JACE (Lane Brothers Book 3) Read online

  “See! I told you something wasn’t right. I’ll kill whoever did that.” Jared starts rambling and it takes me a while to understand what this latest rant is about.

  Jared is usually not the chattiest asshole on the toilet seat, so having him just blurt stuff out that doesn’t pertain to what we’re doing here is definitely amusing, not to mention the reason he’s so bent out of shape right now.

  “Calm down, Wolverine. The woman had her hair trimmed. She didn’t shave half of it off and dye it pink.” I laugh, watching Trace’s car till it turns the corner on Main and drives out of sight.

  “I told her not to cut her Goddamned hair when Ronny mentioned it a week ago.”

  And there you have it. Jared is nuts, I’m headed that way thanks to Trace and this whole wedding thing she sprang on me, and Miah and the others are probably already inmates at the loony farm.

  Jared leaves without taking a bite of his lunch and storms out with an expression that makes even my balls shrink in terror, and I shake my head with a sigh and a grunt to the cosmos.

  Thanks, man, thanks a lot for landing all this shit on my lap in the same week as the anniversary of my mother’s death.

  This is all just Goddamned great, I think, rising to leave and actually go get some work done instead of following Trace home and watching her like a creeper.

  Not that I wouldn’t, but I really do have few things to look into before I carry out the plans I’ve made for her.

  ***

  “Jason Antonio Lane, what the hell do you think you’re doing, young man?”

  I cringe and look up from the bed where I’ve set up some restraints and made sure that the length is perfect for maximum comfort. So fucking what if the only plan I’ve come up with yet is to kidnap my girl and keep her here till this whole mess blows over. It’s not my most original plan, but it worked for Wyatt and Ellie, and shit, I have nothing else to go on here.

  I know it’s extreme and nuts, and believe me, I’ve done nothing but think about how reprehensible my plans are all freaking day since leaving that diner.

  But it’s the only way I can think of to get Trace here and keep her safe and as far away from that whack job Ronny as humanly possible.

  “Jason.”

  Ma only gets that tone and uses my full name when she’s mad, and boy do I hate seeing Ma mad, because as sweet as she looks and is most of the time, the woman has a tongue as sharp as a freaking razor and never fails to use it when riled.

  And trust me, she’s riled from finding me tying restraints to my bed like some sicko getting ready to kidnap his girl and…tie her to his bed.

  “This isn’t what it looks like, Ma. I swear,” I mutter, swallowing when she narrows her eyes and pads farther into the room, taking a long slow look at the restraints and the bottled water and Tylenol sitting on the nightstand.

  “Jason,” she starts slowly, trying her best to remain calm. “Why does it look like you’re planning to kidnap someone and tie them to your bed? And by that, I mean why are you planning to kidnap Tracy and tie her to your bed?!”

  My hands come up in surrender and I bite the inside of my cheek to keep from babbling like a damn little boy who just got caught raiding the cookie jar.

  “Now, Ma, just listen, okay? I, uh, see the thing is…Tracy is engaged and she’s been hanging around with Ronny and Paulie, and Aunt Cleo was just found in her bed after someone shot her up with something, and I just can’t leave Trace out there to get hurt or worse, run off and get married to some guy who seems to be really nice but has to have something wrong with him to be in Senator Mayfield’s pocket.”

  I shudder and wince when she narrows one eye at me and looks back at the bed with a frown.

  “Your situation is nothing like Wyatt and Ellie’s, and I see no reason for you to be planning something this drastic, Jason Lane.”

  “But Ma…”

  She sniffs and looks down her nose at me the way she used to when she’d catch me and Jared surfing the net for porn before Pop put one of those restrictions on every terminal in the house and almost yelled to death.

  “Really, Jason, be more creative than this, darling. Why don’t you tell me everything and let Mama help you with your troubles.”

  Really?

  “I just fu—I just did, Ma. Tracy is engaged and getting married in a month or two or something, and she’s hanging with Satan and her one-woman crew, okay? I don’t trust any of this and I want her here under our roof where she’ll be safe.”

