CHAPTER 26 #2
The cowboy chuckled. “Oh, no. They wouldn’t last a minute in the city.
We grew up in North Carolina, but we moved to Texas when I was twelve.
My parents have a small farm, a couple of horses, some goats and pigs.
The two sisters in the military are both deployed—one army, the other navy.
The bakery owner lives in the suburbs of Dallas.
My parents are a little farther north. My landscaping brothers moved to Arkansas about eight years ago.
And the divorce lawyer lives in California. ”
“That’s a big family. Was it hard growing up with that many people in the same house?”
“Even when we had two bathrooms, it wasn’t easy.”
Jamie huffed a laugh. “Only two bathrooms? For ten people? That would’ve been miserable. What about you, Case?”
He turned his head to speak to her. “No siblings. I was more than enough for my parents.”
I glanced his way, silently wishing he would elaborate. Perhaps he could delve into the reasons he needed pain.
“So, you grew up alone?” Jamie asked.
“Not really, no.” The pretty boy turned to face the front, his gaze straying out the side window. “After we moved to Texas, I met John. He and I were inseparable for years. He died of leukemia when he was seventeen.”
The way he spoke said that was a time in his life that wasn’t easy to remember.
“I’m so sorry,” Jamie said kindly. “Were you close to his parents?”
I glanced in the rearview mirror to look at my sister. That seemed an odd question to ask.
“I was. After John died, they moved to the city. Got an apartment. They wanted a change of scenery. Not long after, they split up. I visited them from time to time.”
An apartment? In the city? Perhaps that was the reason he’d had a strange reaction to the apartment here. Had something happened there?
Shit.
That was a question I didn’t need an answer to. It wasn’t my business.
“Well, I had Zeke,” Jamie noted. “Our parents died when I was six, so he took care of me mostly. Him and Opa. We went to live with my grandfather after they died. But it was Zeke who took care of me most of the time.”
“Is that right?” the cowboy questioned, sounding strangely fascinated.
“Yep, without him, I don’t know where I’d be.”
When I heard the sadness in her tone, I turned my attention to the road.
I felt their eyes on me, knew the pretty boy and the cowboy were attempting to humanize me in some form. I doubted they’d done so before now. Part of me wished they wouldn’t. They could continue to see me as the monster everyone believed me to be.
Thankfully, I pulled up to the diner in time to put an end to that conversation. Without a word, I threw the truck in park and hopped out.
My overly cheerful sister was at my side a moment later, hooking her arm into mine and leading the way into the restaurant. While everyone seemed distracted by her giddiness, I did my best to allow the mask to fall back in place.
I hoped like hell the cowboy and the pretty boy didn’t start looking at me differently. If they did … well, if they did, then perhaps it was time for us to move this to the end phase. Maybe that was what was best for everyone.
Especially me.
Case (the pretty boy)
Jamie Lautner was cute as could be. The way she mooned over her brother, as though he was the greatest man she’d ever known…
It gave me tremendous insight into Zeke.
A glimpse I honestly never thought I would have the opportunity to see.
There was a hell of a lot more to him than most people realized.
Sure, he was a sadistic man, but there were so many other qualities about him that intrigued me.
The way he carried on a conversation with Jamie made it obvious he was highly intelligent.
Of course, I’d gathered that merely from his position at Chatter PR Global.
I’d heard him talk to clients, knew he was well-versed in what he did.
But it was more than that. He had something to say on nearly every subject she brought up.
Unless it pertained to something personal.
Especially regarding Brax or me. He did not seem pleased by Jamie’s inquisitive nature when it came to our history.
Yet he listened without interruption as Jamie asked about what we did for a living, how we’d come to be in the industries we were in. How we’d met Trent Ramsey, what was it like working for him. And so on and so forth.
When she finally fell silent for a moment, I decided to get in a question of my own.
“So, were you able to make it to Dichotomy?”
A deep growl sounded from Zeke, and I looked over to see him glaring back at me. I smiled because why not? I knew this wasn’t a subject he was fond of, but I wanted to know how it had turned out.
“I was,” she said hesitantly, her eyes darting over to Zeke, who was sitting beside her in the booth.
“And…?” I prompted.
