Billionaire Undaunted:The Billionaire's Obsession ~ Zane(30)

"I'll tell you some day. I'll tell all the family. But trust me, I can't  right now. I just need to know you'll help me if I need it."

"Of course I'd help you. It goes without saying. You're my brother."  Blake was irritated that Marcus wouldn't share more, but he'd certainly  be there if his twin needed him.

"Good."

Blake knew the one-word answer was all he was going to get. "When might this happen?"

"I don't know if I'll ever need that favor. But it always pays to know all of my options."

"Just keep your ass safe, and you won't need anything," Blake told him gruffly.

"I plan on it," Marcus answered arrogantly.

Blake had no answer for that comment. He wanted all of his family to stay safe, and he wanted them all happy and secure.

They drove the short distance in silence, Blake lost in thought about  why in the hell Marcus would ever need him to play a game of switch.



"Going somewhere?" Tate Colter asked his wife innocently.

Lara had just gotten home from school, and was already changed and  picking up her car keys to go out again. Tate was pretty sure he knew  exactly where she was going.

"I wanted to pop over to Zane's to see Chloe." She picked up her purse from the kitchen table.

He moved up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. "What you  really want to do is see the reaction between Chloe and Ellie," he  teased, dropping a kiss on the side of her neck. "Are you planning on  playing counselor with the two of them?"

Lara turned around in his arms and glared at him. "Of course not. I  don't have my advanced degree yet, and I'm not qualified. I just want to  see if my sister-in-law and her best friend are okay. Plus, I missed  Chloe. What's wrong with that?"

Tate was sorry he said anything because he was afraid his teasing had  actually wounded Lara. "Nothing is wrong with caring, sweetheart." He  put his arms around her waist. "I was kidding."

If there was one thing among many that he loved about Lara, it was her  capacity to give a shit about other people. Granted, sometimes he  thought she sacrificed too much. Especially when she offered herself up  to a terrorist to save his ornery ass. But that was who Lara was, and  there wasn't a damn thing Tate would do to change her. She was fucking  perfect in his eyes.

"Then you aren't very funny today," Lara shot back at him huffily.

"I love you," he answered huskily, kissing her on the forehead.

Lara wrapped her arms around his neck. "God, I hate it when you do that."

"What? Love you?"

"Make me forget I was mad with three little words," she whispered  against his lips as she rose up on her toes and planted a tender kiss on  his mouth.

As usual, touching Lara was all it took to have his cock standing at  attention. Hell, even looking at her or hearing her voice could do it.  He was hopelessly crazy about his wife. Always had been. Always would  be.

"I never meant to piss you off in the first place. It's kind of funny  because I have to go pick up Mom. I was coming to talk to you when I saw  you getting ready to take off."
         

     



 
Lara leaned back to look at him. "Why?"

Tate shrugged. "So we could all go together to Zane's place. You're not  the only one who wants to see Chloe. Mom's bursting with excitement."

His wife lifted a brow. "And you aren't?"

"Okay. I'm curious. Or maybe I'm worried. Hell, Chloe and Ellie have been through so damn much."

Lara cupped his whiskered jaw as she said, "They're strong, Tate.  They'll both be fine. Actually, they are pretty much fine. I admire both  of them."

"Why?" he asked curiously.

"After all they've been through, both of them survived the emotional and  physical pain. I'm not sure how well I would have done if it had been  me."

Tate looked at her, astonished. "You're the strongest, most kick-ass  woman I know. You were an undercover FBI agent, Lara. How much tougher  do you want to be?"

"That's just a job, a façade that I needed to keep up for my agency. But  I've never known the personal pain either one of them have been  through. Yeah, I had a bad relationship, but not like that. Not like  them."

"You would have gotten through it," Tate answered staunchly. Maybe Lara  had never been tested emotionally like his sister and her best friend  had, but he had no doubt Lara could survive anything that came her way.  "I would have made damn sure that you did."

