Fixing Justice Read Free

lie.
    His mother hadn’t made it any better. Not only did she not care about her husband’s wandering penis, she sarcastically informed him that ‘this was how things were done’ in their world. A cold, intolerant bitch on the best of days, Draegyn had tried more ways than his teenage brain could count to be the son she wanted, only to never feel any warmth or genuine approval from the woman. Now he knew why.
    She’d married for social status and prestige and did what was expected of her in the deal, popping out the perfect set of perfect children for their perfect family. Even now, all these years later, the thought made him sick. She made it sound like she’d consented to be bred in order to live an affluent lifestyle. Who fucking did that? He never trusted any woman’s motives from that moment on.
    Wandering to a bench swing beneath strands of tiny white lights strung around the decorated courtyard, Drae flung his half-inebriated ass onto the seat and forced his thoughts back to the present. All around him was evidence of the romantic, country chic wedding that had joined Cam to the blond-haired lovely who had changed everything with her quiet smile. He liked his new sister-in-law very much. She was unique and absolutely perfect for his old friend; one of the few females Drae hadn’t immediately mistrusted.
    Lacey Morrow had been quite the surprise when she’d turned up last autumn in Cam’s company. That the two ended up together hadn’t shocked anyone in the least, except Cam himself. Drae couldn’t help the half grin each time he thought about the unusual parade of events that brought his old friend to his knees where Lacey was concerned.
    Miraculously surviving the minefield of bullshit surrounding their relationship, once they became an official couple, his friend had become an A-1 besotted, romantic fool. Drae supposed it was probably just an over-reaction to the years of emotional isolation that had defined Cam’s life. Once the floodgates of hearts and flowers had been breached, though, the man had gone ape-shit with one over-the-top romantic gesture after another, culminating in the red and white wedding he insisted take place on the one day every year when true love was supposed to be celebrated.
    Ha ! True love. What the fuck was that, anyway? Even so, he was happy for Cam. Truly. Knowing that one of them hadn’t been doomed to an eternity of solitude made the burdens each carried lighter. It sure as shit wasn’t easy dealing with what they’d done and witnessed during their time together in the puke-fest that was Afghanistan.
    Swinging absently, Drae tilted his head back and watched a million twinkling stars shining overhead. Stretching his arms wide on the back of the swing, he sat there in his perfectly tailored Tom Ford tuxedo and let his champagne-fueled mind wander.
    He’d gotten into Special Forces as an extra special fuck you to his parents. He could still remember the way his mother, with her tight-assed need to control him and his little sister, had gone ballistic at his announcement. She’d been apoplectic learning that he’d already enlisted by the time they found out what he’d done. Hidden in the dark memories that haunted him, he remembered the woman freaking out on her husband. “Fix this!” she had screamed. “Arthur, you fix this right away. He’s your son after all. Do something about his attitude before he ruins everything I’ve sacrificed for.”
    Ah. Yes . He’d been Arthur St. John’s son. Not hers. She’d made that abundantly clear. Understanding that he and his sister held no emotional importance in her world-view, beyond the parts they were expected to play, had been the final straw. Of course her fix him attitude had landed on his psyche and stuck to him like fucking fly paper.
    And his parents had tried to fix him to no avail. The military tried to fix his bad attitude too and while he’d certainly adjusted somewhat, he always managed to walk the fine line