Ферн Майклз - Truth and Justice

“And yet you fell in love with each other,” Paul said gently, as he backed up the rental car and drove through the gates of Pinewood. Outside the gates, he stopped just long enough to program the address of his town house in Alexandria into the GPS.

“I suppose. Right now, I’m not even sure what I feel or what I thought I felt. The truth is, this has been such a nightmare, I just want this all settled so I can get on with my life.”

“How do you plan to do that?” Paul asked.

“Well, for starters, I’m relocating to North Carolina, where I have a distant cousin. I have no other relatives. Starting over. I can’t do that until . . . until . . . the girls tell me it’s safe to do that.”

“Those women back there in the farmhouse. . . do you trust them?”

Paul’s voice sounded so anxious, Bella laughed out loud.

“Oh yeah,” she drawled, still laughing.

“What’s so funny?” Paul asked, taking his eyes off the road long enough to stare at Bella. “What did I say that was so funny?” he repeated.

“You really don’t know who those women are, do you?”

Paul shrugged. “Two are lawyers, two are older. One is a truck driver, one is an architect, and the Asian lady owns a plant nursery. And then there is the reporter for the Post . As a group, are they famous or something?”

Bella laughed again. “Or something. Remember a few years ago, when the Vigilantes hit the scene and turned things upside down?”

Paul took his eyes off the road again to stare at Bella, his jaw dropping. “Tell me you’re kidding.”

“Nope, and they’re on my side.”

“I’ll be damned. Now that’s something Andy would have gotten a kick out of. We used to talk about those women. All the guys in our company did. I mean those women kicked ass and took names later. We were all rooting for them. I know that’s hard to believe, but it’s true. We all respect a true warrior, and it doesn’t matter if they’re male or female. A warrior is a warrior. I don’t think Andy’s sister will be any match for them, do you?”

“I’m hoping not. I’m sorry to be doing this. I would have liked nothing more than to be friends with Andy’s sister. Now, knowing what I know, I don’t want to be within a mile of her. I can’t believe she bamboozled Andy. Andy was so smart. How could he not see what she was?”

“Well, I believed everything he told me about his sister, too, so what does that make me? Because . . . he believed what he was saying, so there was no reason to doubt him. He thought the world of her, and I can tell you right now, he never thought of her in any way other than as his sister. Whatever she thought she had going on was on her side only.

“What’s your game plan, or don’t you have one? You know that I can stay on here as long as you all need me. My brothers told me to take as much time as I need. We’re a close bunch, so in a way I can identify with how close Andy was with Sara.

“See that red brick complex up ahead? That’s where my town house is. It took us forty minutes to drive here from the farmhouse where you were staying. That’s not a bad ride, and we did hit traffic.”

“Why did you pick this area to buy in?”

“It was what I could afford because I wanted to pay cash and not have a mortgage. I just wanted someplace to stay when I came back East. I’m not a fancy kind of guy, in case you haven’t noticed. I’m not into possessions and putting on the dog. I’m just a guy who’s making his way. Like I said, my family is pretty tight-knit. We’re all alike, which means we share and share alike. Andy liked that. He met my family. Now, he did say his sister would never fit into our brood. I was okay with that.

“Here’s the thing. I never met Sara. And yet I introduced him to my entire family. Everyone liked him, and he liked them. There were several times when Sara was in the area, and he could have introduced us. But he never did. Until now, I could never figure that out.

“That’s my town house on the left. I bet there are six inches of dust on everything, so I apologize ahead of time.”

“We could clean it. I don’t have anything to do, no plans except to go back to Pinewood and watch television. Do you have any cleaning supplies?”

“Are you kidding?” Paul asked in awe.

Bella giggled. “Do I sound like I’m kidding?”

“You’re blowing my mind here.” Paul chuckled. “But to answer your question, I bought the place from a retired schoolteacher who was moving to Florida. She left the entire contents. She even left me a bottle of aspirin in the bathroom medicine cabinet. Everything was in excellent condition, no wear or tear, and she said she was going to buy new stuff to fit the condo in sunny Florida. It was win-win for both of us. I personally think I got the better of the bargain,” Paul said, chuckling.

“Then I guess we’re good to go. After we check out the papers Andy gave you. That was pretty smart of you to make a copy.”

“That was Andy’s idea. I doubt I would have thought of it on my own. It was kind of wild that day. I think I told you that Andy made his flight with no time to spare. Truth be told, he almost forgot to give me that packet. He was so busy talking about you and the two days you had together. I really miss him. He was a truly great friend, one in a million. Everyone should have a friend like Andy,” Paul said, his voice choking up.

Bella stared out at the busy parking lot of the town house complex. “This is really hard to put into words, Paul. I don’t expect you will understand either because I don’t understand it myself . . . I don’t feel anything. I guess it was all those months of not hearing a word, hearing the other wives talk about the daily contact, the FaceTime. I made myself sick. At first I was crushed. I thought I was going to just lie down and die. I couldn’t function. I didn’t eat or sleep. All I did was cry.

“Then it all stopped. I was me again. It was like Andy was someone I used to know but not very well. Almost like he had moved away and forgotten to say goodbye. It probably doesn’t make sense to you because I couldn’t even figure it out. My feelings right now are all mixed up, and I blame it on Sara. I think I was jealous of her, in the beginning. Not now, though. Now I am afraid of her. I mean that literally. I can’t tell you how relieved I was when Myra asked me to come out to the farm so I would be safe. They were on the same page as I was, so I knew I had to pay attention. Sara whatever her name is means me harm. I am certain of that.”

All Paul could do was stare at Bella. He wished he had a magic wand to wipe the misery from her beautiful face. He had to find a way to help her. Andy would expect him to step in and protect her. “Now that I know all that, I am not leaving here until all of this is resolved. I’ll ask those ladies if I can pitch a tent out there near where you are staying. I won’t let you out of my sight. Remember,” he chuckled, “I’ve had combat training.”

“Deal,” Bella said, stretching out her hand. She was aware instantly of how hard and calloused Paul’s hand was. What she wasn’t prepared for was the jolt of electricity that raced through her whole body. Whoa, Nellie.

Paul Montrose felt his eyes glaze over when he clasped Bella’s hand. Something he had never in his life felt wrapped itself around him as he struggled to take a deep breath.

Bella withdrew her hand and stared up into Paul Montrose’s glazed eyes. “I . . . ah . . . um . . .”

Paul shook his head, and said, “Uh . . . ah . . .”

“I need some exercise. I’ll race you to the door!”

“Now that’s a hell of an idea,” Paul said, in a voice that was so strangled that he barely recognized it as his own.