Protecting Justice (The Justice Series Book 4) by Misty Evans, Adrienne Giordano Page A

but she loved geeky games. “She was head of arts and crafts time every year and one of her favorite things to do with the younger campers was play spy games.”
    “Sixteen. Wow. Okay,” Grey said. He handed her a paper and pencil. “Write them down and Teeg will work on it.”
    Tony touched her cheek. “Then we better head to the hotel so you can get some rest. It’s been a rough day.”
    Rough was an understatement. She nodded and wrote down the codes she could remember—it had been such a long time—and then buttoned her coat. Thinking about camp, good memories and some not-so-good flashed through her mind.
    Not now . There was no going back in time and fixing the past. All she could do was concentrate on the here and now.
    Seeing she was ready to go, Tony left the desk he’d been waiting at and held out a hand to her.
    She hesitated for half a second, then gave in and reached for him. He drew her to the door and stopped. “Close your eyes, sweetheart, remember?”
    “What, no blindfold?” she teased, but did as instructed, trusting him to lead her safely back to his Explorer.
    He smacked her playfully on her backside as they crossed into the parking lot, then leaned down close to her ear. “Maybe later,” he said soft and low and Fallyn’s pulse went into overdrive.

Chapter Seven

    The next day, Fallyn felt like it was her own funeral.
    Organ music rose in the air. Seeing Heather in the casket was too much. Her sister—the other half of her—was…was…
    Dead.
    The hollowness ate at her. She’d never been without her sister, even when they were kinda, sorta, estranged.
    That connection, that undeniable blood bond, was now broken. Seeing her twin in the casket, with too much makeup and the awful pallor underneath that no amount of foundation or blush could compensate for, made Fallyn’s already churning stomach and pounding head intensify their one-two punch.
    Breathe .
    Thank God the casket was closed now. She never thought she’d outlive Heather. Never thought she’d be sitting in a church pew, jaw clenched, eyes straight ahead as the young priest droned on with Heather’s eulogy, their stoic father clenching his hands and staring at the wooden floor.
    The bitch of it was, even with the makeup, the face in the casket had looked a little too much like her own. Talk about seeing her life flash before her eyes…it had so unnerved Fallyn during the visitation, she’d barely made it to the ladies’ room before losing the breakfast Tony had made sure she’d eaten that morning.
    Of course, her mother’s appearance, though brief, hadn’t done much for her either.
    It took guts for Christina to show up and pretend to be in pain over a daughter she hadn’t seen in years. Guts to walk through that visitation line and hug Eric.
    She’d tried to hug Fallyn, too. No way in hell that was happening.
    No fucking way.
    Not after the mess she’d so easily left behind, wrecking two young girls’ lives and ripping out their father’s heart to go live with another man.
    Their mother— Fallyn couldn’t bring herself to call that woman Mom—had said her goodbyes and slipped out without another word, and even though Fallyn was relieved that her mother had left without a scene, her heart felt shredded. There had been no apologies from Christina. No remorse that she’d left her daughters behind and now one of them was dead.
    Stop thinking about her. The woman didn’t deserve the time. Think about something else. Something besides death and abandonment.
    Tony Gerard. She stopped herself from turning in the pew and looking for him. He was behind her somewhere in the church. Keeping an eye on her. Keeping her safe.
    She had to admit, as crass as it seemed at her sister’s funeral, having a competent, if slightly uptight, good-looking man around wasn’t the worst thing. He’d been a rock for her, helping her with everything. After her visit to Heather’s office, Eric had pulled a number on her, insisting they