JARED (Lane Brothers Book 4) (9 page)

I ignore the fanfare and make my way to her, ready and willing to use whatever means necessary to get her talking. Not violence. I hate violence towards women and would die before striking one.

I’m way too big to justify hitting such delicate creatures, but I will unleash the women on her ass, if need be.

“Start talking.”

Her eyes widen at my tone and she takes a step back into Bronx, seeming to settle a little at the contact. Interesting.

“I don’t know anything about that little bitch—”

“Ronny. You talk now or Ma’s gonna get on your ass, girl,” I warn, stepping to the side to let her see my ma and the dark scowl leveled her way.

Ronny swallows and mashes her lips together before nodding and wringing her hands.

“Paulie told me not to tell anyone this, on pain of death, but I’m so scared she’ll get herself hurt, and she’s like my best friend, you know,” she says tearfully, making Trace gasp and growl. “My only friend.”

The correction is done so fast that even Trace seems mollified as Ronny stands wringing her hands uncertainly.

“Let me get this straight. You and Paulie do not hate each other? You aren’t such a bitch to her as you pretend?” Ma asks and I stay silent, curious to hear what she has to say.

Ronny smiles softly and looks so sweet that she’s beautiful as the mask falls away to reveal real affection there.

“We do sometimes, but we get so caught up in this act that we forget, I think, and it takes a while to even stop thinking poorly of each other. I know that sounds strange, but we’ve been at this for so long now that it’s not easy playing our roles when we’re really best—when we’re friends,” she corrects when Trace snarls again.

The words penetrate but I need more to clear this fog as the truth starts screaming into my face.

Miah scowls and I know it’s hard for him to accept, because he’s hated and mistrusted Ronny since the get-go.

“More.”

Ronny swallows and nods once, moving closer to Bronx until she’s practically hidden beneath the guy’s huge arm.

“About eighteen months ago, Paulie and I went on one of our midnight adventures. We’d sneak out of Cleo’s house and into the woods to go searching for fairies. Yeah, I know that sounds lame, but we’ve done it since we were little and we still do, or did, every chance we got. It was our escape from the families and our reality, I think.” She laughs, making me smile at the picture of Paulie skipping around the darkened woods searching for something that doesn’t exist.

It’s so real that I almost laugh at her disappointment at not finding any, and I see Ronny smile fondly.

“Anyway, we were trying to creep down the back stairs that lead up to my room from the balcony when we heard Cleo and Jerry arguing. I didn’t care, but she did, and before I knew it we were hiding beneath the lavender bushes listening to them scream and rant about showing you all and getting revenge. Lynn was there, too, and she just laughed it all off and seemed not to care. Till Jerry mentioned Ellie here and all hell broke loose.”

Wyatt and Ellie both gasp and I see my brother pull her and Al closer as if protecting them from even the thought.

“Go on,” I say, feeling my impatience grow with the urgency riding me. “Get to the point!”

Ronny startles but takes a breath and goes on.

“We hid in the woods all night after that and we made plans to leave before things got worse. But they must have known…fuck, Andrew and Clyde saw us that night and told Cleo and we were caught. They didn’t want anything from me but silence, and they got that by threatening to kill Paulie if I said a thing. But they did want Paulie.”

“What for?”

“Deliveries and pickups. She’s so sweet and nondescript that it’s easy for her to blend in and slip through the cracks, you know. She was a mule, basically, between the drug lords and the money men. Cleo threatened her family and she went along to keep them safe. But she had a plan, our Paulie. She gathered evidence and smuggled some of the proof home.”

I growl, wanting to yell that there isn’t a plain, un-shining thing about Cupcake, but it’s not the time or place to ring the woman’s neck and I know it.

“We know that! Get to that phone call!” Jace yells before I can, his patience obviously at an end.

I hear Bronx growl and step closer before Ronny puts a hand to his chest and halts him.

“I heard Jerry and Frank talking. They said that the deciding vote would be cast today and that it was all up to whatever Cleo’s proxy said.”

