ROMAN (Lane Brothers Book 5) (5 page)

I can honestly say that I’m running on empty as I finally collect myself and hand her a beer before popping a ginger ale from beneath the bar. Judith was right, damn her hide, I think as I swallow the chilled drink and it immediately settles my stomach.

Leaning in, I watch as the men start talking shop while Tracy just shakes her head and gives me a commiserating look.

“They mean well, but it’s impossible for them not to take over wherever they go.”

“Take over? They just walked in here as if they belong and shot down every plan I had!”

She laughs and toasts me with her drink before getting serious and giving me a long once-over.

“The only plans you should have right now are for you and your child’s safety, Mel. From what I heard from Jace, you have a bull’s-eye the size of China on your back.”

“I know that. You think I don’t know that, Miss Ex-FBI? I’ve been back at the bar for less than a day and Lon already had to shoot one of those idiots watching me.”

That was amusing, I will not lie. Even more amusing is the fact that not one person asked why I have people following me or why I’m not with Roman anymore. All they did was take care of the problem before ordering more beer.

Like I said, I’m safe and they’re all family.

“He shot…”

“Yup. The fool followed me so close, I felt his breath on my neck. He would have been just fine if he kept his distance, but Lon caught him trying to sneak up to the apartment Milton is letting me use and he took it personally.” I laugh, winking at her when all she does is gape before laughing so hard, beer shoots out of her nose.

“I think I like this place.”

“Yeah? You should see what they do when someone insults their women. Now that is a sight to behold.” I laugh, keeping an eye on the men even as I allow myself to enjoy this conversation.

This is may be the first time in almost a decade that I’ve spoken to a woman as more than just a courtesy, and I think I may actually like Tracy. She’s straightforward and about as primpy as a biker, just the kind of woman I like.

“Seriously, though, you realize they won’t let you stay here? You’re in danger. You’re pregnant with one of their blood and they just so happen to actually like you, Mel. You have to realize that they would never leave you to defend yourself while Roman is away.”

“Away? That’s how you describe the shitstorm we’re all facing? Roman isn’t away,” I hiss, losing my cool for the hundredth time today.

Seriously, this hormone stuff is killing me. I used to just shrug things off and at least control my temper, but now I feel like a boiling pot of ass-kicking fury.

I get mad about the smallest things lately, and let’s not forget that I am equal parts heartbroken and pissed that my dad was murdered and half the town thinks he offed himself!

“Mel, look, I know none of this is easy—”

“No it isn’t! I went and fell for a man who thinks he’s a one-man army and is likely to get his fool head blown off, and the Lane family is up my ass at every freaking turn! I want this all to be over so that I can at least just…”

“Assure yourself that the man you love isn’t part of a terrorist group bent on killing thousands of innocent people?” she asks shrewdly, looking at me with so much understanding, I find it hard not to just burst into stupid tears and unload my burden.

I’m not a sharer by nature, but all this stress and doubt is really starting to get to me.

“Tracy.”

“No, I understand completely. Believe me, I do, Mel. There was a rough patch there when I thought Miah would lose it, and poor Jace was almost convinced that…but we know better. Roman may not be making the wisest decisions, but he’s an honorable man.”

I feel a weight lift off me and I can breathe for the first time in a long while. She’s right, and just the fact that I harbored any doubt makes me feel so guilty that I want to cry and slap my guy for all he’s worth.

“I know. I know. I just, I miss him so much. Now with Daddy being gone, and finding out I’m pregnant…I feel so alone, Tracy. I was never like this before, and now I find myself needing him, you know?”

Her eyes soften and I see her smirk as she looks over at Jace with a grin.

“You think you’re the only one who feels this way? Nah, babe, this is something that all of us went through, myself included. I had all these plans mapped out for myself, and none of them included falling for the man who broke my heart and left me alone for years. But you love who you love, and needing him isn’t a weakness. You need to realize that and find the strength to hold on. He’ll be back.”

“But what if…”

I can’t even finish the thought it hurts so much. There’s so much I don’t know, but I do know that the longer this drags out, the better the chances are of me never seeing him alive again.

He may be good at his job and even better at acting (I’ve seen the man in action), but no one is bulletproof.

My daddy sure wasn’t.

