Page 25 of The Reluctant Siren (Texas Sirens: Legacy #2)

Jensen sat in the small kitchen where he’d eaten most of his meals during his formative years and wondered when it started to feel like an interrogation room.

Probably when he was surrounded by Harlow’s family.

He knew the light above wasn’t brighter than it had been before, but the damn thing felt like a spotlight on him.

What the hell was he going to do about Harlow? Hamilton was playing hard if he was setting him up like this.

If Hamilton was willing to lose a million dollars to make him look bad, what would he do if he realized what Harlow meant to him? If Hamilton figured out that he would do anything for Harlow…

The thought of her in Hamilton’s hands made him want to throw up.

It would be his fault this time.

He had worked his way into feeling like maybe it wasn’t his fault Tommy died, but he would be serving up Harlow on a silver platter if he stayed close to her.

His gut clenched.

How had his life gotten to this place? Where this man he had never actually met held so much fucking power over him? And he’d been the one to give it to him.

He’d been a fool and gotten them all into this mess.

He should have done exactly what Niall had advised him to. Become a total pain in the police detectives’ asses. Done whatever it took to find justice for his brother. Not revenge. Revenge was for him. Not for Tommy.

“Do you understand what Special Agent O’Malley is saying?”

The lawyer—who looked like an older version of Special Agent O’Malley—had taken the seat beside him while Niall leaned against the kitchen countertop where they used to make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for their lunches.

Sometimes they stole jelly packets from the local diner because Mom forgot to buy groceries or couldn’t afford them.

So many memories in this house, and they were all hitting him hard tonight.

Harlow came from a different world. A world he might never fit into. A world she would be safe in.

“Really, Papa? Special Agent?”

Jack’s eyes rolled. He was doing that a lot tonight. Since his father had arrived, Jack had acted a bit like a sullen teenager.

Lucas O’Malley, on the other hand, seemed chipper even though it was two in the morning.

“I’m keeping it professional. You should call me counselor or Mr. O’Malley. Also, we’re not agreeing to any data transfer until you give us a deal on paper signed by the ADA handling the case.”

Jack’s head swiveled, and he looked to Jensen.

“He’s a corporate attorney, you know. He doesn’t do criminal defense. He checks contracts to make sure his brother’s company doesn’t get fucked over.”

“Hey, I have a degree in criminal law. It’s called twenty seasons of Law and Order,”

Lucas quipped.

“And you know I’m right.”

“If this goes any further, we’ll hire a criminal defense attorney for you, Jensen. Lucas will liaise with a firm in Dallas to hire someone good.”

Ben Dawson was a carbon copy of his brother when it came to looks. The only difference he could tell was his hair was slightly shaggier than his brother’s. Attitude wise they were polar opposites. Like one was a dark mirror of the other.

“But I trust Lucas to manage this portion.”

“Since I’m not actually trying to fuck anyone over, I have to ask why the hell you can’t trust me?”

Jack was disgruntled by the whole evening.

“It’s not that we don’t trust you,”

Niall began.

“I’m not paying for this asshole’s lawyer.”

Chase paced at the opposite end of the table.

That was an angry man. It would be slightly funny if Chase Dawson wasn’t his girlfriend’s father, and he wasn’t the very asshole he was complaining about. Also, it would be way funnier if he didn’t need a lawyer.

Damn, but he was tired. He hadn’t realized how fucking tired he was until he got to spend these days with his two favorite people in the world. The house needed a lot of work, but if he could stay here with the two of them and never have to go back into the real world again, he would put up with all of it.

Hamilton would find him. Oh, it might take him a while, but at some point he would end up on Jensen’s doorstep. There was a bill due, and Hamilton would ensure it got paid one way or another.

“Oh, you should not trust him,”

Lucas told Niall.

“He’s law enforcement, and the case is everything.”

Jack huffed.

“Do you honestly believe I would fuck over a woman I’ve known my whole life for a case?”

“If we don’t pay for a lawyer, then Harlow will.”

Ben was having a completely separate conversation with his twin.

“Do you not understand that you’re pushing our daughter away? This is a way to bring her back, to get her to trust you again.”

“Why the hell wouldn’t she trust me?”