“So? What the fuck does that have to do with why Paulie left?” I yell, throwing Bronx a look to let him know I’d take him easy with all the rage I’m feeling right now.

“Paulie
is
Cleo’s proxy. They did it that way so that Paulie could never get free of the Patriots without risking prison, herself. She has to be there, and with her there she can help Roman if things go wrong.”

That is exactly what I’m afraid of, and I see Miah blanch and curse before turning to me.

The problem here has never been our lack of knowledge, I think, it’s just that with Roman we can never be sure. If he’s in and a part of the Patriots, Paulie could be walking into a trap.

“Fuck.”

“Where are they, Ronny?” Jace yells and I feel his anger splinter and course into me when she starts crying and shakes her head.

“I don’t know. She would never tell me because she wanted me protected.”

Paulette

I’m so scared and sad as I make my way through Dad’s garage and grab the keys to his Aston that it’s a struggle to get the keys in the lock without scratching the paint work all to hell, when my shaking hands refuse to cooperate.

I have every right to be nervous, I tell my snarling inner voice when I finally get the key into the lock and wrench the door open silently. I’m risking a lot here, but I had to come back and leave Jared at least one clue if things go bad and I don’t get back to him.

He won’t come looking here for a while, and I just hope that by the time he does I’m far enough away for them not to catch up before I can do what I need to do.

I’m no dummy. I know that they’ll go to Ronny first, and that’s why I mentioned her in the letter to begin with. They’ll waste precious time questioning her, but since she doesn’t really know much it won’t do any good.

Jared’s smart, though, so I know it’s only a matter of time before he ends up here with Mom and Dad and the evidence and note under the floorboards. I have a plan B, albeit a very risky one, to say the least.

I need to do this, and not just for Jared or me, like I said in the letter, but for Roman and Ellie and every other Lane who has suffered thanks to Lynn and her bright ideas.

As businesses go, the Patriots are a money maker, so big ups to Lynn for seeing that and capitalizing. The problem with that is that she’s running a terrorist group within US borders, and she’s using her power to hurt the people I love.

I can’t let this continue, not with the threat of Cleo waking up any day now. She’ll know exactly who drugged her, of that I am very sure, and I’m praying that I’ll have the organization crumbled to dust before that happens, or I can basically start picking out my own coffin.

I do not want death anymore, not now that I have Jared and an entire family to turn to. I would have skipped this part, I think morosely as I start the engine and back up slowly, praying not to be heard, but the thing is that Ronny’s message was lot more detailed than I let on.

Lynn is out and free, something the Lanes will find out soon enough. With her back at the helm, we’re all pretty much screwed. The woman is that intelligent and crafty.

With her here, the Patriots will go underground again and we won’t stand a chance at catching them, not with Williams and that SEAL commander helping.

I need to get to that meeting and cast my vote, one that counts for double, one that could break the deadlock and maybe save Roman Lane.

I’m praying that he isn’t the issue on the table, I really am, but if he is then the chances of him getting out are slim. And so are mine. At least they are unless I manage to get Clyde onboard with my plans, using the leverage I have on him to sway the asshole.

I’d really rather not even breathe the same air as that pig, but right now I have no choice.

As the car rolls down the driveway with no one aware of my presence, I hit the gas and pray that I get to that meeting on time and that I’m not headed for a trap as Ronny seems to believe I am.

There’s only one way to find out, and as I dial my sister’s number, I pray this is not the last time I hear her voice.

“Paulie.”

“Take your family and get out, now.”

That’s all I say before ending the call and tossing the phone out the window, my foot pushing the gas down hard enough to hit the floorboards.

I’ve always loved Dad’s Aston and dream of getting one one day soon. If I live.

My fingers cross over the steering wheel and I giggle at the thought of just how I can gain Jared’s forgiveness. Maybe I can finally put all of Ronny’s unwanted and yet nonstop sex advice to good use and see if I’m the pupil I always thought I was.

I hear a ringing and it takes me a beat to realize that it’s Dad’s old car phone chiming. I lift the receiver with a swallow and place it to my ear, holding my breath at the thought of Dad knowing what I’ve done so soon.

