Page 10 of The Reluctant Siren (Texas Sirens: Legacy #2)

“You did not have to come with me,”

Harlow said for the three hundredth time.

Niall let his hands tighten around the steering wheel.

“Your guy didn’t show.”

“He got caught up at the club,”

she replied. She had explained she had briefly talked to the Dom in Residence, who was an old friend of hers. They knew each other from the lifestyle, and he was worried about what was happening at Decadence.

“We’re going to talk more tomorrow. I’ve already got Ruby working on a thorough report on him. It’s been a while. I want to know where he’s been and what he’s been doing.”

“But you trust him?”

He wished he’d met the guy, but he’d gotten distracted once Harlow went off with Miranda. Phil had talked to him about his time in the lifestyle and what he did for a living. He’d stuck to the story Harlow gave him, but something about the man made him uneasy. And then there was the bartender, who had all kinds of questions. The man named Jack had been intensely interested in Niall’s sub and how they met, how long they’d been together.

Then the fucker completely disappeared again when he was going to introduce them so Harlow could get a read on him.

The night had been weird, and now there was a vibe coming from Harlow that made him antsy.

She told him he could go home when they left the club. Oh, she gave him the rundown of what happened with Miranda and what they would do next. She hadn’t tried to hide her emotional phone call to Miranda’s mom or the sarcastic banter with her contact at the big security firm that was going to help out. But he got the feeling she was hiding something.

Niall carefully turned his Jeep down the road that would lead to Miranda’s apartment. They had already delivered Miranda’s mother to the McKay-Taggart building, and she was meeting with the bodyguard and going over the details of where they would stay.

Now all they had to do was pick up Miranda and get her back to base. Which was a big building in the middle of downtown with a sarcastic asshole who served as the overlord. Harlow seemed to like the big bastard, though, so Niall wasn’t complaining.

He had so many other things to worry about, including the fact that the only reason he thought she hadn’t fought him too hard was she didn’t have her car. It was back at her place. He picked her up. He got the feeling if Ruby hadn’t been lost in her computer, he would have been left behind at The Hideout.

“I’m not letting you…”

he began and then stopped, realizing how the rest of his statement was going to be taken.

“You want to finish that sentence?”

Harlow had been on edge since she walked out of that man’s office.

He was on edge, too, since Jensen had been texting him and he hadn’t had a minute without Harlow to call the fucker back. Now he wanted to talk? Jensen ignored him all evening and now he was blowing up his phone. It was annoying.

“I don’t want you out here alone, princess,”

he replied quietly as he stopped at a red light.

“I don’t know why, but I have a bad feeling. I didn’t like Phil, and that bartender was way too interested in you. He didn’t even meet you. He didn’t even show up until you were with Miranda, so I don’t know when he saw you. But he obviously did, and I think that one could get aggressive.”

For all his twangy cowboy charm, there had been a ruthlessness to the man he hadn’t liked. And they’d only talked for ten minutes.

“The hair does it for some guys. I wouldn’t worry about him. He was probably told by the manager to get info on the new couple.”

She reached over and put a hand on his.

“Niall, what you’re feeling is nerves, and it’s normal. You were in a dangerous place tonight. This is not the kind of lifestyle you’re used to. You like some peace, and I don’t give a lot of peace. It’s something to think about.”

He didn’t like the sound of that.

“I don’t need to think about it. I need to get back into practice. I wasn’t always a mild-mannered gym owner.”

“I know.”

Her voice had taken on a soothing tone.

“You’ve been stuck in potential violence all of your life. First with your dad and later in the Army, and you found some peace and then I come in.”

He turned to look at her.

“Where is this coming from?”

She shifted in her seat.

“I kind of got a visit from an old ghost tonight. The guy at the club. I told you we’ve worked together before. I guess that’s part of it, but I was thinking about why this isn’t working before I saw him again.”

“What’s not working?”

She’d been perfectly happy all day. They worked out together, had lunch, prepped for the club, and she’d seemed content. Even excited. Then she’d walked off with Miranda and come back a totally different person.

“You and me.”

She sighed.

“Niall, you don’t want me physically, and that’s okay. We can be friends. We can have a great relationship, and you don’t have to pretend. I’m not sure why you focused on me, but I’m glad you did because I like you. It can be scary to be who we are in public, but The Hideout is a safe place. You can be exactly who you are there.”

He was confused.

“I know it is. It’s why I feel comfortable there. I found myself at that club. Harlow, why would you think I don’t want you physically? I assure you I want you. I’ve slept with you every night this week.”

“You’ve slept beside me,”

she corrected.