“No, don’t even think it, Mel. The boys will get him out safely and then they’ll destroy that monster that’s been plaguing us all for so long. We have so much more evidence now and—”

“Oh my God! I need to…I have something that they need to see. And I think it’s time I called my uncle Dobs.”

Tracy narrows her eyes and I feel my face drain of all color when she just shakes her head.

“We already went that route and got stonewalled. He isn’t interested in getting involved in an issue he says belongs to the Department of Homeland Security. When was the last time you spoke to him?”

That gives me pause and I feel my brain start working when I consider that Uncle Dob wouldn’t want to help out, even after they told him about Daddy.

“What exactly did he say?” I ask, ignoring her question.

“Well, he told Miah that he told your father to keep his nose clean and that he isn’t willing to risk his career to come down here and clean up his mess. Then he told Miah to back off the case and leave it to him because he’s handing it over to DHS.”

Hearing her say that he cares so little about Daddy is like a knife to the heart, and the anger I’ve been toting around starts boiling again. My first instinct is to call him and cuss him out for his attitude and the disappointment I feel at not being able to rely on him at a time like this.

And yet didn’t Daddy warn me that his brother isn’t as heroic as I’ve always made him out to be? I hate that he was right all those times I begged him to call Uncle Dob. Now I have absolutely no one to turn to when all the chips are down.

The worst part is that I know Daddy died thinking that he was alone, because in the end he really was. I was gone, Roman wasn’t there like he was supposed to be, and Dobs—

I hear a phone ringing beneath the bar and I practically dive for my purse and almost drop to my knees when I fish both phones out of my bag and see that it’s the burner that’s ringing insistently.

Only one person has the number.

Melissa

“Where the hell are you?”

His deep, angry demand makes me laugh and cry at the same time, and I realize that I’m on my knees behind the bar, laughing and crying like a loon when I hear him start cussing and the sound of sheets rustling.

“Baby girl, I asked you a question. Where the fuck are you?”

“I-I’m at the bar,” I choke out, answering on autopilot because I feel so happy right now. I’m struggling to get my brain back into working order.

He starts swearing violently.

“You were supposed to stay at the fucking cabin where you’re safe!”

“Oh yeah? Well I didn’t
fucking want to
. Do you have any idea what it’s like being shut away from the world for weeks, not knowing what’s going on? I couldn’t do it anymore without at least knowing what is going on, and…and Daddy…”

Do not start crying, Mel. Pack it all away and keep it for later.

I hear a curse and his tired sigh before he starts talking again.

“Baby girl, I know I failed you, and I am so sorry for not being there when the chief needed me. I-I know I can’t make this up to you, but please do not do anything to put yourself in danger. I’m so close now,” he begs and I can almost see him pulling at his hair in that way he always does when worry and frustration overtake him.

“Babe, Daddy knew.” I stop and clear my throat to steady my voice. “He knew what he got himself into from the beginning. This isn’t on you. It’s on him and whatever animal killed him. I know that. Just, just please come home now.”

I know it’s not fair, that he’s got enough on his plate and begging him this way will only make things harder on him, but I need him. For the first time in my life, I need someone.

I want  him to drop everything and make me his priority. I want him to look at this all and decide that I mean more to him than his job and the promise he made to Daddy.

Just this once I want him to choose me.

“You know I can’t. I’ve almost got them all, Mel. I just have one more name to uncover and I’ll be home free,” he murmurs tiredly.

My eyes close at the cajoling tone he employs and I know without seeing his face that I’ve lost the battle before it even began. For Roman, duty is everything. He won’t quit till his job is done.

“I found Daddy’s papers,” I whisper, ignoring Tracy and shoving her away when she all but falls over the bar to hear what’s going on.

“Christ, you went to the house?”

“Yes, I…your brothers Miah and Jared found me there and…they’re trying to keep me under lock and key, you know that? I got Tracy to help me get out of the house and I came to the bar. Will and Lon—”

“You keep them the hell out of this, Mel. No good can come from those hotheads barging in to swing their dicks around. The last time Will Sparrow decided to take care of business, I had to get rid of a body with enough of your buckshot in his ass that you would have been doing twenty to life,” he snarls and I roll my eyes.

“I didn’t even hit him!”

“I know that. That’s what pissed me off so much about it all. Tell Sparrow that the next body I have to get rid of shouldn’t be one that incriminates my woman!”