“Cupcake. Please don’t do this.”

That rich, husky timber makes my heart stop and stutter back to life, and I feel my lips tremble when tears threaten. I want to answer so badly, I have to grit my teeth and bite my tongue till I taste blood to stop myself.

But I can’t stop myself from listening, and what I hear only makes the ache that much deeper.

“Listen to me, baby. They’re waiting for you. It’s a fucking trap, Paulie, and you know it. Roman could be in on it, Cupcake. Please just stop the car and wait for me, baby,” he pleads, causing my throat to choke out a sob.

“I can’t,” I whisper, feeling the tears that hit my cheeks with every drop that falls. “He’s on the block today. I know he is.”

“I don’t care! He can take care of himself. I just—”

“I have an in. Remember?”

That starts him cursing and I’m forced to pull the phone away for a good ten seconds before I hear him breathe deeply and calm.

“Don’t you do it, Cupcake. Don’t you dare go near that piece of shit,” he snarls, making me smile anew at his commanding tone.

He wants to act so tough all the time, but I have him pegged. Jared is a big softy, a man of more heart than anyone would ever guess, and right now he’s terrified for me.

“I love you, Sugar Bear.”

“No! Cupcake—”

I rip the phone out of its bracket with a hiss and toss it out the window just as it starts ringing again, and I can almost hear his cursing from all this distance away.

“You know what you’re doing, Cupcake,” I tell myself, pretending that it’s him talking to me and not my own craziness rearing its ugly head.

Jared doesn’t know that the meeting is two days from now and somewhere my clues won’t immediately allude.

I know that he’s read them by now, a lot sooner than I’d hoped, but the man is a freaking genius after all, but he’ll assume that I’m headed for the Midwest instead of going east like I currently am.

I’ll make that meeting, even if have to sleep while I’m freaking driving.

I spend the next six hours driving and thinking as the Aston eats up the miles with a surprising speed, and all I can think about is that I do not want to do this.

I shouldn’t, Jared is so right. I’m headed into a trap, and from the rumors that were circulating before this all started, there has always been a Lane involved in this.

I don’t believe that’s Roman, though, or rather I refuse to believe it till I see it with my own eyes or hear it from the man, himself.

At first I thought they referred to Lynn, but everyone always called her Conrad, and she once broke a man’s nose for calling her Lane.

It could all just be bullshit.

Or you could be risking your life to save a man who doesn’t need saving but a bullet instead
, my inner voice chirps fearfully, begging me to turn the car around and go back before it’s too late.

“It’s already too late! You know that Trace’s ex is involved and you saw that SEAL commander, too, Paulette. You know what they’ll do if you don’t show up to cast the vote, idiot.”

I’m pretty sure that I’ve snapped and am high on exhaustion when another hour passes and the road becomes too dark to drive another mile.

I breathe out a sigh when a motel sign glitters ten minutes later and I pull into the lot with a groan and the urgent need to pee. It’s only when I get into the shabby, washed-out room that I allow the tears to overtake me and I fall onto the dirty comforter with a wail that echoes.

***

Jared

Jace, Case, and I pull up to the little motel around midnight and I almost cry when I see Frank’s Aston sitting in the lot, so out of place that I’m going to have to have a serious talk with my baby to teach her about blending in.

That thought makes me snort and I resist the urge to laugh when I remember Ronny’s assertions that they chose Paulie as a mule because she blended so well.

The beautiful fool sticks out like a sore thumb everywhere she fucking goes, just by being herself, hence the million-dollar car parked in front of her motel room, just begging to be noticed.

“You two go get a room and stay low. I’m going to go get my girl,” I say, going for the door handle before Jace grabs me and pulls me back with a frown.

“Cool it, bro. She’s already scared and emotional. Do not upset her any more than necessary. Her panic attacks are no joke,” he mutters and I roll my eyes with a grunt.

“You think I don’t know that, Jace? I’d cut out my own tongue before I say something to scare her, man. You know that so cool your flow and chill. I’m just anxious to see her and make sure she’s alright,” I mutter, wrenching the door with a curse.

