Luckily, Travis saw their mother sitting on the couch before that little word got loose. It would’ve earned him a palm to the back of the head by their father. Even as grown men, Curtis still took to smacking them upside the head when they did something to show disrespect to their mother.
“What are you talking about?” Zane asked Travis, standing so he could face his brother. He was so damned confused about what was going on. Seriously, a couple of phone calls and texts shouldn’t have caused this type of uproar. They knew Jake wasn’t around, so at this point, it wasn’t a direct threat.
Before Travis could answer, the screen door slammed again, and the sound of footsteps stomping across the tiled kitchen floor had echoed in the house.
Kaleb.
Great. This should get good. Zane was tempted to fall back onto the couch and watch the show, but he had already gotten himself riled up. He had no idea what was going on, but he knew one thing: his family was keeping things from him.
“Sit down, all three of you,” Curtis demanded, moving back to allow Travis and Kaleb to come into the room. “I want to know what’s going on, and I want every detail.”
Zane peered over at his father before dropping back to the couch. He felt like a fucking whack-a-mole with all the up and down. He also felt like a damn child being punished for doing something wrong. He watched as Travis and Kaleb moved to the opposite side of the room and took seats on the other couch, neither of them looking at Zane.
“I want to know why the sheriff’s knocking on my door asking questions about Jake Sanders,” Travis demanded, although his tone had cooled significantly since he walked in.
“I emailed him,” Curtis answered, not bothering with taking a seat and crossing his arms across his thick, brawny chest again as though he were daring Travis to argue with him.
“For what?” This time Kaleb asked the question. He actually looked genuinely confused.
That made two of them.
“He needs to know what’s going on. If Sanders is back and he’s terrorizing Vanessa, I want him arrested. He damned near killed my boy.”
“We’ve got it handled, Dad. We don’t need you and the sheriff interfering,” Travis replied, still not bothering to look at Zane.
“What are you talking about?” Zane felt like he was watching a movie about his life and he wasn’t even invited to play the role of himself.
“Jake Sanders was back in town last night,” Travis stated, glancing over at Zane and then back up at their father.
“How do you know?” He knew it was a stupid question, and if he were smart, he’d wait to talk to Travis when their parents weren’t standing right there listening, but he couldn’t help himself.
“I saw him,” Kaleb answered the question.
Fuck.
“And what? You thought you’d call Dad?” Travis sounded downright baffled by the idea.
“I didn’t call him,” Kaleb stated defensively.
“He didn’t have to. Jake Sanders was on my damn property last night. I called the sheriff.”
Zane didn’t say a word. He didn’t breathe, and he didn’t move. Jake Sanders dared to come out to the Walker Ranch?
“What?” Travis stood abruptly. “Why the hell didn’t you call me?”
“Watch your damn language, boy,” Curtis chastised Travis, although his language wasn’t much better.
“What did the sheriff say?” Lorrie asked, seemingly trying to be the voice of reason. Their mother, all five-foot-two-inches of her, was sitting on the couch, her hands tucked in her lap, staring back and forth between all four men in the room.
“He wants to talk to the boys.”
Oh, no way in hell.
Chapter Ten
♀♂
“What do you mean the sheriff wants to talk to me?” V asked Zoey, trying to understand what was going on.
They’d been driving down the road, minding their own business, laughing and actually having a good time when Zoey’s phone rang. V had been tipped off that something was wrong because that call hadn’t sounded all tender and amorous like the others.
Zoey had just hung up with Kaleb, who, based on what V could understand, was at Zane’s parents’ house. From the bits and pieces she garnered from eavesdropping, Kaleb went there to talk to Curtis. When he arrived, Travis and Zane were there also. While they were there, Sheriff Endsley showed up and now he wanted to talk to her.
“That’s what Kaleb said. Everyone’s at his parents’ house.”
