Trigger (Circle of Justice #1) Read online

  He looked deeply into my eyes. “So you have.”

  “And if we cross this line, things will have to be different between us,” I admitted tenderly. “Is that a risk you’re willing to take?”

  He lowered his lips to mine and I closed my eyes, loving the way my lips tingled every time they touched his. “Yes,” he answered. “I’d risk just about anything for you.”

  Looking at him, I smiled and wrapped my legs around his waist, feeling his cock jump in anticipation as I rubbed against it. “Then let’s do this.”

  Ever so gently, Preston unhooked my legs and crawled down my body. Lowering his head, he flicked his tongue across my clit. I gasped.

  When he chuckled, his breath fanned across my body, making it even more sensitive. I’d only had one guy go down on me in my lifetime and it actually sucked. But Preston . . . his tongue worked wonders. Every time he pushed his tongue inside of me, he rolled it around, tasting me while nuzzling my clit with his nose, keeping me stimulated.

  “Preston,” I moaned, fisting my hands in his hair. I was so close.

  He hummed over my center, making me convulse. “Let me make you come.”

  It brought me to the brink once I saw how aroused he was, his hips thrusting against the bed in sync with the flicks of his tongue. I screamed out his name as the force of my release had me arching off the bed, my hands holding him still as I grinded against his face.

  Slowly, I released my hands and brought them to my chest, where my heart thumped wildly. That was the best orgasm I’d had in years.

  “I think you’re ready now.” He smiled as he wiped his mouth on the back of his arm.

  Leaning over me, he rocked his hips against mine, using his thumb to push his arousal along my slit, getting it nice and wet. Then, the tip found its mark, pushing inside, stretching me. Taking a deep breath, I closed my eyes as he pushed in the rest of the way. The pain of it made my eyes water, but it was a good pain. In fact, I needed more.

  “You can go harder. I promise I won’t break.”

  “Are you sure?” he asked.

  Capturing his face in my hands, I bit his lip and sucked on it as hard as I could. He growled low and gripped the edges of the pillow beneath my head. I loved that he was worried about me, and it made me care about him more than ever. But what I really needed to feel was the heat I knew he restrained deep inside of him.

  “Yes, now stop holding back.”

  Almost immediately, his breathing picked up and his eyes darkened, the intensity building in the room. I shivered in response and gripped my legs tighter around his waist, rocking my hips hard against his. That was his undoing.

  Fisting his hands in my hair, he pulled my head to the side and bit down on my neck, his thrusts growing deeper and faster. I screamed out in pleasure, but Preston silenced me by closing his lips over mine. The harder he pushed his body into me, the closer I was to losing control. I could tell he was close. As soon as I started to clench down on him, he released my hair and brought his hands down to my face, keeping his eyes locked on mine.

  Digging my nails into his skin, I rode wave after wave of pure bliss, as the longest damn orgasm of my life rocked through my body. It only intensified when Preston growled in my ear, biting down on my lobe as he too released, pulsating inside of me.

  Breathing hard, he lifted up on his elbows and stared down at me. I could almost see the old Preston looking back at me. I smiled. Things were about to change.

  I didn’t realize I’d fallen asleep until I woke up in Preston’s bed, two hours later. My pulse spiked when I realized what time it was; we were supposed to listen to more auditions. Preston was nowhere to be found, and his clothes were gone. There was no sound in the house and my first thought was that he left me there.

  Gut clenching, I jumped out of bed and hastily put on my clothes, stopping when I noticed one of the pictures on the wall. It was a picture of Preston with his family. His mother and sister were both beautiful. I couldn’t believe someone would murder them in cold blood. But then again, we lived in a world with horrible people.

  The bedroom door was open, but the other two rooms across the hall were closed up. A sound came from downstairs and I breathed a sigh of relief. At least he hadn’t left me there. Creeping down the steps, I peeked around the corner into the living room. Preston’s back was to me, but he stood there, staring at the now patched up wall. Before, there had been three large holes.

