Page 30 of The Reluctant Siren (Texas Sirens: Legacy #2)

Harlow came awake to the sound of the burner phone Ruby had given her buzzing. She’d slid it into the side table the day Ruby had brought out Gigi and Greer and the much-needed clothing and makeup and skincare.

Ruby had explained she’d toyed with it to boost the signal, but it still wouldn’t work half the time out here. There had been a lot of talk about satellites and the position of the Earth and the amount of time she would do if she got caught, so Harlow was fairly certain it was serious.

That didn’t mean she wanted to answer it.

It was nice here all cuddled up, and she was pretty sure it was way too early to be awake after everything that happened the night before. Her men had kept her up. Her beautiful, sexy, amazing men.

“Why?”

Niall yawned and turned over in his sleep. He looked deliciously rumpled, and she wished she could lay back down and wrap herself around him.

Also, her backside was sore. Turned out when you shoved a big cock up there, one felt it the next day.

She snorted and reached for the handle on the drawer to the nightstand. The phone was buzzing along.

“Is that Ruby?”

Niall sat up, yawning.

“Or did your dad find a way to boost a signal out here? Tell me he’s not already on his way.”

She could see her dad striding into the bedroom she shared with her superhot boyfriends if he thought they needed to chat. She fumbled for the phone. It was easy because that side of the bed was empty.

“He doesn’t have this number. As far as I know he’s not aware this phone exists. Though you should know he’ll have a new one for me as soon as he can.”

He looked around.

“Where is Jensen?”

Harlow gripped the phone and brought it out, not caring that her sheet had slipped and she was naked. It wasn’t like Ruby would be on a video call. Maybe if this was some kind of work meeting she could get Niall to eat her pussy while she handled it. It would make meetings so much more fun.

“Probably starting the coffee. Or trying to hide from my parents.”

Niall frowned and slid out of bed.

No fun for her. She slid her finger across the screen and put her best friend on speaker.

“Hey, Rubes. What’s happening?”

“That’s what I’m trying to figure out, but I wanted to give you a heads-up.”

Ruby sounded so serious it made Harlow sit up and start reaching for a robe.

“About what?”

“There’s been a lot of chatter in certain forums that the hit is going down today and everyone except the hired gun should back off. This conversation happened about an hour ago,”

Ruby explained.

“It’s like it’s a done deal. I don’t know what’s happening. I’ve also checked out the sat coverage of your area, and I don’t see anything that would tell me there’s a problem. Although I did hear a rumor that your dad and Jack showed up. Big Tag is pissed Chase hacked him.”

“You hacked him.”

“I was polite about it. I know how to handle Big Tag. I sent him a dozen lemon tarts and an apology explaining he didn’t understand what could happen if you didn’t get your skin care regimen,”

Ruby explained.

It was so early. She glanced over at the clock and stretched.

“Yeah, Dad showed up with Jack. I think they were going to try to convince Jensen to give up everything with absolutely no promise of immunity. I love Jack, but he can be a massive ass sometimes. Although my dad could just have come to try to murder him. Needless to say Dad’s plan was screwed up because Papa figured out what he was doing and made Uncle Lucas come with him and mom.”

Ruby whistled.

“I bet that went well. Are they still there?”

“Jack is probably on the road by now.”

She found some PJ pants and slipped them over her legs. She hoped her parents slept in. She’d like time to shower and not look like a well-loved and doubly penetrated woman before they showed up. Although her dad would know. He always knew.

“If he drank all the coffee, I’m going to have a long talk with him.”

They would have to go into town soon. She loved being alone with her men, but worrying about whether they could buy groceries was going to be a problem. And her parents would be here soon.

She was probably in for some complaints of nausea this morning. If her dad started in on her, she would shove a pancake in his mouth. Niall’s pancakes were excellent tasting and might actually shut the man up.

She would have to have a long talk with her dad today. It was past time they came to a cease fire. She didn’t want to be a point of contention for her parents.

“I tried his cell, but he didn’t pick up,”

Ruby said.

“I’m worried something is going down. I think at the very least someone has figured out Jensen might have intelligence on Hamilton, and they’re going to move on his apartment today. I have a plan, and I hope you’re not upset about it, but I wanted you to have the option. I know he’s safe and all, but Jack is going to want to lock down that apartment, and I don’t think he knows where it is. Jensen used a fake name to rent it.”

“I’m pretty sure Jack knows everything now. Jensen talked to him for hours last night. What he doesn’t have is the actual proof. Which I think is hidden at his place, so yeah, we need to get him on the phone. Can you call Big Tag?”

