fire. That alone might be enough to prompt the parents to hover over her.

Losing a kid...he couldn't imagine anything worse than that. But yeah, it could make anyone more protective.

There weren't many details to go by. The parents were super private and had refused all interviews. All Leese could find was a report of the fire, started by accident, saying that the sister had died. Apparently the Wades had enough money and influence to keep their personal business out of the news.

To prepare for the assignment, Justice had left Leese to finish up his cursory research while he checked out all the local establishments that Fallon might want to visit. That had taken most of the afternoon. After figuring he had a handle on things, Justice had eaten his dinner and headed out.

Now that the storms had blown over, the spring day felt too warm and muggy. He'd dressed in a T-shirt and jeans with his usual gym shoes. This time of early evening, the sun settled like a blaze on the horizon, making sunglasses necessary as he drove along the landscaped private drive to the house.

First thing Justice noticed was a black Mercedes parked out front. Slick ride. Curious, he parked behind it, got out and started for the front door. Right before he reached the steps, the door opened and a suited GQ-looking guy got ushered out.

Tall, trim, blond-and obviously of the same moneyed ilk as Fallon's family.

Effectively backing him out the door, Fallon said, "Really, Marcus, I've been clear. I'm sorry, but it's over."

Huh. A boyfriend? Maybe past boyfriend, given Fallon's frown. Justice held back, watching and waiting.

Marcus took her hands. "Don't say that, Fallon. You can't mean it."

"I do." She tugged, but good ole Marcus didn't let her go.

That irked Justice big-time. He was about to intercede when Mr. Wade stepped out, and for once he looked pissed at someone other than Justice. "Go, Marcus. Don't make this more uncomfortable for her than it has to be."

"Please, sir, I need just a minute to speak with her."

"She doesn't want to talk to you," Mr. Wade insisted.

"Dad," Fallon complained. "I can handle this."

"I screwed up," Marcus rushed to say to her father, ignoring Fallon's objection. "I know that and I'm sorry. It just...took me by surprise."

"Marcus!" Face going red, Fallon glanced at her father, who didn't budge. "You don't have to explain. Seriously." She tugged again, but blondie didn't let go. "I understand. But surely you see-"

"It won't happen again. I swear."

"What," her father asked with growling menace, "won't happen again?"

"Dad," Fallon pleaded more urgently. Then to Marcus, "Don't do this. Please."

Justice decided he'd had enough. Interrupting whatever Marcus would have said, he announced himself. "Hey, Fallon. You about ready?"

Finally noticing him, her face lit up, then pinched in irritation as she forcefully yanked her hands from Marcus. "Yes, of course. I'll need only a minute."

"Sure." As he strode up the steps, Justice pushed the glasses to the top of his head, letting them catch in the messy fauxhawk that he knew needed a good trim.         

     



 

She looked nervously to her pushy swain. "Marcus..."

"I'm not leaving," Marcus insisted.

Yeah, Justice decided, he was. "Did I get here just in time to be useful?" His muscles clenched. He felt like cracking his knuckles-or the boyfriend's head.

"No! That is, everything's fine." Fallon floundered, then pulled back her shoulders and glared at Marcus.

"Fallon," the guy pleaded.

"Goodbye." After giving her dad a warning frown, Fallon sent a fast smile to Justice, then hurried inside.

Pinning his gaze to Marcus, Justice approached with as much menace as he could muster.

Marcus quickly stepped aside, caught himself and, instead of leaving, he struck an arrogant stance. "Who are you?"

"None of your business." Satisfied with Marcus's flustered reaction, Justice turned to her father with a cordial nod. "Mr. Wade."

"Mr. Wallington." He blocked the door. "I'd like a word please."

"All right." Justice had figured on getting an earful.

Mr. Wade turned to Marcus again. "Don't come back here uninvited or you'll find yourself out of a job."

Justice whistled low. Far as dismissals went, that was a brutal one.