  Another sniff hits me and I close one eye in surrender.

  “Well why didn’t you just say so in the first place, dear? Really. Give Mama Tracy’s address and I’ll get her over here for dinner while Jared and Miah pack her things up and bring them home. And, Jace, darling? Get rid of the restraints. Mama can handle Tracy well enough that you won’t need to do something that will only make you feel guilty,” she says knowingly, making me bite my lips to stifle a chuckle as she walks to the door.

  I look longingly at the restraints, thinking of the benefits of leaving them for a time when Trace will actually appreciate them and my expertise with certain sexual aids.

  “Now, Jason!”

  Christ. Thwarted by my own freaking mother.

  “Don’t tell the others!” I yell after her, hoping like hell that none of my brothers are in residence or even within earshot.

  All I get for my efforts is a drawn-out chuckle and a wave over her shoulder. Great, now instead of a week spent in bed, trying to convince Tracy that she does not hate me, I get to look forward to my brothers’ teasing and Tracy glaring at me. Just great.

  My phone rings not ten minutes later and I get to listen to Wyatt laughing his ass off for a good minute before he manages to choke in a breath and calm his ass down.

  “You let Ma catch you planning a kidnapping? Dude, that’s why I took Ellie to Uncle Gardner’s place instead of going home, man. Seriously?”

  “Shut up, you fool. Where did you want me to take her once I grabbed her, huh? They know about Gardner’s place and the cottage on the estate is too close to the boundary for my peace of mind. Here is the safest option I have, you ass, and thanks to Ma’s penchant for snooping…”

  Wyatt laughs again before sobering and getting down to business, just like my big brother.

  “So Ellie and Ma said that Trace is getting married.”

  I start pacing to work off the energy that’s been building up since this afternoon and seeing Trace hug that viper’s spawn. It’s just gotten worse the longer I think about it, which is all day thanks to the last few hours spent working silently in what was supposed to be an under-the-radar way.

  “Was. She was getting married. Now she isn’t. Unless you count me already talking to the justice of the peace and making arrangements for next week,” I snarl, feeling that tightening in my chest again.

  You do not believe in love, Jace, remember? Just belonging. Just. Belonging.

  I keep telling myself that and maybe I’ll actually believe it sometime in the next twenty years, I think with a snort and an internal eye roll.

  “Bro, take it from me, man. A woman needs to have her choices.”

  That makes me grunt out a laugh.

  “Pardon me? Did you just spout that shit after the way you got your girl, Wyatt? Far as I can recall, you drugged her while she slept, tied her to your bed, and kept her prisoner in Gardner’s house for days before she took a shine to you. Oh! And did you forget your plan B, asshole?” I goad, liking the way the tables have suddenly turned.

  “Ellie wanted a baby, too!”

  “Huh, true. And yet you didn’t exactly ask before you tried to impregnate her, did you?”

  “You little bastard.”

  “Asshole.”

  “Idiot.”

  “Moron.”

  “Okay! Look, I just want to say a few things that I feel I should say as your big brother. First, women want and need to have their choices. That’s just true and you know it, so don’t go th
inking you can just marry Trace without her agreement. And I wanted to say congrats, man. I always liked Trace and it bummed me out when you broke things off with her. Just…be careful, yeah? You’ve got a lot going on right now and you can’t afford a distraction.”

  “Trace is not a distraction,” I say, leaving my room and taking the stairs two at a time.

  I have the overwhelming urge to see my girl right now.

  “Bro, that is not true and you know it. It’s one of the reasons your fool mind decided to let Tracy go. You’ve seen Miah lately, right? The man is so wrapped up in the love bubble, it’ll take a nuclear explosion to wake him up, and he’s gone rogue, hunting that Grimes guy. Love is a distraction.”

  “I do not love Tracy.”

  “Tell that to someone with less intelligence than me, asshole. Now stop running down the stairs before Ma catches—”

  “Are you trying to break your neck?! Stop running and get in here, Jace. Mama has some good news.”

