Trace of Fever - Lori Foster [133]
Of all the… “Alani?”
“You have another sister I don’t know about?”
Next time he saw Jackson, he just might have to clout him. “Why are you talking to Alani?”
“Remember, I told you that I wanted to hire her to redo my place.”
He remembered and he hadn’t liked it then, either. “You said it wasn’t happening.”
“I know, but I felt bad at how we left things.”
“Things?”
“Yeah, things.” Annoyance crept into Jackson’s tone. “And for the record, Trace, this isn’t any of your damn business.”
Trace snarled, started to issue Jackson a very real warning, but at the last second he glanced at Priss, and changed his mind. More moderate now, he asked, “Are you making moves on my sister?”
“Possibly.”
God help him. “And she’s allowing it?”
“She’s not running from me, if that’s what you mean.” A little more frustrated, Jackson added, “I can’t believe you’re chewing my ass after you let her get involved with that idiot financier guy.”
He hadn’t liked that much, either. “Decorating is her job, Jackson.”
“Yeah, but you can believe he made moves on her.” And then, with an edge of anger, he added, “Luckily for him, Alani turned him down flat.”
Trace couldn’t believe Jackson’s nerve. “Just how do you know all this?”
A long hesitation, and then with belligerence: “I’ve been keeping tabs, all right?”
Unbelievable. “Does Alani know you’re spying on her?”
“No, and don’t be so dramatic.”
“I am not dramatic.” Trace heard Priss snicker and shot her a look, but she pretended to whistle.
“Look, I’m keeping an eye on her for her own good. We both know she was skittish for a while there, but still determined to be on her own.”
It sounded to Trace like Jackson had an awful lot of interest in his baby sister. “You’re trying to make yourself sound noble,” Trace accused. “Just admit that you want her.”
“Damn straight. I’m not blind.”
Unbelievable. Trace straightened. “Jackson—”
Jackson laughed at him. “Look, Trace, I get the whole big-brother routine, I really do. But you know I’m not an idiot. I’m well aware of what Alani went through and I wouldn’t do anything to pressure her.”
“You have her on hold? Right now?”
“Yup.”
“She’s willingly talking with you?”
“If she didn’t want to, she’d hang up, right?”
Interesting. Far as Trace knew, Alani wouldn’t look at any guy, but she was putting up with Jackson? Grudgingly, he said, “Fine. But Jackson, if she tells you to back off—”
“I’ll back off. Now give it a rest, will you? I don’t like to keep a lady waiting.” He disconnected the call.
Not quite sure how he felt about all that, Trace dropped the cell phone on the seat between them. He stared straight ahead, his thoughts jumbled.
“So. Jackson and your sister, huh?”
He could hear Priss’s smile even before he looked at her. How she could smile right now, he had no idea. He shrugged. “Maybe.”
“I told you so, didn’t I?”
Teasing, too? Trace reached for her hand, and found her fingers to be icy cold. The day was warm, so he knew she wasn’t as indifferent as she tried to pretend. He decided to divert her. “What’d you do with your toys?”
“Toys?”
He nodded toward her purse. “That cell phone stun gun, the barbed key chain.”
“Oh, those.” She peeked at him. “I figured you wouldn’t be fooled.”
“You still have them?”
She put her head back against the seat. “Since I didn’t get a chance to use them…yeah.”
“I’ll take them off your hands.”
“Why?”
Because he didn’t want her to keep reminders of the day.
And he didn’t want her playing around with dangerous gag weapons.
If she needed protection, he’d damn well protect her. But it wasn’t the time to lay all that on her.
“Better to have them destroyed than to run the risk of someone later finding them, and maybe tying you to the scene.”
Her hand squeezed his, and she said faintly, “And the deaths.”
Trace kissed her knuckles. “Exactly.”
She nodded agreement. “So…Alani.” She turned toward him again. “You two are close?”
“Very. We always were, but especially after my parents died. She’s eight years younger than me, so I’ve been