  “Hey,” I murmured.

  He glanced at me over his shoulder. “Hey.” My insecurities must’ve shown through because his brows furrowed. “You okay?” I nodded and plastered on a smile, but he could see right through it. “You thought I left, didn’t you?”

  I shrugged. “You do have a habit of walking away from me.”

  A sad expression passed across his face. “I’m not going anywhere, Emma. I told you I’d protect you.”

  “Remember it was Glenn who took me? I’m not in danger.”

  “Still,” he replied. “I’m not letting you go anywhere without me.”

  “Speaking of going somewhere,” I pointed at the grandfather clock in his living room, “we were supposed to be at the theater thirty minutes ago.”

  He shook his head. “No, we have the day to ourselves. I called and postponed it. We’ll listen to the rest of the bands tomorrow. Besides,” he said, his voice low, “I didn’t want you asking me to take you to that café you like to go to.”

  That took me aback. “Why not? They have the best blueberry scones and hot chocolate.”

  Crossing my arms, I walked over and leaned against the side of the couch. There was a pan of sheetrock mud on the floor, leftover from when he’d patched up the wall.

  He looked over at me, his mouth set in a firm line. “I don’t want to have to tell your friend to fuck off again.”

  “Who?” I shrieked.

  “It’s pretty obvious, Emma.”

  Eyes wide, I gasped. “John?”

  “Yep.”

  “Wow, I had no idea.”

  He stared at me in disbelief. “Really? The first moment I saw him look at you, I knew he was hard up.”

  I couldn’t help but smile. “Jealous?”

  He huffed. “I’m not gonna lie, okay? I didn’t like him looking at you.”

  Seeing him actually show another emotion made me smile. “You have nothing to worry about. I know what I want.”

  “Good. Because I told him you were dating an MMA fighter who would fuck him up if he tried to get in your pants.”

  I groaned. “Great. Now that’s going to make things awkward when I talk to him again. He’s one of my top five picks.”

  “He’ll get over it. And if his band wins the spot, I’ll be the one dealing with him.”

  “Are you really going to work for Chandler Enterprises?”

  He released a long, hard sigh. “I don’t know. I’m not sure what I’m going to do anymore.”

  “I don’t care what you do, so long as you don’t run away again.” Putting my arm around his waist, I snuggled up to him, my gaze fixed on the patched wall. “By the way, why did you do that?”

  He paused, staring at the wall. “Many reasons. The first being, someone broke into the house and destroyed my sister’s room. We dusted for prints and came up empty. I think they were looking for something.”

  “Glenn had told me about the break in,” I said, sliding over so I could look at him. “Do you know who it was?”

  The muscles in his jaw ticked. “No. But I think the person who killed my family knew my sister. They had to have used a key to get in. Whatever they were looking for, I don’t know if they got it.”

  “Do you have any idea what it could’ve been?”

  “I don’t know at this point,” he said with a shrug. “As a kid, I used to try to find Cameron’s diary so I could read it and make fun of her. She hid it in a new spot every day to throw me off.”

  “Maybe that’s it. I’m an expert at hiding things. Do you want me to see
if I can find it?”

  He glanced over at me and frowned. “I found it a long time ago, Emma. There was nothing out of the ordinary in it.”

  “Then maybe there was something else?” I suggested.

  “Yeah, but what? I’m sure my sister had her secrets, but I can’t think of a reason why anyone would go as far as to kill her and my mother.”

  I squeezed his shoulder and rubbed my fingers soothingly over his skin. “I can help you, Preston. Just let me look through her room and if there’s anything hidden, I’ll find it.” I jumped to my feet, but he grabbed my wrist, his expression dangerously serious. It was easy to see why people would be afraid of him.

  “I don’t want you involved,” he growled. “It’s too dangerous. Once we’re done with the bands, you’re going back to Charlotte.”

  “And what will you be doing, finding the killer on your own? Glenn told me he thinks the girl who was murdered the other week was killed by the same man who took your family.”