Chase asked, making the question sound like an attack.

Jack pointed to Ben.

“See, that’s a dad trying not to make his kid into an enemy combatant.”

Lucas shrugged.

“You chose to rebel by going into the FBI. Have you seen my rap sheet, son? I know exactly why you did that.”

Jack’s head fell back.

“I don’t need to hear about your cocaine days, Papa. Please don’t go into it. You were a rebel. I get it. My rebellion against your infamous days was to never get my face on the cover of a gossip rag. See, rebellion complete.”

Ben ignored the other conversation.

“She doesn’t trust you because you don’t trust her. Because you act like a massive ass when she’s young and trying to do things on her own. You know we did that, too. We went out in the world and made a shit ton of mistakes and grew from them. Well, I did.”

“You’re so mature, Ben,”

Chase said with a huff.

“Did you consider for a second that we went through all that crap so our kids didn’t have to? Greer doesn’t pull this shit.”

“Hey, do not compare her to her sister.”

Niall faced Chase down.

“Harlow is her own person, and she loves her sister. Pulling that comparison shit puts a wall between them. Is that what you’re trying to do?”

Chase frowned.

“Of course that’s not what I’m trying to do. I’m trying to protect her.”

“My choice of profession was not a rebellion.”

Jack faced down the man he called Papa.

“It was what I dreamed about doing since I was a kid. You have three other offspring. Why don’t you harass them? Oh, yeah. They’re the good ones who stay on the ranch so they can spend the rest of their lives punching cows.”

Ben pointed to the O’Malley men.

“See. Niall’s right. Playing your kids off each other is a terrible idea.”

Lucas finally turned Ben’s way.

“I am not playing my kids off each other. And Jack is exaggerating. Only one of his siblings even wants to run the ranch.”

“Yes, I have one brother who is following in Dad’s footsteps and running a ranch. One in law school and my sister is training to be a vet.”

Every word was tinged with bitterness.

“I’m the bad guy because I wanted out of that small town. Also, he wasn’t actually coked up. That would be far too cool for my papa. It was baby powder. That is on his rap sheet. The only reason he got arrested was he was drunk and threw a punch at the cop that did not actually land.”

“I made him trip with that punch,”

Lucas argued.

“He was trying to avoid me and should have tied his shoelaces, so I don’t think that should count as assault. Hah, see—what I needed was a good lawyer.”

“I’m not playing my daughters off each other. I remember our dad doing that with us.”

Chase actually looked hurt. It wasn’t much. A softening of his eyes, but he would bet anything the man had his feeling hurt. He looked like the kind of dude who thought of feelings in a singular fashion. Jensen kind of approved. It was easier to deal with the one.

And up until now that feeling had been guilt. If he let this shit happen to Harlow, it might always be guilt.

The last few days had been something else. He’d been…content. Happy. His brain hadn’t been centered on survival, and it was nice.

Maybe these few days were all he deserved.

“It doesn’t matter what you mean to do, Mr. Dawson,”

Niall was saying.

“All that matters is when you say things like that Harlow hears she’s not as good as her sister.”

“It’s not about being…”

Chase stopped and seemed to have a deep revelation. He looked to his twin, and they had a whole conversation through a series of raised brows and tilted heads.

“He’s definitely the me,”

Ben agreed.

“He’s the reasonable one who sees a lot of the social things you miss. I know you don’t want her to grow up but she’s going to, and she’ll do it with you or without you. You’re fighting a battle you can’t win. Not without her losing. Do you want her to lose? Do you want her safe so badly you’re willing to keep her from the kind of love you and I found?”

Chase’s expression said it all. He didn’t need to hear psychic words to know that Chase Dawson had questioned whether he and Niall were worth Harlow’s love.

The trouble was Jensen was asking the question himself.

“Is there any possibility of us getting back to the actual reason I’m out in the ass end of nowhere in the middle of the night? I know you think this job of mine is a ridiculous rebellion and I’ll wake up one day and come home, but I have to be undercover with a notorious drug kingpin in roughly sixteen hours,”

Jack pointed out.

