She went upstairs in search of her sister, finding her in her bedroom, sprawled on a chaise lounge. She was talking on her cell phone, which she hung up when she saw Jane enter the room.
“Next time, knock,” Bailey snapped.
Surprisingly, she didn’t look upset any longer; instead, she appeared to have been put in a better frame of mind by whomever she had been on the phone with.
“I want to talk to you.” Jane hesitated, but she wanted answers badly enough to put up with her sister’s caustic attitude.
“So talk.”
“Why did you act like you had slept with Cade that night at the hotel?”
Bailey gave an unconcerned shrug at being caught in the lie. “Because I knew you wanted him,” she said truthfully. “I knew you were about to make a fool of yourself over him, so I stopped you.”
“So you did it to save me from myself?” Jane said doubtfully.
“Of course. What other reason could there be?” Bailey stood, hugging Jane. “You’re my sister; it’s my job to watch out for you.”
“It wasn’t because you wanted him?” Jane had been around her sister too long to believe in her sincerity.
“Maybe I was a little attracted. He took my mind off Raul, but then he disappeared the next day, so it really doesn’t matter anymore, does it?”
“I guess not.” Jane couldn’t explain why she didn’t want Bailey to know Cade was in Jamestown, only that she didn’t.
“Good. No hard feelings?”
“Of course not,” Jane lied. She had learned a lesson about her sister: there was no length to the deception she would go to in order to get what she wanted. It was a lesson that couldn’t be unlearned.
She said goodbye to Bailey and headed back downstairs to see her father had finished making his calls.
Jane kissed him on his cheek as she was about to leave.
“Call me if you need me for anything.” She went to the door, hearing Killyama blowing her horn.
“Jane…” He seemed about to say something, but then only said, “I’ll see you soon.”
She left, feeling bad for her dad and wishing there was something she could do. Then an idea came to her on the ride home.
“Could you take me somewhere else first?”
* * *
Cade leaned against the bar, looking around the room. He saw Crazy Bitch and T.A., but he didn’t see Jane. He had tried calling her several times during the day, but she hadn’t answered.
Stud took a seat on the stool next to him. “Who are you looking for?”
“Jane. I thought she was coming in with Crazy Bitch tonight,” Cade told him, still watching the door.
“Not tonight. She’s in Treepoint with Killyama and Sex Piston. They’re having dinner with a friend of theirs.”
“Oh.” Jane hadn’t mentioned that when he had taken her home this morning.
“She might stop by when they come back.” Stud shot him a calculating look. “You know Sex Piston and Fat Louise are close.”
“That would be hard to miss,” Cade remarked.
Stud gave him a warning look. “Fat Louise isn’t like the rest of the bitches. Her friends usually close ranks around her to keep her safe. I would really hate it if Sex Piston starts busting my balls about how you’re treating her.”
“Are you warning me to stay away from her?” Cade stiffened, preparing himself for an argument. He liked Stud, respected him as a leader of his men, but he wasn’t going to quit seeing Jane on his say so.
“Fuck no. What I’m saying is to play fair with her. If you just want her as a fuck toy, she needs to know that up front. If you plan on her becoming your old lady, then be honest about that, too. What I don’t want is to hear my wife bitching at me that you broke Fat Louise’s heart. I wouldn’t be happy about that. I kinda like her. She’s good to my kids.”
Cade felt a smile tugging at his lips. “I’ll keep that in mind. To be honest, I don’t know where this is going with Jane. When she left after we were rescued, I missed her. I got used to having her around, didn’t have any desire to fuck my usual women. After a while of that shit, a man can get worried.”
“Last night take that worry off your mind?”
“Yes, it did,” Cade laughed.
“It was the same before I started seeing Sex Piston. Club pussy just didn’t do it for me anymore.”
“That’s hard to imagine.” Cade looked at the provocatively dressed women sitting around the club.
“Like I said, make sure Jane doesn’t get hurt. There are a few brothers who feel the same.” With that, Stud took his beer, leaving him standing alone at the bar.