Zane (Alluring Indulgence) (38 page)

“I
want to do something else,” Zane finally said, looking down at his hands
resting on his propped up legs. “It’s time for me to do something else.” Zane
wasn’t sure Ethan was going to understand his reasoning, but he wasn’t sure he
understood his own reasoning. He just knew that he was ready to move forward
and not go back.

“Why?”

“Don’t
get me wrong,” Zane began, looking up at Ethan again. “It’s not that I didn’t
love what I did. I just think it’s time for me to move on.”

“Is
this because of the attack?” Ethan questioned, and his tone simmered somewhat.

Was
it? Did the attack change him? Maybe. But Zane wasn’t sure that was all it was.

“I
don’t know.” That was the honest answer. “I spent some time looking into the
resort while I was in the hospital and I got excited.” For the first time in a
long time, in fact. “Hell, you met the McCoy’s. Aren’t you just a little
curious as to what AI is going to be about?”

Ethan
glanced down at his coffee cup. “A little.”

His
brother sounded torn. Like maybe he wasn’t happy doing what he was doing
either. “Have you considered moving on?”

“No.”
The adamant answer pretty much told Zane exactly what Ethan meant. Butt out.

Figuring
it was a moot point to try and push, at least right now, Zane went back to the
safer topic. “So, why don’t you hire Blake to come on full time? As my
replacement.”

Zane’s
gaze was drawn to a tall man walking in through one of the bay doors. He didn’t
recognize him, but he had a feeling that was Blake. Glancing back over at
Ethan, he realized his brother had noticed him too. Only, Ethan wasn’t looking
at Blake like they were merely working together. There was something else in
his expression. Just as quickly as it was there, it disappeared, and Ethan was
looking at Zane once again.

“I
need to get back to work. If you’re sure you aren’t coming back, I’ll talk to
Blake.”

Zane
thought that was a good start, except Ethan might want to consider talking to
Blake about other things too. Not that Zane would interfere, but he’d always
expected that his brother was different from the rest of them. Not in a bad
way, just in a different way. The way Ethan was looking at Blake, he saw the
same thing he’d seen before. Interest, maybe? Longing? Hell, he didn’t know and
maybe he was making shit up in his brain just to make himself feel better about
not coming back to work at the demo company.

“Hey,”
Blake’s head appeared in the door, and he smiled down at Ethan.

Ok,
definitely not making shit up. Whatever he saw in Ethan’s expression earlier
was the same thing he saw on this guy’s face.

“Hey.
Blake, this is Zane, my youngest brother. Zane, this is Blake.”

Was
it him or did Ethan sound just a little frustrated?

“Nice
to meet you,” Blake said as he moved closer, holding out his hand.

Zane
dropped his feet back to the floor, tipped his hat back slightly and reached
out and shook Blake’s hand. “You, too. Thanks for filling in here while I’ve
been gone.”

“Sure.”
Blake glanced back and forth between him and Ethan. “Are you coming back to
work today?”

Zane
looked over at his brother, expecting him to answer the question, but he
didn’t. “No. I’m not coming back.” He left it at that. Whether Blake thought
that meant today or ever, he didn’t really care. At this point, Ethan needed to
figure it out, or hell, Zane was going to see if Beau wanted to join the Walker
Demo ranks as one of their mechanics. The guy would be a huge asset to the
company.

“All
right. Well, I’ll talk to you later?” Blake spoke to Ethan, but before Ethan
said anything, he turned and walked away.

“What’s
going on between you two?” Zane inquired, knowing Ethan was going to give him
the glare that told him it was none of his business.

Yep,
there it was. Perfected by so many of them over the years, that Walker glare
pretty much said, “Shut the fuck up”.

“Well,
I’ve got to go. Meeting Beau at the gym, then hoping to meet up with Sawyer
later this afternoon,” Zane said when it was clear Ethan was finished with this
discussion, no matter how one sided it had been. “Look, if you need anything,
just let me know.”

