Page 29 of The Reluctant Siren (Texas Sirens: Legacy #2)

Jensen took one last look at the two most important people in his life.

Harlow was in the middle of the bed.

He’d lain there for hours with her head on his chest.

He’d thought about leaving it all up to fate.

If she stayed where she was, he couldn’t wake her, and that meant Jack would leave and there was nothing he could do about it.

He would stay and talk to her parents and do what they wanted him to do.

It would be rude to leave without at least talking to them.

Saying good-bye.

Of course if they woke up, he likely wouldn’t be able to say good-bye and Jack would leave and he would end up letting her parents take over.

If he thought for a second her mom and Ben would advise her to let him go, he would do it.

It was cowardly, but he’d considered it.

When she’d sighed and turned in her sleep and Niall’s arms had gone around her, he’d known he had to get his ass up and do the right thing.

The right thing was going to kill him. The right thing was breaking his heart, and he would never be fucking whole again.

He was turning himself in, and he was going to request witness protection, and the next time he would see them would be years from now.

It would take years for the whole debacle to wind its way through the court system, and then he would have to weigh the risks.

He couldn’t think about the future.

By this time tomorrow he might be in another state.

Or on his way to DC, since this was going to likely be handled by the big guys.

The two people he loved most in the world wouldn’t be kept informed of his whereabouts. They would be told it was classified and that by all accounts Jensen Wiley no longer existed.

They would move on without him.

Niall would become her husband, her only Dom.

He would be a part of her big family, and he would make himself important to all of them.

Jensen could see his best friend charming Nat Dawson over brunch and watching football with Ben.

Niall’s charm and love for Harlow would eventually bring Chase around.

Would they have kids by the time he was free again? If he was ever free again.

His gut clenched at the thought. He didn’t want to leave them. He wanted to stay right here and never leave. He wanted to stay warm and soft with the family he never actually dreamed of because he’d been so sure he would be alone.

He hadn’t understood the damn word. Alone meant being without them.

He heard the slight sound of a door opening down the hallway and knew he had to go. He’d dressed in the bathroom but his boots were in his hands because they would make enough noise to wake Niall, and he couldn’t stand a big dramatic scene.

Was he being an asshole? A coward because he wasn’t facing them? Or was he sparing them a whole lot of heartache by not forcing them to watch him go?

It didn’t matter because there was no longer any time left.

Jensen moved as quietly as he could, easing the door closed. He turned and Jack was standing there, his backpack slung over his left shoulder.

“You’re up early,”

Jack said quietly.

“Can’t sleep? Or are you dreading this morning’s meeting with the family?”

He moved toward the kitchen. He looked a bit older in the early morning light, with his grim expression and tired eyes. This was the real Jack O’Malley.

“Here’s the key. Ignore Chase. Talk to Ben and Nat. Especially Nat. You get her on your side and Chase will fall in line. There’s a saying in our family. Chase acknowledges no authority but one.”

“His wife.”

Jensen didn’t blame him. He kind of thought he would be the same way. Would have been if he’d had a real chance with Harlow.

Jack nodded and yawned and moved to the sink. He pulled out a glass and used the tap. After a long drink he turned to Jensen.

“Is there a place that serves coffee at this time of the morning out here? I suspect yes since this is a ranching community and those motherfuckers tend to be up early.”

“There’s a diner in town, but if you’re in a hurry there is a fast-food place on the highway that serves breakfast, and they have a drive through. I can show you,”

Jensen offered.

Jack waved him off.

“Don’t worry about it. I’ll find something on the way. At least Nat and Ben showing up with my father last night means I don’t have to wait for Chase before I go back. He can catch a ride with his family. It’s a long drive back to Dallas, and the man likes to talk, if you know what I mean. For a guy who claims silence is golden, he likes to hear himself complain. I won’t even go into the lecture I got on using gas station restrooms. Did you know Chase knows all the bacteria? I mean all of them. I’m pretty sure he could list them and what they can do to your junk.”

“I’m coming with you.”

Jensen said the words with a quiet determination.

A brow rose above Jack’s green eyes.

“I thought you were going to meet with my father and iron out what you want in an immunity deal. I know I said he was a corporate attorney, and he is, but he’s also one of the smartest men I know. He won’t steer you wrong. He annoys the hell out of me from time to time but if I was in trouble, he would be my first call.”

Jensen shook his head.

“It would take too long, and it wouldn’t solve my main problem.”

“Harlow,”

Jack surmised.

“You think you’re hurting her if you keep her close. You think if you disappear then her family connections can keep her safe.”

Jensen nodded.

“Meeting her parents made me believe they’ll do anything to protect her. She’s better off without me. She’ll be much safer, and it’ll be easier for them to keep her far away from this whole mess if I’m out of the equation.”

The Dawsons weren’t like his or Niall’s parents. While Jensen knew his mom would have tried, she wasn’t as fierce as Natalie Dawson. She wouldn’t have walked in and taken control of the situation and helped him figure things out. She would have cried and asked him to tell her what to do. He’d forgotten his father, but he knew damn well he was neither of the Dawson brothers. His father had been concerned with nothing but his own comfort.

Jack seemed to consider what to say.

“You know she’s actually a smart, competent woman who can make her own decisions.”

She was everything. She was all he wanted in the world, and this was the only gift he could give her.

“She shouldn’t have to make this decision. She shouldn’t have to give up her whole life for me. Would she be able to see her family if she has to go into witness protection?”

“We can’t be certain that will happen.”

Jack said the words but there was a hesitancy to them that Jensen pounced on.

“You’re making a lot of assumptions. Reasonable ones, but still assumptions.”

