Chapter 21: Filthy Crown: Chapter 20

“What the hell was that?” Matt is pacing back and forth, never once taking his eyes off me.

“What was what?” My brows push together, wondering what in the world he’s talking about.

“The way you’re looking and touching Pen. It’s a little too…” Matt’s words cut off, but Jace chimes in.

“Friendly.” His tone is teasing, unlike Matt’s serious one.

My fists ball up, unsure of what to tell them. It’s not like I’m going to come out and tell them what just happened in my truck.

“Oh god. What have you done, Jack?” Matt stops his pacing and is looking at me head on, all while Jace bares an amused expression.

“What I do or don’t do with Pen is none of your business. Last I checked, she was living under my roof.” I cross my arms and puff out my chest. I may not know what the hell I’m going to do about our situation, but the last thing I’ll allow is for anyone to shame us.

“Are you out of your goddamn mind?!” Matt whisper-hisses through his teeth.

“Never been clearer. I asked you here so we could talk about our plan of action with the cartel, not so we could discuss Pen and me.”

“Jesus. So it’s true? There’s a ‘Pen and you’?” Matt’s eyes practically bulge out while Jace snickers, making Matt turn to him. “And you? What the hell is wrong with you? This is so damn wrong. It’s sick. Jack could get into so much trouble.”

Jace finally turns serious. “First, you don’t know what, if anything, has happened between the two of them. Second, have you been around those two? I mean with your eyes open, because if you had, then you would’ve seen this coming a mile away. The tension between those two is insane. They either would’ve ended up killing each other or fucking. Frankly, I’m glad it’s the latter and not the former.”

Matt stands there slack jawed, as do I. Is this thing I have for Pen that damn obvious that my fun-loving brother saw it clearly?

Matt finally gathers his wits and points a finger into Jace’s chest. “What happens when that girl turns on him? When she decides to tell the authorities that it wasn’t mutual? Are you willing to lose one more Crown brother because of a Garcia woman?”

Jace sucks in a sharp breath, his eyes narrowing into tiny slits. I’m about to set Matt straight when Hunter cuts in. “I don’t think that’ll be a problem.”

We all turn to look at Matt with raised brows. “Oh, yeah? And what makes you so sure of that?”

Hunter graces us with a rare smile, unusual for the stoic man. “The fact that she just reamed out Ericson for even thinking of Jack in a negative light and basically guilted him into keeping quiet. That’s what.”

Matt’s mouth hangs open while Jace and I both grin. Pen is feisty and strong. She’s perfect.

I’m grinning like a fool, proud of my strong-willed girl. Meanwhile, Matt has both hands in his hair and tugging at the ends. “Ericson knows? How are you not worried about this, