Red Rock Rises; Sexy Romantic Suspense; Book 1: The Red Rock Series (The Red Rock Seies) (28 page)

But it wasn’t Garret Chambers that Dameon was after. He moved in front of Martin Lawson, not letting him pass. The short pudgy man had to arch his back in order to meet Dameon’s gaze. Apparently he’d learned in the past that if his glare was menacing enough he could make up for his small stature. With other men it might have worked.

The pretentious bastard puffed up and said in his most withering lawyer’s voice, “What can I do for you, Chief Macarios?”

Dameon smiled. “There’s nothing that you can do for
me
, counselor. However I can help
you
. It’s always useful to know when the axe is going to fall, don’t you agree?”

Dameon made a point of looking at his watch, then continued.

“If my contacts in the U. S. Department of Justice are as strong as I know they are, you will be receiving a phone call in approximately three minutes.

“While you may not agree at the moment, it is a very good thing that you and your expensive gang of venomous bulldogs got your ass kicked in court today. I trust Dr. Chambers is paying you enough to make up for the ignominy of your defeat. Suffice to say that the U. S. Army was interested to learn that you and your law firm were using classified intelligence documents to smear a highly decorated United States Army Major. If my information is correct, and it is, you will be spending more time and money defending your scurrilous—and I might add,
illegal—
actions, than you’ve ever spent on a case. But then defending your firm against treason is likely worth the cost, don’t you agree?”

At that moment, Martin Lawson’s phone buzzed.

Dameon’s grin widened. “When you speak to Colonel Anderson, please tell him that Wolf sends his best. I haven’t seen Trevor since I was his unit leader in Afghanistan.”

Dameon nodded pleasantly then turned and walked down the hallway leaving the silent group of stunned men staring after him.

~~~

“Mom, I wish Coach could be here with us. I thought he would come to dinner with us to celebrate.”

Jesse stared at her earnest son across the table. She’d barely been able to eat but Trey had inhaled down enough food for the two of them.

His troubled expression struck her, doubling the pain smothering her. Knowing that she couldn’t avoid the issue, she breathed deep and met his anxious gaze.

“I wish he had come, too, Trey. I’m going to be honest with you. I really hurt Dameon’s feelings. He’s angry with me right now—for good reason.”

Trey frowned. “What did you do?”

Jesse sighed. Letting go of the pent-up air in her chest didn’t help. It just reminded her that she had to take another breath.

“I did the worst thing I could have. I didn’t trust him. The way I should have. I shut him out when he needed me and I needed him.”

“Why, Mom? Why would you do that with the Coach? He makes everything okay.”

Jesse shuddered at the truth of Trey’s words. “I don’t know. Sometimes, Trey, things from the past affect you more that they should. I let things that have happened to me in the past blind me.”

“But you’re always telling me you’re supposed to live in the moment, Mom.”

Jesse shook her head. “That’s the easiest advice to give, Trey, and the hardest to live. But, sweetheart, tonight let’s celebrate that we get to be together. Let’s talk about how we’re going to fix up your room. Let’s buy all new furniture—not only for your room but for the whole house. And then in two days you leave for D.C. for your class trip. Just think honey, seven days of fun. And no homework!”

Trey smiled shyly. “I’m gonna miss you, Mom.”

“I’m going to miss you too, honey, but we have a lot to look forward to when you return.”

Trey stood beside the table and moved awkwardly toward her. “Mom?”

“Yes, honey?”

“Coach said you never get too old for hugs. You look like you need a hug.”

Jesse closed her eyes, too overcome with sadness to pretend otherwise.

She managed to choke out, “Yes, Trey. I do. Thank you.”

~~~

After Trey left for D.C., Jesse insisted that Eric meet her for coffee. She was nervous to see him and his serious expression didn’t help. Not seeing the shred of a smile, she decided not to try to humor him.

“I know you’re angry with me, Eric. And I’m sorry. But I need to understand. How did you do what you did? How did you put this together?”

“First, Jesse, yes, I am angry. We came very close to losing Trey. As much as I admire your drive and determination, it gets in your way, sweet cheeks. But this time it could have had irreparable consequences.”

