“What the hell is going on here? Tracy looks ready to pass out and Jared…boy, what the hell is going on?” Pop demands, as Ma goes to Jared and tries to calm him.
“They have Paulie and they say they’re going to kill her if we don’t give Lynn to them,” Jared grits out, shaking his mother off with an apology.
That makes them all pause and I see both Pop and Ellie pale at the words.
“Lynn?” Ellie squeaks, looking ready to pass out.
Wyatt is there in a heartbeat and I watch as he wraps his arms around her and starts crooning and whispering softly to her while Pop frowns darkly and Ma just looks confused.
“She’s dead. What the hell could they want form a dead woman?” Ma demands.
I share a look with the brothers and we all shrug before Miah sighs and turns to his parents while Clari takes his hand.
“Lynn didn’t die at the cabin like I told you all. She was badly injured after I shot her, but she survived it,” he admits, rubbing at his eyes in misery when Ma gasps and Pop staggers before falling onto the sofa.
“She’s alive? Where?” he demands, turning a shade of red that has poor Ma rushing to him to calm him.
“We had her in a mental hospital in Texas. She’s been there for months after she survived my bullet. Only Roman and I knew till recently, and I made the others swear not to breathe a word after they found out. Pop—”
“Christ, Miah! You couldn’t tell me this? What the hell is wrong with you, boy? Don’t you know that she’ll stop at nothing to destroy us? This whole mess is her making and now, now they want her back. By God, if she’s free we’re all dead,” he roars, patting Ma’s hand when she starts crying.
Miah blanches and I feel his pain when he turns to his parents with regret shining in his eyes.
“I was a fool to let her live and I know it now, but at the time I just wanted her to suffer what Ellie did. I am so sorry,” he says, looking at Ellie with so much regret and angst. “I should have just left her there to bleed out.”
Ellie shakes her head and untangles Wyatt’s arms to go to Miah. She hugs him, and I see her smile sadly before pulling away to look at them all.
“She doesn’t deserve death. And I don’t care who thinks I’m wrong. You saved me and shot her even though she’s your blood. That makes you my hero. What do we do?”
Hot damn. If I was into women, I think I just fell in love with this little spitfire.
Wyatt chuckles and Pop shakes his head as if we’re all insane.
“We tell them where she is and get Paulette Hayes back is what we do. Wyatt, get eyes on that place Miah has her in and make Goddamned sure no one is in or out without us knowing. Jared, calm down before you give yourself or me a fucking heart attack, and Miah, son, stop looking like the world’s about to end. We have work to do, so you all better get your shit together. Judy, hand me the phone, babe. I have some calls to make.”
Chapter Sixteen
Jace
The way my pop just jumps in and starts barking orders as Miah gathers the women together and Ma jumps into action is so amazing that it takes me a minute to realize that Trace is still quiet and shaking beside me.
Gathering her up in my arms, I stand and walk over to the sofa, pulling her over and onto my lap as I sit down and just take it all in.
This is really happening, and while I know I should be worried and coming up with a way to avoid Lynn getting free of her chains, all I can wonder is how they know she isn’t dead.
The easiest answer is usually the best one, and when I look up and meet Miah’s eyes, I know that he’s thinking the same thing. The anguish and hatred I see in his eyes is heartbreaking, but all I can think is that Roman, our Roman, has betrayed us all.
He’s the only one besides us who knew. Hell, he helped Miah put that bitch in her hole over a year ago, and he kept Miah together when he got so wild about just killing her that it took Roman two days of never leaving the guy’s side to talk him out of going to Texas to rectify his mistake.
“Jace?”
“Yeah, babe?” I respond, looking down to see Trace staring back at me with pain and regret.
“Do you think it was him, Jace?”
Shit, I should know by now that Trace is way too smart not to have realized that right off the bat.
I want to lie and say hell no, of course Roman wouldn’t betray us this way, but right now all I can think is that he is the only one who knows. He’s the only one.
None of us have breathed a word, and Trace hasn’t even mentioned Lynn’s name since we got back from our little trip to the west.
She knows, and it breaks my heart that Miah and I aren’t the only ones to suspect this.