Ashton And Justice (9 page)

Ashton gave a relieved laugh before he kissed Justice. Once they broke apart Ashton delivered another bombshell. "I want you to run away with me."

Justice jerked back in shock. "What? Are you crazy?"

"I don't want to see your father hurt you anymore. The only way we can make sure that happens is for us to go someplace where he can never find us."

"But, how could we manage that? I don't know about you, but I only have fourteen bucks in my bank account and even that's a wash since I have a twenty-five dollar check pending."

"My dad has agreed to help us. He'll help us find a new place, obtain new identities, and get us started at a new school."

"Why would he agree to do that for me?"

"Because he knows how much you mean to me." Ashton gave Justice's hand a tight squeeze.

"But, I thought you hated taking any handouts from him. That's why you've been working two jobs."

"Keeping you safe is more important than my stubbornness."

Justice swallowed hard as his eyes filled with tears. Damn it! He never cried. Not when his father berated him. Not when Craig beat him. Yet, here he was ready to break down. He couldn't help the emotions raging through him, though. Never before had he even dreamed that he'd find anyone who cared for him, let alone someone as wonderful as Ashton.

"What about your family? Won't you miss them? I know how close you and Bryce are." Justice felt compelled to point out.

"Sure, I'll miss them, but it's a price I'm willing to pay." Ashton scooted closer until their knees touched. His expression grew earnest and almost pleading. "So, what do you say? Will you come with me?"

Justice found himself shaking his head before his mind even registered that he'd be turning down the offer. "I can't."

Ashton's face fell. "Why not? I thought you said you cared about me."

"And that's why I can't do it. I won't allow you to give up everything just so I can run away. It'd make me a coward and something tells me that in the end you'd lose respect for me if I became that way. Hell,
I
would lose respect for myself."

"I wouldn't think any less of you. All I care about is you never being abused again. I can't continue to stand by and watch them hurt you. This is the only way I can think of to make it end."

Justice reached forward and cupped Ashton's face. "It will end, because I'm going to do something I should have done ages ago. I'm going to stand up to them. I'm a grown man and it's time they accepted that and let me make my own choices in life."

"I don't see them just simply agreeing to that."

"Oh, I'm sure they'll fight it. It's going to be a struggle, but for once I'm going to be more determined than they are."

Ashton shook his head, his gaze troubled. "What made you decide to do this now? This is a huge risk you're taking."

"Yeah, but if it makes it so we can be happy in the end, then it's worth it." Justice fanned the pad of his thumb over Ashton's cheek.

Ashton still didn't look too certain, going by the doubt lingering in his eyes. "So, how are you going to start your great big quest for independence?"

"First off, I'm done hiding our relationship. Tomorrow morning I'm going to my dad and I'm telling him about us."

"He's going to flip when he finds out."

Justice shrugged. "Probably, but I'm done being afraid of him. I've been doing it for way too long. That's no way to live."

"I'm going with you."

"I don't know if that would be such a good idea," Justice hedged. Putting himself in danger was one thing, but he didn't want to see his lover harmed.

"I don't care. I'm not letting you go see that bastard unless you have some backup. I'll see if Bryce will come along, too."

Justice cocked a brow. "And what happens if my dad sees that as a threat and has us all arrested?"

"My dad will bail us out and get us one of the best lawyers in the state." Ashton gave a wicked grin.

Justice sighed, knowing he wouldn't win the argument. Truth be told, had the situation been reversed, he'd probably make the same demand. "Okay, but only if you promise to get me out of here. I can't stand one more second of watching Dad and Craig's pandering."

"Deal. I should warn you about one thing, though."

Ashton nibbled his bottom lip in an anxious gesture. Since it was usually Justice who made that kind of gesture, his gut gave a nervous jump.

"What?"

"My dad wants to meet you."

"Are you sure he'll still want to? Even though we're not running away anymore?"

"Yeah." Ashton lowered his head. "Unless, of course, you don't want to. I wouldn't blame you for not wanting to associate with a known criminal."