“I did. He’s sending someone over to secure the apartment later on this morning, and then if Jensen gives them permission, they’ll put in a new security system. My worry is if they get in before Big Tag can, they’ll have not only the information Jensen was going to use against Hamilton, but they might figure out where you are,”

Ruby explained.

“But like I said, someone from MT is going over there this morning, so I might have freaked out for nothing, and I hope it’s okay that I told them where Jensen was living.”

She praised the day her parents became friends with that big bastard. He was a dude you could count on. And now that she thought about it, his son was practically an attorney, with connections to a good firm with a scary defense lawyer.

“I’ll speak for him. Do it. I honestly think we should come back to Dallas this afternoon. Could you negotiate with Big Tag to let us stay at Sanctum? The Hideout isn’t as secure, and I think The Club will be a bit much for my guys.”

They would probably prefer the quirky charm of Sanctum to the rich decadence of The Club. The Club was beautiful and filled with powerful people. Sanctum was full of Big Tag’s people.

Jensen and Niall were way closer to that. Also, Sanctum had a princess castle room, and the things she could do with her guys and all that sparkly glitter.

“Thank you,”

Ruby said with a grateful sigh.

“I thought I would have to fight you. I think you should come back to Dallas. You don’t have real Internet out there. If you’re at Sanctum, we can work this case together. It’s getting lonely at the office. Gigi came in to answer the phones on her day off, but she is not interested in solving crimes in any way that doesn’t involve listening to a podcast.”

Harlow snorted and glanced into the bathroom. No Jensen. And it was weird because his razor was gone along with his toothbrush.

Had he used the second bathroom so he wouldn’t wake them up?

“I’ll talk to my parents today. I’m sure they would rather have me under Big Tag’s security system than out here, and it’s more practical.”

But she would miss this place. She would miss walking by the river and watching the horses and cows. She would miss sitting with her guys around the firepit.

“Awesome. I’m glad you agree and hope you don’t freak out when I tell you there’s a helicopter on the way,”

she explained.

Harlow went still with shock.

“What? Where the hell… Did you ask Julian to borrow his chopper?”

“No,”

Ruby replied.

“I went someplace closer to you. Remember when I told you I’m friends with a movie star?”

“Vanessa Malone. Yes. She was your neighbor when you were a kid. Didn’t she marry a guy from McKay-Taggart? He was her bodyguard, right?”

Sometimes it was hard to keep up with all the clients who married bodyguards. It was like a perk. They should partner with a wedding planner. Get a bodyguard, start planning the wedding.

“Nope. She was assigned him as a Dom during her training period at The Club, but he was a spy for Julian. It’s a whole big story, but the long and short of it is, they’re married and Michael’s brother runs a big-ass ranch fairly close to where you are. He’s sending their helicopter to bring you to Dallas. I thought it would be fitting to make your dad drive Niall’s Jeep back.”

It sounded like a lot.

“You’re sure this is necessary?”

After a moment, Ruby responded.

“I have a weird feeling.”

She’d learned to trust her partner’s instincts.

“They can land in the field north of the house. Any kind of ETA?”

Niall walked back in, a frown on his face. He immediately turned and went to the closet, opening it and disappearing inside.

He looked super serious.

“It should be any time now.”

Harlow could practically see Ruby wincing as she said the words.

“I’m sorry. I kind of wanted you to not be able to say no.”

“Because you have a feeling.”

Harlow felt a chill go down her spine.

“We’ll be packed up and ready. Can you call my folks and tell them what’s happening? If I get on the line, they’ll want me to wait.”

Adrenaline started to pulse through her. Ruby had a sixth sense about when things were about to go wrong. The last time she’d told Ruby to ignore that sense, they’d hired Daisy O’Donnell and gotten themselves into this mess. She was going to listen to her bestie on how to get out of it.

What was going on with Niall? And where the hell was Jensen? Probably taking a walk or something, but he should leave a damn note. It wasn’t like they were on vacation.

“Will do.”

Ruby paused for a moment.

“I’ll have the chopper take you right to the MT building, and Big Tag can move you from there to Sanctum. I kind of won’t breathe until I know you’re there. I’m sorry. I’m not trying to be your dad.”

“It’s okay. I’m not even mad at my dad anymore. Tell them everything and have them meet us at Sanctum tonight. Tell Dad I’ll order his favorite burger from Top and convince Mom it’s the veggie burger.”

She wasn’t going to be angry anymore. Her family loved her, and they would work this all out. Being at Sanctum meant she could have her family and friends over and still be safe. It was a good thing. Niall walked out of the closet, and there was a grim look to his eyes. Her stomach sank.