  I disconnect the call to the sound of Wyatt’s laughter and see Ma’s grinning face, wondering what I just got myself into by involving the old bat in my business.

  Somehow those restraints are looking mighty fine just about now as I follow her into the living room to see Pop sitting there, grinning just as broadly.

  “Please tell me you and Trace will at least give this old woman a few grandkids and undo the damage Miah and Clari did.”

  Ma’s grinning and rubbing her hands together like an evil crone while Pop looks on, obviously enjoying the show that is the Jude Lane project.

  “Pop. Trace and I aren’t even together yet, and I still have a lot of shi—stuff to do concerning the mess the family is in. A little time wouldn’t go amiss here, old man.”

  Pop smiles and shrugs casually, waving my words away.

  “With Judy here on the case, you’re bound to get your girl. The family shit is just another cog in this wheel that you and your brothers will sort out in time.”

  Well, looks like Ma and her greedy paws will be getting another grandkid soon. Really, who am I to deny her what she wants when she’s going to all this trouble to help me get Tracy back.

  “Tell me, you old dictator.”

  “Ooooh! She’s coming to dinner tonight, Jace! I can’t wait to see her again after so long. And—George! Come and help me prepare a menu and get a room ready for our girl.”

  “Ma. Trace will be sleeping with me,” I cut in when she reaches the door in her frenzy.

  “But—”

  “That’s final, Ma. Tracy will be in my room, in my bed, and I don’t want you putting any other ideas in her head,” I warn, ignoring Pop’s chuckle and Ma’s frown.

  “Fine, but I expect a grandbaby soon if I’m to convince the girl that fast that you aren’t a little shit, Jason Lane,” she huffs, throwing her hands in the air when Pop starts guffawing.

  “Really, George, the doctor doesn’t want you getting so overexcited.”

  “Stop complaining, woman, and go start on your menu while I talk to our kid. He’ll need a few tips on how to tame a wild filly, and I’m just the man to do that.” He winks.

  Ma blushes and leaves the room giggling, her titters and the saucy wink she throws him making my stomach turn violently.

  “Gross, Pop.”

  “Hmm, you wanted her gone so you can go see your woman? Well she’s occupied, jackass. I’ll see you later.”

  I’m out the door and speeding down the drive moments later, trying to scrub my brain of thoughts of Pop and Ma…in that way.

  Chapter Five

  Trace

  When a good plan comes together it’s the same as winning that carnival teddy bear that no one could nab. I feel great right now after a call from Jude Lane that I wasn’t expecting at all.

  And that makes me laugh giddily because who in their right mind would ever expect Jason Lane to get his mommy to hook a girl for him? Not me, and certainly not after the way he watched me from that diner all afternoon while I tried and failed to keep track of the conversation between Ronny and Paulie.

  I expected something a little more…forceful from my Jace than to run home and get his mom involved. I have to say that I’m a bit disappointed that he didn’t just go caveman on me and strap me to his freaking bed.

  You gotta admit that would have been way hot.

  And it would have given me a quick excuse to jump the guy like a sex-starved spinster, which is what I am if you really add up all the years I’ve been on this dry spell.

  I have to admit to being a little nervous, and who can blame me? The Lanes—the good ones, at least—are like the freaking Christmas card family with all their love and affection and…and it’s as magnetic as it is scary.

  The last time I saw Jude and the others, we were celebrating Wyatt’s birthday as if he were the Second Coming or something, and the outpouring of pure love and joy they all showed, the way they treated his birthday as if it were one of the top ten best things to ever happen in the world was pretty amazing, if I do say so myself.

  Now I’m going back, and with three extras and a baby to show me exactly how dysfunctional my family is. Know what my mom and dad got me for my birthday besides a huge party with four hundred guests I don’t even like?

  Mom got me a gift card—admittedly, her version carries a few thousand dollars’ worth of credit. Dad sent me a wedding catalogue and a ring that was supposed to be my wedding ring or engagement ring or whatever he was saying after I stopped listening.

