Page 48 of Loving Justice

Pok stayed seated and watched Justice cross the street. He grinned in satisfaction. He loved watching the disgraced fall from their throne. To him, Justice Rose was as low as dirt. She fucked Downs. She’d lain with the devil. And now she was married to Jinx, who should be dead.

When she disappeared inside the hardware store, Pok pushed up from the bench and headed down the sidewalk toward the park. With each step, he felt more vindicated. Alive. Destruction made him overjoyed.

He followed the narrow path into the park until he reached a spot concealed by a grove of trees and bushes. Lanah was waiting for him, appearing as anxious as Justice had been.

“Good work, Lanah,” he said as he approached.

She faced him, her bottom lip quivering and her eyes red as if she’d been crying. “There was nothing good about what we did.”

“Calm down, sweetheart.” He smoothed the backs of his knuckles across her cheek, but she jerked away. He laughed. “Quit acting like you care about any of the Rose family.”

“I’m not evil like you are.” Her voice was weak. “I did what you asked. I don’t want to have anything more to do with this.”

“Then you shouldn’t have allowed yourself to get pregnant,” he said through tight lips.

“It takes two to conceive a child.” Her chin tilted with a bravery that didn’t fit her innocent looks.

“You should be very pleased that Jinx is the father of your child. Bastards like him can’t abandon a child.”

She snorted. “Jinx isn’t the father of this child. You are. I told you from the beginning. Once this baby is born—”

He wrapped his hand around her throat and squeezed just enough to get her attention. Her eyes widened and filled with tears. “I warned you. Do not mention that I’m the father again. How would you know? You lifted your skirt for every Tom, Dick, and Cowboy in Sagebrush Pine.”

“Okay,” she whispered.

“What was that?”

“Okay,” she said louder.

He released his hand, but anger stayed rooted in his expression. “Because you did such good work, you’re safe, and your family is safe. Just remember that can change at any point if I suspect you suddenly grow a conscious and want to be honest.”

She lowered her gaze to the ground. “I did what you asked me to do.”

“Good, girl.” He smoothed his hand over her hair like he was petting a dog. “Don’t fret. This will all be over soon.”

He simply needed Lanah for a bit longer to bring his plan to fruition. Then he could get rid of her, and the town that he hated.

Chapter Fifteen

One week later.

Jinx was taking advantage of the fact that he’d been given the approval to start doing some of the lighter chores on the ranch. He wanted to jump back in with both feet, but he’d agreed to take things slow.

He finished tending to the livestock and took the bucket back into the barn. As he removed his gloves, the black silicone ring on his fourth finger caught him by surprise, just as it had been every time since Justice placed it there. The realization hit him hard, like an invisible punch to the gut. He was still trying to understand what had gone wrong between him and his wife.

After the ceremony, she’d invited him to her bed. Every night. And then one day, she shut him out, barely saying enough words to him to build a sentence over the last week. He’d tried to ask her what was wrong, but she’d given him the cold shoulder. It was like a switch had flipped. He was going stir-crazy because he couldn’t work his ass off on the land, and he had few ways of releasing his stress.

He missed his wife.

His wife.

It had a special ring to it.

He wanted to make things right between them, but he had no clue what he’d done to create the wedge.

Jinx was finishing up for the day when he heard a car pull up outside the barn. He stepped outside and saw Lanah. He met her halfway, curious why she was there. He’d made his thoughts on the matter of them continuing any kind of relationship abundantly clear the last time. “What brings you out here?” He stuffed his gloves into his back pocket.

Her frown deepened. “Considering it has been a week, and I haven’t heard a peep from you it makes a girl a little curious.” She crossed her arms over her waist. She looked tired and unhappy.

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