“Oh, stop yelling at me! Swear to God I will end this call and you can go straight to hell for all I care,” I say.

“Sorry. Babe, I…go home with Miah and the boys and stay there till I come for you.”

“No.”

“Melissa—”

“No, Roman. I hate this shit. I can’t stay cooped up every day for God knows how long till you get your ass in gear. I’m fine here with Will and Lon.”

“You mean Will, the man who’s been trying to get in your pants for years? That Will?” he snarls, making my lips twitch.

The man’s in danger and half crazed about my safety, yet all he can focus on is the fact that I’ve come to Will for protection.

“Honey, Will is like family and you know it, so stop beating your chest and calm down. I have so much to tell you and—”

“Go home with Miah and Jared, Melissa.”

“But—”

“Shit, someone’s at my door. I gotta go, baby girl.”

“No wait! I need to tell you that I’m—”

“Go home with my brothers.”

The line goes dead and still I’m screaming that I’m pregnant inside a bar that’s gone totally silent. When I finally find the courage to peek out from my spot, it’s to see them all staring at me with something that looks like pity.

They’re all hovering near the bar, so I assume Tracy must have blabbed the moment she realized who I was talking to.

Females.

“He’s okay?” Miah asks quietly. I see the worry and love reflected in his eyes when I nod once and rise slowly to my feet.

“He’s still a stubborn bastard, so he must be okay,” I mutter, weighed down by disappointment and resentment that I have no right to feel.

The man just basically told me to wait for him because right now his case is more important than my feelings.

That’s hurtful, no matter how right I know he is, and I want to kiss him and hit him all at the same time for making me feel like I’m a liability.

My mutterings earn a few smiles and a wink from Jared before they all retake their seats at the bar and stare at me steadily. It makes me uncomfortable in that same way I felt whenever Daddy would catch me trying to sneak out of my window at night and look at me with disappointment.

“Dammit, fine! I’ll come home with y’all, but I am coming to work tomorrow and the day after and the day after that, so get that straight before you idiots start thinking I’m a pushover,” I warn, slapping my dish towel against the counter with a
thwack
.

“Mellie—”

“Do not start with me, Miah. I’m emotional and angry and a hundred other things, but I am no one’s pawn. I need to work and feel in charge of something in my life or I’ll go crazy.”

“Mellie, honey, you have more to think about now than yourself, though. You’re being followed and you’ve been back in town for less than a week. You know this isn’t smart,” Miah says quietly and I almost lean over and slap Will when he starts nodding and looking at my belly as if I’m smuggling a thirty-carat diamond or something.

“I have Will and his crew watching my back. Besides, I came back to prove that Roman and I are broken up and I’m here to see to Daddy’s business.”

Which is flimsy and even I know it.

“Mel…”

“Look, Miah. I love Roman and I even love you Lanes, as weird as it sounds since you boys are possessive, controlling idiots, but I never signed up for tea parties and trying on designer gear. That’s just not me. Lord love your mama, but the woman is smothering me near to death with her coddling, and your other women are killing me with the girlie crap.”

And Lord above save me, but if Judith Lane tries to give me an engagement ring one more time, I think I may lose my shit. No matter how gorgeous or big that rock may be. She’s a little on the possessive side and I’ve started suspecting that it may not be her husband that gave her boys their fair share of crazy.

Tracy is chuckling silently by this point and every Lane man is blushing a bright red that I’ve never thought to see on them before. Will starts laughing and doesn’t stop till Jared punches him and sends him a glare.

“I know we’re an overwhelming bunch.”

“Overwhelming, Jared? Try batshit crazy, the whole lot of ya. Not that I’m much better, but I woke up with your mama staring at me and that’s just creepy as hell. Now calm yourselves and quit bugging me at work. One of y’all can come fetch me at seven and I’ll even let Will put someone on the door to keep strangers out, but that’s my offer. Take it or leave it.”

“But—”

“Cut your losses, man. The last time I tried to argue with her she put dishwater in my beer. For three weeks straight. I’ll keep her safe here and I’ll even bring her home in Tank,” Will cuts in, still chuckling at my mutinous expression.

Tank is Lonnie’s pride and joy. I can’t exactly blame the guy since it’s one of the most beautiful vehicles I’ve ever laid eyes on. It’s black, big, and has armor at every point. Lonnie had it customized after a rival club tried to start a war and made his poor wife drive it around town for almost six months.

