Justice Keepers Saga - Books 1-3

Excerpt from Justice Keepers Saga - Books 1-3

A dart landed in the bullseye with a nice thump, wobbling in a blur for a moment before it stilled. Seconds later, two others joined it, one on the left and one on the right. “Oh, yes!” Anna cheered.

Four brick walls surrounded this little Irish pub, three of which were lined with booths. On her left, the bar counter was operated by a tall man with graying hair and a thick goatee.

The dartboard was in the corner, right next to the fire exit, leaving them with plenty of room to play. As hangouts went, this place was pretty nice. It had taken a few months, but she was finally getting used to life here on Earth.

Anna stood with her hands at her sides, smiling down at the floor. “Well then,” she said with a shrug. “I guess I win again. Which means my next drink is coming out of your pocket, Tanaben Loranai.”

Ben stood next to her with arms folded, scowling at the dartboard. “That's not even remotely fair,” he said, shaking his head. “You've got those enhanced Keeper senses that give you perfect aim.”

“Not perfect,” she said. “But good.”

Anna spun on her heel and made her way over to a booth, dressed in a pair of dark blue jeans and a light green t-shirt. As usual, she kept her short strawberry-blonde hair up in a ponytail.

She found Jack sitting with his hands folded on the table, grinning as he trembled with silent laughter. “Are you done humiliating him?” he asked. “Because you know he'll be itching for a rematch.”

She sat down across from him.

Jack looked up at her with lips pursed, blinking slowly. “The guy has a very fragile ego,” he explained. “If you don't let him win a couple games, he's going to be whining at me for weeks.”

“Not…my…problem.”

Anna leaned back with hands folded behind her head, closing her eyes tight. “Let me ask you something,” she began. “Have you ever considered asking Gabrina to join us one night?”

Jack made a face that belonged on a man with a bellyache. “No, I haven't,” he answered. “Besides, she's almost ten years older than us, and she probably won't want to hang out with the pups.”

“Oh come on!”

“What?”

Crossing her arms, Anna hunched over and shook her head. “Don't get me wrong; you guys are great,” she said. “But we need a little more estrogen to balance the group's dynamics.”

“So you ask her.”

“She knows you best.”

His reluctance set off alarm bells in the back of her mind. The urge to ask him for clarification was barely a coherent thought before the answer leaped out at her. “You like her!” Anna shouted. “Bleakness take me, you've got a thing for her.”

Clamping a hand over his mouth, Jack squeezed his eyes shut. The fit of wheezing laughter that followed told her she was way off. “Nice try, Veronica,” he said. “But your Detective skills need a little honing.”

The mix of emotions that flew through her left her feeling very off balance. There had been a time when it looked like she and Jack would become close, but an assignment off-world had put an end to those plans. They had never really defined what they wanted from one another in the months since she'd been back.

Part of that was because she wasn't entirely sure just what she wanted. Much of the spark that she had once felt had faded into a comfortable friendship. She wasn't entirely sure she wanted to close the door, but…

Anna smiled down at the table, shaking her head as she forced out a little awkward laughter. “So what is it then?” she asked. “Because I can't think of any other reason why you wouldn't want to make friends with a colleague.”

“She asked me not to.”

“Huh?”

Jack leaned against the seat cushion with his eyes closed, breathing deeply to calm himself. “I tried to make her feel welcome,” he explained. “She took it as an attempt at flirting and made it clear that she wasn't interested.”

“Well, what did you do?”

He spread his hands in an emphatic gesture that made it clear this conversation was over. “Look, I'm not gonna do this,” he said. “Women are always saying that they should be allowed to be friendly without it being interpreted as a romantic overture. Well, that vice needs a little versa, if you ask me.”

Anna frowned, her cheeks burning with intense heat. She lowered her eyes to stare into her lap. “You're right,” she said. “I'm sorry. We don't have to invite Gabi if you don't want to.”

“For the record,” Jack added, “I asked her to have lunch with me, and she accepted. But after the speech she made about not wanting to give me the wrong impression, I kind of figured it'd be a bad idea to ask again.”

“That's probably wise.”

A part of her was strangely pleased with the idea of Jack finding someone else. For one thing, that would take the pressure off her. After her rather miserable experience with Daython, she didn't really want to think about dating. Jack, however, seemed quite eager to discuss the matter.

He looked up at her with those big blue eyes, and she suddenly realized she would hate to be interrogated by this man. “What about you?” he asked, raising an eyebrow. “Is there anyone on your mind?”

“Not even a little bit.”

“No?”

“No,” she mumbled. “To be perfectly honest, I think I'm going to avoid dating for the next little while. It's caused me nothing but frustration lately.” At the moment, the very last thing she wanted was to focus on the mess that was her love life.

Ben pulled up a chair and sat down with his elbows on the edge of the table. “So,” he said, glancing at each of them in turn. “What do you say, Lenai? Are you up for a quick game of pool to close off the night?”

Anna forced a small smile, shaking her head. “No thanks,” she answered. “I think I'll spare Jack the pain of your inevitable defeat. Besides, it's getting late and we all have things to do tomorrow.”

“Yeah,” Ben muttered. “Don't want to miss the show.”

“The show?”

Jack chuckled as he leaned over the table. “You know the one where Harry and Jena come in at least five minutes apart so that we won't find out they're sleeping together?”

“Oh that show.”

“What's the betting pool at now?”

Snapping his fingers, Jack pointed at the other man. “You had under ten minutes,” he said, waggling that finger. “So when Harry comes in exactly fourteen minutes and twenty-three seconds behind her, I don't want to hear any whining.”

“Fine, fine,” Ben said. “No whining.”

One thing that Harry had never noticed in all his years living in this house was just how much stucco decorated the ceiling of his bedroom. Cold, gray light came in through the window on his left, glinting off the mirror across from the foot of the bed. As it was, he really didn't want to get up.