Jace sighs and lets me go just as the car crawls to a halt and Case hops out to go pay for a room. I jump down, checking my piece and the extra clip at my hip before pulling a lockpick from my shirt and approaching her door on silent feet.

The entire Patriots league could be watching me right now, and I wouldn’t care a bit because I need to get to her now, before the shaking inside turns me into a wreck.

It’s only when the lock clicks and I push the door open slowly that I can breathe again. There’s my baby, I think, closing the door and hitting the deadbolt with a frown.

I really do need to speak to her about lying low and being safe, preferably after we get the hell out of here and back home where I’ll know she’s safe from the monsters prowling around her.

She’s sleeping so fitfully that waking her at this point would be a mercy, so I kick my boots off and pad to the bed, lowering myself over her and caging her in just as she wakes and lets off a scream that’s quickly muffled by my mouth.

Her thrashing stops almost immediately, and I groan when she starts kissing me back and pulling at my hair to get me closer. I want inside her right now, right fucking now, I think when I remember the way I felt just two hours ago and the terror I felt that we’d miss her.

“Jared,” she mumbles against my lips and I pull my mouth away to glare down at her.

“What the hell were you thinking? What the fuck were you thinking?!” I yell, letting my emotions run free now that my heart is beating again. “It’s a trap. It’s a fucking—”

“I know,” she says softly, cutting me off by laying a feather-soft hand over my lips as she smiles sadly. “I know, Sugar Bear.”

That only pisses me off even more and I feel my blood start boiling when she bites her lips and shrugs.

“Why?”

“Because I need to,” she answers softly. “It’s about more than just proving that I can, Jared. They got Lynn.”

“I know that, baby. Did you really think Miah would let them know where she is without taking at least some precautions?” I ask, kissing her again because I just can’t help myself.

That gets her attention and she stills beneath me, looking up at me with her big, golden cat eyes.

“You know.”

“Yeah, we’ve got an ex-SEAL buddy eyeballing her as we speak,” I murmur, going in for another kiss that has my dick going pike hard in mere seconds.

I want nothing more right now than to strip her bare and make love to her so hard and long, she won’t even dare to think of defying me ever again. Or putting herself in danger.

But this Goddamned bed is disgusting and I’d die before I take her on dirty sheets. So instead of doing what my body is begging me for, I pull away and sit up, shifting her onto my lap for a long overdue talk.

“Tell me what’s going on with you, Cupcake. If this is because I sprang the marriage thing on you—”

“No! No!” she whimpers, turning to me with such vehement love that I feel myself finally relax. “This was always unavoidable, Jared, and I knew it the moment I put that toxin in Cleo’s tea. The vote must be cast, that’s the way it works, baby. They would have come for me if I didn’t go for them, and I can’t put the family in that kind of danger. Besides, I told you that Roman is not the bad guy here, and I have to help him if I can. I failed him last time, Jared. I can’t do that again,” she says quietly, her eyes imploring me to understand.

I don’t. Maybe because I don’t want to. All I do know is that I won’t let her anywhere near those murdering scum as long as I have breath in me.

“The estate is secure—”

“I got out without anyone knowing when or how, Jared. You think one of the Patriots mercenaries won’t find a way in?” she asks sombrely, making me curse and close my eyes.

“I can’t let you do this, Paulie, please. Don’t ask me to because you know how much I hate saying no to you, baby.”

It hurts me when she’s disappointed and she damn well knows it, something I see when she grins at me and kisses me soundly.

“I have to. I can’t walk away without one of them coming for me. I am proxy. If you have a better plan to keep them from going to your family’s place for me, then tell me, baby, but if you don’t then we need to rethink and come to a compromise. Before Jerry or one of the others lose patience and come for me.”

She’s right and I hate that she is. She’s exposed a weakness we didn’t know was there, and after we iron things out, we’ll have to find the weak spots and fortify shit nice and tight.

For now I need to think of something that will satisfy us both, because if not, I’ll either have to let her go or tie her to me till this shit ends.