“I’ll see you soon.”

“See you soon.”

Ruby hung up.

“What is it?”

She asked the question, but she was afraid she already knew the answer. He wouldn’t, though. He wouldn’t do this to her twice. He wouldn’t do this to her after last night. He just…wouldn’t.

“He either left on foot or he went with Jack,”

Niall said, his voice tight.

She wanted to throw up. He left her. Again. He made the choice for her without discussing or talking about it. Something cold hit her. She put the phone down and went over the last twelve hours in her brain, and now she could see what he’d been doing.

One last night. One long good-bye.

He wasn’t leaving because he didn’t love her. He did love her in as much as he could love anyone. But there was something deeply broken in Jensen. He was being a martyr, but that didn’t excuse the fact that she wasn’t worth talking to. Wasn’t worth letting in on the plots and plans.

Niall was ranting, but then he hadn’t been in this place before. Oh, she knew Jensen had pulled some shit on him over the years, but it hit different after spending days in bed with someone. Even if they didn’t have sex together, their relationship had hit an intimacy plateau.

Would Niall want her if Jensen wasn’t involved? Would they even work? Or would they always miss the part of them that walked away?

She stood there listening to Niall’s anger, and all she could feel was sorrow.

And a little panic. Ruby had a feeling that she needed to be in Dallas. Did she need to be in Dallas because someone was coming for them? Or because Jensen was making a mistake. One that could cost him his life.

Ruby said something had changed. That the hit was going down today. Would they take Jensen out if they didn’t know where he’d hidden the information? “What would happen if Jensen went with Jack?”

Niall stopped, and his face flushed.

“What? I mean I’m assuming he went with Jack and everything he said last night about listening to the lawyer this morning was complete bullshit.”

Harlow nodded. She shoved down her heartache because there was a mystery to be solved and logic to be followed. It was good because she knew this time when her heart broke, it might not come back together again. She’d been stupid to open it. But she wasn’t thinking about that now.

“All right. He goes with Jack when Jack left this morning. He needed roughly four hours to get back to Dallas, and he’ll want to shower and shave before checking in, so if he was planning to get to meet with his boss before he went to the meeting at the club to go over security for the Hamilton visit, he would have left around six a.m. It’s nine now, so he should be about an hour outside of Dallas. He would go with Jack so Jack can potentially put him in protective custody.”

“Leaving us with no protection at all,”

Niall pointed out, his jaw tight.

“He left us here like sitting fucking ducks.”

She understood his rage, but she couldn’t handle it right now.

“Before they’ll protect him, he has to show his cards, and that means stopping by his place and getting the data he has on Hamilton. They won’t give him crap until they have it in their hands. It’s precisely why my parents wanted Uncle Lucas with him. If he surrenders it without an agreement in place, they don’t owe him anything.”

“Harlow, it doesn’t matter now. He made his choice. If he wants to go to fucking jail, then we did everything we could,”

Niall spat back bitterly.

It was hard to deal with his anger and keep shoving down her pain, but she forced herself to do it. Jensen had blown them all up. He probably thought they would be fine without him, that they could move on through life like he had never been there at all, but there was a reason nothing worked before there had been three of them. She picked up the small suitcase her sister brought her days ago and rushed to pack up as she talked through the problem. It was a mechanical process. Pick up clothes. Shove them in. Let her brain work while her hands did.

“Ruby said the hit is on. For today.”

Niall stopped.

“He left us here when they’re coming for us? He found out and didn’t even warn us?”

She didn’t think he would do that. In fact, she knew that wasn’t what happened. It didn’t make her feel better. She believed Jensen was trying to “save”

them. He would walk into the fire and destroy everything they built because he didn’t think he deserved any of it, but he wouldn’t leave them behind to die.

“He doesn’t know. Ruby found out because she’s been monitoring the Dark Web. She’s got hundreds of connections. Scary connections. If she says this hit is happening, then it is and I’m worried… The only thing that changed between yesterday when they were still hoping to find us and today is Jack and my parents showing up here. My dads have a woman who runs their office, and she would die before she gave up info on them. She would also probably murder anyone who asked. Mom wouldn’t tell her agent, and she damn straight wouldn’t bring her friends in.”

“That whole company of Taggarts know where we are,”

Niall pointed out.

Harlow shook her head.

“The first thing they do at orientation is put the fear of Big Tag in those men. And only Big Tag and Charlotte know. There are a couple of hackers who could get into their system, but they have safeguards. They would know. It’s why he’s going to kick my dad’s ass. Did you call anyone?”