“You haven’t slept with me.”

He should have known this was coming. He’d felt her dissatisfaction. Even when he gave her an orgasm, she wasn’t completely happy because she wanted more.

“I’ve touched you every single night. As often as I can. You have to be able to feel how much I want you.”

“I know that is a biological reaction that a lot of men can’t help when they’re in a sexual situation.”

She turned back to the windshield.

“The apartment building is right up ahead. It’s the two story. We should talk about this tomorrow. We’ll pick up Miranda and you can take us back to the MT office and we can meet up for breakfast in the morning. I promise this is the last time I ask you to be involved in my business. It was too much.”

He pulled the car over.

“What is going on? Did I do something wrong tonight? I know I came looking for you, but you had been gone for a long time. I was worried. I can’t not be worried about you. I knew the bathroom was back there. If anyone asked, I was going to the bathroom. I thought it through.”

“It’s not about that. You did a great job,”

she said, putting a hand on his.

“You really did, but it’s obvious it bothers you, and I don’t think what you’re getting out of this experiment of ours is worth the discomfort.”

“I’m getting plenty out of this relationship.”

He was starting to feel like they were seriously miscommunicating.

“I’m exactly where I want to be, and I don’t want you to stop asking me to help.”

He felt a nasty pit open in his gut. She’d seen an old friend tonight. A guy she knew from the lifestyle. How close had they been? He only knew about her relationship with Jensen, but of course she’d had boyfriends before him.

“Is it because of the guy from the club? You never told me his name.”

“Because he doesn’t matter beyond this case,”

she assured him.

It wasn’t working.

“Well, it feels like you saw him again a couple of hours ago and you’re breaking up with me.”

“We haven’t exactly been together long enough to break up. And I assure you it has nothing to do with any other man. You’re the only man I’ve been interested in for years. Not since Jensen Wiley, and I wouldn’t go back to him for all the money in the world.”

She sighed.

“I’ve been willing to have sex with you for days now. You don’t want me.”

He groaned. He should have known this wouldn’t last long.

“I do want you. I want you so much I can barely see straight.”

He chuckled as he realized what she was thinking.

“I am hetero, princess. I’m not hiding anything about my sexuality, and I’m not using you as cover. I promise I would feel incredibly comfortable being gay at The Hideout.”

“Then I don’t understand,”

she admitted.

Well, he couldn’t tell her the whole truth. Hey, baby. You know the last guy who fucked you over? He’s my best friend and I’ve been stalking you for him so you maybe stayed pure and virginal until he murders a mobster and comes back for you. But I fell for you and will probably be the next person Jensen Wiley wants revenge on. Nope. He needed a much simpler explanation. And it wasn’t totally a lie.

“I want the first time we make love to be special.”

Her eyes narrowed, and he could feel her suspicion. “Special?”

“All right.”

He couldn’t do this here. She needed to be focused. He knew this was the simple part of her mission, but she still needed her head in the game.

“You’re right. We’ll talk about this in the morning. Should I find a better place to park?”

“We’re fine here. I told her to meet us out front. She should be out in a couple of minutes.”

She stared at him for a moment.

“You’re not telling me something.”

Well, no one said she wasn’t smart.

“We’ll talk about it tomorrow morning. I’ll tell you everything, but you should know it doesn’t change the way I feel about you. I have some things in my past we need to discuss, and I haven’t felt right sleeping with you when you don’t know everything.”

Her jaw went tight, and all that sweet acceptance was gone.

“You’ve been lying to me.”

And this was why he wished he never had to have this conversation. He wished he’d met her in an organic way, without Jensen between them. Just hearing her say Jensen’s name made him anxious.

“Not lying, exactly, but I haven’t told you the whole truth,”

he hedged. He wished he had more time.

“You don’t know everything about my time in the military.”

She didn’t know why he’d gone into the military. Not fully. It had certainly been about money, but mostly about the deep and abiding brotherhood he formed with Jensen Wiley.

She glanced down at her phone, the suspicion fleeing.

“I can handle it if you did bad shit in the military. Half my friends are literal spies. And I’m not supposed to talk about that. If I can be friends with Kala Taggart, I assure you I can handle my boyfriend working some black ops in the military. It does explain why this bothers you. I’m sorry about that. I still don’t get what could have happened in your military service that means we need therapy before we fuck.”

There were times when he adored her put-it-all-out-there personality. This was not one of those times.

“Because I’m serious about us. I’m serious about you.”

She softened, looking back up at him.

“I’m serious about you, too. But we need to figure out the whole sex thing because it’s been a long time for me, and I’m ready to get this train moving. She’s coming down. I told her exactly where we are.”

