A Lover's Vow

“Like hell I will.”

Bobby drew in a deep breath. Were these the same two he’d seen kissing earlier? Evidently, they’d never made it to the bedroom.

“I can put you in your car, you know,” Dalton snarled over at the woman he’d called Jules.

She lifted her chin. “I’d like to see you try.”

Bobby’s heart missed a beat. Were they actually standing here having a heated argument while holding guns on him? What if one of their fingers slipped and the gun accidentally fired? Shit. People would be reading about his dead ass in the papers tomorrow morning.

“Excuse me.”

Both Dalton and Jules stopped glaring at each other long enough to turn their attention back to him, snapping simultaneously, “What?”

“If you don’t believe me, then I suggest you call the police,” Bobby said, hoping they wouldn’t take his suggestion. “At the moment, I’d feel safer in their hands than yours.”

“We couldn’t care less how you feel,” Dalton snapped angrily. “If you have a girlfriend who lives around here, then give me a name or tell me why you were following me.”

“I can answer that for you, Mr. Granger.”

Dalton jerked around at the sound of the feminine voice to find a woman standing within ten feet of them with two big guys by her side. Where the hell had they come from? He quickly switched his aim from the man who’d claimed his name was Bobby to the trio, grateful Jules had taken stock of the situation, as well, and, like him, wasn’t taking any chances. She kept her gun aimed directly on Bobby while he kept his leveled on the three.

“And just what can you tell me, Ms....?”

“Boyett,” she said easily. “Carson Boyett.”

Dalton frowned. Where had he heard that name before? He tossed the question around in his mind a few times, and then he remembered. It had come up during a conversation he’d had earlier that day with Jace and Caden. They had been discussing how to go about getting their father freed from jail. Jace had mentioned a man by the name of Carson Boyett...but this was no man. This was a very attractive woman.

“Wait a minute,” he said slowly, staring at her. “Carson Boyett is...” He found it hard to get the words out as it hit him just who she was. She took pity on him and completed what he was hesitant to say.

“Sheppard Granger’s attorney.”

He lowered his gun. Shocked. “But we...my brothers and I assumed you were a man.”

She chuckled softly. “But, as you can see, that’s not the case.”

“Hey, not so fast,” Jules spoke up, operating on the side of caution. She glared at Dalton, not surprised he was being taken in by a pretty face. “Let’s see some ID. Now!”

Carson Boyett nodded as a wry smile touched her lips. “You’re cautious. I like that. I’m going to need to stick my hand into the pocket of my jacket to get it.”

“Fine. I suggest you do it slowly and easily, or Bobby here won’t live to see tomorrow.” Jules inched her gun closer to Bobby’s skull. “And I’m warning the two of you,” she said to the men standing beside Carson. “I suggest you not try any funny business, either.”

If Dalton didn’t find it odd that his father’s attorney had two large, muscled men in tow, Jules certainly did. And what woman looked this put together in the middle of the night? Not a hair on Carson Boyett’s head was out of place. She was wearing a business suit and was well dressed, neat as a pin. It was cold outside, but she wasn’t wearing a coat. Jules wondered if that was intentional to show her toughness, her ability to endure what others might find grueling.

She figured the woman’s age to be in her midforties, if that. Out of her peripheral vision, she saw that Dalton was checking the woman out, as well...but probably for entirely different reasons.

Annoyed, she leaned over to him and whispered, “I heard you had a thing for older women, but need I remind you that something serious is going on here?”

He had the nerve to chuckle. “Jealous?” he whispered back.

“Hardly.”

“Here you are,” Carson said, breaking into their private conversation, moving forward slowly and reaching out to hand her driver’s license to Dalton.

He took it and scanned it a moment before handing it to Jules. “And who are these men with you?” Dalton wanted to know, feeling comfortable enough that he tucked his gun back inside his jeans.

Carson hesitated a minute before answering. “Roland Summers on my right and Stonewall Courson on my left. They are friends.”

Jules, who hadn’t reached that level of ease with them, kept her gun aimed on Bobby. “Friends?” she asked with a chuckle, while rolling her eyes. “Surely you can do better than that. Why would friends be hanging out at this time of night?”

A smile touched Carson’s lips. “I could ask the two of you the same thing.”

Dalton snorted. “Trust me. We aren’t friends.”

“They most certainly aren’t,” Bobby chimed in rather loudly.

Jules glared as she finally lowered her gun, ignoring Bobby’s deep sigh of relief. “You claim you can explain why this guy was following Dalton.” She decided they needed to stick to the business at hand.

“Yes, I can explain,” Carson said calmly. “But I think it would be best if we go inside. And although it’s rather late, I believe Jace and Caden Granger should be included in this conversation, as well.”

Six (#ulink_30e35fbd-f667-5eef-96f5-77b69a468cc6)

Dalton opened the door to find his brothers standing there...with their wives. He knew Jace and Caden had questions and wanted answers. When he’d called, the only thing he’d said was that he’d been followed that night and that their father’s attorney was going to explain why. He wanted them to get their asses over to his place as soon as possible. That had been less than twenty minutes ago, so they’d made good time.

“Come on in,” he said, stepping aside. “Boyett will explain everything.”

Being the gentlemen they were, of course, his brothers stood back to let their wives enter first. That gave Dalton a chance to pull Jace and Caden aside. “Why are Wonder Woman and Wine Lady here? What Boyett has to say might be private.”

Jace rolled his eyes. “Privacy is not an issue when it comes to our wives, Dalton. They’re now part of this family, so get over it.”

Dalton drew in a deep breath. He was over it, since being married was what they’d undoubtedly wanted. But he hadn’t gotten used to having additional players in their family business, especially when it concerned their father. Hell, he’d tried sending Jules home, but she had refused to leave. Since she was the one who’d nailed the fact he’d been followed, he had allowed her to stay.

“Jules? You’re here?” he heard Shana ask her sister, surprised.

From the look on his brothers’ faces, they were surprised, as well. Caden leaned in to whisper, “You questioned us about bringing our wives, yet Jules is here? A woman you claim you can’t stand?”

Dalton frowned. “She’s not here by choice, trust me. And I can’t stand her. Nothing has changed.”

“Then why is she here?” Jace asked with a speculative look on his face.

“Not for the reasons you think. All of your questions will be answered soon, so come on and join the club.” He couldn’t wait to see the expressions on his brothers’ faces when they discovered that Carson Boyett was a woman.

Dalton quickly moved to stand in the center of his living room. Deciding not to delay the introductions, he said, “Everyone, I’d like you to meet Roland Summers, Stonewall Courson, Carson Boyett and Bobby Turner. As you know, Carson is Dad’s attorney and has information to share with us.”

His brothers and their wives glanced at the three men expectantly, having assumed that Bobby Turner was the female. Dalton couldn’t help but chuckle when Carson moved forward and presented her hand to Jace. “I’m glad we’re finally meeting. Your father speaks highly of his sons.”

The shock on their faces was priceless. “You’re Carson Boyett?” Jace asked, stunned. “Dad never said you were a woman.”

“That must be true since Dalton had the same reaction,” Carson said, grinning. “You’ll need to mention that to Sheppard next time you see him.”