After all, she had already proven she was impulsive and could turn on her friend in an instant. He still wasn’t sure if that was an act or if she’d meant it from the heart.
Rafferty finished his roast beef sandwich and got out of his car to take a walk around the Killion’s property. A sturdy six-foot wooden privacy fence created a barrier for the backyard. The only entrance to it was through the house. Whichwas good.
Satisfied, he returned to his car and started the engine to use the air conditioning for a while. There was no shade where he was parked, and the August afternoon was blistering. He leaned his head back and closed his eyes thinking about where he would be if his childhood dream to be an Army Ranger hadn’t ended. He sure wouldn’t be baking in this hot car with shrapnel in his knee.
There was no one to blame other than bad luck that his platoon had received the call to go help that stranded convoy the very same afternoon that Rawlins had caught a Blackhawk over to visit him or his brother wouldn’t have been injured when the convoy was ambushed and exploded. Rawlins decided to go out with them because his platoon was short on manpower that day. He owed his life to Rawlins who dragged him and his platoon buddies to safety. Instead, Rawlins’ career was also ended from inhaling too many fumes while helping others to safety and he now had to undergo breathing treatments regularly and use an inhaler until his lungs fully healed.
They’d both been dealt a horrible hand that day, but at least the Lone Wolfe Agency had been willing to take them on and give them a chance to use the skills that they’d learned to continue helping others even if they could not serve their country anymore as Army Rangers. He still wasn’t sure how Kenneally had found them when they were doing rehab at Walter Reed. He’d heard talk that one of the nurses recruited for the Brotherhood Protectors, but he hadn’t been able to confirm it.
Rafferty shook his head, trying to dispel the thoughts of that horrible experience that had ended his childhood dream. He refocused on the Killion house, determined to establish it safe and sound as the afternoon dragged on.
The next morningJustus was up, showered, and dressed before Liberty, ready to go to her appointment with Dr. Saunders. She took For All to the backyard and put food and water in his bowls. She even put on a pot of coffee for her sister.
“Why are you so eager this morning?” Liberty asked when she finally made an appearance in the kitchen. “I normally haveto drag you out the door to see Dr. Saunders, but today you’re ready to go.”
“I decided last night I want to go back to classes this fall, trial or not. If I need to get Dr. Saunders's approval, then I’ll get it today. That makes today’s session important. Not like the others.”
“The other sessions were important too,” Liberty reminded her. “They were to help you work through what you experienced. And I believe we’ve seen they are helping, otherwise you wouldn’t have been able to handle what happened yesterday as well as you did.” She paused, taking a breath. “However, you did take your frustrations out on me and Chaney. Not to mention your reaction to Rafferty wanting to escort us home was uncalled for. I feel you need to reconsider your refusing to let him protect you.”
“Gr-r-r.” Justus stomped to the cabinet and took out a box of cereal. “Don’t mention Rafferty Grainger to me. I want to forget that I ever looked him up and down or into his deep brown eyes.”
“Were they brown?” Liberty asked.
“Deep,” Justus groaned.
“Oh, I get it,” Liberty said. “You’re attracted to him and that scares you to death. You don’t want him protecting you because you’re afraid you can’t trust yourself with a man after trusting Kurtis.”
Liberty shook her head. “Rafferty is nothing like Kurtis.Just likeevery man you might meet here on out is not like him.”
“I know that.” Justus slammed the cereal box on the counter. “My brain knows that, but my nervous system refuses to cooperate. I want to get away from him as fast as I can.”
“I see,” Liberty said thoughtfully. “Maybe getting you a male protector was the wrong move. Maybe Hank should have gotten you a female instead. I know he has them on his team.”
“That will only cause trouble if we do that. Rafferty and Rawlins are a pair, they’re twins. And as far as we know Chaney is getting along with Rawlins just fine. I can’t mess that up for her.” Justus leaned her head against the refrigerator. “Especially after I made her hate me yesterday.”
“I think you should call and apologize for that,” Liberty said.
Justus shook her head, took milk from the ‘fridge, and poured it over her cereal.
“Then you need to talk to Dr. Saunders about what you did and see what she thinks,” Liberty insisted, making herself toast.
Justus took her cereal to the table and sat. After a few bites, she said, “I keep thinking about what Kurtis did to me. How am I ever supposed to trust another man again?”
Liberty left her cup on the counter and joined Justus, who had not returned to eating but was staring into her bowl.
“Honey, Dr. Saunders is supposed to help you get through this. Kurtis groomed you to trust him in a very short period. He knew what to say to make you feel safe around him. These sessions are supposed to help you feel strong enough to get up on that witness stand when it’s time to testify against him and the others. That’s why these sessions are all important whether you believe it or not.”
Justus nodded and raked a hand through her hair. “Why would Kurtis do that? I did nothing wrong. I’m a victim in all of this.”
“Bad guys are not just going to roll over and admit they did wrong, even in court. They want to make it out like you asked for it, Justus. You saw how Felty treated you and Chaney yesterday with the questions he asked.”
“But that’s wrong. When we got in the car with Kurtis and Dan, we thought we were going away for the weekend to go hiking. Nothing more.”
“But you knew very little about them. Felty was fishing at the deposition yesterday to paint a dim picture of the two of you. He’ll make you look like a reckless young woman who would go anywhere with anyone.”
Justus scooted back from the table and took her bowl to the sink. When she spoke, her hands were shaking. “That’s insane.”
“Your housemate Moni told me you knew very little about Kurtis. They didn’t even know his last name.”