Niall’s head shook, but then he picked up his own bag and started shoving things in.

“No. Who the hell would I call? Everyone I care about was here. I didn’t even call my business after we got here. All I cared about was protecting you and Jensen.”

“I know, babe. I’m sorry. I had to ask because that leaves one possibility, and it’s nothing I want to even contemplate.”

“You think Jack told someone?”

Niall paled.

“Oh, shit. You think Jack is working for Hamilton.”

She barely managed to not roll her eyes. This was not the time nor the place for bratty behavior. Niall didn’t know Jack the way she did, so she had to forgive him for what might seem like a logical leap.

“No. Jack wouldn’t, but he has a whole team he reports to. If he called in, he would have asked for the department that would liaise with the prosecutor. So that’s the FBI and the DOJ, and I don’t know how many people are involved, but I do know Hamilton bragged a lot about having people on the inside. Bribing officials is something he was excellent at, and the government doesn’t pay well enough to stop some people from taking it. It would be easy to pass along Jensen’s address in Dallas.”

“They’re not coming after us. They’re going after Jensen. And he has no idea.”

Niall’s eyes closed, and when they opened again there was real fear in them.

“We have to call Jack. Jensen doesn’t have a phone.”

She picked up the sat phone, praying it still worked.

“Ruby said he wasn’t picking up.”

It went straight to voice mail. She threw the phone on the bed.

“Ruby left him some texts, but Jack can be stubborn. I know exactly how he thinks, and he won’t give Jensen a single reason to rethink his position. Not once he’s called it in.”

“So he’ll use Jensen to make his case no matter what.”

“I doubt that. I would bet he tried to convince him he should talk to us but he wouldn’t. Once the path is set, Jack won’t look back. He’s a good man but he’s very much about his job. Not simply because he’s ambitious. Because he believes that what he’s doing is right. I would bet anything Jensen convinced him this was for the best and that he’s protecting us. So don’t expect him to listen to pleas.”

There was a sound in the distance.

“We should get out of here.”

Niall pulled his shirt overhead as Harlow started to get dressed, too.

“I’ll drive us to the motel your parents are at and we’ll figure out what to do from there. I need to get you someplace safe even if we don’t think they’re coming here. Then I’ll deal with Jensen.”

That didn’t sound like he was going to give the guy a hug. But then he was still reeling. Her Master—if he was still her Master—had never been put in a situation like this. But she had.

“Niall, I’m going to ask you to let me take the lead in this. I know your instinct is to protect me…”

He held up a hand.

“But you know what you’re doing and most of my military career was arresting drunk cadets and making sure no one got out of hand. I never once dealt with a criminal organization. Harlow, I’m reacting poorly. I’m not taking your feelings into account and I’m sorry, baby. Can we talk while we’re in the Jeep?”

That sound was getting closer. She pulled out the other bag. The one Ruby had brought her. While her sister had ensured she had makeup and clothes, Ruby had brought her other accessories. She pulled out the guns and ensured they were loaded and ready. She handed Niall one.

“I don’t think we’ll have much privacy since we’re not taking your Jeep. Ruby sent a helo.”

Niall’s head swiveled as he turned toward the sound.

“A helicopter?”

Harlow shrugged as he took the pistol and placed it in his bag after checking it himself.

“She worries, and she’s into big gestures. Seriously, save a girl’s life one time and she never lets you forget she’s grateful. As to my feelings… They have to wait. I know I can’t move forward with him after this, but I also can’t leave him to fate.”

“You’re going to save him.”

It wasn’t a question. It was merely a statement.

She nodded.

“And then we can be done.”

“We?”

His jaw firmed.

“Harlow, I’m never going to be done with you. I know what Jensen did is dumb as shit, and I will follow your lead on how you want to deal with it, but don’t think I’m going to let you push me away. We are not a packaged deal. Our agreement was to love you together if you let us. And if you don’t then we’ll still love you. I will still love you and want to be with you.”

He was shaking her walls, and she couldn’t have it. Still, she also couldn’t tell him no. She moved into his space.

“I love you, too, Sir, but I don’t know that we can pretend like nothing happened and move on. You lied to me. I understand why you did it, but this is bringing it all back.”

He reached out a hand as the sound of the chopper closed in.

“You can trust me. I’ll do whatever it takes. If you need time I’ll give it to you, but I won’t be far away. I’ll be waiting for you.”

She felt the ground thud as the chopper landed in the big yard. Could she trust anyone after this? She squeezed his hand.

“We should go.”

He picked up their bags and let her go first.

She hoped they got there in time.