Total pages in book: 142
Estimated words: 133849 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 669(@200wpm)___ 535(@250wpm)___ 446(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 133849 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 669(@200wpm)___ 535(@250wpm)___ 446(@300wpm)
Who had done exactly what he’d done but didn’t seem to be getting blasted for it.
“An excellent idea, Sam. I’ll see you upstairs,” Mom said with a watery smile. “Jack can take the couch.”
His father’s face flushed, but he merely took a long breath.
Damn. What had happened? How had they gotten here so fast? What did they know? It seemed like a lot.
The door closed and he was left alone with Grim and their dads and a whole lot of questions.
“Joshua, we need to talk,” his dad began.
His pops shook his head. “Not yet we don’t.” He crossed over to Case’s desk and picked up the handset, bringing it to his ear. “Yeah, Taggart, go to bed. Drama’s over for you, old man. And try to send a woman guard, please. My sons do not need one of those playboy assholes you always hire as bodyguards. ’Night.” He hung up. “Case had Big Tag listening in on speaker phone the whole time. And Big Tag’s wife called Serena Dean-Miles and kept her up to date. Serena called Lexi, and naturally Lexi then called her momma. So you’re going to have to explain why you paid a private investigator to ruin Nicole’s life and potentially get her thrown in the slammer for a crime she didn’t commit.”
He felt his jaw actually drop. “That is not what happened.”
Pops shrugged and found his way to the big couch, taking a seat. “Well, the story went through a bunch of people, and two of them were romance writers. As a class of women goes, they do enjoy some embellishments.”
Grim shook his head, obviously as shocked as Josh was. “How are you here? It’s a three-hour drive. How could you possibly know what was happening?”
Josh could answer that. “Uncle Chase called him. Or he already had plans to be here.”
“And it did not take three hours.” Pops was the only one in the room who looked like he was enjoying himself. “Jack got us here in two hours and fifteen minutes flat.”
“I meant to come alone,” his dad said between clenched teeth. “I certainly didn’t mean to turn this into a circus show.”
Frustration welled inside Josh. “No, you meant to quietly come in and get rid of Nicole on the down-low, didn’t you? You meant for the Dawson brothers to take her out of here, and then you were going to sit in on the interrogation. Tell me something, Dad, were you going to turn her over or pay her off and send her out there all alone again?”
The thought made frustration turn to rage. She’d been through so fucking much. He wasn’t about to let her face this alone, and he didn’t care what his father thought.
Grim stood at his side. “We’re not going to let you get rid of her. I’ll leave with her if you can’t stand the thought of her being around.”
Pops suddenly didn’t look so amused. “I don’t think Jack knew what the hell he was doing, Josh. Though it sounds like you both had the same idea, different Dawsons. So let’s take this down a notch and talk this out like the family we are.”
Grim took a seat beside Pops. “I’m confused. So Dad called Chase and Ben and asked them to investigate. Meanwhile Josh called Harlow and asked her to do the same. Chase and Ben caught wind their daughter was looking into the situation, called her computer girl and convinced her to give them the information they found. They called you and… I’m still confused as to how you got here so fast.”
It didn’t get past Josh that Grim had called Dad by his proper name.
“They found out this afternoon and called me. I asked them to wait until I was close so I could be involved in talking to her,” his father admitted, scrubbing a hand over his head. “And that’s all I wanted to do—talk to her.”
“Sure.” Josh didn’t buy it for a second. His father could be a ruthless bastard—a thing Josh admired him for. That side of Jack Barnes only came out when protecting the people he loved. “You find out the woman involved with your sons is wanted for murder but you weren’t going to do anything.”
Dad sighed. “Like I said, I was going to talk to her. I was going to figure out what the situation is. I know you don’t believe it but this isn’t my first rodeo. I know that all is not what it seems sometimes. I damn straight know sometimes a person can get falsely accused. I came up the hard way, son.”
“He did,” Pops agreed. “It made him cranky.”
His father turned on Pops, frowning fiercely. “Do not forget where we are, Samuel. We can go spend some time in the dungeon if you need to.”
Pops smiled, a brilliant expression. “I always need to.” He stood, crossing the space between them and putting a hand on Dad’s neck. Their easy affection was something Josh was not only used to but counted on. “I’m here to take the testosterone level down a bit. It’s why I came along. So two alpha males don’t tear each other up because they don’t know how to properly communicate. I knew you weren’t coming out here to meet with Chase on a bit of business. If you were going to meet Chase for business, you would be in Dallas. So much closer. I know you think this all went to hell because Lexi called Abby, but it was always going to go to hell, Jack.”