A Matter Of Justice (Grey Justice #4)(26)

“See you in fifteen.”

Grey pocketed the phone, fighting the urge to throw it across the room. It had been a while since he was this frustrated. He’d learned early in life that losing his temper got him nowhere. Cool, calculated reasoning was his mainstay. Lately, though, his patience had been pushed to the brink.



Wyatt paced back and forth in Justice’s office. He had almost nothing to go on and was relying on Justice to give him some leads. Once he got something concrete, nothing would stop him from hunting down and destroying the person behind this. He would have done this for Justice anyway, as the man was not only a friend but also his occasional employer. But that wasn’t the biggest reason. He wanted to hunt down this bastard for Lacey.

Dropping into a chair, Wyatt closed his eyes in despair. He had let her down so much that he was sickened to even think about it. He couldn’t get the guilt out of his mind. He had promised to attend the awards event with her and then, through sheer stupidity, had backed out. She’d ended up going with some creep who had made her uncomfortable, so she’d gotten a ride with Justice. Shouldn’t have been a problem, except Justice had so many damn enemies. And because of that, Lacey had been injured in both body and spirit.

He would never forgive himself for letting her down, and right now all he had to go on was the hope of bringing the man responsible for the botched hit to justice. And after that? Hell, he didn’t know. His reasons for not being with Lacey were as valid as ever. But to see her hurting and so damn dispirited tore a hole through that wall of self-protection he’d erected to deal with his emotions. From the moment he’d met Lacey Slater, she had penetrated every defense he’d ever put up. Without even trying.

“I called Gallagher,” Justice said as he walked into the room. “He’s got a couple more leads. Coffee?”

Wyatt appreciated his friend not questioning why he’d had his eyes closed with what was most likely a sad, defeated look on his face. His attitude wouldn’t exactly inspire confidence, but if anyone understood his struggles, it was Justice. The man had endured a boatload of his own worries over someone he cared deeply about.

“Coffee sounds good.”

“I spoke with Lacey’s surgeon last night. He still thinks the prognosis for a full recovery is good.”

“Yeah. Eli told me the same thing. The doctor also said a lot of it will have to do with Lacey herself.”

“She’ll come around,” Justice assured him. “It just takes time.”

Though he nodded his agreement, he wasn’t as sure as Justice was. For as long as he’d known her, Lacey Slater had been one of the most optimistic and determined people he’d ever met. Her sheer energy and love of life had drawn him to her, but it was her unquestioning loyalty and incredible sweetness that made him long for her with an unending ache. He had stayed away from her as much as possible, but her tenacity and his fascination with her had gotten in the way of his resolve.

But now? Now she had told him to go away. Had even requested he be barred from visiting her in the hospital. There were ways around that, but still, the knowledge that she refused to see him tore through him like a machete. To know that her attitude was his own damn fault didn’t help.



Grey handed the coffee to Kingston and walked over to his floor-to-ceiling window. Dark gray clouds hovered like a thick, heavy blanket over the city, blending perfectly with the darkening storm inside him.

“Being in love is never easy.” Grey murmured the words quietly, almost to himself, but there was a wealth of knowledge behind them.

“It sure as hell isn’t.”

At least Kingston hadn’t denied his feelings. That was progress.

Before Grey could think of some encouraging words, which lately he had struggled with, Gallagher came through the door. Seconds later, his wife, Kennedy, followed him.

“I brought Kennedy along. I want to discuss another issue, too.”

Grey knew exactly what that issue was. He also knew Kennedy and Nick had argued fervently about it. The surprise visit Irelyn had made to Kennedy had Nick in complete overprotective mode. As much as he understood Gallagher’s need to protect his wife, Grey knew without a doubt that Irelyn would never harm her or any innocent. Her reasons for what she was doing were as mysterious as the woman herself, but he had learned long ago that he could trust her judgment.

“Let’s talk suspects, then we’ll go on to the other issue.”

Both the Gallaghers nodded, but the mutinous expression on Kennedy’s face and Nick’s grim demeanor didn’t bode well for a pleasant discussion.

“I sent an updated list to your tablet,” Nick said.

Grey clicked on the link, forwarded it on to Kingston, and then reviewed the names. Many of their previous suspects had been eliminated. A few originals remained, and two had been added.

“Adam Slater?” Grey asked.

“That was my addition,” Kennedy said. “I know he’s a long shot since he doesn’t have access to his money, but even locked up, he’s found ways to hurt people.”

“I don’t disagree with your assessment, but why would Adam target me? We had few dealings before he was incarcerated and none since he’s been locked up. As far as I know, he has no clue that I was one of the people who tried to bring him down.”

“Because you’re important to Eli and Jonah,” Kennedy explained. “He may not know your involvement with bringing him to justice, but he’s aware of a relationship between you and his brothers.” Kennedy glanced around the room, meeting everyone’s eyes. “We all know that Adam is evil enough to do this. Hurting his family, especially his brothers, would give him immense satisfaction.”