Page 12 of The Reluctant Siren (Texas Sirens: Legacy #2)

The big blond asshole slapped the top of his desk again, laughter booming from him.

“And then he attacked Harlow’s new guy, who is his best friend, who’s also supposed to be spying on her? In the middle of the murder?”

“Ian.”

The woman with the strawberry-colored hair shot her husband a glare.

The man who’d been introduced as Ian Taggart simply continued to bust a gut. Not that he had much of one. Jensen would bet the guy was older than he looked, but he kept it tight.

As tight as Jensen wanted to wrap his hands around his former best friend’s throat. Until Niall was blue and that poacher was fucking dead.

Niall sat in a chair on the other side of the office looking sullen and only slightly damaged. He had to admit Niall knew how to block a punch.

Harlow wasn’t looking at either of them. She’d been silent, and the only reason she’d gotten into the car with them was the cops were coming.

She’d been ready to get into Niall’s Jeep. Not Jensen’s truck. He could tell himself it was because Niall’s vehicle was closer and Miranda started walking for it, but he knew the truth.

She liked Niall. Niall had spent the last several months stealing his woman.

Needless to say Jensen had gotten his ass in that Jeep, too, leaving behind his truck.

Jack had apparently dealt with the cops quickly and shown up here after Harlow had sent Miranda off with her mom and a check for mental health services since she’d witnessed a lot of shit tonight.

“You got to admit it was pretty funny.”

Jack was the only one who seemed somewhat comfortable with the outcome.

“I was thinking the big guy was about to punch me and he went for the new guy.”

Taggart grinned.

“Did he have the crazy eyes?”

Jack—if that was his real name—nodded.

“It’s like you always said. You gotta watch out for the crazy eyes.”

“I would like to know what’s going on with you.”

Jensen had been quiet for way too long.

“You said you were a fed. At least I think you did. It got confusing.”

Taggart nodded.

“That’s what happens when you lose your shit. Tell me, did you see a red mist or just black out in a jealousy-fueled rage?”

If this guy wasn’t so important to Harlow… “I had a normal reaction to learning that my best friend in the world was poaching my girl.”

“Not your girl,”

Harlow said as Taggart’s wife sat down beside her and handed her a cup of tea. Harlow managed a slight smile.

“Thanks, Charlotte. I’m sorry to get you out of bed. It was supposed to be a simple client move.”

“Nothing is simple when you’ve got two men involved, sweetie,”

Charlotte replied.

“If I wasn’t worried about how you’re getting home, I would have brought out the vodka.”

Jack stood by the big floor-to-ceiling windows that overlooked downtown and all its glittering lights. This building was nice, and apparently Taggart owned it. It reminded Jensen of the difference in his and Harlow’s circumstances.

But at least that asshole Niall was as poor as he was.

“I’m FBI,”

Jack said with a sigh.

“Booo,”

Taggart called out.

Jack’s eyes rolled.

“Like the Agency is cooler. Anyway, my team has been following a man named Cliff Hamilton for the last several years, but it wasn’t until he crossed state lines and started to build his organization in both Texas and Nevada that we got involved. Up until that point California Bureau was handling things. Then a while back that sweet thing from The Hideout busted the op wide open.”

“We call her Hurricane Daisy,”

Taggart explained.

“And that’s when you decided to hire on?”

Niall asked.

“Did you realize your cousin was involved?”

Jack winked Harlow’s way.

“Not at all. I mean I knew she got tangled up with his group in California. By the way, we got that stupid arrest thing all cleared up for you, darlin’. She’s not actually my cousin, you see. Not a bit a blood between us.”

He noticed Niall sat up a little taller. So did he. He might have to kick a fed’s ass tonight.

“No, but we do have a whole childhood between us,”

Harlow replied with a frown.

“Don’t spin him up again.”

Jack glanced at Niall and then back to Jensen.

“Which one? Because from where I’m sitting I got a rise out of them both.”

Harlow took a sip of tea and then set it down, looking to her “cousin.”

Who damn well was going to stay her cousin.

“Jensen was always a jealous ass. Niall has no reason to be jealous since he was a plant meant to keep me pure while his friend was doing his thing.”

“His thing being stupid, get-him-killed revenge on the man he blames for his brother’s death?”

Taggart asked.

She nodded.

“Yup, and now I’m worried that you already know that.”

Taggart sat back, not replying at all, simply waiting for someone to take the bait Harlow had thrown out.

“If I was trying to keep you so pure, why did I sleep with you the last several nights?”

Niall got hooked.

And was about to receive another one of Jensen’s left hooks. What had Taggart said about red mist?

Jack looked his way. Not like he was going to stop him this time. Like he was enjoying the show.

“Don’t like that much, do you?”

He ignored Jack entirely.

“I asked you to watch over her not to take her to bed immediately.”

“Was it immediately… What was his name again, baby?”

Taggart asked.

“Niall,”

Charlotte supplied.

Niall ignored them, turning to Harlow.

“I think we should talk. Alone.”

Harlow snorted.

“Did Charlotte give you the good vodka? Because that is not happening.”

“Is anyone interested in talking about how the events of the night fucked everything up?”

Jack asked, sounding exasperated.

“Nah, it’s more fun to watch this completely dysfunctional threesome explode,”

Taggart replied.

Harlow’s eyes narrowed.

“We are not a threesome.”

Harlow came from a threesome. Her fathers shared her mom. He’d thought it was weird at first, but she talked about how loving her family had been. How her dads always had someone to lean on while they were supporting her mom.

“No?”

Charlotte asked.

“I mean I agree you didn’t realize you were in a threesome because these two are not emotionally mature.”

“Hey,”

Niall said, sounding offended.