  There was no denying the rage building in his gray eyes. He squeezed my wrist and pulled me to him. “You’re not helping me. That’s final.”

  Lifting my chin, I didn’t back down from his stare. “I am going to help you, whether you like it or not. I’m not leaving you.” I caressed his cheek and felt his tension ease, but only slightly. I still had a lot of work to do on him. “Please don’t make me go. Believe it or not, Glenn hired me for a reason. He knew I can handle you and all the scary shit that came along with it.” He was only a couple inches taller than me, but I still had to stand on my tiptoes to kiss him. “Let me help you.”

  His lips responded to mine and I moaned. Lifting his hands to my face, he held me tight. “If things get bad, you’re heading back to Charlotte. Until then, you can stay. Deal?”

  “Deal,” I agreed triumphantly. “Now let me see what I can find in your sister’s room.” I tried to walk away, but he wouldn’t let me go.

  “Not yet. There’s something else that happened,” he hedged, looking almost guilty.

  The change in demeanor threw me a bit. “What is it?”

  “What all do you know about my father?”

  I took a deep breath and felt the burn build behind my eyes. I knew all about Preston and his father, about how he hadn’t seen him in years, and I told him as much.

  He nodded sadly. “I told myself I wouldn’t see him until I killed the fucker who took everything away from us.”

  “What if that never happens?”

  “It will happen,” he said, his voice low and dark. “It’s only a matter of time.”

  I threw my hands up in the air. “So you’re just going to let your dad die without seeing him again?”

  He flinched and turned away. “I found out this morning he had a stroke. They took him to the hospital.”

  “Oh my God, why didn’t you say something sooner? Let’s go see him. This will be here when we get back.” I started toward the door, but when I turned around, he hadn’t moved. “What are you doing? Let’s go.”

  He shook his head. “I can’t.”

  Taking a deep breath, I opened the door slowly, glancing at him over my shoulder. “It’s funny . . .”

  His gaze narrowed. “What is?”

  I stared him down. “I didn’t take you as the kind of guy to be scared.” With those final words, I walked out the door.

  Preston

  The woman was going to drive me in-fucking-sane. I knew the second I let her in, it’d be my undoing. I wasn’t ready to see my father, not after staying away for so many years. I tried blaming my fucked up life on him, when in all honesty, it was my own fault. It was better to push everyone away and not give a shit, than deal with the disappointment on their faces when I didn’t live up to their expectations.

  A part of me wanted to go back to that way of life, but Emma was like a drug. I didn’t just want her . . . I needed her. Even now, watching her as she stared out the window of my car, all I could think about was throwing her on my bed and forgetting every fucking thing in my life, except how it felt to be near her.

  We pulled into the hospital parking lot and parked; only, I wasn’t ready to get out of the car.

  Emma grabbed my hand and squeezed. “I know you don’t want to be here, but you’ll regret it for the rest of your life if something happens to your father and you never made an effort to see him again.”

  She was right, but I didn’t know if I was ready. Getting out of the car, it felt like my shoes were full of lead. It took all I had to get inside the door.

  The lady at the front desk was busy typing away on her computer, but when we walked up, she stopped and smiled at us. “May I help you?”

  “We’re here to see David Hale. He was brought in this morning. I’m Preston Hale, his son.”

  “Of course. Give me one second to see what room he’s in,” she said, focusing back on the computer. She gave us his room number and directed us to the right set of elevators.

  Once we got inside, Emma clasped her hand with mine. “You’ll do fine. I promise. I honestly wouldn’t know what to do without my dad. I miss my parents so much as it is. I’m proud of you for doing this.”

  “How often do you see them?” I wondered.

  “Usually every weekend when I’m back home. You’ll have to come over for Sunday dinner when we get back. My parents would love to see you again.” I’d met them a few times back when we were in school. They used to come up and watch us play at the college club. “However, we might have to come up with a story on where you disappeared to,” she added. “I talked about you all the time.”