Face going red, Marcus nodded. "As you wish." Trying to muster some dignity, he needlessly straightened his suit coat. "But I will speak with her again." He cast a cautious look at Justice, turned and left.

Both men watched, arms crossed, until Marcus had driven out of view.

Seeing a neutral opening, Justice asked, "Is he a threat?"

"Marcus? No, of course not." Mr. Wade closed the door behind him, giving them privacy outside. "You know that I fired you."

"Not something I would've missed." The man had shouted it at him in a rage.

"I hired you back only because Fallon insisted."

What was he supposed to say about that? No way would he thank him, so instead he settled on a simple, "Okay." He didn't want things to be more awkward than necessary, but hell if he'd grovel.

"I wouldn't have," Mr. Wade stated, "but she threatened to hire you herself. With her own money."

Fallon had enough of her own? Justice wasn't sure. Nothing in the research revealed her finances, and it didn't feel like an appropriate question to ask. Feeling his way, he said, "I gather you don't want her to do that?"

"No, I don't." Showing his frustration, Mr. Wade ran a hand through his hair, disrupting the meticulous style. "But Fallon is independent."

Justice almost choked on that. He banked the skepticism when Mr. Wade glared at him.

"You don't understand," Mr. Wade continued. "I would love to indulge her, but other than agreeing to live at home, she rarely lets me. Even for holidays-her birthday, Christmas-she complains if we give her too many gifts. She buys casual department store clothes, drives an economy car-"

"So far," Justice said, "I don't see a problem." He kind of liked the idea that Fallon was so low-key. Made it easier for him to relate to her.

"I was remiss in explaining things to you." Locking his hands behind his back, Mr. Wade paced. "Fallon received a sizable trust fund from my parents. If she chose to, she could live a very comfortable, independent life off that. However, she almost never touches the money. For the most part, she makes do with her limited salary."

"So it's because of this big inheritance that you wanted her protected?"

"Not entirely, no." Mr. Wade looked off down the drive, visibly gathering his thoughts.

Justice waited for him to explain the threat.

Instead, he said, "I didn't want Fallon to finally spend the money...only to spite me."

Damn, how big of a spat had they had? Justice found himself in the awkward position of feeling bad for Mr. Wade. "Yeah, okay, I get that." He cleared his throat, searching for words to smooth things over. "Look, I don't want to be a bone of contention between father and daughter. If there are strict rules here, just let me know and I'll do my best. But if I can speak up?"         

     



 

A touch of desperation held her father stiff. "By all means."

"Well..." Justice rubbed the back of his neck, completely out of his comfort zone. Hell, as a fighter, he'd hooked up with plenty of girls and never, not once, had he been forced through a heart-to-heart with a father. "Fallon's not a kid, right? The things she gets excited over, like drinking a beer? That's stuff she should've done years ago. Seems to me she's just spreading her wings a little, playing catch-up with other people her age. Why not let her? So she got a little drunk. You were mid-twenties once, right?"

After a moment, the slightest of smiles tweaked Mr. Wade's mouth. "Yes."

Somehow Justice couldn't see the staid man before him ever cutting loose, but whatever. "No harm was done. And that fight she mentioned wasn't much of a fight at all."

"She said the two of you were accosted by three men."

Bearing his own frustration, Justice propped his hands on his hips. "Yeah, but they were just bozos. I handled it, and I'll handle anything else that comes up." He threw caution to the wind and clapped a hand to the man's shoulder. "Let her cut loose in the way she wants-with me keeping her safe. You'll worry, sure. I get that dads do that."

Brows lifted, Mr. Wade looked first at the hand on his shoulder, then at Justice directly. "Your own father. Does he worry?"

"He passed when I was young. But my mom? That woman could worry paint off the wall." He grinned, gave the smaller man two strong shoulder slaps that left him staggering, then dropped his hand. "Thing is, Mom trusts me. I'm thinking you need to trust Fallon some, too."

"I do."

"Then how about trusting me? I come with good credentials." Not wanting to miss the opportunity, Justice moved on to more important matters. "So about this Marcus character..."