third partner, Angel, fell into the neutral category. He’d never been to the town. When he’d read the description, he’d been intrigued by the nearby mountains. Angel enjoyed the outdoors and getting away from the world. The rugged topography offered plenty of both. So the decision fell to Justice, who, honest to God, didn’t have a clue.
Except he did. There was a part of him that had always wanted to come back here. To the one place he’d felt welcome.
Patience was a big part of the pull, he admitted, if only to himself. He’d never forgotten about her and had often wondered where she was and what she was doing. With his resources, it would have been easy to find out. He could have had a complete dossier on her in less than six hours. Only he never had.
Now he knew she was in town and single, which made her a temptation. Their kiss the previous morning had only fueled the fantasy. He wanted more. He wanted her in his bed, pulling him close, taking him with as much passion as he wanted to take her.
Which meant the best solution for both of them was for him to walk away.
He knew who he was and the type of man he could become. Patience deserved better. He wanted to think he could be better, do better, than his father. That Bart Hanson’s DNA wasn’t his son’s destiny. But he couldn’t be sure. When his father had finally been captured and sent back to prison, Justice had been free to choose. He could have been anything, gone anywhere. The fact that he’d joined the army wasn’t noteworthy. His choice of occupation was.
He’d become a sniper. Not a cop, not a technician. The son of a murderer had chosen to kill others. It was the ultimate proof of the darkness in his soul. Which meant leaving made the most sense for Patience and her family. They deserved better than him. The problem was he didn’t want to go. And that made him the biggest bastard of all.
He heard footsteps on the concrete and turned to see a well-dressed older woman walking into the warehouse. Like Eddie from the day before, she had white hair. But the similarities ended there. This woman had on a well-tailored suit, pumps and pearls. She smiled as she approached and held out her hand.
“Welcome back, Justice Garrett. I’m Mayor Marsha Tilson. You probably don’t remember me.”
“No, I don’t. But it’s nice to meet you, again.”
They shook hands.
The mayor studied him. “You’ve grown up. I remember when you were a tall, skinny teenager. You were friends with Patience McGraw and Ford Hendrix. It was always the three of you, but I thought you had special feelings for Patience.”
He stared at the older woman. She was talking about relationships that had played out fifteen years ago. While the events had been important to him, he couldn’t imagine a woman in her fifties paying attention to the lives of a group of teenagers.
Her smile widened. “I can see my observations are startling. I confess I was intrigued by you from the very beginning. Your guardians did an excellent job of fitting in, but there were inconsistencies in their story. When you first arrived, it was obvious you’d suffered some kind of trauma.”
“You knew I was being protected?”
“No. I never figured that out. I thought maybe the man who claimed to be your uncle wasn’t a relative and that you didn’t want anyone to know. There could be many reasons for the subterfuge. So I watched to make sure you weren’t being abused, and when you began to settle in and make friends, I knew all would be well.”
He shifted slightly, uncomfortable with the idea that she’d been watching out for him. “I was fine.”
“Until you had to leave so mysteriously. We were all worried. Patience especially. Under the circumstances, you had to go. We see that now. But at the time, we were concerned.”
Obviously the mayor knew the story of what had happened. He shouldn’t be surprised. News traveled fast in a town this small.
“Now you’re here to open a business. Some kind of bodyguard school, I hear?”
He chuckled. “Is that what they’re saying?”
She laughed. “It is, although I’ll admit I had my doubts about that. What’s the real story?”
“The business will provide advanced security training of all kinds.”
“Not for your average mall cop?”
“No. We’re interested in the security forces who travel to the dangerous parts of the world. We’ll cover basic evasion techniques, hand-to-hand combat, along with weapons expertise. In addition, we’ll train security forces to understand the safest way to travel to and through the trouble spots. Most of that is about planning.”
They were also going to be offering workshops on dealing with local terrorists and hostage negotiations, but he doubted the mayor wanted to know the details about that.
“We’ll also be providing corporate retreats,” he added. “A facility where they can practice their team building.”
She nodded. “A nice steady source of income.” She paused. “Has Ford decided if he’s willing to move back to Fool’s Gold?”
Justice stared at her. How in hell did she know what Ford was thinking? “Not yet.”
She nodded. “He’s been gone a long time. The transition to civilian life is bound to be difficult for any soldier. But with what Ford has seen...” She sighed. “He has family here, which he probably considers both a blessing and a curse. I can’t help thinking he’ll need their support. There are other considerations, as well. What about Mr. Whittaker?”
“You know about Angel?”
“I’ve heard a few things. We haven’t yet met, although I’m looking forward to that.”
She moved toward the doorway. He found himself following, although he couldn’t say why.
“You’ll have some kind of physical-fitness facility?” she asked.
“Yes. And an outdoor obstacle course.”
“You’re very close to Josh Golden’s cycling school.” She handed him a business card. “You might want to speak to him about using the facilities. Cycling provides overall conditioning.”
He took the card. “You came prepared.”
“I’m always prepared, Justice. This is my town and I take care of my citizens.”
He got the message and braced himself for the warning. He told himself she was just an old lady who made smart guesses, but he didn’t believe it. She knew things and that meant she could easily have figured out his issues. She was going to warn him off, and he couldn’t blame her for that.
“You’ll find the city is very supportive of your venture. If you need anything, contact me directly and I’ll get you in touch with the right person. You belong here, Justice—I have a feeling about that.”
He’d been captured once. On a mission. Held and beaten for a few hours. He’d barely begun to prepare himself for the ordeal when his team had broken in and rescued him. He’d been as shocked by their arrival then