Oh, God. V felt her pulse quicken, and she suddenly had trouble time breathing. “Is Zane all right?” Suddenly, she was terrified that something had happened to him.
“Everyone’s fine, V. Nothing has happened. They just want to talk.”
If the sheriff were getting involved, that clearly meant something had happened. V watched out the window of Zoey’s truck, not even noticing the trees flying by as they raced toward the Walker Ranch. She had a sudden urge to go home and hide underneath her covers. She just wanted to close her eyes, and when she opened them, she wanted this all to be a bad dream. All of it. Erase the last three and a half months of her life and start over.
V was startled when Zoey shut off the engine. She glanced around and noticed that they had already made it to Lorrie and Curtis Walker’s home. Based on all of the cars and trucks parked in the driveway, all of the Walker brothers were there too.
Opening her door slowly, V climbed down from the truck, trying to suck in oxygen and not hyperventilate. There were two county police cars parked out front.
Just when she thought her knees would buckle beneath her, a pair of strong arms circled her waist, pulling her close and holding her upright. V didn’t even need to look behind her to see who it was. She knew from his unique scent.
“It’s all right,” Zane whispered in her ear, turning her so that she was facing him. “Everything’s fine, V.”
Obviously, he knew she was in the throes of another panic attack, and V was just grateful he was standing there. She wrapped her arms around his waist, and buried her face in his chest, taking a minute to catch her breath. Zane was ok. He was holding her, talking to her. She had nothing to freak out about.
It only took a minute or two for her to regain some of her composure, and when she did, she took a step back and looked up into Zane’s beautiful face. “Why are they here?”
“I’ll let them tell you.”
V didn’t like the sound of that, but she allowed Zane to take her hand and lead her into the house. Once inside, V was overwhelmed by the sheer number of people all gathered in the huge kitchen. Braydon and Brendon were perched on the counter with Ethan close by; Kaleb was propped against the far wall with Zoey standing in front of him while Travis and Sawyer were sitting at the kitchen table with Lorrie, Curtis, Sheriff Endsley and a deputy she didn’t recognize.
“Come sit down, Vanessa,” Lorrie spoke quietly, pulling out the chair beside her.
V glanced up at Zane, and when he nodded his head, she moved forward, lowering herself in the chair Lorrie offered.
“When is the last time you saw Jake Sanders?” Sheriff Endsley asked without preamble.
V frowned, trying to understand what they were talking about. She hadn’t seen Jake since the day he attacked Zane in her front yard, and she told them as much now.
“When is the last time you talked to Jake Sanders?” the sheriff asked, still directing his questions at her.
“I haven’t talked to him at all,” V answered, glancing up at Zane again before looking back at the sheriff. “He’s been texting me, and he left a couple of messages, but I haven’t actually talked to him.”
“Why didn’t you call the police?” This time the deputy tossed out the question, sounding oddly accusatory, and V stared back at him, confused.
“What am I supposed to say when I call?” V felt a little defensive. What were they getting at and why was she being questioned?
“Just tell her what the hell is going on,” Zane barked and everyone in the ro
om turned to look at him, including V.
“Last night, Jake Sanders was seen on the property. Mr. Walker,” the sheriff glanced over at Curtis briefly, then back to V, “called to let us know. You may not know this, but there’s a warrant out for Mr. Sanders’ arrest.”
As there should be. V still didn’t understand what this had to do with her. She had no idea he’d been out there, and although the thought positively terrified her, she wasn’t sure what they wanted from her. “And how does this involve me?”
“We don’t know that it does, but we want to make sure that everyone is on the same page here.” This time the sheriff looked around, making eye contact with each of the Walker brothers individually. “I don’t need any renegades in my town. That means that I don’t want a single one of you boys involved in this. If Jake is back, we’ll get him. I expect every one of you to be diligent, but I don’t want to hear you’ve taken the law into your own hands.”