"You know, I think you would," Lara said with a laugh. "You're too damn  pigheaded to let me spiral down for very long." She paused before  adding, "Support is important, and they both had a good guy to lean on  when they needed them."

"Gabe helped Chloe a lot," he admitted. In the beginning, he hadn't been  too sure that getting involved with another guy so soon was exactly  what Chloe needed. But since then, he'd changed his mind. Gabe Walker  had ended up being exactly what his little sister needed. "Thank fuck he  was a decent man."

"I don't doubt that Zane has helped Ellie, too," Lara answered  thoughtfully. "She sounds so much better, like she isn't afraid to go  out and live her life again."

Tate nodded. "I guess they've become pretty good friends."

Lara snorted. "If you think that's all they are, you're wrong. Ellie has  that certain warmth in her voice when she talks about Zane, that tone a  woman has when she adores a certain guy."

He wasn't too sure he understood exactly what his wife was trying to  say. Somehow, he couldn't see Zane having a serious relationship. "He's  married to his lab, Lara. Hell, we barely see him. He's been that way  since we were kids."

"People change, Tate. Maybe he's just been waiting for the right woman. I  was married to my career, too. Until some hotshot asshole challenged  me, made me realize there was so much more to life than just my job."

Tate wasn't about to admit he was an asshole, even though he probably  was, so he answered, "Was that before or after you met me?"

She hit him playfully on the bicep. "Smartass!" Lara wrapped her arms  around him and put her head on his shoulder. "You know you make me crazy  sometimes. But that's exactly what I need. You're exactly what I need."

His arms tightened around her, grateful for the fateful day that Lara  had come into his life. He'd never known how lonely he was until he'd  found her, and he planned on making sure she never had a reason to stop  loving him. "You were what I needed, too, sweetheart. You always will  be."

They stayed cuddled together for moment before Lara asked, "What time are we picking up your mom?"

He stepped back and glanced at the clock. "Now," he said with a grin.

"We better move. I'm surprised she hasn't called yet. She has to be excited."

Tate opened the door to let Lara exit, and the cell phone in the pocket of his jeans began to ring.

His wife looked at him and they both smiled before he quickly locked the door and they both sprinted to his vehicle.





"They're late. Do you think they're okay?" Ellie asked nervously as she  looked out the window for the fifth time in the last two minutes,  waiting for Chloe and Gabe to come down the driveway.

"Ellie, stop!" Zane insisted from his seat on the living room couch.  "Come sit with me. Watching for them won't make them get here any  faster."

"I'm fine," she reassured him, knowing she couldn't sit down. Every  nerve in her body was jittery with excitement. "I just hope she's not  mad about me keeping my rescue a secret. Now I'm not sure if I did the  right thing."         

     



 

Zane rose and grabbed Ellie by the shoulders. "You had the right to do  whatever the hell you wanted to do. You were the one who was recovering  from an acute traumatic incident. It was your call, and none of anybody  else's business, Ell. You had a right to do whatever made you  comfortable then."

"But she's my best friend," she answered woefully. "Maybe it was  selfish, but I didn't want anyone to see me that way. I needed some  time. And I didn't want her to come rushing back because of me."

"So you had the right to recover in peace," Zane answered reasonably.  "You needed to just worry about yourself. For God's sake, you almost  died."

"You didn't let me recover in peace," she reminded him with a small smile. "You were stubborn, manipulating, and bossy."

"Only about you staying safe," he grumbled. "I wanted you to be happy  again. Just because you had the right to be alone doesn't mean that you  should have been."

"I needed you," Ellie relented as she put her arms around him. "I just  didn't want to admit it. You saved me in more ways than one, you know. I  really had nobody with Chloe gone. Yeah, I've lived in Rocky Springs  all my life, but I guess I never realized how few real friends I really  had. Not that it matters, because Chloe makes up for that. She's as real  as they get."