“You know it will. Unless Hamilton miraculously dies this will go to trial and it’ll take years. His lawyers will put it off as long as possible in the hopes that something happens to me.”

Jensen explained, though he was certain Jack already knew.

“And then we’ll get years of appeals. What is the likelihood that I ever come out of protection?”

“It’s good,”

Jack countered.

“If we convict Hamilton on even a couple of the counts we can tag him on, he’ll be in jail for the rest of his life. Eventually his organization will either break up or move on. He’s not a mafia man, for all he wants to be. When it’s clear he’s not getting out, they’ll divide up anything that’s left and move on. You’ll be okay because there won’t be anyone left who’ll be willing to risk their lives for revenge when the boss isn’t the boss anymore. But, I mean, best-case scenario is still years, and I won’t have any control over where you go or what work they give you to do.”

Nothing the man said made him think about changing his mind.

“Do you want your cousin stuck in that life? I’m going to admit something to you. If I could do this all over, I wouldn’t. I would have tried to get justice instead of revenge. If the shit hadn’t hit the fan, I might have been able to slip out of the life with no one the wiser, and I would have gotten a chance with her.”

Jack leaned against the counter.

“That’s not likely. Once you’re in, you’re in for life. It’s precisely why Harlow has been asked to get not one, but two women out of the organization. But I understand what you’re telling me. I don’t know that her family can be happy without her. I worry my uncle would look for her, and he would find her. But man, this is going to kill her heart.”

Did Jack think he hadn’t taken her feelings into consideration? He had, but her life was more important.

“She’ll still have Niall. He won’t leave her. Fuck, man, I’m doing this for her. I wish I had another option, but I don’t. Meeting with your dad in the morning still leads into witness protection, or if I refuse, it leads Hamilton right to Harlow and Niall. I do not see a scenario in which I live with them and they’re not in danger.”

“And what happens when she gets called into another case like this one? Do you think she’s going to stop working?”

Jack seemed determined to play devil’s advocate.

“Even if we put Hamilton away someone will move to fill in the space and more young women will get pulled in. Harlow won’t stop being the warrior she is. Even if you’re no longer around to watch her back.”

The thought made his stomach turn. Not because of her work. She would always do that, but he wouldn’t be there to help her. But then had he ever? She’d helped him in LA. His “help”

had gotten her assaulted and arrested and took years to recover from.

He never deserved her.

“I have to hope her family will look after her. If Hamilton ever figures out how much she means to me, he’ll know how to shut me up. But if I walk away, he doesn’t have any reason to believe she’s anything but a pretty girl I followed around one night.”

“I want to argue with you,”

Jack said.

“But you can’t. So take me back to Dallas and we’ll get to my apartment and I’ll give you what I have. We can meet with your boss and maybe you don’t have to be a bartender anymore. It seems like you could use some time off,”

Jensen pointed out.

Jack huffed.

“I could use a vacation, but I suspect I’ll pull desk duty for a while and then go back into the field. I’m good at it. For the most part I like it. Hell, I was okay with this assignment until I realized it was going to break my cousin’s heart and probably turn my whole family against me.”

He did feel for the guy. It was obvious there were some serious family dynamics at work.

“I’m not trying to cause trouble.”

Jack sighed.

“I know, but it’s coming for both of us, and I won’t be under a protective order. I know you think I’m being overly dramatic, but you didn’t grow up with a romance-writing momma who will have her happily ever after if she has to kill everyone to get it. I’m lucky it was Papa who showed up. My mother will be on my doorstep when Nat calls her and tells her what happened here. I’ll be lucky if she doesn’t walk into the middle of an undercover assignment to give me a lecture and then walk around asking all the criminals questions so she can better write their points of view.”

For a moment he worried Jack would refuse him. A bit of panic set in because he couldn’t take Niall’s car and leave them out here. And there was no such thing as ride share in this rural part of the state. If Jack decided he couldn’t take the heat with his family, Jensen was going to be in trouble.

“We should get going.”

Jack set his glass in the sink and made for the front door, his keys now in hand.

“If I know my uncles, they’ll be here earlier than you would think. You don’t want to get caught fleeing the scene of the crime.”

A sigh of relief went through him.

“The crime would be drawing her further into my life.”

Jack frowned his way.

“Then why did you sleep with her last night? Or rather keep her up for a long time. These walls are thin, brother. Why did you give her hope that you would stay this time? Don’t give me some bullshit. We both know the answer. You were selfish because you think she’s going to shrug it off eventually and you’ll be the only one to pay. Because for some damn reason you think you love her more than she loves you, but I’m going to tell you you’re wrong. She might move on, but this will kill a part of her.”

Jensen tensed at the accusation. He was in a trap, and any way he went he hurt someone.

“What the fuck do you think I should do?”

“I think you should have been a damn man and come with me last night. You would have pissed her off, but she wouldn’t have felt used.”

Jack’s head shook.

“I don’t know why I’m arguing with you. I’m going to get what I need, and there’s obviously no talking you out of it. Hell, I don’t know if there is another way. I’m tired and feeling guilty, and I don’t handle either well. Let’s go, and maybe we can leave them behind with all the people I care about.”

He was going to be a fun traveling companion.

Was he right?

It didn’t matter. He stepped out on the porch, and the last time he’d been here flashed through his head.

It’s going to be okay, Jensen. I’m going to make something of myself. One day I’m coming back, and I’ll bring my wife here and we’ll all sit down and talk about the hard times. But then they won’t seem so hard. You’ll see. Me and you and Niall, we’re going to be okay.

His brother was dead, and he was lost.

He prayed Niall would be okay. Niall would help her forget him.

As dawn broke, he got into Jack’s car and drove away from the future he wanted.