It was such a weird family dynamic. They were arguing but about something important. Jensen hadn’t really known his dad, and when he tried to talk to his mom about anything that wasn’t puppies and kitties and how great it was to have that two liter of store-brand soda she had a coupon for, she dissolved into apologies and tears. He never had anyone he could get real advice from. Someone who would argue with him. Even Tommy did what he wanted and hid his problems so no one had to be bothered by him.

Everyone except Niall.

Niall listened. Niall tried to force him to talk.

Niall would be good for Harlow.

“If I go into witness protection, do you think they would still target Harlow?”

Jensen asked.

No one was listening.

“Come on, Jack. I’m ribbing you because you haven’t been home.”

Lucas had softened considerably. He leaned toward his son.

“We miss you. Do you honestly think I would be up in the middle of the night if I didn’t want to see you? If I didn’t worry this might be my only chance to see you? I had to argue with your mom and dad or they would be here, too.”

Jack sighed, a weary sound.

“I’m not ducking you. I’m undercover. I can’t pop down to Deer Run to hang with the family. And I miss you, too.”

Chase seemed to lose whatever psychic discussion he was having with his twin. He sat back, hands coming up.

“Fine, but can we move them to Sanctum? I would feel better if they were in a secure location. I promise to not visit at any time when our daughter might be pursuing…”

He went slightly green.

“…whatever she’s pursuing with these two.”

“Love,”

Ben said with a sigh.

“She’s pursuing love.”

She wouldn’t be pursuing it if she stayed with him. She would be on the run. She would be Hamilton’s prey.

“This could take a while. I don’t want Harlow stuck in some club when she should be out living her life.”

Finally, Chase turned his way.

“You didn’t think it would last this long before? You didn’t think bringing Hamilton to justice wouldn’t take a couple of years? The wheels of justice move slowly. Apparently you need to watch more Law and Order. Lucas can give you a rundown.”

Nah, he was an asshole. Jensen could like an asshole, but he wasn’t in the mood tonight. He had shitty things to do and his own life to ruin. But at least he could save the two people he loved. Sitting here listening to all the ways Hamilton was putting him in a corner had sent a jolt of reality through him.

He’d made this choice a long time ago. He’d chosen revenge over healing. He’d chosen revenge over her. If he’d walked away with her, he could be out. He could have spent the last two years building something with her and when Niall met her and they all played at The Hideout…they would have ended up together. It might have been hard, but they would have gotten through it. If he’d chosen differently, they might be married by now, and he could sit around with Niall and listen to everyone argue and poke each other and know they were a part of this family.

Niall would be. Niall hadn’t made all the wrong choices.

Yeah, he definitely had more than one feeling, and they were all hitting him right now. It had been easier when he was numb.

“I wasn’t turning him over to the police,”

Jensen admitted.

“It was going to be an easy job once I got close to Hamilton since I was going to put a bullet through his brain.”

The room seemed to go still, and then Chase groaned.

“Damn it. I don’t want to like him,”

Chase said.

Niall turned to Jack.

“He wouldn’t have done it.”

He couldn’t let Niall smooth this over. Harlow’s life was on the line. Her happiness was at stake.

“I would have. I would do it today if you could get me close enough. I could use that sniper rifle of yours, Jack. There’s a nice perch on the building across from where he’ll meet with his crew.”

“Yeah, I know exactly where you’re talking about.”

Chase leaned forward.

“The top left corner of the building to the west. You’ve got a clear view of everyone going into and out of that building. What? Of course I looked into it. Maybe I wouldn’t have had time to if I was in Colorado protecting my family, but I was working through some anxiety. So I know the kid is right and we can snipe that motherfucker.”

Lucas’s head shook.

“Do not talk about your crimes in front of the lawyer. Have I not taught you that? And you’re literally talking about murdering a man in front of an FBI agent.”

“At this point all I want is to clear the case and move my ass back to a desk for a while.”

Jack stood up.

“But if you two are going to live out Uncle Chase’s wildest dreams, I think I’m going to grab a nap, and I’ll head back to Dallas in the morning. I really do have a shift to work.”

Jensen couldn’t let that happen. Not without him. He wasn’t going to risk Harlow.

“I’ll take you to my apartment and get you the data you need. Your people didn’t find my thumb drive, did they, Jack?”

