27. Hartley
27
HARTLEY
“Are you sure?” I asked for the twentieth time. It could have been more. I wasn’t keeping track. All I knew was that Jordan had decided to let us talk to Lane again, this time with him present. And more guards. In a meeting room in the building that apparently had weapons stashed in it.
The elevator dinged and we stepped out. Vail was waiting for us on the third floor where the room was. I hadn’t been in it before, but Jordan said it looked like any other boring conference room, except there were cabinets in there that had weapons inside them behind panels that a fingerprint was needed to open. It was all very secret and a part of me loved it.
“I don’t do things I’m not certain of,” he said while straightening his vest. The holster he wore was visible this way with two guns in it. Raiden and Reghan were behind us. Oleander and Sheldon were waiting at the room. Rory was fetching Lane.
Lane had readily agreed to it, thrilled to get out of his apartment. When Jordan heard Barrett saw him outside, he wasn’t happy. Jordan’s goal wasn’t to necessarily keep Lane as a prisoner. Okay, so it was, but Vail had convinced him that Lane should get some fresh air. No one thought he’d be seen. Except Barrett, slick as he was, saw him. So, we didn’t know who else saw him too. Not that Lane’s father and brother could get to him here, but still. He was a liability out in the open.
Vail pushed off from the wall he was leaning against when we approached. His T-shirt clung to his muscles like a second skin. God, I wanted to lick him. When he worked in his kitchen, he got sweaty. My lusting over him like this was about to come to an end. Maybe I could get him to work out in the gym when I was home so I could see him glisten when he came upstairs to shower.
“Are you sure?” Vail asked. I couldn’t help my grin.
Jordan growled low, “Jesus fuck, if I wasn’t certain I wouldn’t be here with the two of you.”
“You can’t blame us for asking.”
He sighed. “I know. I’m sorry.”
Oleander’s eyes were big, causing me to chuckle. It never got old watching the guards be surprised by Jordan’s kindness. I would have thought they’d be used to it by now, but nope. The only ones who weren’t fazed were Sheldon, because it took a lot to ruffle him, and Raiden and Reghan because they were on the receiving end of it more than the others.
Reghan stepped ahead to open the door to the room for us. Lane was already sitting inside with Rory standing in the corner.
I ignored Jordan and went to Lane, taking the seat next to him. Forest came into the room last. “Sorry, I was on a meeting that ran over.” He sat across from us.
Jordan glared at me for sitting so close to Lane, but I ignored him. Honestly, I wasn’t afraid of Lane at all. He had plenty of chances to hurt us and hadn’t.
“I brought some photos,” I told him and pushed them toward him. “This is our grandfather over the years. I’m not sure if one of them will jog a memory or not. They go back as far as fifty years to the most recent, which was about a year before he passed.”
Lane flipped through them, pausing on one from about thirty years ago. He placed the others on the table. “Why does he look so familiar? Did he always dress like this?”
I glanced at the picture. My grandfather had on a pair of navy slacks and a light blue button-down tucked in. It was a picture from someone’s wedding. I couldn’t remember who. “No, that was his dressed-up look. He was more comfortable in a pair of loose, worn jeans and a T-shirt. He didn’t like much else. As he got older, he was in cotton shorts or sweatpants depending on the temperature outside.”
Rory picked up another picture. It was a close up where my grandfather’s gray hair was a bit messy, but his eyes were clear.
Sheldon put his hands on the table and leaned forward to look. He was standing beside my brother. Not that there was any shock he gravitated toward him. “Lane?”
“Yeah?” Lane lifted his head to look at Sheldon.
“Um… Has no one else figured this out?”
“What are you talking about?” Forest asked.
“Let me see that.” Sheldon took the picture from Lane then walked around the table so he could hold the picture beside Lane’s face. “Now do you see it?”
I leaned away to look. “Holy shit.” Lane had my grandfather’s eyes. Not only that, but the same nose and the cut of his chin .
“Oh, for fuck’s sake,” Jordan bit out. “You can’t be serious.”
“Who are you saying that to?” Sheldon asked.
“I don’t even know. Are you not really an Everhart?”
Lane took the picture and stared at it again, his eyes widening as he did so. He pushed his chair back and scrambled out of his seat to stand, which made Raiden and Reghan close in on him. “What the fuck?” Lane yelled, clearly panicking. “How… Why…” Then it was like a puzzle piece slid into place. All of the sudden, he calmed, and his shoulders came down. “This was what she meant.” He put the picture back on the table.