The sheriff’s eyes hovered on Travis and Zane the longest, and V finally understood what he was trying to say. She couldn’t agree more. If Jake was back in town, she wanted to keep Zane as far away from him as physically possible.
Not that she could control any of them, but she was damn sure going to figure out a way to keep Zane safe.
Even if that meant tying him to his damn bed.
“Where are we going?” V asked Zane when they got in his Jeep half an hour later. After the sheriff had reiterated his point – several times – they’d been told they could go. Zane hadn’t wasted a single second before he had dragged her out the back door.
“We’re going to get some of your stuff from your house. You’re staying with me for a few days.”
“No! Please! I don’t need to go to my house.” V didn’t want to go home. She didn’t want Zane taking her there. Especially not after learning that Jake was in town again.
“Sawyer and the twins are behind us.”
V glanced in the side mirror and noticed Sawyer’s car, as well as Brendon’s truck, weren’t too far behind them. She managed to relax a little, refusing to argue with Zane about staying with him. It wasn’t like she had much of a choice. She could either stay with him, or perhaps drive to her mother’s house in Buda.
Although her mother wasn’t that far away, V didn’t relish the idea of even visiting her at the moment. Not to mention, she wasn’t even sure she could leave Zane now that his life might possibly be in danger again.
Thankfully the entire trip didn’t take them long. V managed to force her legs to work when they got to her house as well as when they were leaving, not wanting any of Zane’s brothers to see her panic. It was unfortunate enough that Zane had been privy to her mental breakdowns; she didn’t need an even broader audience.
When they finally pulled up to Zane’s house, the sun had already gone down, but the headlights from Sawyer’s car lit up the front of the house after Zane shut off the Jeep. V climbed out without Zane’s help while he went to talk to his brother. She couldn’t hear what they were talking about, but she wondered whether Sawyer actually would be scoping things out for the night. V had no clue how Jake had managed to get on the property, but she only prayed that the cops were going to do their job tonight and make sure he didn’t come back.
Once inside, Zane moved about the house as though nothing at all had happened. He didn’t mention Jake or the cops, or anyone else for that matter. V watched him until he disappeared into the bathroom, realizing as soon as the shower came on what he was doing.
While he showered, V went in search of food. What she found was little to nothing that would sustain her much less a man Zane’s size. Then she remembered that he hadn’t been there for several months, and he hadn’t had time to go to the grocery store. She was still rummaging through the cabinets when the water shut off.
“Hungry?” Zane’s voice startled her, and V jumped, turning to face him. She couldn’t help but smile, despite the fact her heart was in her throat.
With his hair spiked all over and still damp, Zane was so cute, it made her heart ache. Yes. Cute. He was so ruggedly handsome most of the time, and downright sexy as hell when he was wearing his cowboy hat, but standing before her in a pair of jeans and no shirt, his hair in disarray and a day’s worth of stubble on his chin, he was quite adorable.
“Starving,” she answered, hoping he didn’t ask her what she was thinking. V was pretty sure Zane wouldn’t take too kindly to being called cute or adorable. Although he was both.
“Beau’s on his way. He’s bringing food.” Zane ran his hands through his hair again, sending the last remaining drops of water spraying around him as he grinned.
V’s heart thumped hard in her chest at the mention of Beau Bennett. He was on his way over. Bringing food. If that were the case, then why the hell did she feel like she was about to pass out? For some reason, she doubted it was from low blood sugar.
♂♀
Zane watched V as she processed what he’d just told her. The first time that the three of them were together honestly was unintentional. The second time it was planned. And now, the third time was also planned, but more than that, it was inevitable.
Based on the longing he saw in V’s whiskey brown eyes, Zane knew how much she wanted this.
He knew many people didn’t understand threesomes, they didn’t understand why one man would want to share his woman, or vice versa. In Zane’s case, it was the heightened sexuality, the thrill of pleasuring a woman in ways he couldn’t do by himself. He wasn’t even sure how his first threesome had come about, but he knew he’d been in high school. His senior year if he remembered correctly. In fact, Zane was pretty sure it hadn’t been his idea, or even Beau’s, but they’d both been onboard with the idea.
