Page 63 of The Reluctant Siren
“Do I want to know how you figured out who Jensen is?”Harlow stood back and allowed them to enter.
“Oh, Dad ranted for hours,” Greer explained. “You shouldknow he’s got a dossier on Jensen now, and he’s pushing Jack to get the FBIinvolved. When Papa tried to point out that Jensen was doing exactly what youwere doing when you got arrested in California, Dad added assault and battery.”
“Jensen didn’t break my arm.” So her Dad had been having funin the wake of her flight.
“I did put her in the position where her arm was broken.”Jensen seemed to realize he wasn’t wearing anything but a pair of boxers. “Ishould…go and put clothes on. And then we can talk about the fact that ourposition is helplessly compromised and start trying to figure out where to gonext.”
Greer smiled at him. “You don’t have to do that on myaccount. I’m in the lifestyle. I’m used to hot dudes running around with theirdicks hanging out.”
“It’s not…” Jensen looked down where yes, in fact, his dickwas slightly poking out. And he ran back toward the bedroom.
“What exactly are you doing here?” Niall had his Dom voiceon. He was all big muscles and broad shoulders and a deep voice that brooked nodisobedience.
“Checking on my friend, asshole.” Ruby didn’t miss a beat.
She could have told Niall that the Dom thing didn’t work onany of her friends outside a club setting.
Greer frowned at Niall. “You are a rat-fink lying jerk, andI hope you got the least amount of sex.”
Niall frowned as though the morning was not going how he’dplanned. Welcome to her world. “I got a reasonable portion of the sex. And Ialso apologized and made breakfast.”
Gigi sniffed the air. “Is that bacon?”
“Yep,” Niall replied.
Gigi sighed and walked inside. “Good. My mom has my dad onthis low-fat diet because his cholesterol is high. Let me tell you nurses knowhow to fuck with a diet. I’m starving. They wouldn’t let me have a donut. Shesaid you might need to eat your feelings, and she wasn’t sure how many feelingsyou would have.”
“Well now I know she fucked her feelings, so we can eat allwe like,” Ruby announced, passing her the box. “Please tell me there arepancakes.”
Greer held back, allowing Niall to follow their cousin andRuby into the kitchen, saying something about how he hadn’t planned on thismany people. “I was going to defend those donuts. Carbs are your go-toheartache food.”
“My heart doesn’t ache.” But she still opened the box andsighed in anticipation of that soft, sugary treat. Bear claws. Her sister knewher well. “I had a job go wrong, and now I’m stuck in hiding for a while. Jackwill figure it out and then everything will be fine. Now explain to me how Dadisn’t riding in on his shiny SUV to rescue me from my own idiocy. He shouldhave a bodyguard on you, and you should be on a plane to Colorado now.”
“Oh, according to Mom he spent most of the night harassingBig Tag and then finally passed out like an overly stimulated Rottweiler. Youknow how he gets when he’s that way.” Greer looked around the house. “Whoseplace is this?”
“Jensen’s childhood home. From what I can tell they used toown a lot of this land, but the house is what’s left.” It was odd to see hersister here. She associated Greer with the beautiful places of the world. Shelooked right at home in their parents’ big house in Highland Park. Greer fitthere and with all the prep school girls they’d been around.
Harlow had preferred hanging with the Taggart kids. Sheloved her sister but was surprised she was here. Greer always followed therules.
“You met him in LA?” Greer asked.
Harlow nodded. “Yeah, when I was on the Gains’ case. We weresupposed to work together and he decided it was too dangerous for me and put mein a position where I got arrested. He didn’t realize I wasn’t alone in thebuilding, and the guy who was there figured out the cops were coming and tookit out on me. That’s how I ended up in the hospital. Why are you here?”
Greer’s eyes widened in obvious surprise. “Because you’re mysister and you’re in trouble. I know I’m not some tough chick and I can’t beatthe crap out of whoever’s chasing you, but I can at least make sure you’reokay. Why are you surprised I’m here?”
That wasn’t a question she was ready for. “I don’t know. Iguess I thought you would be helping Mom deal with my latest attempt on Dad’shealth and happiness. I didn’t mean to freak him out. I was only trying to domy job.”
“Mom can handle Dad. She’s excellent at it. Sometimes I wishshe wasn’t so good at it or that they would at least, like, lock the door orkeep it to the club,” Greer replied with a delicate shudder. “I knew for a factthat there was zero chance Ruby didn’t have a way to contact you so I showed upon her doorstep at six this morning with Gigi in tow because she heard thestory from one of the Taggarts. The lawyer with the baby, I think. Let me tellyou The Hideout’s gossip grapevine does not stop for sleep.”
Excellent. So everyone knew she’d fucked up. “I’m stillsurprised Dad let you out of his sight.”
“Didn’t have a choice,” Greer replied. “I knew the minuteGigi told me what was happening that there was probably a bodyguard on his wayto my place, so I managed to not be at my place. I went to Gigi’s and we wentto yours and got you everything you could need, and then Ruby yelled at us fora long time.”
“Good, because that was dangerous. They could have beenwatching my place.” She didn’t say they could have followed Ruby because Rubywould have made damn sure no one was watching.
“Yeah. Ruby mentioned that a couple hundred times,” Greeradmitted. “She can yell really loud.”
If Ruby was yelling, then she was annoyed, not truly angry.When Ruby got mad she went still and silent and cold as ice. “What you did wasdangerous.”
