“In between the rocks a quarter mile south of here. Looks like someone deliberately tossed it into the crevice.”
“Wait here. I’ll be right back.”
She returned with the box of Beta C-mags. “I found this stomped into the sand a few feet past the rocks. I wanted to tell you about it as soon as I could, but I didn’t see you.” She paused. “By the way, Tex says hi.”
So, she’d checked him out. He didn’t mind. Not after the way he’d embarrassed her that morning. “You know Tex?”
“Friend of the family.”
“Well, I’m sorry about this morning.” He met her direct gaze. “Anyway, have you ever heard trucks on the beach?”
She appeared startled for a moment. “I thought I imagined them.”
“You didn’t. I heard them two nights ago. I guessed there was a bunch of teenagers carousing on the beach, but they weren’t running lights or hootin’ and hollerin’. No trace of them, either. This doesn’t sit right with me. Something is definitely going on. I’m taking the HK416 to the lab and testing it for prints. See if anything comes up.” He indicated the box of ammunition. “I assume you’d like to do the same with the Beta C-mags.”
“If you don’t mind. It’s your jurisdiction.”
“Nah, I don’t mind. I’d like your input. Let me know what you find, and I’ll do the same.”
He started to remove his T-shirt again, but Brielle stopped him. “I just sat down to dinner. Want to join me?”
Justice glanced dubiously at her small tossed salad with slices of avocado on top, and she laughed.
“I have a thick rib-eye marinating in the fridge that’s large enough for us to share. If you’ll grill it, I’ll add a couple of loaded baked potatoes.”
“Deal.”
Brielle handed Justice a bottle of beer, and while the steak grilled, they talked shop.
When she wanted to know if he lived on the beach, he nodded. “I’m renting a split-level a few hundred yards from your place.”
“Oh? Just renting?”
He thought he detected a note of disappointment in her voice. “For the time being. I’m waiting to see if this works out before I buy a home.” His eyes held hers.
Did she blush under his intense regard, or did he just imagine the color staining her cheeks?
She murmured, “I think the potatoes are done.”
Alone, Justice turned his attention toward the steak.I really like her, he thought. In the past, he’d never dated women in the military, and he wasn’t sure he wanted to get involved with a cop. But for Brielle, he’d make an exception. She’d captivated him.
She rejoined him a few minutes later with two plates bearing baked potatoes smothered with butter and sour cream and two more bottles of beer. They’d already eaten the tossed salad she’d prepared as an appetizer. Justice turned off the gas grill and plopped a piece of the rib-eye on each plate.
A cool breeze off the ocean caressed them while they ate, lifting loose tendrils of Brielle’s hair. Her sleek side ponytail, hanging down one shoulder, drew his heated gaze more than once.
After complimenting his culinary skills, she said, “You know, I spoke to Tex about you this morning. He said if I wanted to know your story, I had to ask you myself. So, I guess this is me asking you to tell me how you ended up in Laguna Beach.”
Justice’s eyes clouded, and he took a swig of his beer. “My team and I were in Afghanistan to deliver supplies to a village of mainly women and children, so we were told. They were sick and dying, in need of medical attention. And then out of nowhere our Humvee was hit by a rocket launcher. My men, my friends, died instantly. I didn’t. The next thing I remember was waking up in Walter Reed Hospital, my head swathed in bandages and my face so swollen I could barely see. And I was temporarily paralyzed.” He paused and drank deeply of his beer. “I was their lieutenant commander. It was my duty, myresponsibility, to protect them and I failed.I failed.”
His final words spoken so quietly must have stirred Brielle’s compassion. Her eyes glowed like liquid gold as she reached across the table and covered one of his hands with hers.
“I’m sorry, Justice,” she murmured. “I can’t imagine how you must have felt.”
The softness of her voice and the equally soft touch of her hand sent sparks of excitement shooting through Justice’s body, but bitterness laced his voice when he resumed speaking.
“I hadn’t recovered from my injuries when the Navy delivered the next blow?I was being retired. No explanation. Just a cavalier ‘Thank you for your service. Oh, by the way, here’s another medal. Another letter of commendation.’”
By this time he’d flipped the position of their hands. He caressed her palm and watched the gold light in her eyes grow slightly darker. When his thumb brushed the sensitive skin on her wrist, he heard her sudden intake of breath, and her pulse quickened beneath his touch.