Justice swallowed hard. Meeting the parents of one's lover was never fun to begin with. Add in the fact that said parent was a murder suspect, with a known hair-trigger temper, and it made things downright scary. Still, he knew he couldn't let Ashton down.

"Sure we can go see him tonight. Just let me dash home first and change. I refuse to be dressed like a giant yellow bird the first time I meet him."

He took in a deep breath. He only hoped he made a good impression on the guy, because Justice didn't even want to contemplate what Ashton's father did to guys he didn't like.

After Ashton and Justice left the party, they separated briefly so they could change out of their costumes. Once he'd gotten back to his apartment and dressed in a pair of jeans and sweatshirt, Ashton updated Bryce on the change of plans. He then hurried to pick Justice up, so they could go to Ashton's father's home. Bryce insisted on driving Ashton to Justice's apartment and Ashton didn't argue, knowing that if Craig or the DA showed up, they could use the extra muscle. Plus, he'd already ticked his dad off earlier by ditching Baker. Maybe if Ashton took some initiative by bringing his own protection, it would soothe the situation some.

They pulled up to Justice's apartment, Bryce pulling a face as his gaze cast over the run-down building. "What in the hell is the son of the DA doing living in this dump?"

"Justice's father didn't believe in giving his youngest son any financial assistance," Ashton said, even as a wave of anger hit him, too.

Damn, Justice probably lived amongst the very criminals his father helped lock up. It was a flagrant display of how little the DA cared about Justice's safety and something Ashton's dad would never consider doing.

"I'd never thought I'd say this, but my dad doesn't look half bad compared to the asshole Justice got stuck with," Bryce snorted as he parked.

They got out just as Justice came outside. He'd changed into a pair of jeans and his favorite Blue Jackets shirt. Even though he knew it was sappy, a warm feeling went through Ashton as he recalled how Justice had worn that outfit on their first date. Anxious to get to his lover, Ashton barely took time to put the car in park before he rushed out and put his arms around Justice.

They shared a long, deep kiss that probably went on way too long going by the number of times Bryce pointedly cleared his throat. Justice pulled back, amusement dancing in his eyes.

"Hi, Bryce."

"Hey, Justice. I heard that your costume was smoking. You should have left it on for when you met my uncle. I'll bet he would have loved it."

Ashton knew Bryce's comments were an attempt to calm Justice's nerves. It worked. Justice let out a soft laugh as they started to walk back to the car.

They were just opening the doors, when a dark blue sports car pulled up with a screeching halt. Justice grew pale and his eyes widened in fear. "Shit, it's Craig. They must have noticed I left the party."

Craig and one of his friends jumped from the car and rushed toward them. Both still wore their costumes, showing they had indeed left right from the event.

"You stupid, little fuck. You just couldn't leave well enough alone," Craig yelled at Justice.

Ashton shoved Justice behind him and faced off against Craig. "I'm warning you now, Craig. Leave him alone."

Craig and his buddy laughed. "Or what? You'll do something about it?"

"I don't want to fight you, but I will if you try to hurt Justice."

"Justice is leaving with me right now," Craig declared.

"No, I'm not," Justice spoke up.

A stunned silence fell over the group as Craig blinked a few times, his mouth dumbly hanging open. Ashton bit back a smile at the jerk's reaction. He was willing to bet Craig had never dreamed that Justice would stand up to him. If the situation hadn't already been so tense, Ashton would have started to applaud.

Justice stepped around Ashton and locked gazes with this brother. The fear that normally lurked in Justice was absent, replaced with a grim determination.

"I'm going to be with Ashton and I don't care what you or dad say about it. While you may think that you're so much better than Ashton and his family, you couldn't be more wrong."

"What do you mean? They're nothing but a family full of thugs," Craig seethed.

"At least they love each other, which is more than I can say for you and Dad. The only ones you love are yourselves. Well, you can have each other, because I'm done being your punching bag."

When Justice turned to go to the car, Craig lunged forward. He pulled up short when both Ashton and Bryce moved in closer. "You can't leave. You need to get your ass back to that party before you really get into trouble."