Jesse knew he was right. She’d been castigating herself for two days, horrified at how close she came to losing her son. She knew that she never would have survived the loss and her role in it.

Eric shook his head. “It’s over now, Jesse. And you won. But don’t misunderstand. You also lost. You hurt one of the finest men I know, my best friend in the world. And frankly you hurt me. I’m a hell of a good lawyer, Jesse. But you didn’t trust me to take a piss without your holding my dick.”

Jesse was startled by his outburst. Eric was the most even-tempered man she knew. And one of the funniest. But there was nothing humorous in his expression or his words. “Oh God, Eric. I’m sorry. Please, please forgive me.”

Eric sighed and held up his hands. “Of course I will. I’m sorry, sweet cheeks. I didn’t mean to dump on you like that. You were under a lot of stress. You went a little crazy.”

Jesse didn’t trust herself to answer, her pain was too intense.

“You ask how I did it
? I
didn’t, Jess. Dameon did. Dameon travelled across the country, Jesse. He tracked down your father. He made Sean tell him why you left the Army. What you wouldn’t let me tell him. He flew me into Georgia for a strategy session. We spent five hours going over those fucking pictures with members of your Ranger unit.”

At Jesse’s shocked gasp, Eric nodded.

“Yeah, Jesse, Dameon insisted your father give him the names of your unit members who were at Benning. He brought us all together in his hotel room and we worked out the strategy for your defense. Dameon led us every step of the way. We went over the locations on the pictures. Dameon knew your squad couldn’t testify but that he could. He already knew most of the places, your guys helped with the rest. It was your dad who remembered that you got commendations for most of those missions. Dameon came up with the idea of tying them together. Making it crystal clear that what those pictures really captured was the brave work of a courageous soldier in a dangerous place. He proved that you were a hero, not a whore.”

Jesse finally found her voice. “Dameon did that?”

“Yes he did, Jesse. Whose idea do you think it was to bring in Trey’s old coach? Dameon remembered how Coach Straight taped Trey’s games and sent them to you no matter where you were in the world. He talked to the principal at Trey’s school, and the basketball mothers and…”

Eric stopped and shook his head. He must have seen the pain on her face because he reached out and took her hand. For the first time since they sat down, his expression was soft, consoling.

“Jesse, Jesse, Jesse. That man is so much in love with you.”

Jesse was shocked and then sickened at the implications of what Eric said.

“Oh God, Eric. You… you… I think you’re right. Or you were. Dameon was in love with me.” She paused not wanting to put the painful reality in words. “But, he’s not anymore.”

She rested her head on the table trying to get a breath. Her chest was so tight it hurt to breathe, much less talk.

Eric’s voice came through the tunnel of her grief.

