Page 4 of Loving Justice

Jinx narrowed his gaze. “Excuse me, sir?”

“Stay close to Justice, still on the down low. Downs is a snake. He might do something unwise if he feels he didn’t get what he wanted.”

Jinx knew he was betraying Justice further, but he trusted Sam. Downs wouldn't leave easily. Jinx lacked details, but the crew's chatter about the sinister businessman made him question why Justice got involved.

“I doubled the cash,” Sam added.

Needing the money, Jinx simply nodded. “I don’t mind helping, but I need to take a day off. I need to head home to check on Ilene.”

Sam nodded. “Of course. Take the weekend.”

Standing, Jinx grabbed his hat off the hook and headed for the door. He stopped with his hand on the doorknob. “I know it’s none of my business, but sometimes we see what we want to see. Someone like Downs can be convincing.”

And then he left.

Chapter One

“You were sleeping with the enemy.”

Justice Rose swallowed the sip of cosmopolitan down the wrong pipe. Once she wrangled control over the sputtering and coughing attack, she exclaimed, “What are you talking about?” She delicately wiped her mouth with the napkin from her lap.

Freedom didn’t even flinch. “Kent Downs. Ring a bell, sis?”

Justice scanned the restaurant before leaning over her endive salad. “H-how?”

“How did I find out?” Freedom’s reserve slipped as her eyebrow arched. “He told me, and that’s not the worst thing. He has photos of you at his house.”

As her stomach churned, Justice drained the rest of her drink and signaled to the server to bring another. “I have carried the weight of this around for months. I was hoping it would all just fade away.” She hated that her voice sounded like a whippoorwill, but for months, she’d kept Kent and their affair a secret. Now that the cat was out of the bag and she had someone to talk to, she felt like she’d been freed from a barbed wire fence. That is until she saw the disappointment in her sister’s expression.

“Men like Kent don’t fade away until they get what they want. Has he used the photos against you? To keep you in his clutches?”

Justice shook her head. Relief started to show in Freedom’s expression. “No. At least he hasn’t voiced anything of the sort. Why did he show you the photos?” She wrung the napkin in her hands, imagining it was Kent’s neck. He’d brought her nothing but turmoil since she called off their arrangement.

“He wanted me to stay quiet about my suspicions that he participated in poisoning Midnight and Requiem.” Sadness crawled across Freedom’s features. The horses being poisoned had been traumatizing for her. She’d lost Midnight, and Requiem had lost his ability to be used as a breeder. “Why did you fall in with the likes of him? You know that he’s a snake, Justice.”

Pausing while the server brought her another Cosmo, she finally said, “Yes, I’d heard the stories, but I thought—”

“That he’s different?” Freedom rubbed her temples. “Isn’t that a mistake we always make? Believing that someone isn’t who they portray themselves as?”

“I did smarten up.”

“Before or after the pictures?” Freedom snapped, then sighed. “I love you, but involving yourself with men like Kent is only asking for problems.”

“The affair has been over for months,” Justice stated firmly. “This is a moot conversation.” Shame cascaded through her, which was why she didn’t tell anyone. Justice had jumped off a cliff right into the devil’s arms. But Kent hadn’t been the devil at first. He’d been exciting and genuine, and they would stay up for hours drinking wine and talking. He’d made her smile and laugh, something she would have never expected from a man considered wicked. She couldn’t say that she’d loved him, but she’d been infatuated.

Until he ghosted her.

He refused to take her calls, didn’t answer her messages, and turned her away when she showed up to speak to him. So, she’d walked away, washing her hands of the entire situation.

Out of nowhere, he called her on her birthday, telling her how much he missed her and wanted to see her. She got caught up in those feelings again, only for him to push her away a few months later because his work took priority.

She realized she had to take her life back at that point.

“Talk to me, honey. What happened?” Freedom said softly, making it easier for Justice to open up.

“I learned my lesson and swore I’d never see him again. He wasn’t always evil, Free. I saw parts of him that no one else saw.” Justice reminded herself not to return to those old ways of defending a man who didn’t deserve her riding to his defense. She’d given him her trust, and he’d betrayed her.

“The devil can be impressive at times, but I understand. I do.”

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