Ethan
tipped his head in understanding but didn’t say anything. So it would seem,
there was something fascinating in his coffee cup. Zane shook his head in confusion
as he walked out of the office. “Nice to meet you, Blake!” he hollered toward
the man on the other side of the room as he left, barely hearing the man’s
response.

♀♂

By
the time evening rolled around, V was exhausted. Somehow they’d managed to
knock out three houses that day because Zoey made the decision that she was
ready to move on. Instead of doing one house a day for the next three days,
they’d managed to squeeze them all into one. Although that meant they were
officially through with their little cleaning business, it didn’t make V’s feet
feel any better.

She’d
even turned down Zoey’s celebratory suggestion at Moonshiners, opting instead
to go home. Which was where she was now. It had only taken her twenty minutes
this time to get inside her house after the panic attack had left her all but
paralyzed. She’d sat in her car with the doors locked, peering around and half
expecting Jake Sanders to jump out of one of the bushes. He hadn’t though.

Finally,
after what seemed like an incredibly long time, V made it into her house,
locked all of the doors, checked all of the windows – twice – and had now
locked herself in her bedroom. She needed a shower, and then hopefully she
could just fall into bed without another thought. Doubtful, but maybe.

A
short while later, V was showered and in her pajamas. She checked her cell
phone to see if she’d missed any calls from Zane, but there weren’t any. She
hadn’t heard from him that day. Not one time. For some reason, ever since they
had gotten back from Dallas, there’d been a little distance between them. She
wasn’t sure whether that was her fault or his, but she would admit she hadn’t
pushed it. They needed the time apart anyway. V was getting way too close to
him.

On
her way to the kitchen, V glanced around the living room, trying to see if
something was different. It felt different. She wasn’t sure why. Everything
looked the same. Apparently she was just paranoid. But, since her freak outs
were fairly consistent, V carried her cell phone in her hand just in case.

When
she rounded the corner into the kitchen, the hairs on the back of her neck
stood up, and V started to hyperventilate. She flipped on the kitchen light,
only to find that everything in there appeared the same as well. She was there
just that morning, so what could have possibly changed when she was gone for a
few hours? V impulsively wished she had a dog. Maybe her mother was on to
something there. At least a dog would let her know whether she was crazy or
not.

Opening
the refrigerator, V grabbed a bottle of water and then closed the door.

That
was when she saw it.

Her
heart pounded like a bass drum in her ears, her chest constricted painfully,
and she wondered if she was going to pass out.

I
can get you or him any time I want.

The
note on the refrigerator was scrawled in bold, black ink. V gripped her cell
phone so tightly she was surprised it didn’t crush in her fingers. The pain
reminded her of where she was, and she glanced down at the screen, then up at
the words in front of her. Without another thought, V called the sheriff.

Fifteen
minutes later, there was knock on her door, and V told Zoey to hold on. After
she called the police, she instinctively called Zoey, praying she’d be able to keep
herself together. Before she managed to get any words out, Zoey had known
something was wrong. Thankfully her friend agreed to stay on the phone with her
until the police arrived.

With
the phone against her ear, V glanced through the peephole in the door. There on
her front porch was Sheriff Endsley. She opened the door, trying to focus on
breathing and told Zoey she would call her back in a little while.

“Vanessa?”

She
vaguely heard the sheriff’s voice, knew he was talking to her, but the panic
had set in long ago. She’d managed somehow to remain lucid for the last half
hour, but now that he was there, she wasn’t sure she could hold it together
much longer. In an instant, V felt herself falling, her brain going fuzzy and
the last thought she had was whether or not Zane was ok.

♂♀

“Where
is she?” Zane didn’t even wait for Sheriff Endsley to get the door open completely
before he pushed through the door, heading straight for the living room.