“It was…” She took a deep breath, and then a brilliant smile transformed her face. “It was amazing, Case. Truly amazing. I’ve never experienced anything like it. I couldn’t believe half of what I saw. It was far more intense than any book I’d read.”
I watched Zeke as she spoke, noticing the way his hand tightened around the handle of his coffee mug. If he wasn’t careful, he would break the damn thing.
“So you spent time with Master Edge?” Brax asked.
There was a dreamy look in her eyes, and I was suddenly grateful Zeke was sitting beside her.
Otherwise, he would’ve seen that look, and poor Master Edge would probably be missing a few fingernails at the very least. I imagined Zeke torturing the man, tying him to a chair, demanding answers before plucking out his fingernails one by one when he didn’t say what the Sadist wanted to hear.
“I did,” she said, her tone steadier than her gaze. “He showed me around, let me watch some scenes. We talked for what felt like hours. I had a fantastic time.”
“So I take it you related to the submissives?”
“Yes. Very much so. In fact, I’m going to go back.”
Zeke grimaced, but he didn’t look at his sister. I could see the strain on his face. He was holding back whatever he wanted to say. I had to admit, I was proud of him. I could tell this wasn’t easy, but he was giving his sister the chance she had asked for.
“Do you know when?” Brax asked.
“No.” She smiled, but it appeared sad. “I was hoping Master Edge would call me, but he hasn’t.”
Zeke’s eyes cut to his sister, but he didn’t turn his head. I couldn’t tell what he was thinking. Was he happy Master Edge was blowing her off? Or was he planning to beat the man to a pulp for it?
There was no telling with Zeke.
“So, tell me what it is you’re studying,” I prompted, hoping by changing the subject the big man would get in a better mood.
That or he wouldn’t decide to take his frustrations out on us for bringing it up in the first place.
“Hmmm. Where should I start?” There was a mischievous gleam in Jamie’s eyes when she spoke.
I was almost positive I’d seen that same gleam in Zeke’s a time or two.
*
“What’s your plan for the day?” Zeke asked Jamie when we were heading back to his house an hour later.
“I’ve got class this afternoon,” she told him. “What’s your plan?”
“Work.”
Since Jamie was riding shotgun, she turned her head to look back at me and Brax.
“And you two?”
“They’re going to the office with me,” Zeke stated before either of us could respond.
This was the first I was hearing of the day’s plan, but I wasn’t bothered by it in the least. I was hoping to spend more time with Zeke, not less.
“Yeah? That sounds fun.”
Oh, I got the feeling it would be anything but fun. However, I certainly didn’t mind the idea. I’d spent the better part of the week with Brax. During those times I wasn’t with Trent, anyway. Not that there had been a lot going on, but it was nice to settle back into work.
Still, I couldn’t deny that I welcomed the chance to spend some time with Zeke. I didn’t even care what he had in store for us. Based on his solitude this morning, I got the feeling he was cooking up something interesting.
When we pulled into the driveway, Jamie smiled back at us. “Thank you both for having breakfast with me. I had a great time.”
“Likewise,” Brax told her.
“Same here,” I said. “And good luck with Master Edge.”
Zeke’s gaze shot up to the rearview mirror, and I knew he was looking back at me.
Jamie unbuckled her seat belt, then leaned over and kissed Zeke on the cheek. “I’ll talk to you later. Be good.”
He chuckled, a rough sound that had my balls trembling.
“I’m always good.”
“Right.” With that, Jamie hopped out of the truck and headed over to her car.
“Cowboy. Go on in and get Tank.”
Oh, shit.
“Yes, Zeke.” Brax shot me a concerned look before he got out of the truck.
When the two of us were alone, Zeke glanced back over his shoulder. The smile he shot my way spoke of dark promises.
“I’ve got something in store for you once we get to the office.”
I couldn’t look away from him. “Whatever pleases you, Zeke.”
I knew it sounded like I was taunting him, and maybe I was.
Just a little. The truth was, I felt more comfortable with Zeke.
Although he wasn’t sharing anything about himself in words, he was opening up in other ways.
I found him to be a fascinating man, and I didn’t care how he interacted with us, just as long as he did.
And I suspected whatever he was cooking up was going to have me wishing I’d kept my mouth shut that morning.
Still, I was looking forward to it all the same.