Zane (Alluring Indulgence) (43 page)

They
were doing the dishes together when there was a knock on her front door and V’s
knees actually gave out. Had Zane not been standing there with her, she’d have
fallen to the floor. So much for thinking ahead. Clearly she was still
suffering from paranoia. It only took a second for her to get her legs back
under her and she headed to the front door, not two steps behind Zane. She
wanted to pull him back, put herself between what danger may lurk on the other
side of her front door, but he didn’t allow it.

To
her surprise, evil was not standing on her doorstep. It was Beau, and he looked
like he had just run a mile.

“Are
you ok?” Zane asked, pulling him inside.

“Shut
the door. Give me your phone.”

While
Zane continued to ask Beau what the hell was going on, Beau ignored him,
grabbing V’s cell phone from her hand before she had a chance to give it to
him.

“They’re
both in here.”

“Who
the hell are you talking to?” Zane demanded, grabbing the phone from Beau’s
hand.

V
watched as he listened to the person on the other end of the line, his face
void of all emotion.

“Where?”

That
was the only question he asked before he hung up the phone.

Zane
gripped the doorknob, jerking the front door open before Beau managed to stop
him. V heard herself scream his name, that same paralyzing fear surging up from
the soles of her feet and extending through every one of her limbs.

“Listen
here, you son of a bitch. You want something from me? I’m right here.”

V
heard the indignation that dripped from every word out of Zane’s mouth and her
body shook. Beau grabbed her, but she yanked out of his grasp, moving to the
door.

What
was he doing?

God,
this couldn’t be happening again. It couldn’t!

That’s
when she saw Jake. He was standing on the sidewalk in front of her house,
staring across the distance at Zane. She looked around but didn’t see anyone
else. Wait. There was someone. Across the street. Her eyes flew back and forth,
looking desperately in all of the hidden spots to see who else was lurking
there. How many did he bring this time? Could Beau and Zane handle them?

Her
heart was beating so fast, she wondered if she would pass out.

“Oh,
God.” She knew the words had come out of her mouth, but no one acknowledged
her. Not Zane. Not Beau.

Looking
past Jake at Zane’s Jeep parked on the street, she saw more feet near the
tires. There were at least three people out there, including Jake.

“Breathe,
V. Just breathe, honey.” Beau’s voice was strong in her ear. He was still
standing behind her, both of them inside the house while Zane was on the front
porch.

“Keep
her inside,” Zane demanded as he moved down the step.

“No!”
she screamed.

“What’s
wrong, Vanessa? Worried your little boy toy can’t take another beating?” Jake’s
cruel words boomed across the yard.

“I
can take anything you can dish out, you bastard.” Zane kept moving forward, and
V felt like she was in a glass box, watching the inevitable happen again and
unable to stop it.

“Why
are you in here? Go out and help him!” she screamed at Beau, trying to break
free from his firm grip on her arm.

“If
he needs me, I’ll be right there. I promise you.”

What
was he talking about? Zane needed him now. There were at least three of them
and the others were hiding this time. How many more were there that she
couldn’t see? She tried to peer out the door, but she wasn’t close enough to
see what might be lurking at the edges of her house.

That’s
when she saw a glint of metal in Jake’s hand. There was movement, but V
couldn’t tear her eyes off of the...
Oh, God!
Jake was pointing a gun at
Zane.

“Not
happening this time.”

The
voice penetrated V’s brain, but for some reason, it didn’t sound like Zane. Or Jake.

That’s
when she realized that the feet behind the Jeep had moved. Another gun. Only
this one was pointed directly at Jake’s head, the muzzle pressed against his
temple.

Gage.

Everything
went black.

♂♀

The
weather was eerily the same as the last time Zane was here. The sky wasn’t quite
blue, but not quite gray either. A little cooler, maybe.

Ever
since he heard Travis’ voice on the other end of the phone, he knew what was
happening. Walking out on the porch had been a distraction he knew had to
happen, only he hoped it didn’t end badly. As much as he wanted to tear Jake apart,
limb by limb, Zane wasn’t willing to lose V again.

He
could’ve embraced the violence racing through his blood, could’ve confronted
Jake and taken his chances, but he knew that wasn’t an option anymore. As much
as V wanted to protect him, he wanted to protect her even more. Every part of
her. Including her heart. He wasn’t willing to take a chance that this time he
might not come back. Second chances didn’t come often, and Zane wasn’t willing
to ask for another reprieve.

Thanks
to Travis, Zane knew exactly what was going down out front. He knew that the
legs he could see near the tire of his Jeep belonged to Gage Matthews. He knew
the shadow across the street, standing in the hedges belonged to Travis. He was
aware that Jake was alone this time.

He
was even aware that Jake was packing heat. He was taking a small risk, but he
prayed he’d be able to get out of the way if Jake was to pull the gun on him.
Which he did.

The
man didn’t look steady though. And the gun hadn’t even made it up level with
his face before Gage was on him, the man’s Glock level with Jake’s temple. He
announced the crap that police officers usually greeted suspects with, and Jake
surrendered much faster than Zane had expected.

“Zane!”

Beau’s
voice bellowed from inside the house, and he turned and ran back up the steps,
the screen door damn nearing pulled from its hinges as he yanked it open. V was
lying in Beau’s arms, unconscious.

Her
body effortlessly transferred from Beau’s arms to his own and Zane carried her
back to her bedroom, kicking the door closed with his foot. Laying her on the
bed, he settled in beside her, gently shaking her face and talking to her. She
passed out, which was understandable, considering all of those panic attacks
that had preceded this little event.

