JACE-1(Lane Brothers, Book 3)(36)

Chapter Eleven


Jace

I feel like I’ve run a marathon when we all finally get home and Jared leads us to his place, ready and hopping now that he’s got his head back on straight. The man smells like an ashtray and looks like he’s put ten years on in the last hour, but at least he’s not looking ready for blood anymore.

The plan we’ve come up with is a simple one, our only option really, and I just hope it does something positive because we’re treading a fine line here.

Roman is still in too deep for comfort and we need to find him before things blow up, and by that I mean before Jared loses his patience.

Add to that the possibility that Paulette Hayes could also be in some real trouble, and what I get is a bad feeling that has me by the balls.

“Okay, listen up. We need to get to Roman. No ifs, ands, or buts about it, so we need to start thinking clearly here. We also need to review the footage from the camera I put on Paulette’s place and see what the hell spooked her, or…we need to see what went down just before she took off.”

Good, so he’s at least trying not to go rogue, I think, watching the little shit plant himself behind that computer he seems to love so much and start tapping away at the keys a mile a minute.

“Miah, Wyatt, get in touch with Senator Dobson like I told you and get him here. I don’t give a shit if you have to go to DC yourselves and kidnap his ass, but get him here. If he knows anything, I want to be the first to know what it is. Jace, go get our girl. We need to talk profile.”

“Jared—”

“No. Trace came back here with a mission and a lot more information than she realizes. I want it all and I want it now before this thing gets any worse and we end up getting our whole family slaughtered. Get Tracy,” he barks before turning back to his monitor with a curse.

I second his words and leave the room with a heavy feeling pooling in my gut.

I know Trace is likely trained, a little, but I hate having to bring her back into this mess when deep down I want to grab her and run and just forget about it all till it blows over.

I could kick Miah’s ass for taking this assignment so close to home, and I will, just as soon as I go tell my girl that instead of being safe and out of it, she has to help us catch these people before Jared loses his mind and just starts shooting or we get my brother back in a body bag.

Paulie, well, she’s not family yet, so if she is involved, I’m not against leaving her to her own devices. It’s a cold stance, I know, but that’s the way I feel, especially if I have to watch my brother and best friend go insane when he finds out his woman is a bad seed.

I find her a few minutes later in the library, curled up with a copy of Wuthering Heights and a glass of iced tea. She looks so peaceful and calm as she reads that I hate myself when I stop in front of her and call her name.

“Jace? Did you find Jared? What’s really going on here?” she asks, looking worried and angry that I left her in the lurch earlier.

I sigh and get down to my knees in front of her, sliding my hands to her hips to bring her closer.

“We think Paulie is involved in this, Trace.”

“What? No way. No way. Paulie is not capable of this. Ronny, I can see that bitch getting neck deep in this mess and not caring about the consequences as long as she makes money, but not Paulie. She’s too sweet and kind for this, Jace. For heaven’s sake, she cried for a week when my goldfish died and all I did was tell her how the poor sucker wouldn’t flush,” she says, yelling by the end of her speech.

My chest hurts a lot when I look into her sad eyes and see the doubts and the hope lurking in their depths. Tracy hates seeing the bad in people; she always has. This tough, smart-mouthed exterior she keeps throwing at us is just her way of staying sane and safe and not getting hurt by people—something that’s my fault.

But her heart is big, and I know that thinking of Paulette this way must be hurting her a lot right now. I won’t lie to her, though, not even to save her the heartbreak, so instead of just agreeing, I do the right thing and just lay things out for her.

“Jared’s seen her meeting with Williams.”

That comes as a surprise. I see it in the ways she freezes and rears back, looking at me oddly.

“What? Why would she be meeting with Williams? She doesn’t even know—are they investigating Ronny because I just knew that bitch was behind all this.”

“Babe, Jared checked into this and Williams is on forced leave, pending suspension. She’s not working this case officially. In fact, I don’t think she’s working a case at all, but rather that she’s working for them,” I admit, rubbing slow circles around her hips when she tenses and start chewing her lips so hard I see a drop of blood form.