As they carefully picked their way down the murky path, Jared decided it was a damn good thing the moon had chosen to bury itself behind the impenetrable clouds. He knew from long experience that Jake wouldn’t be able to keep from remarking on Jared’s obviously aroused state. As it was, his brother’s occasional snicker confirmed that the random slivers of moonlight strafing the path were more than adequate to publicly reveal Jared’s prominent reaction to the little blonde rookie who’d turned his night and potentially his life upside down.
Chapter 2
J
ared waited while Solly raised the cargo door of the police van then rested Hailey’s backside on the edge of the loading deck. Keeping her injured leg extended in front of her he carefully slid her into the back of the van. Scrambling up beside her he grabbed a stored tarp and wrapped it around her legs and hips. Elevating her injured foot on a weapons kit, he folded a smaller tarp into a makeshift pillow and tucked it behind her head.
Grunting softly, he stroked her cheek. “That should keep you warm and as comfortable as I can make you until they get you into some dry clothes.
And
shove a few dozen ibuprofens down your throat.” He slid out of the van and met her questioning gaze. Flicking his fingers in a careless salute he said with an impudent grin, “Catch you later, Valley Girl.”
He added with a mock frown as he prepared to close the cargo door, “And stay out of trouble, little rookie, you hear?”
Hailey leaned against the backseat of the van and listened to the men’s voices through the open window, struggling to come to grips with her impossible situation. Except for the agonizing pain in her ankle she wouldn’t have believed the events of the last three hours were real. How could she? They were truly unbelievable as well as inconceivably embarrassing. To recap, on her first mission with the Duluth PD she’d managed to: lose her squad; blow the cover of her commander’s undercover agent; possibly irreparably destroying the overall mission; be assaulted by said agent who happened to be her commander’s brother; and not incidentally—to
respond
to said undercover agent’s sexual advances. It was that last component that had Hailey squirming with mortification and praying that the vivid memories tormenting her were her amped up brain’s idea of a hideous joke.
Unfortunately the sound of Jared’s deep voice and earthy chuckle confirmed that her humiliation was real. No, there was nothing imaginary about the tall, dark-haired man standing scant feet away. Saved by the barrier of the van between them, Hailey allowed herself to remember her assaulter grinning at her before he shut the cargo door. God, was it possible that he truly was that gorgeous? Ruggedly handsome didn’t begin to describe him. She slammed her eyes shut trying to erase the image of the powerful man—but there was no way her sex-sodden brain would allow her to dismiss the brilliant picture ravaging her psyche.
She shouldn’t have been surprised that he was beyond gorgeous. Look at his brother for God’s sake. All of the women at the DPD, from the hardened female homicide detectives to the starry eyed interns in accounting, lusted after Lt. Jake Justice, their commander. How could they not? The top cop in the biggest police department in Minnesota, except for the ones in the Twin Cities, was every woman’s fantasy he-man. If that fantasy happened to include a muscular, six foot plus frame, black curly hair, slate gray eyes and a 1,000 watt smile. Hailey admitted that she hadn’t been immune to her commander’s many charms. But given Lt. Justice’s professional bearing and the respectful distance he maintained between himself and his admiring flock of breathless females, Hailey kept her fantasies where they belonged—in her imagination.
But not even in her imagination, active as it was, could Hailey have conceived of the fantasy come to life—in the form of the commander’s “baby” brother, Agent Jared Justice. Nope, the outrageous man who had spent at least ten minutes assaulting her in the most insulting yet tantalizing ways imaginable was the equivalent of his older brother, only more so. He was as tall as the Lieutenant and definitely as muscular, and he shared his brother’s drop dead good looks. But, Agent Justice went one better. In short, the devilishly handsome, emerald-eyed charmer was every woman’s wicked dream and her mother’s worst nightmare, the bad-boy come to life.
It wasn’t until Jared had put his hands on her shoulders and forced her to look at him, insisting that she tell him where she was hurt, that Hailey had done more than glance at the man. How could she given that most of their short acquaintance took place with her lying on the ground with the powerful man stretched out on top of her? Until he insisted she look at him the most that Hailey knew was that the scary stranger was exceedingly strong, had a compelling voice, wickedly roving hands, and without a doubt, an erection the likes of which she had never felt.