No one and nothing can get through that beast, hence its name. It really is a civilian tank.

I see them all cave in the next two minutes and congratulate myself for a job well done.

What did Daddy always say? Start as you mean to go.

“Can I at least stay another hour to check out all the doors and set up a camera or two?”

“Yes, Miah, by all means, spend all your money fixing up The Traveler if y’all want, just stay out of my hair. Beer?”

“Can I tell you I love you without you getting homicidal on me, Melissa Dobson?” Jared laughs, looking boyish and happy for the first time since he walked in the door.

That gets Will roaring again and I see them all chuckle at my disgusted expression before I relent and blow him kiss.

“Dude, please tell me Roman Lane is no pussy cat or I think I may need to put that poor man out of his misery before she does.” Lonnie laughs.

Great, now they’re all freaking chummy. Just what I always wanted.

I’m smiling inside, though, because if you’d have told me that I’d have one of the richest families in my bar, rubbing elbows with Will and his crew, I would have laughed and said
no way
.

Will and these Lanes are two sides of the same coin. That makes me hopeful. Until now, I thought Roman and I would end up killing each other. If we ever made it past the year mark.

Maybe our differences really are a good thing.

***

Roman

I’m in the middle of a very sensitive arms deal right now and all I can think about is the way Mel was crying on the phone, though I know that she was trying to hide the fact from me.

My tough, resilient little lady with her gruff exterior was crying and hurt and I wasn’t there to comfort her and make things better. The memory makes my anger spike again and I’m forced to rein it in when Dyson nudges me and gives me a pointed look as the money changes hands and we take possession of missiles. The weapons only appear to be working but are actually duds being sold to us by one of my old buddies Fielding Jones, a CIA agent who has been deep undercover as a Russian mobster for about seven years now.

For whatever reason he agreed to help me, I’m just glad I’m not sitting with live freaking missiles in Cleo’s grubby, trigger-happy mitts.

“It’s all here, boss,” Fielding’s second says darkly and I let out a sigh when the missiles are quickly retrieved and stored away by Dyson and two of his cronies.

“Good to do the business with you, Mr. Lane. Tell your bosses that if they need anything else, I would be glad to provide it.”

My ass. The next thing Cleo’s got coming is a nice little cell with minimal sunlight and the knowledge that her life as she knows it is over.

“The pleasure is ours.”

The man smiles. If I didn’t know that he’s one of ours, I’d think he’s a weapons runner. I feel like I’m another person entirely, and I’ve only been at this for a few months. What must Fielding battle with daily, doing the things he has to in the name of God and country?

We leave as quietly as we came and I let the tension drain away when Dyson turns to me with a grin and a respectful nod.

“You’ve proven yourself admirably, Roman, and I know that Cleo will be quite pleased with the results. Maybe now she’ll stop her search for Melissa Dobson.”

I snort and throw him a knowing look, letting him see that I know he’s fishing and I don’t give a shit.

“I told you, she was just my way in with the chief. Do I want to see her die because I used her and her father was too chicken shit to protect her? No, I’m not a monster. But honestly, I don’t give a shit what Cleo has in store for the girl now that her usefulness has run its course.”

The words are like acid on my tongue, and it takes me a few swallows to get rid of the bile climbing up my throat.

That’s why I called her this morning and agreed to go through with the Fielding deal when I was vacillating. Cleo has a bug up her ass about little Mel and seems to think that she can use her to make me prove myself.

Like hell I’ll let them hurt her, but I’m not as assured of her safety as I want to be. She resurfaced when I told her not to, and now she’s making herself very public.

I know what she’s doing, and I’m proud of her grit and guts, but I can’t let her expose herself to danger this way.

What can I possibly do to get her to see reason and stay behind the estate walls while I get this done? Mel is stubborn, and now that she’s got it in her head to use her little band of outlaws to bring me home, I know nothing short of me tying her to my bed and gagging her would make a difference.

Having Will Sparrow on the case is going to fuck things up, I just know it is. That’s not just my jealousy talking, though I’m dying to beat him for even looking at her. Nah, my reasoning and annoyance is based on the plain fact that Will is one of the craziest, most reckless assholes I know.