Page 31 of The Reluctant Siren (Texas Sirens: Legacy #2)

Niall stood back while the blades of the chopper slowed and a young man slid from the pilot’s seat.

He wore jeans and a T-shirt along with a headset he slid down around his neck.

He had dark hair and looked to be roughly sixteen, though he probably wouldn’t be flying a helicopter if he was.

He smiled and Niall knew this kid was going to bug the shit out of him because he was cocky and giving Harlow a long once-over.

He nearly glanced to his side so he and Jensen could exchange a look that let him know they would protect their girl from overly eager cowboys.

Jensen wasn’t there. He wouldn’t be there again because he’d walked away without even bothering to leave them a fucking note.

He was so angry, and he had to tamp it down because they were in a crisis.

“Hello,”

the pilot said with a wave as he strode toward them. He wore cowboy boots and an aw-shucks smile that would likely melt the heart of most women.

“Harlow Dawson? My name’s Jasper Malone. My auntie sent me to pick you up, and she did not mention that you would turn out to be so gorgeous. Damn, girl. Do you work with my Aunt Vanessa? Ruby is the one who called, but you look more like you should be in Hollywood. Is this your personal assistant?”

“I’m her Dom,”

Niall said and put all of his will into that one word.

“Hey, new friends,”

Harlow said and then frowned the guy’s way.

“Although he’s not really new since I met him a couple of times when he was literally a baby trying to climb the bookshelves. I think Ruby babysat him at one point.”

“That would likely be one of my younger siblings since I’m not a kid. Ruby’s only a couple of years older than me,”

Jasper pointed out.

“Ten. She’s ten years older,”

Harlow countered.

“Niall, this is the heir to Malone Oil. He’s also barely eighteen years old, so you can stop with the caveman-possessive thing.”

“Well, I would if these cocky assholes would stop showing up looking at you like you’re the last cupcake at the buffet.”

He huffed but realized he’d kind of outed them.

“But I promise next time I’ll use the word boyfriend.”

He was fumbling, and if he wasn’t careful he was going to lose her. It would be so easy for her to toss them both out, but he had no intention of allowing Jensen’s fuck-up to ruin his relationship with Harlow.

Jasper seemed perfectly non-plussed.

“Nah, man. I can play around the word ‘boyfriend,’ but Dom is a term I’m forced to take seriously. It’s a family thing. One of these days they’re going to let me into that Hideout place and I’ll figure it all out myself. I would go to The Club, but I could run into my momma there. Let’s just say there are rooms in our house that me and my siblings know not to enter if we don’t want too much information. Now Ruby made it sound like this was an emergency.”

Harlow nodded.

“We need to get to Dallas. How long will it take?”

Jasper shrugged.

“Depends. Dallas is a big place. Ruby said something about getting to my Uncle Mike’s building. I’ve done that in less than an hour before.”

“You have a license to fly that thing? Did you steal it?”

Niall was still having a hard time with the kid who looked like he should be in high school racing them to Dallas in a small tin can with blades that could kill them.

Jasper grinned.

“Buddy, I’ve been flying since I was fourteen. This baby was my birthday present. Let’s say I had some parental encouragement.”

“So your dad is super wealthy and likes to play with toys?”

Niall replied as they started to walk toward the chopper.

Jasper snorted.

“Nah, my daddy gets air sick if you mention a helo. He can barely handle the corporate jet. My momma took up flying. She would be out here if she wasn’t in London dealing with some kind of business problem. Let me tell you, I prefer flying and working the ranch to dealing with all the oil business stuff. They want me to go to…business school. Hey, girl, you have a fun business going with Ruby. You need a pilot? I come with my own chopper, and I know how to use it, if you know what I mean.”

Harlow picked up the headset on the passenger seat.

“I think we’re more a car-driven business, but thanks. And we’re not going to the MT building. We need to go straight to a friend’s apartment building. Do you have a way for me to climb down without you parking this beast?”

Jasper hopped in his seat, and that left Niall on the back bench. He stored their gear and pulled his headset off the side of Harlow’s seat. The minute he put it on, the blades started up, and he could hear Jasper talking over the headset.

