His voice was crisp, authoritative.
“Hailey, before we get started, we need to get some serious drugs into you. I wouldn’t want that pained expression on your face to take hold. Don’t want to be responsible for spoiling perfection. Which makes me think that whatever drugs my big brother comes up with will be better washed down with a glassful of booze. Tell me, Sugar, which best suits your taste, expensive whisky or even more expensive scotch?”
Before she could answer, Jared added, “And don’t you dare tell me you prefer wussy white wine.”
Hailey managed a small laugh. She paused for a moment, realizing that for the first time Jared had called her by her real name rather than one of his disparaging nicknames. And considering what he’d said about her face, he might actually have paid her a compliment. Of course, it was all about her looks rather than her actions, but given his stream of seemingly never ending put-downs, she’d take a compliment no matter how lukewarm it was.
Hailey acknowledged that Jared was right. He’d pegged her as a clueless California beach bunny and before she’d started training for the Academy, that’s pretty much what she was. And, yes, she
did
prefer white wine over hard liquor. It was disconcerting that just having met her, he knew her so well. But when she saw the handful of pills Lt. Justice put in front of her, Hailey decided she better man up.
With a determined sigh, she said, “Since I’ve never had either one, I guess I’ll start with the scotch.”
Jared laughed. “Good choice, Angel Face. What with your first acquaintance with the hard stuff combined with some righteous drugs, we’ll have you toughened up in no time. Besides, if the Glenmorangie Scotch doesn’t float your boat, you can always hit the Maker’s Mark.”
When both he and Jake had piled on, Jared knew he’d gone too far with his relentless teasing. Hell, given that Hailey was a newbie, and a fucking clueless one at that, the least he
and
his brother should do was cut her a little slack. Looking as shattered as she must feel, when the little rookie had buried herself in Sgt. Solberg’s big comforting chest, Jared had an overwhelming need to get control of the situation
and
of her. Ashamed of himself, and desperately wanting to wipe the misery off of Hailey’s face, he’d yanked her out of Solly’s big bear grasp and taken her in his arms.
Parking her on the sofa, Jared knew enough about field medicine to know that Hailey was in severe pain, hence his chosen remedy of drugs and booze. Knowing she couldn’t tolerate much of either, he’d ordered Solly to hit the freezer in the massive kitchen and bring him a supply of ice packs. Now after 20 minutes, her elevated ankle was encased in legitimate ice packs and she’d swallowed several ibuprofens and a half glass of Glenmorangie. A minute ago she’d actually shot him a shy smile when he raised his glass to her in a silent toast.
Jared watched her carefully for the next several minutes as she sipped on the amber liquid. He was relieved when a slight flush pinked Hailey’s pale face with the righteous bruise marking her alabaster white cheeks. Thank God for the healing properties of expensive liquor. Of course the ibuprofen went a long way to boost the power of the booze. Whatever the reason, Jared was glad to see the little rookie actually smile at one of his tasteless jokes rather than looking as though she would burst into tears.
Staring at the young woman, Jared admitted that he was stunned by how lovely she was. Everything had been so crazy in the woods, including the fact he’d barely seen her face—although he sure as hell had felt her body. He knew he should be ashamed of the way he had come on to her. She was clearly under duress and frightened as hell. But his fury at being outed, and six fucking months working his way into the DC possibly down the drain, had short-circuited the distance between his big head and his small one. It didn’t help that she’d responded to him, which had only egged his dick on more. Remembering her soft breathless moans and shivering tremors, he had a sneaking feeling that Hailey was about as experienced sexually as she was a cop.
All of his recriminations hit the trash can as he studied her. What he hadn’t seen in the darkness was how truly beautiful she was. Christ, he wasn’t far off with his Miss Sweden taunt. Her honey-blonde hair tied up in a high ponytail with distracting tendrils falling around her face and neck made him wonder what it would take to weave those waves of sunshine in his expert fingers. His dick jerked at the thought, confirming that once again his little head was asserting its power. He’d felt enough of her sensational body to hazard a guess that if she hadn’t won at least three beauty crowns and a fitness contest or two, it was only because the judges had been blind. Dark feathery lashes and arched brows framed the wide–spaced, summer sky blue eyes that dominated her lovely face. Dragging his gaze from Hailey’s eyes to her mouth, Jared fought a surge of lust and promised himself that the next time he was on top of her, he’d insist that it be face to face. How else could he enjoy probing those full, luscious lips that begged to be kissed?