“Son
of a bitch.” That was the greeting him and his brothers received as he walked
right past the sheriff in his haste to get to V. Kaleb, Sawyer, Brendon,
Braydon and Beau were behind him, he knew. He had been at Beau’s when he got
the phone call, and since Zoey had been the one to call, he hadn’t been
surprised to see his brothers pulling in behind him when he arrived at V’s
house.

There
in front of him was V, sitting on the couch, holding something against her
forehead while Greyson Cutler spoke softly to her. He hadn’t been on the phone
with Zoey for more than a few seconds before he was in his Jeep and disobeying
every traffic law as he made his way over to the house. Apparently the
ambulance beat him, which was surprising.

“What
the hell?” Zane rushed to her side, easing himself down beside her and trying
like hell not to pull her into his arms. He looked up at Greyson and saw the
concern in the other man’s eyes.

“I
think she needs to go to the hospital,” Greyson said, his voice calm and reasonable.
He didn’t sound urgent, so Zane relaxed a little.

“Baby?”
Zane leaned over, placing his hand on V’s shoulder as she turned to look at
him. She appeared disoriented for a second, but as soon as recognition dawned,
she threw her arms around him and began sobbing into his neck. Zane’s heart
squeezed painfully in his chest. Now he had a hard time breathing, and it
wasn’t from the way V clung to him.

Raising
his eyebrows in question, he silently asked Greyson what was going on. Instead
of answering, Greyson stood up and went into the kitchen where Sawyer and Kaleb
were talking to the sheriff. Zane noticed that Brendon, Braydon and Beau were
standing near the front door, all three of them looking out the door.

“V?”
Zane whispered into her ear, holding her head against his chest, his body
shaking from the impact of her sobs.

“I
can’t let him get to you again,” she whispered, and Zane’s heart broke right
then and there.

The
stress was finally too much for her. He couldn’t imagine what she’d gone
through the day he was attacked. By the time he woke up in the hospital, many
of his injuries had healed, at least those on the surface. But Zane had seen
pictures of what those bastards had done to him. Yes, it was, quite frankly,
probably a miracle that he had lived. Knowing that V witnessed the entire thing
as it happened still pissed him off.

“He’s
not going to get to me, V. I promise you that,” Zane reassured her as he kissed
her hair, holding her close. He wasn’t giving her false promises either. Jake
Sanders would not have the chance. Zane was ready for him. His brothers were
ready for him.

“I
don’t give a shit!” Sawyer’s voice bellowed from the kitchen, causing Zane to
look up, and V to flinch in his arms.

“I
want him arrested.” Zane watched as Sawyer pressed his fingers up against
Sheriff Endsley’s chest in a move that was likely going to get him arrested.
“If he lays one hand on my brother again, you won’t like what happens. I
promise you that. You find that bastard. Or we will.”

The
silence that followed Sawyer’s statement was deafening. Zane knew this was
beginning to wear on them all. Travis had eyes out in town, and they knew Jake
was back. However, no one had found him yet. He wasn’t staying at his house,
and he hadn’t been to his parents’ house either. But he was there, they knew
that much. He was getting braver, or maybe he was just getting stupider. Either
way, Zane knew this was going to come to a head sooner rather than later.

Right
now, he wasn’t worried about Jake. He was concerned about V. It was obvious by
Greyson’s body language as he stood across the room talking to Kaleb that he
was concerned too.

When
the front screen door slammed, V jerked in his arms, and Zane barely saw
Sawyer’s back as he went out, followed by a very pissed off sheriff. It was a
damn good thing that Sawyer knew Sheriff Endsley’s daughter because he might
just need her to protect him right now.

“Hey,”
Kaleb’s voice caught Zane’s attention as he sat across from him, followed by
Greyson.

“What’s
up?” Zane knew what he was about to hear.

“She
needs to go to the hospital,” Greyson stated at the same time V began shaking
her head against Zane’s chest. “At the very least, she needs to go see a
doctor.”