“I have a ladder. I can probably put you down on top of a building,”

Jasper explained as he pushed buttons and flicked switches.

“I mean if the building is big and sound enough. Of course, people tend to freak out if they’re not used to it.”

“Harlow, I know you mean well, but I’m worried. This sounds dangerous,”

Niall pointed out. He thought she’d given him the gun as a precaution, but now he realized she meant to use hers. He wasn’t about to lose her to some wild scheme to save Jensen.

“We should have that Big Tag guy handle this.”

“Ian’s already informed,”

Harlow said, and even over the tinny sound of the headset he could hear how tight her voice was.

“But no one can get in touch with Jensen or Jack. Jensen doesn’t have a phone, and Jack turned his off or he’s ignoring us because he doesn’t want to think about what he’s doing. Niall, this is my area of expertise. I’m doing this my way. You’re welcome to come with me or I’ll have Jasper here drop me off and then he can take you to the McKay-Taggart building and I’ll fill you in later.”

Well, he knew when he’d been put in his place. That wasn’t fair. She was right. She was the one who did shit like this on a regular basis.

“I’ll come with you. I’m not leaving you.”

She sighed as the helo took off.

“It might be better if you did. Niall, I don’t know what I’m going into. It could get dangerous, or we could be making a complete mountain out of a molehill.”

“I’m going with you. I’ll follow all of your instructions, but I won’t let you go alone.”

The helo banked left hard, and he was almost certain that fucker was trying to show off. Or make him hurl.

“I could go with you,”

Jasper offered.

“I know a lot about danger.”

“You know a lot about punching cows and trying to avoid boardrooms,”

Harlow quipped.

“He’s ex-military. I assure you he can handle himself.”

Jasper seemed to slip the chopper into light speed.

“Then I’ll hang out until you need a pickup. I think this is going to be fun. My uncle’s boss is always a hoot, and he’s going to love bailing me out of jail for buzzing downtown buildings.”

“Uhm, this is illegal?”

Niall asked.

“Oh, absolutely. I’m apparently going to be violating the flight plan I filed about twenty minutes ago, but it’s fine,”

Jasper assured him.

“I’ll tell whatever honey they send to yell at me that I got lost. Dallas is a big place, and honestly, it was laid out by a drunk asshole. Everyone knows that. So it’s perfectly normal for me to mistake one building for another.”

“A high-rise office building versus a three-story, shitty apartment building?”

Niall asked as they raced over ranchland. He noticed one of the cows looking up with an aggrieved huff, probably because they were ruining a perfectly nice morning. Of course, that’s what Jensen had done. They should still be in bed, all cuddled up and happy.

“I assume we’re heading to Jensen’s. I only know it’s three stories and crappy because he talked about it. I’ve never been. Do we even have an address?”

“Ruby has it. She’s sending me all the details. She found it on the Dark Web,”

Harlow pointed out.

They were coming for Jensen. They knew where he lived. They would try to steal his information, and if he was there, they would take him out.

As angry as he was at his best friend, he also couldn’t imagine a world without him. He might never be as close to Jensen Wiley as he had been the last few days, but he didn’t want the man dead.

“It’s going to be okay.”

Harlow turned her head so she could see him. She gave him a weak smile.

“They might not get there before we do. Big Tag is sending someone to check it out. Take a deep breath. We’re probably panicking for nothing, but I would rather be wrong and make the most awkward scene of all time than be right and late.”

He held her gaze for a moment and nodded.

“We’ll do what we have to.”

“Now wait a minute,”

Jasper said.

“Who is this other guy? Sweet darling, are you into all that crazy three-way stuff? Because I’ve heard that can be fun.”

He was going to kill the kid.

Harlow sighed and turned back around.

“Pay attention to your flying. And we are not a threesome.”

Not anymore. Niall knew the words she didn’t say. They had been. They’d been moving toward something so special and right. Nothing would ever feel as good as knowing his best friend was there.

The betrayal weighed heavy on his heart as they sped toward Dallas.

He had no idea what they looked like at the end of this. He only knew they would never be the same.