Jake’s pensive observation jerked him out of his lusty contemplation.
“Okay, Bro, looking on the bright side, tonight could have been an even bigger disaster. Fortunately, Officer Michels is the only one of our team who now knows that you were meeting me in the woods.”
Casting Hailey an intimidating glance, Jake said curtly, “I’m confident we can impress upon my rookie cop how important it is that she not disclose your undercover role.”
When Hailey started to interject, Jake shook his head and held up his hand, his frown deepening. “Hold up, Officer Michels. Both Agent Justice and I agree that it was a stroke of bad luck that you ended up in the wrong place at the wrong time. As I said earlier, I take responsibility for the fact that you were on the mission.” Again, he raised his hand stopping her objection. “If I’d paid more attention to the weather report and knowing our thick forests are challenging to navigate—especially for a newbie—I wouldn’t have included you on the op.”
Seeing Hailey’s flushed cheeks and downcast eyes that were no doubt brimming with moisture, Jared broke in.
“C’mon, Bro, lighten up. Yeah, we’re going to have to realign our strategy. Getting outed by the rookie has just forced us to speed up our timeline. Hell, if you think about it, if anyone was going to see me, it’s lucky the Valley Girl did. If I’m reading her expression right, all you have to do to keep her quiet is continue looking at her the way you are now. Shit, man, I’ve seen cornered baby fawns facing a Ten Point Carbon Xtra CLS crossbow who look less scared than the rookie does.”
As if seeing Hailey’s strained expression and obvious fear for the first time, Jake relented. Huffing a hard sigh, he nodded to his brother.
“You’re right, Jared.” Turning to Hailey, he said apologetically, “Look, Hailey, Agent Justice is correct. In truth, nothing that you did tonight has caused
irreparable
harm. Either to the operation or to your standing in my eyes. You’re a good cop, and you will be even better. And yes, you need seasoning, but for Christ’s sake, you’ve only been here for a month.” He snorted, and shot his brother a reproachful glare. “Hell, Officer Michels, you did what half the female population of our fair city has been unable to do: you bowled over my infamously elusive baby brother. Damn, you actually brought him to ground.” He shrugged and flashed Jared a grin. “Although I did notice that the ‘grounding’ appeared to be mutual.”
Chapter 4
J
ared chuckled and gave his brother a mock salute as he walked over to the bar and replenished his drink. Turning to Hailey, he raised his glass.
“Yeah, rookie, I gotta tell you, as if you didn’t know, you surprised the hell out of me tonight.” Eyeing her outstretched body he flashed a cocky grin, “In more ways than one. It’s not every night that a bodacious babe tumbles down a hill into my arms.” He added with a dismissive snort, “But as good as that roll down the hill was, it’s got repercussions that we need to deal with.”
Jake agreed with a hard sigh. “The understatement of the year, Bro.” Yanking his phone from its holster, Jake checked the i.d. then nodded to Jared and Sully.
“I need to take this.” He pinned a hard frown on Jared and said. “As for you, Bro, behave yourself. I think Officer Michels has had enough excitement for one night.”
Jared chuckled then turned to see Hailey studying the photograph on the fireplace mantel. He nodded at the picture with a grin.
“Believe it or not, that’s me at the ripe old age of eighteen. The Judge insisted that we get a picture of all four brothers before I went off to college. Guess he thought once I fled the nest I might not come back.”
He added with a rueful grin, “At the time that wasn’t unthinkable. Although I confess that as I grew out of my rebellious teens, my appreciation for my family has grown exponentially. I never realized how close my brothers and I were until they weren’t harassing my ass on a daily basis.”
Hailey studied the picture of the four Hollywood handsome young men clowning for the camera. She was stunned at how gorgeous they were. Trying to hide her amazement, she said, “Obviously I know Lt. Justice, and I met your brother Jorden, the District Attorney, the first time I testified in court.” Glancing at the man next to Jared she said, “I knew you had three brothers but I’ve never met him.” She studied the dark haired, green eyed man then met Jared’s gaze. “He almost looks like your twin.”
“So we’ve been told for years. That’s Jude. He’s two years older than I am and as you can see, is the better looking one.”
