Page 66 of The Reluctant Siren
“You’ve been in your own world, and that’s okay. You need tobe from time to time. But the last few years it’s felt like you’re pullingaway. Not in an ‘I’m all grown up and having a great time’ way. In an ‘I’mleaving you behind’ way.”
She was so self-centered sometimes. All this time she’dassumed Greer was probably happy she didn’t have to dole out big sis advice toher fuck-up younger sister. She wasn’t giving herself enough grace either, andshe wasn’t being honest. She never meant to hurt her sister. She’d meant toprotect herself, but her family wasn’t something she needed to be protectedfrom. “I shut down after Jensen dumped me. I was ashamed I let myself be inthat position, and I didn’t want any of you to know it. I’m lucky Dad didn’tinvestigate and get involved in this whole mess.”
“They had a huge fight about it,” Greer informed her. “Rightafter you got back from LA, Dad wanted to do just that. He knew there was a guyinvolved, and he had talked Papa into going back out and finding him. Mom puther foot down. Like hard down.”
Harlow sniffled. “I didn’t mean to cause them problems.”
“Mom said you would tell us what happened when you wereready, and if you never were we would love you and help you where we could. Youdid tell someone, right? Ruby knows.” It wasn’t really a question. “I want tomake sure you tell someone if you can’t tell me.”
Yep, her sister was making her cry.
“This bacon is excellent,” Ruby said as she walked in andthen stopped. “Sorry. Is this a sister thing?”
Greer looked up and nodded, but then held out a hand. “Itis, so you should join us. You have been the best thing to happen to my sisterin a long time, and I’m happy you’re part of our family.”
“I don’t know how to deal with that. I’m feeling things,Harlow,” Ruby admitted, a frown on her face.
“Greer does that. It’s the artist thing.” Harlow leaned overand shouted toward the kitchen. “Gigi, we’re about to talk shit about the twomen I slept with last night.”
There was a gasp and then Gigi was in the room, plate inhand. “I’m here. Did we start? Should I make mimosas?”
Of course Gigi brought champagne to her safe house. Harlownodded. “We’re going to need them.”
She turned to her sister and told her the whole story.
* * * *
“You do not want to go in there.” Niall sat in theafternoon light and slowly sipped his coffee. He looked his best friend over.Jensen was dressed in the sweats and T-shirt Niall had bought him at the onlystore within twenty minutes of this place. He did not miss Bonnet, TX.Sometimes he didn’t even recognize the place. His tiny apartment in Dallas overhis gym felt far more like home. Especially now that Harlow had a toothbrushthere.
Jensen stared at the swinging door that separated thekitchen from the living room. No open floor plans here. This puppy was built inthe forties when women’s work needed to be hidden away so it looked like nowork at all.
“We need to have a long talk with the ladies about what itmeans to be in a safe house,” Jensen said. “They are pretending like this issome fun sleepover.”
“I think that would be a huge mistake, man.”
Jensen turned his way, frowning. “And them potentiallyleading Hamilton’s men right here isn’t?”
He knew there was some kind of lecture coming, but he’d kindof already gotten the answers from Ruby. “She made sure no one was followingthem, and she checked her SUV for trackers.”
“Which apparently Harlow has,” Jensen replied with a hint ofoutrage. “They tagged her like she’s a dog who might go missing.”
“Or like a young woman who works in a dangerous business andwants to be found even if the assholes who might take her steal her phone.”Niall was kind of all in on Harlow having a tracker. He wished Jensen had one.He could get an app for his phone and then always know where the people he wasin a relationship with were about to die. “Ruby says only she and Taggart knowhow to turn it on, and Taggart signed an NDA when Harlow agreed. He would onlyturn it on if she was in real danger. Ruby informed him what she did and whereHarlow is, and he feels no need to let her dad in on her location.”
“But she told Harlow’s sister and cousin, and now we have afamily reunion.” Jensen started for the living room.
“They’re talking about you,” Niall explained.
Jensen stopped, his hand on the door. He seemed to listenfor a moment and then turned and grabbed a coffee mug. “Tell me they aren’tdrinking champagne. That sounded like someone popped a bottle of champagne.”
“I believe they are calling them mimosas, though they didn’tuse a lot of juice. There is some. I got orange juice for breakfast.” Niallpointed to the fridge. “It was on sale.”
“Maybe they’re not the only ones looking at this like it’ssome kind of vacation.” Jensen stared at him. “How are you so fucking calm?”
“I assure you being back here is not a vacation.” It wasunsettling being here. Tommy was in every room of this house. Damn but hemissed that kid. “What should I be feeling, Jensen? How should I react?”
Jensen huffed and ran a frustrated hand through his hair. “Idon’t know, man. Freaked out. I got us in the shittiest situation we could bein.”
His friend was not thinking big enough. “Oh, I can think ofshittier. You must have lost your powers of imagination, brother. We could bein custody. We could be arrested and blamed for a ton of stuff. We could bedead because the fed didn’t want to blow his cover. We were lucky, you know.”
