Page 76 of Ultimate Justice

Ookay, as Noah would have said. He disengaged himself from her lingering hand and serpentined through the other dancing couples, confirming Noah was still huddled at a corner table with three other boys about his age. When he caught up to Marlie, he clamped a hand on ape-man’s shoulder. “Mind if I cut in?”

“Well, actually—”

Evan insinuated himself between them, cutting the guy off as he twirled Marlie away. Over his shoulder, he caught the look of annoyance on the other man’s face and chuckled.

“That wasn’t very nice.” The corners of Marlie’s lips lifted.

He grinned. “I know.” And he didn’t give a shit. He tucked her against him, nuzzling her ear and inhaling more of her scent deeper into his lungs.

Her tiny hand felt so delicate in his, the bare skin at her lower back warm and smooth. He couldn’t resist a quick glance at where her breasts mounded against his chest. Purple gemstones also dangled from her kissable earlobes. He shouldn’t be thinking of her in these terms, but it was impossible not to. Didn’t matter if she’d been wearing green scrubs. She had a light burning deep inside her that had once been extinguished yet now flared brightly again. No matter what she wore or how she looked on the outside, he would always be drawn to her inner beauty.

“You’re incorrigible.” She gave him a cute little smile that made him want to suck her lower lip into his mouth and taste every inch of her. “And you look very handsome.”

He puffed up his chest. “Didn’t think you noticed.”

“Oh, please.” She swatted his shoulder. “Every woman in here noticed, especially that woman you were dancing with.”

“Jealous?” He didn’t have the right, but he wanted her to be.

“Of course not. It was merely an observation.”

Her thigh brushed against his, sending curly tendrils of awareness straight to his dick.

She looked at the corner table where Noah and the other boys had their heads in Noah’s tablet and laughed. “He was so proud to wear a suit and tie.”

“You’ve done wonders with him.” He twirled them to the edge of the dance floor, where he could keep a closer eye on Noah. “Any word from his teachers on how he’s doing?”

Two days ago, Noah’s first day at school, Evan had explained the situation and discussed security issues with the principal and the school’s security director. They assured him security was tight, with all exterior doors locked from the inside. The chances of someone getting to Noah were slim, but Evan had requested extra vigilance until Manello and the dirtbag lowlifes he worked for were arrested. Since then, he’d gone to the office during the day, and Marlie had returned to her custodian job, taking day shifts at the hospital.

“They tell me he’s doing marvelously.” She smiled, the way any proud parent did when they spoke of their children. When she looked up at him, her eyes sparkled with life.

Part of him wished he was responsible for at least some of that spark, but he knew better. That was all Noah’s doing. Marlie had needed to be a mother again.

“They say he’s super smart,” she continued, “and he’s managing a B in most of his classes. Anything involving a computer…he’s an A+ student.”

He arched a brow. “No surprise there.”

Brett caught his eye, hitching his head to the wedding table, where the meals were being served. Sorry, Brett mouthed.

“Duty calls,” he whispered in Marlie’s ear, seriously disappointed at having to cut their dance short. He wasn’t much of a dancer but with her in his arms, he could dance all night.

He escorted her to her seat, happy to see Noah had returned to sit next to her. Evan had been about to push in her chair, when ape-man materialized out of nowhere and did the honors.

Ape-man smirked. “Don’t you have a speech to give?”

Smirking back, Evan leaned down to drop a lingering kiss smack-dab on Marlie’s lips. He could swear the other man growled.

While the meal was served, the fathers of the bride and groom gave their speeches. After the meal was finished, more champagne flowed. Evan stood and tapped a knife on the side of his glass. When the room quieted, he picked up the microphone. “Deck, you’re one of my very best friends. To say you and Tori met and fell in love under stressful circumstances is a major understatement. Having been there, watching it all unfold, I know for a fact it was downright…explosive.”

Deck, Tori, Brett, and some of the audience burst into laughter. In reality, though, nothing about that part of their relationship had been funny. There’d been actual explosives involved, and Deck and Tori had nearly died.

Tori and Deck linked hands, gazing into each other’s eyes. Their love was so screamingly obvious there might as well have been a beam of light shining down, surrounding them in a golden halo.

“Despite all the obstacles,” he continued, “you found what the rest of us can only wish for. A friend. A partner. A love to last through time.” Without intending to, he looked directly at Marlie.

The rest of the words he’d rehearsed choked in his throat and not just out of happiness for his friends. For an instant, he’d seen a future—with Marlie in it. Then it was gone, replaced by rotating images of his sister, his grieving parents, and all the other missing children on the board in the war room.

While guests clinked their own glasses, encouraging Deck and Tori to kiss, he forced himself to acknowledge the truth. His heart was not only fractured in different directions, he could actually feel it splitting down the center.