Justice paused and looked over his shoulder. "Yes, I can leave. I don't answer to you anymore. If you ever want to have a real relationship with me that's free of your abuse, then call. Otherwise, I never want to see you again. Goodbye."

Ashton tensed as he waited for Craig to attack, but the coward kept his fists to himself for once. No doubt because the odds weren't in his favor. He had to know that if he got aggressive, Ashton and Bryce would intervene and he'd come out the loser.

Without another backward glance, Justice climbed into Bryce's car. Ashton gave Craig a mock wave, then got in beside Justice. No sooner had Ashton closed the door than Justice launched himself into Ashton's arms. Ashton held him tight before placing a kiss on the top of his head.

"I'm so proud of you."

Justice craned his head up. "You are?"

"Yes, it took a lot of guts to do what you just did."

"I should have done it a long time ago."

Ashton tapped him on the nose. "Don't waste any more time on regrets. Just think of the happy future we'll have together once this is all behind us."

Justice rested his cheek against Ashton's chest and kept it there for the duration of the trip. He knew he should at least make some attempt at conversation, but his mind whirled with so many emotions he could barely think straight.

He couldn't believe he'd finally stood up to Craig. While the repercussions of that action terrified Justice, it also sent a thrill of excitement through him. For the first time, he felt hopeful about his future. Sure he knew things would get worse before they got better, but he now knew he held the strength to take on the challenges.

"Are you nervous about meeting my father?" Ashton asked.

"A little bit." Justice wasn't about to admit that the prospect of soon being face-to-face with Michigan's number one criminal scared the piss out of him. Ashton already felt self-conscious enough about his family. Justice was damned if he'd let his own anxiety add to it.

They drove up to a set of gates. A man standing off to one side of them nodded before pressing a button to open them, allowing the car to pull in. As they drove by the guard, Justice couldn't help but notice the telltale bulge under his coat that indicated he was armed.

Justice glanced up at the huge home, stunned by the sheer size and wealth on display. White, with long pillars and a circular drive, it looked like someplace Paris Hilton or the Trumps should be living in. There was even a large fountain that had a spitting cherub in the center of it.

As they got out of the car, Justice still stared at the home, trying to imagine Ashton growing up there. Somehow, the opulence didn't seem to go with the laid-back, humble guy.

Ashton grabbed Justice's hand and led him up the marble steps to the front door. Along the way they passed more armed men, all of which nodded respectively to Ashton. Justice tried hard not to stare at them, not wanting to come off as some naive gawker.

The inside appeared much richer than the outside. All the floors were highly polished marble and a huge double staircase led upstairs. A large chandelier added to the whole upper-class look.

Justice glanced down at his battered tennis shoes, wondering if he should take them off before he left scuff marks on the nice floor. Ashton saved him from his inner dilemma by giving his hand a tug.

"Come on, I'll show you to the living room, then I'll go find my dad."

Ashton dragged Justice to a room that had dark wood shelves lining three of the walls. All of them were full of leather bound books that just seemed to be begging to be read. A large black couch sat in the center of the room. Justice sank into it, his stomach a mess of fluttery nerves. He still made himself smile at Ashton as he left.

Once alone, Justice found he couldn't stay sitting, so he got up and began to study the titles of the books. It came as a pleasant surprise to see some of his favorite books there. When he spotted
Romeo and Juliet
,
a genuine grin came to his face. He made a mental note to reread that story as soon as possible.

The door opened and Justice spun around. He'd expected Ashton, so when he found a conservatively dressed older man standing there, Justice was hard pressed to hide his shock. His heart pounded when he quickly recognized the man as Carter Garner.

"Hi, Ashton just went to find you...what I mean is I'm Justice...uh, Ashton said you wanted to meet me."

Justice briefly closed his eyes, horrified at his stammering introduction. That was so not how he wanted their first conversation to go. Mr. Garner would probably shoot him in order to save his son from the bumbling idiot.

"Sit down," Mr. Garner said, his cool voice revealing nothing about what he may be thinking.