“That’s fair,”

Jensen agreed because he was pretty self-aware about some things.

“I’ve been around several of these types of relationships,”

Charlotte continued.

“Let’s see if I’m right. At some point in time Jensen fucked up.”

“I’m pretty sure he’s the reason Harlow got arrested in California,”

Taggart added.

“I didn’t know his name until tonight because she wasn’t talking, but a quick search revealed much. I have excellent hackers, even if they get mouthy when I wake them up at three in the morning. They get soft once they’re married and have kids.”

“Excellent. So Jensen fucked up and sends his bestie in to watch over the woman he thinks he loves,”

Charlotte continued.

“Which sounds like a very threesome thing to do.”

“No thinking involved. I know who I love,”

Jensen insisted.

Niall huffed.

“We’ll see,”

Charlotte replied enigmatically before continuing.

“So you sent in your best friend and your best friend… What all did you give up in order to take on this assignment, Niall? I’m going to take it you weren’t conveniently located here.”

“I suspect you know where I was located and what I was doing with my life six months ago, Mrs. Taggart. I moved to Dallas. Opened a business. I was planning on moving anyway. I was working a couple of jobs, saving money to open a gym. I couldn’t do that in the small town I grew up in. I probably would have gone to Houston or Austin if I wasn’t needed here,”

Niall admitted.

“Well, you should feel free to get your ass to either one,”

Jensen shot back.

Then he was hit with the thought of not being in the same town as Niall. He missed the fucker. Not that he was going to let that sway him now that he realized what a woman-stealing asshole he was.

“I did it all because he was my only real friend in the world,”

Niall continued.

“And then I did it because of her.”

Taggart sat forward.

“When did you know you were going to go behind your friend’s back? Was it early on?”

“Ian,”

Charlotte said with a sigh.

“He wasn’t planning on never telling Jensen. It’s why he didn’t actually sleep with her. Did you?”

“I knew pretty much after my first conversation with her,”

Niall explained.

“You know we don’t have to talk about this. Jack, how fucked are we?”

Harlow asked in a crisp, professional tone.

Had Niall really not slept with her? Like sleep sleeping was one thing. Fucking was another. He kind of thought from the way Harlow talked that they were all in.

Why would Niall hold back?

“Pretty fucked since Dave had a chance to take some pictures of you and Jensen and send them back to Phil. We were watching the spot where we thought you would pick her up,”

Jack admitted.

“To say he was shocked when Master J showed up would be to downplay the situation. He was practically giddy. You didn’t make friends inside, did you?”

“Did I make friends with the criminals who killed my brother? No.”

Jensen wasn’t sure why he felt judged.

“Why the hell would I?”

“Well, I’ve found when going undercover, it’s always helpful to kind of blend into the crowd, so to speak,”

Jack offered.

“Maybe then Dave wouldn’t have been so quick to text Phil his golden boy was a traitor. Before you ask, I checked his phone. Phil got the texts, and he’s already put out a hit on Jensen and would like to spend some time with Harlow.”

“I didn’t, Mr. Taggart.”

Niall was back to the previous conversation. The one Harlow didn’t want to have.

“I will admit to some intimacy with her, but I couldn’t sleep with her until she knew the whole truth and I talked to Jensen.”

Harlow kept her eyes on Jack.

“So did we blow your cover all to hell?”

“As far as Phil knows, right now I was brought in for questioning by the Dallas PD,”

Jack informed them.

“The official story is I was looking for you on the other side of the apartment building and when I heard the shots, I found Dave dead on the ground. I’m in trouble for letting the cops get involved, but I think I can go back to work.”

“What were you planning on talking to Jensen about?”

Charlotte asked.

“You were going to tell him to fuck off, the girl’s yours now, right?”

Taggart prompted.

“You two are the worst,”

Harlow said with a huff.

“I totally understand why Kala is…Kala.”

“I was going to tell him that she needs us both and we should gently maneuver her into a relationship where we share her,”

Niall replied.

Charlotte shot her husband a grin.

“You owe me ten back rubs.”

Taggart growled.

“I do not understand this perverse need to share.”

Harlow stood up.

“That is never happening. Jack, I’m sorry we caused so much trouble. I promise I’ll stay out of your way from now on. As for these two, they can do whatever they like. It’s not my problem.”

She started for the door and stopped as though remembering something. She turned on Niall.

“Unless what you want to do is continue to play at The Hideout. You’re kicked out.”

Niall stood, too, his shoulders straightening and a stubborn look coming on his face.

“You can’t kick me out.”

He wanted to share Harlow?

Niall hadn’t slept with her when he could have, when he obviously wanted to because he wanted to share her with him.

For a moment he had a vision of her in between them. She was always so fierce, but she would be small between them.

The pleasure they could give her…

“Oh, I can,”

Harlow shot back.

“You came in under false pretenses. You joined the club to spy on me, and there’s no spying at The Hideout.”

Taggart snorted.

Harlow frowned his way.

“You know what I mean. No spying on actual members of the club. Now I’m leaving.”

There was the sound of a knock on the door and then it opened.

“Ian, I told you she was only allowed to do this foolish job if you were watching over her,”

a big man said. He was dressed in slacks and a button down he’d obviously put on hastily since it wasn’t tucked in and one button was off. His dark hair was messy, and he looked to be around Taggart’s well-kept age.

And there was a second one of him entering the door. This version of the man wore jeans and a T-shirt.

“Chase, we talked about this.”

Fuck. Harlow’s dads were here.

“You know talking to him means nothing, Ben,”

a pretty woman said. She had Harlow’s eyes but was petite and had streaks of pink in her hair.

Her mom.

Harlow stood still like she couldn’t quite believe this was happening.

It was possibly going to be the worst family reunion ever.