Page 2 of Justice's Reward
Justice had served in the military and been a lawyer for JAG. When he was serving, he always imagined coming home and finding a woman who was strong and could live with his lifestyle. Then, after they’d been married a while, they could have a couple of kids, hopefully at least one boy to be the next generation of Saint’s Outlaws MC. Things hadn’t happened like that. He was a single dad who was the Vice President of a one-percenter motorcycle club that ran the gun and retribution market in Kansas City. They didn’t get involved in peddling flesh or drugs. Their primary revenue streams were guns and retribution, with theprotection market being the smaller venture. They didn’t shake down people for protection, but if store owners came to them, the Saint’s Outlaws MC provided motivation for others to leave the store alone.
He hugged his mom as he passed by where she was talking on the phone, taking a delivery. He chuckled. It was probably one of their most popular items. It was a get-well arrangement. What an oxymoron. Get-well arrangement was code for beat or threaten someone to get their agreement or to just make a point. Whether it was delivered by a Saint’s Outlaw MC member or friend of the club depended on where the recipient was. Justice had delivered one two weeks ago to a man who was fighting his wife in their divorce—the wife he beat continually. Needless to say, when Justice and his brother Tack got done with him,the man signed the divorce papers. Of course, Tack had needed to help him write his signature because of his broken fingers, but sometimes things happened.
Justice went into his mom’s office, where Ian’s portable crib was, along with a rocking chair. He stepped into his mom’s bathroom off her office to wash his hands. No way did he want to bring all the courthouse germs home with him. He hung his jacket up and then reached to take his little man from Pit, who had followed him in. He cuddled Ian close but held him so he could see Ian’s face.
If you’d asked him a couple months ago if someone he’d never met could take hold of his heart so completely, he would have said no. Then Ian came into his life. The first time Justice had held him in his arms, he’d known he’d burn the world to keep his son happy and safe.
“How’smy little guy today? Did Pit teach you about being a biker, and did Mimi hug and snuggle you?” Justice asked, staring into his son’s gray eyes.
“Yeah, I don’t know how much I’ve gotten to teach him. I’ve been here an hour, and she only let me take him because she got a call,” Pit grumbled, sitting down behind his mom’s desk.
“Like I could keep Ian away from the big, bad MC President if I wanted, and, seriously, of course, I snuggled and hugged him. He doesn’t give me grief like the adult men seem to,” his mom said, coming into the room and immediately washing her hands before sitting down in the chair across from Justice. She grabbed a couple cans of soda out of her refrigerator, handing one to Justice after opening it for him and one to Pit.
“How’s business?” Justice asked.
Ruthy shook her head. “We’re busy. Too many people not knowing how to treat women, but it pays the bills. I know he wasn’t planned, but oh my, I’m so glad you have him.”
Justice nodded and stared at the woman who’d raised him. She, along with his dad, had taught him how to treat people. Sure, they lived by their own set of rules, but never did his dad treat his mom as anything less than the woman he adored.
“Thanks, Mom, for everything you’ve done. I would have been lost trying to take care of Ian without you,” he said.
“Pshaw, you would have found your way. I didn’t raise a quitter,” she said, heading back to the shop, leaving him alone with his President and cousin.
His mom didn’t do well with compliments, but he wanted her to know how much she meant to him.
He brushed a kiss against Ian’s forehead. “We’ll just have to make Mimi know how much we love her and how special she is, won’t we? What brought you to the shop?”
“I was on the way home, bringing supper from the restaurant, and figured you might be getting here. Thought I’d offer to take little man in the SUV with me.”
“Why the SUV and not your bike?” Justice asked.
Pit rolled his eyes, leaning back in the chair. “Because my pregnant queen wanted so much food from the restaurant, there was no way it would fit in my saddle bags.”
Justice chuckled. Ariel, Pit’s wife, was due in a month and a half. The strong, fierce woman didn’t like that her body was at themercy of raging hormones and was keeping Pit on his toes.
He stood with Ian. “Yep, sounds perfect.”
His thoughts on the sassy attorney with the oh-so-sweet ass would have to wait.
Chapter Two
Adley parked her Jeep and tugged her hat a little lower. She’d been craving barbecue, and Adley’s favorite just happened to be Pit’s KC Barbecue, owned by the President of the Club.
Since Justice had immediately appeared the last couple of times she’d picked up barbecue, she’d called it in under an assumed name. Each time made it harder to ignore the man.
It had been two weeks since she’d lost her court case. Nothing had happened yet, but Adley was always on guard.
She pulled the door open and walked in. She glanced around and breathed a sigh of relief. No Saint’s Outlaws members. Score. She hid her smile so no one would think she was that crazy person smiling at nothing.
She walked over to the counter for to-go orders.
“Order for Tess,” she said.
“Sorry, we’re a little behind. It will be about five minutes,” the worker behind the counter said. “Grab a free drink on us.”
Adley nodded and decided she’d hit the ladies’ room before she got her drink. She was planning on taking her barbecue to the Overland Park Arboretum and Botanical Gardens. She’d pay a small fee, eat her supper, then enjoy a walk through some of the area. It was a three-hundred-acre park, so she’d just see a portion tonight, but it had become the place she liked to go to relax.
Adley walked down the hall to the restroom and passed the event room that Pit had available to rent. She paused, then decided she’d rush by. It was filled with Saint’s Outlaws members, and Justice was near the door holding his son.
