JARED (Lane Brothers Book 4) Read Online Free Page A

with.”
    Ah, so there it is. Frank is terrified of them, and if what Pop alluded to is true, then the Hayes clan is just as deeply involved in this mess as my baby was.
    Looks to me like they’re afraid and reasonably so, but I can honestly say I don’t give a fig. Let the Patriots and the Huleys do to them what they will, I really don’t care as long as my baby is out of this shit and under my roof where she belongs.
    “I am being reasonable, Frank. I’m letting you slink out of here unharmed when, in fact, I should beat you half to death for putting Paulie in that position in the first place. Don’t think I haven’t seen your game here. You gave her to them knowing what would happen. Look at her,” he snarls and I’m almost certain that if they say or do the wrong thing now, Pop will lose his cool.
    Frank swallows and refuses to turn, not acknowledging Paulie at all.
    “She did that to herself. I warned her not to go snooping.”
    Jesus. The man should be shot for his poor parenting skills. I promise myself that I will never let a day go by that my and Paulie’s kids don’t know the depth of love I have for them.
    “Get out.”
    “George—”
    “I said get out of here, Frank, and take that viper with you before my Judy rearranges her jaw!” Pop yells, stepping back from the door.
    I watch with amusement as the two of them scuttle from the room with their tails tucked between their legs and only let out a chuckle when Wyatt turns to Pop with a smile and high-fives the old coot.
    “Good job, old man.”
    Everyone is laughing by this time, and I feel myself relax and just soak it all in as the stress and strain of the last few days calms and melts away. At least that’s what I feel for all of two seconds before Cupcake starts sniffing and breaks out in huge sobs that shake both of us.
    “Hey, Paulie, baby, don’t cry for those assholes,” Ma croons, coming over to embrace her with her own eyes misting up tearfully. “You don’t need them and…oh, honey, don’t cry. We’ll call them back.”
     
     

Chapter Three
    Paulie
    Jude Lane is hugging me. Me! The girl who nobody likes. The girl who betrayed the man she loved because she was too dumb to come up with a better plan than to get so involved while collecting evidence.
    She’s hugging me the way I’d always dreamed a mother hugs her kid, and what do I do? I start bawling enough fill the Nile while everyone just looks on with pity.
    I should stop, because the truth of the matter is that I do not deserve a moment of their kindness, and certainly not the way they all came to my defence, but who can blame me?
    After seeing George Lane claim me as his own kid and the way Jared came to me and took me in his arms...this is everything I’ve ever dreamed of and held dear and wanted for as long as I can remember.
    And I don’t deserve a minute of it.
    I’m also crying a little because while I love that they just did all this, I’m going to have to decline their support and go back home. I need that stash I hid under the floorboards in my room, and I need it yesterday.
    “Paulie, honey?”
    I sniffle a few more times and wipe at my leaking eye, wincing when the salty burn smudges over the cuts and scrapes and starts the thing throbbing again.
    “It’s okay, I don’t want them to come back.” I hiccup, licking my lips with care before pulling away and looking at them all with a small smile that feels bittersweet. “They’re right, though. I promised them all I’d do it and—”
    “I don’t care if you promised the pope, Paulette, you’re not going back there. The Patriots will only try to finish what they started, and I’ll be damned if they get there fucking hands on you again. Now shut up unless you have something constructive to say,” Jared growls, pulling away from me to stand.
    I miss his heat and the strength his touch lent me so much, I feel my heart trip and the monitor starts beeping wildly. I’ve always been prone to panic