“Honey, I don’t know what to say. You’re breaking my heart.”

~~~

The discussion with Eric tore her apart. As she often did when trying to deal with a difficult problem, Jesse went to the park to run. To her surprise for the first time in memory, running didn’t help. It took too much effort. She sunk down on an empty park bench and began to cry. Although it was four a.m. in Korea, Sean’s voice was wide awake.

“Dad? I know what happened.”

“Do you now?”

“What have I done, Dad?”

“I don’t know, girl. What have you done? Did you thank Dameon?”

“He won’t talk to me. He said that we’re through….”

“I have a hard time believing that. I know how angry he was but—”

“Well you should believe it.” Not able to hold back her sobs, Jesse started to cry again, deep wrenching sobs.

Sean’s voice was anguished.

“Oh daughter, my dear daughter, I’m aching for you. I could say a lot of things now. But I think you need to spend time thinking about what happened and why you did what you did. I will tell you that I don’t believe that Dameon is gone. But darlin’ if he is, and you let a guy like that—a man so different from those other assholes in your life—slip through your fingers? Hell if you all but
shoved
him out? You need to figure out
why,
daughter, or you will never be happy. And Jesse, I want you to be happy more than anything in the world.”

Chapter 32

At the sound of breaking glass, Jesse shot up in bed. Her Sig was in her hand before her feet hit the floor. The first crash was followed by three others, and what sounded like as many shattered windows. What came next stopped her cold on the stairway, her gun raised protectively in front of her. There was no mistaking the sound of gunshots no matter how incongruous they were. In the rapid burst, she counted five shots. The eerie silence that followed was as frightening as the gunshots themselves. Jesse hovered on the dark stairway, then crept back up the stairs and reached for her phone on the bedside stand. Without thinking, she hit Dameon’s number. Realizing her mistake, she clicked end and called 911 instead.

At the dispatcher’s crisp inquiry, she whispered, “There’s someone in my house. Please send a squad.”

Just speaking the words galvanized her. Grateful that Trey had left for D.C. yesterday morning, righteous anger rolled up inside of her, chasing her fright. How dare someone attack her, in her own home, no less?! Oh God, what if Trey had been home? Hearing nothing but ominous silence, with her gun in one hand, she flipped on the lights in the hallway and headed to the kitchen, switching on lights along the way. A sight stopped her at the doorway. In addition to broken glass everywhere, she saw the rocks. They were hard to miss. The message was clear. As clear as the words painted on the rocks in blood red paint. Her fear quieted and anger took its place. Someone, some foolish person, was trying to scare her. You didn’t throw rocks in someone’s window if you wanted to kill them. Jesse silently shrugged, admitting that five bullets made the threat a helluva lot more sinister.

She rounded the house, her gun in ready position. Suddenly, she heard sirens. Oh fuck. She’d forgotten she’d called 911. Making a quick decision not to mention the gunshots, she met the first responders at the door. She reproached herself for her kneejerk wussy response. She never should have called them. She wasn’t willing to admit that what she’d really wanted was for Dameon to come. As a troop of officers and EMT’s flooded her downstairs, she got her subconscious wish anyway.

Dameon was out the door before Rocky had finished his description of the scene.

“There’s a rapid response team on their way, Wolf. I didn’t want to take any chances given that it was the Major.”

Dameon shoved at the fear roiling in his gut, glad that his voice was calm.

“You made the right call, Rocky. You have a sit-rep?”

“Looks like someone was trying to scare her, Wolf. Rocks through the windows. A lot of broken glass. Oh and the rocks have words on them. Painted in red.”

By the time Dameon took Jesse’s front steps two at a time, his fear had turned to anger. Seeing her standing in the kitchen in those damnable shorty pajamas, his anger catapulted. He couldn’t explain it and didn’t try. The sight of her surrounded by broken glass and rocks with
whore
,
slut
and
cunt
sprayed on them infuriated him. He took his anger out on the nearest person: her.

Jesse’s face lit when she saw him but the flames quickly died at his caustic greeting.

He kicked at a chunk of broken glass and threw her a disparaging glance.

“I’m surprised, Major. Why did you call 911? What did you expect us to do that you couldn’t do for yourself?”

Jesse flinched and stepped back, shocked at his harsh words. She stammered, “I… I wasn’t sure what it was—”

Dameon ignored her and turned to his team.

“False alarm, men. You don’t understand. Jesse can handle anything. She doesn’t need help. Whatever the problem is, it’s Major O’Donnell to the rescue.” Dameon rattled off his withering remarks as he walked through the kitchen kicking at glass, picking up one rock then another, the crease on his cheek getting deeper with every stone he examined. Not looking at her or his team who were eyeing him uneasily, he continued his caustic overview as he read the crime scene. “Nope, men, doesn’t matter how dire the circumstance. One thing you should know. Jesse doesn’t need help. Four men in the house? She’ll take ’em out. Twenty men? Hell, for Jesse? A piece of cake.” His team stepped back, sharing tense frowns and questioning glances.

Rocky walked in at that moment and picked up on his superior’s anger. He gave Dameon a warning nod. His voice was gruff.

“Hang in there, Wolf. You too, Jesse. I’m going outside to check the perimeter.”

Jesse tried to conceal her nervousness. She could only hope Rocky didn’t do a thorough search. In a vain attempt to stop him, she said, “I already checked it, Lt. Rockford. There was nothing—”

Dameon fierce glare froze the words in her throat.

“It may surprise you, Major. But when people call 911, it is because they need help. Now, in
your
case, perhaps you just wanted company.”

Jesse gasped feeling a surge of heat flood her cheeks.

At Rocky’s warning grunt, Dameon nevertheless added, “The police are
funny
that way, Jesse. They like to
help
people who they think need them.”