  I have to go to dinner with people I don’t relate to, and who turned their backs on me when Jace was done with me. How I should remain objective and keep to the mission is beyond me when all I really want to do is kick a few of them in the balls and throw a few punches to even the score.

  I’m still standing in front of my closet trying to decide what to wear when the doorbell rings.

  My heart starts tripping because not even a minute after the chime, I pick up the sound of the lock clicking and the scrape of the wooden door as it creeks open.

  Only one person would be intrusive enough to ring the bell and not wait for me to open it.

  “What the heck are you doing in my house, Jace?” I ask, not even bothering to turn and look at him as I survey the poor choice of wardrobe I brought along on this trip.

  Stupid sensibility gets me every time.

  “I’m here to pick you up for dinner, babe,” he drawls and I can just imagine that cocky smirk and his stance as he leans against the door, ankles and arms folded in that nonchalant way that used to be cute but just pisses me off now.

  “Dinner. Oh brother, give me strength. It’s four in the afternoon, you fool, and your mother said dinner is at seven. Besides, my question was ‘what are you doing in my house,’ and let me amend, ‘without an invitation’.”

  The damn black dress that looks like one Margaret Thatcher would wear keeps goading me and I finally rip it off the hanger with an internal screech of outrage and a foot stomp.

  Yeah, Jace, just go ahead and chuckle your fool head off, why don’t you? Idiot.

  “Babe, you’ve been sending me invitations since the moment you looked at me. No, don’t deny it, because one thing we do not do with each other is lie. You know you want me,” he drawls, grinning at my scowl when I toss the dress to the bed and stand with my hands planted on my hips and my foot tapping.

  “I also want to swim in the Amazon River and skydive over Mount Fuji, but we can’t always get what we want. Sometimes those things are bad for us and have the potential to spread disease,” I answer sweetly, giving him a look as I pass him at the door and hit the kitchen.

  My answer isn’t as scathing as it should be, but I blame that on the guilt I keep feeling about being such a big fat liar right now.

  “Babe—”

  “Oh would you just stop with the babe shit already! I’m not a pig. My name is Tracy. Not babe. Not Trace. Not anything that may sound like it. T-R-A-C-Y. Got that, sucker?”

  He’s laugh
ing even as he holds his hands up in surrender and pouts.

  “Got it. Tracy. So, dinner, huh? You missed Ma, yeah?”

  “No, I just didn’t want to be rude when she called and invited me. Besides, I liked Wyatt the few times we actually spoke, and I heard he got married and had a baby.”

  Like that didn’t send an arrow of gut-ripping pain through me just thinking that if Jace had actually kept his word and married me, we’d have at least one kid right now.

  I still think about things like that, and I hate that instead of being the first to have the next generation of Lanes, I get to be the bitter hag who’s personal friends with the green-eyed monster and drinks tea with the chick at least once a week.

  “And Wyatt likes you. Along with every other member of my family, Tracy. They all love you, and Wyatt’s wife, Ellie, is dying to meet you. She’s keeping Alex up an hour later just to meet you.”

  Big whoop!

  So maybe that makes me feel all special and stuff now, but I’m sure I’ll get over it.

  “Fine. Your family likes me, and we’re all just great and happy. I’m having dinner with the Lanes and then I’m getting the hell out of Dodge now that my wedding plans are finalized. Great. Thanks for stopping by. I’ll see you all at seven.”

  Please do not walk out that door and leave me with the raging lust that started the minute you walked through the door. I keep my back to him as I go for the refrigerator and whatever the hell is cold in there.

  I’m needy here and I want him as much as I hate him, and to top it all off, my nipples are hard in this heat and my panties are not saveable anymore.

  Jace is just…he’s magnetic. Those blue eyes and all that overly shaggy hair that flops across his forehead just does it for me. Along with the way he keeps looking at me as if he’d like nothing more than to devour me, all while slowly licking his lips.

  I want him so badly right now that it’s an actual ache not to throw myself at him and demand he kiss me and finish what he started last night when he had his hand down my pants and his finger so close to my entrance. I still clench just thinking about it.