“You’re going to need to elaborate,” Jordan bit out. The anger was pouring from him. He didn’t like to be surprised. Jordan wanted control. The only time he let go was when he was with Vail and me. This had to be driving him crazy.
“Before my mom died, she said cryptic shit. I thought she was just slipping away. She mentioned how one day I’d figure it out. I had no clue what she was talking about. She rattled on about North Carolina and a small house on the sound. It was like a drug-induced haze from what they were giving her, but I guess it wasn’t. She was talking about him.” He pointed to the picture.
“So, Pop had an affair with a younger, married woman?” Forest asked. “That doesn’t sound like him.”
“Really?” I replied. “We were children. How old are you, Lane?”
“Thirty-five. My brothers are… were in one case… older than me.”
“Barely younger than me.”
“He was having affairs?”
“You make it sound like he was sleeping with half the neighborhood. He had to have been lonely after our nana passed.” I wasn’t even alive when she did. I never got to meet her.
“He could have been for all we know!” Forest’s emotions were getting the best of him, not that I blamed him. This was one hell of a revelation. Forest calmed slightly when Sheldon put his hand on my brother’s shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze.
“My mom didn’t love my dad,” Lane said. “She was stuck in a marriage she hated. They must have been in love at one point, but I remember her crying a lot and him being an asshole. I never felt like I belonged in their family. Only with my mom. Now it makes sense. Why she tried to protect me more. Why she left me the trust. She knew I’d find out but… Holy fuck, he knows. My father knows. Why else would he treat me like he did? Why would he say your grandfather owed him money? It was probably some fucked-up way to get child support. He found out my mom cheated on him and instead of killing the man she was with, he made him pay. Any way for him to get money or power. Killing him wouldn’t have gotten him anywhere but having your grandfather owe him a lot, that was something he could get behind.”
A memory tickled me. A forgotten piece of information I tucked away.
“For, do you remember the reading of the will?” I asked my brother.
“I barely remember being at the funeral. I was so torn up it was a blur.”
“Pop wanted the attorney to read us something. I remember because I thought it was about the money he owed the bank. He said he was sorry, and he hoped we could forgive him. That family meant everything to him, and he always wanted to be there for us. He apologized for letting us down. What if he was talking about the money he owed Lane’s family?”
“We won’t know for sure unless we ask my dad,” Lane said. “Honestly, I’d rather get a DNA test to see if I’m related to you than speak to him ever again. I never felt a connection to him. He was just the mean fucker who ruled my life and treated my mom like shit. I would never hold it against her for being with someone else. If you could have seen how horrible he was… I tried to help her, but she wouldn’t leave him. He said she’d made her bed.”
“Now what?” Forest asked.
“I can call Alton and have him do the test,” Jordan offered. “See if you are related.”
“That would be good. This way we know for sure.” I still couldn’t wrap my head around the fact that Lane was what? My half uncle? He was younger than me, for fuck’s sake.
Just when I thought my life couldn’t get any more fucked up, this happened. It could have been worse. It could always be worse.
I slumped in the chair and watched my brother. He looked as defeated as I felt. Maybe defeated wasn’t the right word. I mean, what the hell could we really do about this? Nothing. Our grandfather was gone. Lane’s mom had passed too. The only person with knowledge was a man who wanted us dead. Talking to him wouldn’t happen. Jordan wouldn’t let that shit fly. Hell, I wouldn’t want to go near Lane’s father.
Forest nudged me with his foot under the table. I hadn’t realized I let my eyes drop to my hands. It was all so much to process. When my eyes met my brother’s, he mouthed, “You okay?”
I shrugged in response. Were either of us really okay right now? If Lane was related to us, then what? Jordan wouldn’t kick him out. Lane wanted nothing to do with his family, except freedom from them. Jordan could give that to him and all of us. He could eliminate Lane’s brother and father, and we could breathe a sigh of relief. Although, how long before someone else was gunning for us? It was what we lived with being Jordan’s partners. The risk was worth the reward.
My chair was pulled back from the table. With it being on wheels it was easy enough to do. Vail crouched in front of me, his beautiful eyes meeting mine. It was like he knew how much I needed him right then.
Vail leaned forward and wrapped his arms around me. I readily went into them, latching on to Vail and breathing him in. “I’ve got you, Hart,” he whispered. “We’ll figure it out.”
I didn’t doubt him. I hoped the cost of getting everything back to normal was minimal. Jordan still had two men to kill. He had to risk his life yet again to save ours. He would do it without hesitation. Just like Vail and I would do anything for him and for each other.