And
that in their brief encounter he’d aroused her more than she’d ever been aroused in her life.
Even now the memory of what he had done and said to her
and
the way that
she
had responded to him, shocked and exhilarated her. Feeling her cheeks heat and her stomach clench she acknowledged that the worst part was that he’d known how she’d responded to his sexy overtures. How could he not, considering that she hadn’t been able to keep from moaning! Good God, it was bad enough that she’d never be able to look him in the eyes again without blushing. She could only hope that he hadn’t known that his advances had made her nipples harden and her panties wet. But given where he’d put his fingers.…
Hailey had been so caught up in her machinations that she wasn’t aware that the van had left what she was now calling the ‘scene of the crime’ and arrived at their destination. To her surprise and relief, it was Sgt. Solberg, accompanied by her boss, Lt. Justice, who opened the cargo door. Peering into the streetlight lit night Hailey saw that they had parked in front of the Justice family home. When she first arrived in Duluth, a pleasant woman from the HR department had given her the newcomer’s city tour. Betty Zigmanski insisted that one of the “must see” attractions in the charming city located on the shores of Lake Superior, one of the five Great Lakes, was the historic mansion on the hill, known simply as the Justice Mansion.
“We decided that it was best to bring you here, Hailey, rather than to the station. We need to debrief Agent Justice and now that you know his identity, you need to be in that briefing.”
From the frown on Lt. Justice’s face and his curt tone, Hailey knew that her escapade had not done her any favors in her commander’s eyes. Rather his unusually somber expression and tense body language confirmed that she had gone down in his estimation, likely irreparably. When she started to haul herself out of the van, Lt. Justice put up his hand and stopped her. Ignoring her insistence that she could walk, Lt. Justice nodded to Sgt. Solberg.
“Take her upstairs, Solly, to the lounge. I called ahead and instructed Margarite to dig up some dry clothes for her. When she’s changed, bring her back down to the library.”
“Copy that, Lieutenant.”
The big man scooped her up in his arms and headed toward the extraordinary house at the end of the cobblestone path. Once inside, Solly trotted up a winding staircase. From her helpless perch in Solly’s enveloping grip, Hailey forced herself to pay attention to the remarkable architecture of the famous turn-of-the-century Queen Anne mansion. Awed by the impressive art and architectural features, Hailey forgot for a brief moment why she was here and allowed herself to marvel at the historic masterpiece.
Sgt. Solberg entered what looked like a large sitting room, then walked across the carpeted expanse to a door that opened to a bathroom. Once inside the surprisingly modern bathroom, Hailey saw a stack of clothes on the counter. Solly carefully stood her on her feet and pointed to the clothes.
“How about it, Officer, you think you can get out of those wet duds into these dry ones? Although from the looks of ’em they will be at least five sizes too big.”
The embarrassed expression on his flushed face as he looked her up and down, confirmed that the last thing he wanted to do was to help her undress.
Hailey managed a short laugh. “Don’t worry, Solly. I’m glad to get out of these clothes and I definitely can dress myself.”
After he assured her that he would be right outside the door, Hailey desperately eyed the toilet across the marble floor. Clinging to the edge of the counter she gingerly made her way to the commode. When she reached it she shoved her damp trousers to her knees and gratefully sunk onto the toilet seat. After she relieved herself she began the arduous task of getting rid of the rest of her wet clothes. Grateful for the stack of fluffy towels on the edge of the sink, Hailey dried her shaking body. She didn’t have to look in the mirror to know that her chilled body was covered with goose bumps, but she wasn’t prepared for how pale she was. Staring at her stark white reflection marred by ugly scrapes and bruises, it was no wonder Solly thought she couldn’t dress herself. Good God she looked like a survivor of a desperate mission gone bad, which considering what had happened tonight, she was.
In a crazy way it helped that the sweat shirt and sweat pants some kind person had laid out for her
were
at least five sizes too big. She managed to get the pants over her swollen ankle and finished dressing. Shrugging at her reflection, she acknowledged that only a hot bath and a soft bed would begin to relieve the tension that was rampant on her pale face. Hopping carefully to the door she called out to let Solly know she was ready. In seconds he was at the door reaching for her. When she wasn’t able to stifle her pained cry when he scooped her up in his arms, he was aghast.