“No, you won’t.”

Lucas sent him what Jensen was sure was the look he sent all his clients who acted like dumbasses.

“We’ll give him what he needs when we have the immunity deal signed.”

“Papa, I promise I’ll get it signed. If I have what I think Jensen has on Hamilton, I don’t need to wait for him to come into town. I can have the police in LA pick him up and I’ll start the extradition process.”

Jack looked tired.

“This could be over by morning.”

“It’ll be over for you, but not for us,”

Jensen pointed out.

“I assure you Hamilton will try to ensure I can’t testify against him, and some of that data will require explanation.”

“Won’t he be behind bars?”

Niall asked.

“I’m not na?ve. I know he’ll still have connections, but I also assume the feds will freeze his bank accounts.”

They would, but he knew Hamilton would have some cash hidden.

“He’ll still be after me. He only put out the hit on Harlow because she was there when he lost Miranda. He won’t care about some woman PI who helped a girl. He’ll have much bigger problems, and when it gets out who Harlow is, he’ll back off.”

As long as he didn’t put together one plus one to come up with Jensen being in their threesome. Then all bets would be off. But he didn’t point that out because it was rapidly becoming clear that he would have to pull some shady shit to save her from the situation they were in.

He would have to break her heart again. At least this time Niall would be there to pick up the pieces.

He was pretty sure he was going to break Niall’s heart, too.

“Julian has connections,”

Ben affirmed, his tone grave.

“I might already have him working on it. I want that part of the underworld to know what will happen if they touch my daughter.”

“Okay, I should have thought of that,”

Chase admitted.

They would protect her, and they would have so much better a chance if they weren’t worried about him at the same time.

“So as long as they don’t put her with me on a romantic basis, she’ll likely be safe.”

Everything they were saying made him more sure of his decision.

“Right now all he knows is I was with her when she helped Miranda.”

“He’s not wrong about that,”

Jack conceded.

“From what I can tell, they’re worried about the fact that she’s a PI, but they don’t know about the connection between the two of them. Everyone they knew back in LA is dead or in jail, and they’re not talking to Hamilton. Harlow has a chance to get out from under this. Especially if some of Uncle Julian’s more unsavory contacts put out the word that she’s protected.”

“Then he can do the same for Jensen,”

Niall argued.

“He doesn’t know me.”

Niall wasn’t thinking.

“And even if he did, it wouldn’t matter. Harlow isn’t testifying against Hamilton. She’s not the one who’s going to put him in jail. Hamilton has to come after me.”

“He also has no reason to come after anyone if he’s buried in my backyard,”

Chase announced.

He was back to liking Chase, but he couldn’t put Harlow’s dad in the line of fire, either.

“We don’t have any room in the backyard,”

Ben said under his breath.

Lucas stood and sighed.

“I’m leaving before this gets worse. I’ll go find Nat. Chase, she got a couple of hotel rooms for us. We can leave in the morning. Jensen, take the night to think about this. There’s a way forward that doesn’t involve you going to jail or dying. Let me help you find it.”

But all of those ways led to her being in danger. Led to Niall being stuck in the middle of something he’d never meant to become a part of.

However, he was certain that putting out his brand-spanking-new plan would only end in arguments, and these motherfuckers could argue forever.

It was best to do what he needed to do.

After he had one last night with them.

At least this time he was leaving his best friend with the most beautiful girl in the world.

“I don’t think I’ll be able to think about anything else, Mr. O’Malley.”

Jack stretched and yawned.

“I’m going to stay here. I need to be on the road in a couple of hours. Uncle Chase, can you catch a ride with my papa?”

Chase nodded.

“Yes, though I suspect we’ll hang out at least until tomorrow afternoon. I’m sure Nat will want to spend some time with Harlow, and I might need to talk to these two a bit more. I’m pretty sure that one is going to pull something stupid.”

Naturally he was gesturing toward Jensen.

“I told you I’ll think about it.”

Chase frowned, and a long sigh went through him.

“You’ve already thought about it. I know because if anything has been made perfectly clear to me this evening, it’s that I had it all wrong. I thought you were the me. You see there are always roles in a relationship like this. There’s the reasonable guy who smooths things over for the super-brilliant one who struggles to fit in from time to time. There’s the super-brilliant one who’s good at everything except interpersonal politics.”

