Laurel looked at the fire roaring in the hearth then because seeing James’s reaction might be too much. It might crack her, and she had a feeling that if it did she wouldn’t be able to put herself back together anytime soon.
Beside her Jace huffed, since they’d both agreed it was best to leave the past alone. Did he have regrets too? How were they so close and yet so afraid to talk about the shit that mattered most? “The truth is, I was ashamed of what you would think. How she would react. And all this time it didn’t matter. She was already gone.”
“But I’m here, and damn sure you don’t have a single thing to be self-conscious about.”
Jace rubbed his thumb over her hand. Laurel focused on the repetitive motion to control the emotions that threatened to overwhelm her. Something James had said tingled her senses. She cleared her throat and diverted their discussion from territory that was still too painful and too raw. “Did you say, the rest of your crew? Do you have more spouses than these two?”
She tipped her head, fascinated and eager to learn about his life. A few of the Shields around them chuckled at that, easing the tension in the room from molar-cracking to merely ass-puckering.
“Uh, not exactly. But before I started working here with the Shields, I was a construction worker for the Powertools crew with Neil, Devon, and three other guys. We, and the rest of their wives, well…it’s hard to explain but we’ve been through a lot together and we’re more than friends.”
“It might take me a minute to keep all this straight.” Laurel shot him an apologetic grimace. “As long as you’re content and they treat you well, you’re lucky in my book.”
James’s gaze slid from her to Jace. He shot her roomie a lingering look that she recognized from a lot of men who were attracted to him. She would have swatted him, told him to back off and leave one stud for her, but she didn’t have the right. It was too soon for that. And if James was waiting for her to explain her relationship with Jace, he was going to be disappointed. It wasn’t anything she knew how to label.
From a spot near the fire, a man with sandy hair and a no-nonsense set to his strong jaw crossed his arms and cleared his throat. Everyone snapped to attention.
7
Laurel’s throat went dry. It was obvious the guy had a lot of power and influence, and with this group that said a lot. She was sure she owed him for bringing her and James back together, never mind whatever was to come next.
James, however, grinned. “Oh, yeah. That’s our boss, Jordan. He’s the founder and head of the Shields.”
“I’m glad to be meeting you in person. We figured it was a long shot, but I’m glad fortune—and Nolan’s dumb ass—worked out in our favor today. He said you took him to your place. When James ran the address, it didn’t come up as one of Draven’s known holdings. Can I ask how you were able to leave his organization?”
Jordan tipped his head a bit, and she felt that if she said no, he wouldn’t pressure her. For that matter, she realized that behind his left shoulder the television was displaying footage from a security camera, which clearly—and for her benefit, she was sure—showed the live image of the wide-open gates. After all he’d done for them, she figured she owed him at least that much. Besides, he was the kind of man who’d find out one way or another. So she nodded.
“We bought our way out. There came a time where we were worth more to Draven working at Heels than being rented because of our ages and the fact that Jace had a tendency to fight back even if some people took pleasure in his struggles.” Laurel grimaced.
Jace added, “He told us what our freedom would cost and we worked it off. It took more than ten years, but we did it. Laurel dancing and me bouncing, Draven taking everything but crumbs. Barely enough for us to survive on our own. And after we paid him we swore to keep a low profile, because he said he’d kill us and whatever family we had left if we didn’t.”
“Until tonight, we kept our word.” Laurel smiled sadly at James. “After meeting Nolan, I figured that if he was telling the truth about you and your team here, then you’d be plenty capable of taking care of yourself.”
“Son of a bitch. I hate that they used me against you.” James slapped a fist into his open palm. “And I love you for giving a shit about me even after everything you’ve been through.”
“You’ll always be my little brother.”
James whispered, “You’ll always be my big sis. You know you were a huge part of the reason I wanted to do this. Seeing how our bullshit excuse for a justice system operates, I knew the Shields could do better, even if our work is outside those bounds.”
Laurel swallowed the knot in her throat. He’d still been thinking of her despite all the years in between them. Even after he knew what she’d become. “Sometimes you’ve got to use their methods against them to win. In the end, Jace had to persuade Draven to finally go through with it, and we’ve been laying low since.”
“What does that mean exactly?” Jordan asked with too-keen eyes.
“I threatened to stab him with a giant chef’s knife I’d stolen from the kitchen for just such an occasion.” Jace had not an ounce of remorse in his grim smirk. “And I would have gladly slit his throat if he’d tried to stop us from walking out that door.”
“Fair enough.” Jordan shrugged. “I might have done it anyway to keep him off my ass, and because he deserves it. I’m impressed with your self-restraint.”
“Yeah, we looked over our shoulders a lot in the beginning, but he must have been convinced we were too afraid to cause him any trouble and he left us alone.” Jace shrugged.
“Okay, now I have a question.” Nolan turned to Laurel and Jace, his hand half-raised. He was awfully earnest and adorable considering what he did for a living. “If you worked so damn hard to get out of that mess, what were you doing creeping around Heels tonight?”
“We saw the cannery raid on the news.” Jace pinched the bridge of his nose as if that was a million years ago instead of only a few hours. “James’s sis here decided she needed to get the scoop on what went down from some of our old friends in case she could help anyone else get away.”
“If I’d known you’d already done such a terrific job of it, I would have stayed snuggled in bed with Jace.” On the way to their command center, which was apparently somewhere in this monstrous mansion, Nolan had reassured them the rest of the workers had been seen to and would never be victims of Draven again.
Nolan raised his brows at her inadvertent disclosure. She ignored him. Their sleeping arrangement wasn’t as fun as he was imagining, she was sure. Comforting, reliable, secure…yep. Boom chicka wow wow, nope.
“But then you wouldn’t have been found,” James murmured. “Thank God Nolan happened to spot you.”
“Got lucky, being in the right place at the right time, even if you didn’t appreciate it immediately.” Nolan winked at her despite the purple shadow she could see on his poor jaw. She sat on her hand to keep from stroking it with her thumb.
“Yeah, about that…I’m sorry I knocked your ass out,” Jace grumbled. “But when I saw you grab Laurel, I assumed the worst.”