LITMIR.BIZ

       Seven

      “I don’t like this,” Dalton said while pacing Jace’s office the next morning. “Dad should have returned our call by now.”

      Caden, who was staring out the window with his hands shoved in his pants pockets, slowly turned around. “Did you honestly expect him to?”

      Dalton stopped his pacing. “Yes, why wouldn’t he? You think Warden Smallwood didn’t get the message to him like he said he would?”

      Caden braced his hip against the window ledge. “Oh, I’m sure he got the message, but it’s my guess that Dad’s planning his strategy.”

      “What strategy?”

      “How he plans to deal with us,” Caden replied, running a frustrated hand down his face.

      Sitting at his desk, Jace leaned back in his chair and nodded. “I think you’re right, Caden.”

      Dalton crossed his arms over his chest. “And why do you think he’s right?”

      Jace stood and came around his desk to sit on the edge. “Think about it. We’re dealing with our father, Sheppard Granger. A man who ordered his attorney to hire bodyguards to protect us without letting us know. Bodyguards who even now refuse to back off until he gives the word. We’re dealing with a man who would gladly spend the rest of his days behind bars if he thought doing so would keep us safe. I figure Carson has contacted him. She’s told him about last night’s meeting, and now he’s trying to figure out how to deal with us.”

      Caden left his place by the window to stand beside Jace. “And you heard Carson last night just like we did, Dalton. She was adamant about Dad not wanting us to reopen his case.”

      Yes, Dalton thought, he had heard Carson; however, he’d been somewhat distracted. Jules’s presence had made it hard for him to concentrate for most of the meeting. After all, whether he wanted to give her credit or not, she had been the one to notice that Bobby had been tailing him. More than once, his attention had been drawn to her against his will. She’d taken off her coat last night, and the black skirt and red blouse she was wearing had grabbed his attention. For once, he’d regretted that red was his favorite color. He’d been aware every single time she’d shifted positions on the sofa. Hell, she’d even crossed those gorgeous legs and all he could think about was how it would feel to get between them. And although he hadn’t been close to her, that hadn’t stopped him from inhaling her scent. And the more her fragrance flowed through his nostrils, the more he’d thought about sex. The-fuck-through-the-night kind.

      He jumped when Caden snapped a finger in his face. He frowned. “What did you do that for?”

      “Because we were talking to you, asking you a question, and your thoughts were a million miles away.”

      “Whatever,” Dalton said, not wanting to admit that they had been. “What question were you asking me?”

      “What was Jules doing at your house after midnight?”

      He’d wondered when they would get around to asking him about that. “Evidently, I wasn’t the only one not listening to what was being said. I think Jules explained herself. She had been parked in front of my place waiting for me to come home.”

      Caden rolled his eyes. “We know that, Dalton. We want to know why.”

      Dalton slid into the chair in front of Jace’s desk. He had gotten very little sleep last night and was definitely feeling it. “She heard I wasn’t coming to Shana’s dinner party and thought we should discuss it. Of course, it would have been a total waste of her time.”

      “And of course you told her that...after you laid that kiss on her. The one Bobby told everyone about,” Jace said, studying his brother.

      Dalton’s mouth curved into a frown. “That guy talks too damned much. It was a kiss that wasn’t supposed to happen. She told me to pretend I was kissing her.”

      “And of course, you didn’t pretend.”

      A slow smile touched Dalton’s lips. “No, I didn’t.” He couldn’t help remembering how kissing Jules had made him feel. After everyone had finally left last night, he’d gone back to bed determined to pick up on his dream where he’d left off. He hadn’t been able to, because his mind had been filled with memories of their kiss...how she’d tasted and how she’d felt in his arms.

      Realizing his brothers were watching him, he decided to get them off the subject of him and Jules. “Now I have a question for you, Jace.”

      “What?”

      “How on Earth did you know Carson had a thing for Dad?”

      Jace chuckled softly. “She doesn’t have a thing for him, Dalton. She’s in love with him. There’s a difference. One day, you’ll realize the difference when you come to know love for yourself, and then you can easily recognize it in someone else.”

      “I agree,” Caden chimed in. “I caught on when I noticed the look in her eyes whenever she said Dad’s name. I don’t know what his feelings are for her, but I can say she has very deep feelings for him.”

      “I can’t believe you called her out on it,” Dalton said, grinning. “Surprised the hell out of me when you did.”

      Jace took a sip of the water sitting on his desk. “I surprised myself. I was out of line in doing that, and I apologized to her before she left last night.” Jace rubbed the back of his neck. “My only excuse is that there were so many shockers revealed last night—Carson being a woman, the fact we’ve had bodyguards for over a month now and that one even went on my honeymoon, and our very professional and business-minded father’s close relationship with Stonewall, Quasar and Striker. I guess I had one of those moments when I felt the need to reveal something for a change.”

      Dalton didn’t say anything for a moment, thinking that last night definitely had been one big surprise after another. Carson Boyett was definitely a looker, and he could see his father falling for her. He stood up. “So what do we do about Dad? I think we should just get in the car and drive over to Delvers right now.”

      “Oh, so now you want to go see Dad when you haven’t gone to see him in over a month?”

      “Stay off my ass, Caden. I had planned to go see Dad this week, but now I’ll do it sooner. Especially since Stonewall, Quasar and Striker won’t let up until Dad gives the word. I was followed to work this morning.”

      “So were we,” Jace said, “so stop whining. We need to let Dad work this out for himself. But regardless, we will reopen the case, and I think he knows it. He’s worried, and he has every right to be. Let’s give him the rest of the day, and if we don’t hear from him by then, we’ll go to Delvers tomorrow.”

      Both Dalton and Caden nodded their agreement.

      * * *

      “Well, I must say, Jules, it sounds like you and Shana had a very interesting night,” Ben Bradford said, leaning back in his chair at the kitchen table.

      Jules had just finished telling

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