“Baby,
wake up. V.” He continued to talk to her until finally her eyes fluttered and
those honey gold eyes peered up at him.

“Everything’s
ok. I’m right here. Jake –”

“Did
Gage kill him?” V questioned, cutting him off midsentence.

“No,
baby.” Zane chuckled, staring down at her. “Jake’s not dead. No one’s hurt.”

Her
arms latched onto his neck, pulling him off balance and Zane fell on top of
her, nearly crushing her with his weight.

“I
love you. So much. Please, don’t ever leave me, Zane. I love you.”

“Never,
baby. I’m right here. Not going anywhere.” Lifting his head up, he looked into
her eyes again, grinned. “Unless you want to head on back to Vegas and check
out one of those little chapels.”

♂♀

Note
to self... Parents do not like finding out their kids all disappeared to Vegas
for a bachelor/bachelorette party. At least not the parents whose last names
were Walker or Stranford.

That
was the main reason there were so many people gathered behind the main Walker house,
beneath tents, laughing and joking while Zoey and Kaleb danced. No, this wasn’t
their first dance – at least, not as husband and wife. That wasn’t going to
happen for at least a few more weeks.

This
little shindig had actually been the brainchild of Curtis and Carl, with a
little encouragement from Lorrie – who’d dubbed this Zoey’s bridal shower,
although the men were invited. Zane’s parents had teamed up with Zoey’s father
to make sure this celebration was done correctly. It was significantly toned
down from the party in Vegas, but, if he had to say so himself, this was much
more to his liking.

First
of all, there were no strippers.

Thank
God for that.

Secondly,
Lorrie and V had done Zoey right. There were hoards of ladies present, all
bringing gifts for the bride to be. Even Regina was present and as soon as V
recognized her mother was there, she’d almost cried. That little dog of hers
was managing to drum up more attention than the bride to be though.

No
one seemed to mind.

“Honey,
can you go inside and grab some more punch? Oh, and a few more of those
glasses?”

Zane
nodded at his mother as he turned on his heel to go into the house. Those
little glasses his mother referred to actually said “Zoey’s Bachelorette Party”
on them. She’d thought it funny when she ordered them, considering. He didn’t understand
the joke, but he didn’t question his mother either.

Once
inside, Zane maneuvered around the couple of ladies in the kitchen who were
working diligently to get more food prepared to take outside. Other than the clang
of forks and knives, the house was silent, which was a little surprising.

Or,
maybe not.

The
sound of two male voices came from down the hallway that led to the stairs, and
Zane looked back at the women in the kitchen. Either they didn’t hear the
heated argument, or they were pretending not to. Either way, Zane wasn’t about
to let anyone ruin this day for Kaleb and Zoey, so he closed the refrigerator
and moved down the hall at a fast clip.

“It
will happen again, I told you that.”

Zane
heard Travis’ voice loud and clear. He stuck his head just inside the doorway
to the small office his parents rarely used. Travis had Gage pressed up against
the wall. It appeared that they were arguing. Based on what he heard, Travis
was probably angry at how the whole Jake Sanders ordeal went down. Not that
Zane could blame him. If he’d had a say in the matter, Jake would’ve been
arrested long before he had a chance to pull a gun on anyone.

What
happened next told Zane that these two men weren’t in any way talking about
Zane or anyone else. As quietly as he could, Zane pivoted on his boot heel and
took off down the hall.

Absolutely
none of his fucking business.

♂♂

Travis
couldn’t help himself. Gage had cornered him unexpectedly, more than a little
pissed off that he’d completely blown the cop’s cover in order to save his
brother’s life. He’d do it again in a heartbeat.

Whether
Gage was trying to push his buttons or not, Travis couldn’t resist what he was
about to do. He’d pushed him up against the wall and was gripping his chin in
one hand, making sure Gage was well aware of his intent. The night of that damn
party in Vegas, Travis sat back, silently watching as Gage got all touchy feely
with Zoey, undoubtedly with Kaleb’s permission. It was as though he was
taunting him. Travis had promised himself the next time he got Gage alone, he
wasn’t going to hold back.

They
may not have as much privacy as he’d hoped for, but this would have to do. For
now.

“It
will happen again, I told you that,” Travis told the cop, but he wasn’t
referring to Jake Sanders or the clusterfuck that happened a few days ago.

No,
he was talking about this.

Travis
slammed his mouth down on Gage’s. Hard. No holds barred. He thrust his tongue
into the other man’s mouth, his body surging to life as soon as Gage returned
the kiss. He’d been waiting for this ever since that first time in his office.
He was counting down the minutes until what happened the next time he got Gage alone.
By themselves or with a woman between them, Travis didn’t give a shit. He
wanted this man. Fiercely.

Sliding
one hand between them, Travis palmed Gage’s dick through his jeans, making the
other man moan into his mouth.

When
they broke apart, primarily for air, but partly due to the fact that Travis
wasn’t interested in an audience, he stared down into those dark, swirling
brown eyes. “Will. Happen. Again.”

With
that, he pressed his own iron hard length against Gage’s before taking a step
back. He’d have blue balls before the night was out, especially if he had the
pleasure of watching Gage for long. It was something he was just going to have
to deal with.

At
least for now.

♀♂

V
stood on the edge of the makeshift dance floor, watching Kaleb and Zoey
maneuver so effortlessly to the music. Regina was also out there, this time
dancing with Sawyer, who’d somehow convinced her mother to dance with him.
She’d been reluctant, but finally gave in. Most women were helpless against the
Walker charm.