“Damn, Hailey, I’m sorry. It’s just that with dry clothes I thought you would be feeling better. I almost forgot about your ankle.”
Trying to reassure him, Hailey said bravely, “I…I’m really okay, Sergeant Solberg. I…I think I might be able to walk…”
Solly snorted as he marched toward the ornate staircase.
“Sorry Hailey, I value my family jewels too much to risk the wrath of the Justice Brothers. No Sirree. The commander told me to carry you to the library and, Officer Michels, that’s precisely what I’m going to do.”
Settling back against his massive chest, Hailey tried to relax, convinced that the night couldn’t get any worse. She revised her hopeful conclusion when Solly kicked open the library door with his massive boot. Standing with his back to the door, at what appeared to be a lavishly stocked bar, was none other than her nemesis, Agent Justice. Glancing over his shoulder, Jared’s dark green eyes lit with amusement. Confirming that her imagination had not been exaggerating, Hailey acknowledged that her attacker was even more compelling than she’d thought. She’d forgotten the dark beard that made him look like a pirate although she’d certainly felt it rasping against her cheek and neck. And how could she have forgotten his powerful thighs that his lazy pose emphasized when he turned and leaned back against the bar? His lip quirked up with a sly smile as he turned to his brother who’d joined him at the bar.
Nodding at her and Solly, Jared said, “Well, well, look who the big bad commander brought with him. I’m glad you agreed that we should include the little rookie in our discussion, Jake,
and
that you got her out of those wet clothes.” A grin kicked up the corner of Jared’s mouth. “I’m just sorry, Sgt. Solberg, that you didn’t wait for me. I would have been pleased to ahh
help
you with the dressing and undressing process.”
Chapter 3
N
ot hiding his displeasure, Jake grunted. “That’ll do, Jared. The situation is bad enough without you adding sexual harassment of one of my officers to your offenses. And, Dude, much as I would like to think that tonight never happened, since Officer Michels is now one of only six people who know that you’re working undercover with the DC, whether I like it or not, we need to include her in our discussion. If for no other reason than to keep her from endangering you and the op more than she already has.”
Jared chuckled. “Yeah, Bro, if the little rookie is anything, she’s dangerous. I’ll definitely have to be on guard.”
Lt. Justice snorted as he poured himself a healthy portion from the bottle of Maker’s Mark on the bar and quaffed half of it. Glaring at his brother, he said, “How about you be on your best behavior instead, little brother? We have some serious shit to deal with, Jared, and I do not like having a rookie officer involved in it.”
Hailey hated that her usually pleasant commander was clearly annoyed with her—but she had expected that. God knows she deserved his anger. What she hadn’t expected was that Agent Justice would continue to taunt her with overt overtures. Obviously he saw her as a bungling woman with long blonde hair, big tits, and a nice ass; certainly not as a respected fellow officer of the law. But then most of her colleagues couldn’t seem to get past her appearance either. The problem with the amused man grinning at her was that her actions had
earned
his
disrespect. She could almost handle that. What she couldn’t handle was the knowledge that her commanding officer had relegated her to the same unprofessional camp. Ducking her head against Solly’s shoulder, to keep from looking at either of the Justice Brothers, Hailey promised herself that she would slit her wrists and bleed to death right there on the Justice’s imported carpet if a single drop of the waterfall burning her eyelids dared to fall.
From the shelter of Solly’s massive chest, Hailey didn’t see Jared coming toward her. She could only let out a startled squeak when he wrested her from the gigantic sergeant. As if she weighed nothing, Jared carried her over to the brocaded divan and set her down. He propped her up against one of the large rolled arms then put several throw pillows under her injured foot. When she managed to meet Jared’s gaze, Hailey was startled to see that he looked serious, the way that he had in the forest when he realized that she was hurt. She didn’t know which was more challenging, his open derisiveness or this grim, narrow-eyed focus on her. Both made her feel insignificant and helpless in the face of his overwhelming presence.