However, that time didn’t even remotely compare to his first threesome with V. When he and Beau had ended up with her, Zane had been blown away by her passion. Beau was painfully shy around women, and maybe Zane’s presence helped ease his social anxiety, but no matter what, there’d never been a woman who had complained.
V had somehow managed to draw out a side of Beau that Zane didn’t even know existed. She’d also managed to solidify Zane’s dominant nature. Something inside of him changed that night with her. He had decided to take a chance and try and expose her submissive tendencies. It’d worked like a charm and the three of them would likely never be the same again because of it.
Zane would admit to having doubts before that first time, but that was because of his reaction to V. She wasn’t like any woman he had ever known. The various emotions she pulled from deep inside of him were foreign to him. And although he’d had his own insecurities that very first time, they’d been eliminated when she’d given in fairly easily to the passion that roared from a small flame to a wildfire in just seconds when the three of them got together.
Now? Well, now Zane looked forward to those moments. V was a passionate woman, and despite her reluctance with men in her past, she gave herself freely to whatever Zane asked of her. There’d only been a brief hesitation that very first time, but that had presumably disappeared the second Beau had kissed her.
Damn. He was going to have to stop thinking about that night, or he was sure they wouldn’t make it through dinner. He hadn’t been lying to V when he told her that Beau was on his way with food. His friend had called a short while ago and told him he was on his way. When Zane remembered he didn’t have any food, he’d asked Beau to bring something, he didn’t care what.
As though summoned directly from Zane’s thoughts, there was a knock on his front door and Zane turned away from V to let Beau in. He slapped his friend on the back and grabbed one of the sacks from his hand and carried it to the kitchen.
It could’ve been because they were starving, or because they were all three ready to see where the night would lead, but they finished dinner in record time. While V cleaned the dishes, Zane helped clear the table and grabbed more beers while Beau messed with the sound system in the living room.
The stereo came on, and Beau hooted and laughed, turning his attention to Zane. “Dude, seriously? Thrift shop? I didn’t think you had it in you.”
Zane laughed, knowing Beau loved to give him shit about his choice in music. He was a country boy and yes, most of what was on his iPod consisted of country music, but he liked variety.
Zane carried the beers into the living room while Beau began flipping through the music on his iPod. After fifteen minutes of Beau’s ridicule, thankfully, he grew bored with teasing him about his choice in music before putting on Jason Aldean in the man’s warped attempt at setting the mood.
To his surprise, V took the seat on the couch next to Beau when she joined them, and the two had conspired to give Zane a hard time about his music, both of them laughing and even touching on more than one occasion. They were friends, that was clear and although V tried to keep herself closed off to most people, it was evident they’d become closer during Zane’s stint in the hospital. Rather than jealousy, Zane felt a sense of comfort knowing that his best friend had been taking care of V while he couldn’t.
They’d talked daily when Beau came to visit, and his friend had kept an eye on V at his request, but it didn’t appear to have been a hardship on either one of them. He wasn’t going to think about the things that they hadn’t realized were going on during that time though. He was determined not to ruin this night with his unresolved anger issues, and the mere thought of V and her debilitating panic attacks was a definite trigger.
“The way you’re looking at us, you’d think we were naked,” Beau joked, causing Zane to look over at him.
“Maybe y’all should be,” he replied, tipping his beer bottle to his lips and trying to pretend the idea hadn’t crossed his mind a time or two in the last hour.
“Have a preference on which of us goes first?” Beau asked.
Zane tilted his head to study his friend. It was interesting to see how relaxed Beau was around V. Normally, when he was anywhere near a woman, his face was red, and he usually never spoke more than two or three words at a time. Never had he been daring the way he was when she was around.
Zane (Alluring Indulgence) Page 12