Page 50 of Lane

“You told her.”

“I told who what?”

“Mom about Lane and Alton.”

“The hell I did. That was up to you.”

I handed him my phone so he could see the message. Meanwhile, Barrett sank lower on the couch.

“Bear?” My brother had a bit of a growl in his voice.

“It might have slipped out when she called earlier. You can’t be angry though.” He turned to face us. “My mom was an asshole. I can’t help that I let it slip when she brought you up.”

I lunged at him but didn’t get past my brother.

His hard eyes held mine. “Don’t.” He faced Barrett. “You don’t tell my mom shit that’s not your business. Ray would have gotten there. He’s still making sure Alton feels included. Jesus, Bear.”

“Oh, so they get eased into a meet-the-family while I was ambushed?”

“You weren’t ambushed,” I said. “You showed up where we were eating dinner.”

“Whatever. I wasn’t prepared to meet anyone’s parents.”

“So you want my boyfriends to suffer because you did? Fuck you. Also, there’s a family gathering this weekend. Youboth aren’t missing it after this shit. Arrange coverage.” I’d be damned if I had to introduce Alton and Lane to my parents without Reghan and Barrett there. I needed a buffer.

My brother lifted his phone. “She didn’t text me.”

I shot off a quick message to my mom.

Me: Reghan and Barrett will be there too.

Fuck them. They were going down with me.

I loved my parents and would do anything for them, but the thought of Lane and Alton meeting them made me nervous. For them, not my parents. This was a big deal.

I smirked at Barrett and Reghan. “I just RSVP’d for you. You’re welcome.”

“Jordan won’t care if I’m not here,” Barrett said. “If he does, he can find someone else to sing his praises for a day. And I love your mother. She calls me once a week to see how I am.” That wasn’t surprising. My parents had big hearts. Mom would treat Barrett like family.

“I’ll go talk to Barry,” I said and got to my feet. I had to text Lane and Alton too, or wait until later when we were all in the same room.

“Don’t mention us yet,” Reghan said. “We have to clear it with Jordan.”

I nodded and walked to the door. I forgot I didn’t wear shoes over here. After stepping into my apartment to put them on, I took the stairs down to the fourth floor where the security command center was.

A keypad beside the door lit up when I punched in the code. Inside the room, screens lined the wall showing various parts of the building and property. They flickered every now and then, switching to another area where movement triggered the cameras.

Barry sat at the desk with a guard he was training to man the monitors. With the way guards were shuffling around, it made sense to have more support in here.

Turning, Barry asked, “Ray, what’s going on?”

“I have family plans Saturday afternoon and evening. Lane will be with me.” Even though he was the only one I protected now, I still needed to report in when I took time off.

“I appreciate it. I’m assuming Reghan and Barrett will be attending as well?” Right, I probably shouldn’t have said it was for family.

“Hopefully, but don’t mention anything yet. Reghan has to talk to Jordan first.”

He nodded. “No worries. It will be the weekend, which means Jordan will most likely stay in. It’s easier to juggle. I’ll see who’s free and who will be on call for backup. This way when Reghan tells me I’m prepared.”

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