  “I’m sure we can think of something.” For the longest time, I thought she and everyone else would’ve forgotten about me. Looking back, I’d give anything to have done things differently.

  The elevator doors opened and we walked into the hallway and down to my father’s room. Emma stopped at the door, placing her hand on the handle. “Ready?”

  No.

  She opened the door and I walked through. The shades were up and the sun shone into the room. My father was asleep, tubes going in and out of his body.

  “Wow,” Emma whispered, holding onto my arm. “You look just like him. I saw your pictures, but it’s different seeing him in person. Do you have the same color eyes?”

  I nodded, not able to take my eyes off him. He was a lot skinnier than the last time I saw him. His hair had more gray, and his once tanned skin was now pale and papery thin. It was hard to believe that the man before me was the same man who used to be a skilled assassin. Everyone had looked up to him and Glenn, including the Chandler brothers.

  My dad’s eyes fluttered and when they opened, I held my breath. His brows furrowed, and then recognition shown on his face. “Preston? Is that you?” he asked, his voice weak.

  Emma squeezed my hand. “I’m going to give you some privacy. I’ll be sitting right outside the door.”

  I couldn’t summon the words, so I squeezed her hand back. My father watched her walk out the door and then turned his head to me. I met his gaze. “Feeling okay?”

  He coughed. “Been better.” Then he nodded toward the door. “She your wife?”

  When he talked, only the right side of his mouth worked. The stroke must’ve hit him hard.

  “No,” I said, trying to muster a smile. There was a chair beside his bed, so I shuffled over and sat down. “She’s a close friend of mine. I met her in college.”

  He slowly turned his head to face me. “Was she the one in your band? She looks familiar.”

  “How did you know that?”

  He tried to smile again, only the right side of his face working. “I know everything about you, son. Even though you kept your distance from me, I never kept it from you.”

  I lowered my head, breaking eye contact. How was I supposed to respond to that? “I’m sorry. I should’ve come sooner. It’s just . . . everything’s been fucked up.”

  “I know,” he murmured. “Glenn didn’t hold back when he told me
what you were going through. I just wish I could’ve been there. I never would’ve pushed you so hard to be a part of the team if I’d known.”

  I shook my head, staring at my clasped hands. “I like being part of the team.” I like killing worthless fuckers. But I didn’t want to tell him that. It was wrong to love it so much.

  “Look at me, son,” my father commanded, his voice weak.

  Taking a deep breath, I blew it out slowly and looked at him. He had tears in his eyes and I felt everything inside me break.

  “I’ve missed you. You have no idea how long I’ve waited to see you. It kills me that you shut me out.”

  My eyes burned so fucking bad. If I hadn’t been sitting, the grief would’ve brought me to my knees. “I shut everyone out. I felt like you blamed me for mom and Cam’s deaths. It was too much, so I blocked everything out. It was easier that way.”

  He broke down and let his tears fall. The only other time I’d seen him cry was at the funeral. “I never blamed you, Preston. I was angry, but not at you. Losing your mother and sister in the way we did was the absolute worst thing that could ever happen. I was supposed to protect them and I failed. It’s not something a husband or a father can bear.” Blowing out a shaky breath, he closed his eyes, lips trembling. “I’ve wanted to tell you this for so long.” His words choked up in his throat. “You just never came.”

  A tear worked its way out and slid down my cheek. I hastily wiped it away. “I wanted to wait,” I confessed. “You’re not the only one who feels like they failed.”

  “But you are not a failure. Think of all the people’s lives you’ve saved, getting rid of those worthless bastards.”

  I shook my head. “It’s not enough. I didn’t want to come to you until I killed the one. The one that haunts us. The one who ripped our family apart.”

  My father sighed. “It’s been thirteen years, Preston. If we haven’t caught him now, we might never will. Knowing you’re trying to find him is enough for me.”

  Reaching over, I placed my hand on his shoulder and squeezed. It was one part of his body I knew he could feel my touch. “I’m so sorry, Dad.”