The phone went dead.
Damn. James pounded his fist on the wall. Except for Mark, who was almost like a brother to him, he’d never had a friend like Ryder: straight-up, loyal and damn good in a fight. Somehow he had to warn Ryder or get him out of the clubhouse before the raid. After being screwed around by the DEU one time too many, he no longer trusted them to heed the request in his report and let Ryder walk free.
He returned to the bedroom. Jackie and Lana were tossing clothes into her drawers with reckless abandon. He drew Lana to the side and stroked a finger along her soft cheek.
“Who’s after you, babe?”
She shrugged and her lips twitched. “No one. Jackie convinced me I was just seeing ghosts.”
Frowning, he studied her face, taking note of the shift of her eyes up and to the left. Finally, she dropped her gaze. Her long auburn lashes fanned out over smooth, creamy cheeks and her lips, pink, plump and glistening, tightened into a thin line.
“I can tolerate almost anything except lying.” Especially from someone he cared about. Christine had lied and the wound was still with him. Maybe if she had been honest that day, she would still be alive.
“Given what you do for a living, that makes you a bit of a hypocrite.” Lana’s soft, sultry tone took the bite out of her words.
“That’s different.” He brushed his finger lightly over the smattering of freckles across her nose.
“Don’t touch my freckles.” Big green eyes frowned at him through her tangled thicket of curls.
James brushed her hair away and pressed a gentle kiss to the tip of her nose. “I like your freckles.”
“Well, I don’t. So paws and lips off.”
He dusted featherlight kisses over the remaining freckles on her cheeks, smiling when her eyes slitted closed and her cheeks flushed pink. His Lana was a sucker for a gentle caress.
“Hellllloooo,” Jackie yelled. “Best friend across the room. Don’t forget about me.”
Lana’s eyes flew open and she spun around. “You want him to kiss your freckles too?”
“He can kiss any part of me he wants.” Jackie slid off the bed and walked toward them, swaying her hips and licking her lips.
James stiffened. He couldn’t tell if they were playing him, but there was only one woman he wanted to kiss.
Jackie’s eyes flicked to him and they shared a glance. He’d never looked at her closely before, but as he studied her face he saw a maturity that belied her age and her seemingly irreverent nature. For the briefest second, her mask slipped and he saw secrets hiding in the depths of her eyes, a lifetime of experiences a girl her age shouldn’t have, and a world of pain. No wonder she and Lana were so close. Lana was a giver, a healer. And Jackie desperately needed to be healed.
“Well damn,” she muttered, tearing her eyes away. “Guess I’ll have to get my kisses somewhere else. And suddenly I’m not feeling very wanted. You want me to skip out, J? Leave you to your sugar?”
“Actually, I have to be at a race in an hour and I’m thinking it would be best if you both came along.” He looked down at Lana and cupped her cheek with his hand. He had no doubt the suitcase meant a hell of a lot more than she was letting on, and her lack of trust hit him hard. But he wasn’t about to walk away. Not when she was in danger. He would tease it out of her, and then he would find whoever had scared her and pound the crap out of him.
“Rex made it clear last night that he’s not backing off,” he said to Lana. “And now you’ve got me worried that something else is going on. I don’t want to leave you alone but I have to race. Jackie can come and keep you company. If someone is after you, you’ll be safer with Hades.”
“Now there’s an irony,” Jackie said. “Safer with a gang of outlaw bikers.”
“You could tell me what’s going on…”
Lana stiffened. “It’s nothing. Really. And don’t even think about trying to pry it out of me.”
Christ. Didn’t she understand he had to know, just like he had to breathe? A danger so great she had packed a suitcase and prepared to run was a danger he needed to know about.
“Thanks for the offer but we’re staying in tonight.” Lana pulled away. “I’ve had enough of bikers. And it’s probably better if we don’t spend too much time together.”
“What?” Jackie’s voice rose in pitch. “We’re staying in instead of going to watch a gang of bikers racing their crotch rockets around a track? Are you crazy? It will be one hell of a party.”
“Jackie!”