Hailey huffed a soft snort. As if anyone could be better looking than the arrogant man beside her. Wanting to continue the casual almost normal conversation she pointed to the laughing man with his arm around Jared. “Where does Jude live? I know I’ve never seen him here.”
“He’s overseas.”
Surprised at his curt response, Hailey asked cautiously, “Is he in the military?”
His eyes narrowing, Jared hesitated then said with a quizzical smile, “Let’s just say, he’s at an undisclosed location.”
At that moment, Jake strode into the room, a frown darkening his usually pleasant expression. He pulled up a chair in front of the sofa and nodded to the overstuffed armchairs, indicating that Jared and Solly should sit. Taking a hefty swallow of the amber liquid in his glass, Jake said. “Okay, team, let’s get started. Jared, how about you fill Officer Michels in on the op and then we’ll map out our plan?”
Jared sat in the chair across from his stern bother and put his glass on the end table. Not wanting to scare the rookie any more than she already was, Jared needed to impress upon her the assholes they were chasing and what could have happened if he had been one of them.
“Look, Sugar. I know you probably have a
Cartels for Dummies
understanding of the Dragon’s Curse, but let me tell you, take everything you’ve heard about them and add several hundred layers of viciousness, and know that you aren’t even close to knowing how bad these bad-asses are. Sweetheart, if I
had
been one of the DC gang, you wouldn’t be lying here sipping on Glenmorangie Signet.”
Jared closed his eyes to shutter the horrific image assaulting his all-too-knowing brain. He couldn’t hold back a harsh grunt as he glared at her. “No, Officer Michels, at this moment you would have known at least four of the assholes up close and personal. And, Honey, rape would only be the beginning of getting to
know
the motherfuckers.
If
you survived the night, Boris Jankosky, or Janko as he’s known, would decide if you were in good enough shape for another round. If you were, and you still looked halfway decent, Janko might make you his woman for a week or so. After that he’d pass you off to the gang in order of their seniority—and how open they were to sloppy seconds, thirds or tenths, whatever you were at that moment.”
Jared watched Hailey’s expression change from fear to horror. Deciding he’d made his warning gruesome enough to shock her, he continued.
“Rookie, I’m telling you this not to upset you, but to make you understand the kind of men we are up against. These guys are as bad as any I’ve faced. And that includes the murderous haji sons of bitches I tangled with in Afghanistan. Six months ago, I went undercover for my brother and the DEA. I’ve shown up in these parts only occasionally since I left active duty. The most the locals know is that I do off the grid government work. That alias allowed me to worm my way into the DC’s. I am well known in these parts as the youngest Justice Brother and as big a hell raiser as this staid city of ours has known. Janko and I hung out together as kids. I don’t know who was a bigger jagoff, Janko or me. I had what I considered at the time to be a disadvantage, three tyrannical big brothers and a grandfather who could scare the bad out of Attila the Hun. The four of them kept me on a leash so tight that not even Janko and the lure of the dark side could capture me.”
Lt. Justice shared an aggrieved glance with Sgt. Solberg then turned his stern gaze on Hailey. “Don’t think it was an easy job, Officer Michels. More times than I can count, my brothers and I nearly lost Jared to the bad guys.” He frowned at Jared and added with a grunt, “Although it took all of us hauling your ass back, I’m still not sure how we kept you from going over, Bro. Guess it was worth it, given that your badass rep made it a slam dunk to work you into the DC.”
Jake’s frown deepened and he huffed a gloomy sigh. “But I gotta tell you, as much as we needed an inside guy in that rabid pack of rats, I still hate the idea of my baby brother working side by side with those despicable animals.”
Jared snorted and chugged on his scotch. “Yeah, sure you do, Bro. That’s what you and Jude, not to mention Jorden and Grandpops, get for beating the crap out of me to turn me around.” Glancing at Hailey he said with a sneer, “Don’t misunderstand, rookie. They never actually beat me, they just set up a training regimen so arduous, I was lucky to make it through the day. Let me tell you, no undeserving fucker on a 19
th
century slave gang got worked harder than my loving family worked me. And I was only fifteen years old. Christ, in comparison, Ranger training was a slam dunk. Hell, just two days into it, when half the guys had vomited their guts up and were heading for the hills with their shriveled up dicks hiding in their asses, I was doing an extra 250 pushups morning and night to keep from going soft.”