He shook his head. “Nice try. You’ve never wanted to share me.”
“That’s not fair.” She crossed her arms. “I wouldn’t lie about this. I swear, she didn’t tell me that. She said that Isaac didn’t want you there.”
“I don’t believe you.” He turned and stalked down the walkway. He only wanted to be gone. He was going by Isaac’s house to see if he wanted to go to the farmer’s market.
She grabbed his arm and he stopped to look down at her. Tears swam in her pretty blue eyes.
“Please, Zane! Why won’t you believe me?” she whispered.
“You’ve never liked my friends,” he growled, turning on her.
“I didn’t do this.”
He shook off her arm and got into his jeep. Taking one last glance, he found her still in the walkway with her hand covering her mouth, tears streaming down her cheeks.
He drove away and straight to Isaac’s house, refusing to dwell on Jo. Pulling up behind Isaac’s SUV, he shut off the engine.
He pushed on the doorbell extra long and grinned.
“God damn it!” Isaac snapped as he opened the door, but then his mouth dropped open. “You ass.” The man laughed.
A screech of tires brought his gaze from Isaac to Jo’s green Honda pulling up onto the lawn.
“Get that off my lawn!” Isaac shouted and then frowned at him.
Zane caught sight of Lacy coming along the walkway, and jumped off the porch steps. He barely managed to catch Jo around the waist before she had a chance to physically attack Lacy. It didn’t stop his ex from lashing out verbally at the top of her lungs.
“You cunt! You fucking lying bitch!”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Lacy replied calmly, unconcerned about Jo’s red face and tears.
“You liar! You didn’t tell me shit about Isaac wanting Zane to come back to the party.”
Instead of answering Jo, Lacy turned to Isaac. “She’s crazy,” Lacy said before stepping past him and Jo. The last he saw of Lacy was her black hair as she disappeared into Isaac’s house.
Jo jerked out of his arms and stumbled back, wiping at her face. She glared at him and Isaac.
“Go ahead. Believe her, but I hope you know that I would never do something like that to either of you.” She whirled around, got back into her car, and eased it carefully off of Isaac’s lawn.
Something didn’t feel right and he glanced at Isaac.
“Drama,” Isaac gave a halfhearted smile.
“Maybe, but I think I might believe Jo on this one.”
“Well, I believe Lacy.”
He studied Isaac. Stalemate. He rubbed at the back of his neck at a loss for a moment.
“Did you get back with her?” Isaac squinted at him.
“We broke up a year ago.”
“And?”
“I’m not going to see her anymore,” he assured Isaac, his gaze running over the man’s face before landing on his lips.
Isaac’s tongue darted out and then his throat bobbed with a hard swallow.
“And?”
“What do we do now?” he asked and stayed on the bottom step gazing up at Isaac.
“Screw it?” Isaac’s eyes clung to his face. “I don’t want them getting in the way.”
“In the way of what?”
“Us?” Isaac’s voice dropped to a low, sexy whisper.
Zane swallowed. Every single word dried up. Then he said roughly, “I don’t know what that looks like.”
Isaac stared at him with narrowed blue eyes and then turned away, but he caught Isaac’s wrist in a gentle but firm grip.
“Don’t turn away.” He waited and when Isaac turned back, he went on, “Just because I don’t always have the words, doesn’t mean I don’t want this.”
Isaac’s indrawn breath sent a shiver down his back and that same molten heat warmed his belly.
“Why are you here?” Isaac asked gruffly.
To tell you that I’m bi and that I’ve hidden it my whole life, and that I want you like I’ve never wanted another person in the world.
“Feel like going with me to the farmer’s market?” His tongue felt thick.
“No. I’m going to the homeless shelter. You want to come with?”
“Yeah, there’s something I need to talk to you about.”
Nerves made his stomach jump, but he swallowed down the fear. This was Isaac, he’d understand if anyone did.
“Okay, let me grab my coat.”
Isaac smiled and Zane suddenly felt like he’d won the fucking lottery.
He stepped into the house just as their phones simultaneously rang with an alert.
Isaac clutched his coat. Zane gave the man a crooked smile.
“Infinity calls.”
Isaac
The water clung to his thighs; his boots had long ago filled.
Every step he took was slow and methodical, his gloved hands tightened around the M4A1 rifle he held against his chest. The brim of his hat kept the majority of the rain from his eyes, but he still had to blink rapidly every so often.
The swishing water stopped ahead and then River’s fist came up.
He stopped, standing as still as a stone in the murky swamp, feeling the once comfortable weight of his pack growing heavier by the minute. They’d been on the move for five hours straight through the swamp, the first three by boat, the last two on foot, and they had at least two more klicks to go.
The opportunity to talk had yet to present itself and he was dying of curiosity.
He glanced at Zane for what seemed like the hundredth time, and when their eyes met, Zane smiled at him. Zane’s big muscled body made him want other things and he craved another kiss. Next time, though, if there was a next time, he wouldn’t jerk away.
He yanked his attention back to River. He’d have plenty of time to talk to Zane later. Right then, he and Zane had to work as a well-oiled machine or they’d be separated. And as much as he was curious, he needed to focus.
It seemed the local police had finally located Eddie and Mike Chambers. The brothers were hunkered down on the edge of the Louisiana swamp land and every law enforcement sent into their territory had either been killed, wounded, or run