He took a long breath and looked out the front window. The street was quiet at this time of night. There was a light right next to the building Miranda lived in. It was a two-story apartment building set back from the street. They were parked at the front of the building, the parking lot behind them. They were in an older part of the city with big trees and houses and not a lot of traffic.

Harlow looked out over the street.

“I still think we should keep business and our relationship separate. You didn’t enjoy this evening.”

“Did I have fun checking out an unsafe club and talking to douchebags who are probably criminals? No. Will I do it again because my girlfriend is a private investigator? Of course I will.”

If she didn’t murder him after he told her why he was here.

“I don’t think it’s a good idea in this case,”

she said quietly, her eyes on the street in front of them. She was obviously waiting for the moment when Miranda appeared. She hadn’t been this tense with the mom, but then the mom hadn’t seemed to be in danger.

“I think there’s a lot going on there, and I probably need a partner.”

“I thought I was your partner. And Ruby. You have two partners.”

“You were cover for me tonight. It’s different,”

she corrected.

“Ruby is absolutely my partner, but I need her on the outside. Also, despite the fact that we make a gorgeous couple, no one believes our ‘we’re together’ act. We’ve tried it a couple of times, and we always get called out. Even at freaking Costco. I tried to put her on my card. They wanted a marriage license.”

He chuckled at the thought of Harlow and Ruby trying to ensure they got cheap bulk coffee and paper for their office.

“I still don’t understand why you suddenly don’t want me going back to that club. I overheard you talking to the big guy. You told him you were going back in. Won’t they be confused about why you’re not with your Dom?”

“I’m going to tell them we had a falling out, but I still want to explore the lifestyle,”

she explained.

“It will be so much easier for people to talk to me.”

“And to hurt you, to take advantage of you. It’s why you wanted me to go with you in the first place.”

He didn’t like the thought of her going into that club all by herself. He’d seen the way the men looked at her. It wasn’t a safe place. It wasn’t The Hideout. He also didn’t like the thought that she’d been planning this the last few hours.

“Yes,”

she said with a bright smile. Like he got it and she was pleased.

She was going to give him a heart attack.

“Harlow? Come on.”

“Okay, but it’s kind of what I need to happen. Look, from what I can tell, nothing really bad goes on until they get shipped to the upstairs business, which I have to believe is the one Daisy sort of took out part of. I think an American group was working with a Mexican group, and we only found the ones with cartel connections, leaving a man named Hamilton to continue his work. I need to take this guy down, and the best way to do it is from the inside.”

What had she said? “Hamilton?”

The name hit him like a sledgehammer. Cliff Hamilton. The man who killed Tommy Wiley and sent his best friend into hell. Surely she was talking about another Hamilton. There had to be more than one asshole named Hamilton in the world. There was more than one who had been based in LA and moved to Dallas. That happened every day, right?

Because if she wasn’t talking about another Hamilton, then who was the man she met tonight? The one she was planning on working with?

The one she knew from before. The one who sent her into a quiet spiral.

“Yeah,”

she said with a sigh.

“He’s a dirtbag. Cliff Hamilton. Former thief turned drug dealer. I can’t tell you all the shit he’s done. I think that’s her. Keep the car going. I’ll help her get her case in.”

She was halfway out the door when she stopped.

“Crap. I should have known he would show up. Uhm, you’re about to meet my asshole ex. Don’t worry. He won’t jeopardize our mission. He wants Miranda out, too. Don’t punch him. He’s a dick, but I kind of need him.”

Jensen.

Jensen was the ex. Jensen was the one she met tonight right before she started trying to gently break off their relationship. Jensen was the one she was going to work with. Jensen was fucking here?

He watched as a man stepped out of his truck and crossed the street, making a beeline for Harlow. There was no way to mistake the swagger of the man or the broad shoulders. His hair was longer than it had been the last time he’d physically seen him a couple of months before.

Harlow stopped in front of the car, crossing her arms over her chest and saying something to him.

Jensen. There he was. He was talking to Harlow, his hands out in apology. They both looked ghostly in the headlights. Harlow simply shook her head as though she didn’t care.

She was going to care. She was going to care a lot when Jensen took one look at him and figured out what had happened between his best friend and the woman of his dreams.

He should have found a way to call him.

Fuck. This was going to go to hell and fast.

He wasn’t sure how long he sat there kind of frozen and wondering exactly what to do, but when he finally took a deep breath and started to get out of the car, Miranda came into clear view.

She dropped her suitcase and started running.

And that was when he heard the gunfire.