“We call them relationships,”

Ben corrected.

Chase waved him off.

“And there’s the beautiful, damaged one who needs a shit ton of therapy because of all the damage. That one is the dangerous one because she’ll make split-second decisions based on the trauma she survived and not what’s best for the three of them. She’ll martyr herself because that’s all she knows to do. Because she thinks maybe she doesn’t deserve good things like love and protection, like no one should risk for her.”

“Harlow isn’t like that,”

Jensen protested. Her dad needed to get to know his daughter.

“He’s talking about you,”

Niall said and sniffed like he was getting a little…emotional.

“You’re the one who can’t love himself.”

Jensen stood. He wasn’t going to do some weird therapy thing. His mind was made up, but he was now worried if he tried to plead his case, he would get hauled off. He didn’t trust the Dawson brothers to let him make the choice himself. He got the feeling if they decided he was making the wrong one, they would lock him up until he changed his mind.

“I’m fine. I’ll talk to Jack in the morning, and we’ll figure this thing out.”

“I hope you’re telling me the truth, but this has to be your choice,”

Chase said, pushing his chair back.

“I’m going to go apologize to my daughter. You were right, Ben. I hate that.”

“I’m always right.”

Ben moved to the door that led to the backyard.

“Are not. You suck at Jeopardy,”

Chase bickered.

“You can’t even answer the Celebrity Jeopardy questions. They’re softballs.”

Ben sighed as his brother walked through the door.

“Yeah, so you’re the trivia champ and I understand actual people.”

“Hey, only one of those things gets a big trophy and a payday, brother,”

Chase snarked but he also stopped and turned to Lucas.

“Thank you for coming out. We’ll make decisions in the morning. Niall, you look like a man who can cook. I like my bacon crispy. Jensen, seriously, think this over. You’ll come to the right conclusion.”

“I thought you wanted me gone.”

Jensen was confused. He’d kind of thought Chase would drive him to jail if given the chance.

“It’s been pointed out to me that I need to let my daughter make her own mistakes. Sometimes mistakes have a way of turning out okay,”

Chase said solemnly. Then his lips quirked up.

“Like Ben being born.”

Lucas groaned.

“Jensen, we’ll talk more in the morning. Jack, I’ll be in Dallas on Monday. I’d like a sit-down with your boss.”

Jack gave his dad a salute.

“I’ll look forward to the experience.”

Lucas looked at his son like he wanted to say more, but he turned to follow the Dawsons.

“Papa, I’ll be way happier to introduce you to my boss if you brought me some of Mom’s snickerdoodles,”

Jack offered.

Lucas nodded.

“Oh, I think your mom might bring them herself.”

“Good. I’d like to see her,”

Jack replied. When the door closed he turned to Niall.

“Is there a second bedroom or am I on the couch? I won’t be here long. I need a couple hours sleep and I’ll be out of your hair.”

Everyone looked to Niall when they wanted hospitality. He needed to rehab his image. Of course he’d have a lot of time to think about it soon.

“It’s the second door on the left. We’re in the primary bedroom and it’s got its own bathroom, so you can use the small one across from your room.”

Jack nodded.

“Tell Harlow good night for me and that I’d like to sit down and talk with her sometime. I don’t want to lose my whole damn family over this. Call me when you’re ready to make a deal.”

And then he was alone with Niall.

“What are you planning?”

Niall asked, a worried look on his face.

He felt like a shit, but this was for him. For him and Harlow.

“I’m planning on getting our girl and taking my mind off the fact that her uncle is a lawyer who is going to be a pain in my ass, and her dads are going to be ten times worse. I didn’t get to spend time with her mom yet. Was she the super smart one or the reasonable one?”

Niall’s head shook. He put a hand on Jensen’s shoulder.

“We are so lucky you’re pretty.”

He wasn’t sure what that meant.

Shit. Niall was the reasonable one and Harlow was the supersmart, genius one, and that meant he needed therapy.

That might be accurate.

But it didn’t matter. When Niall moved toward the backyard, he followed his friend.

One last night and then he would do the right thing.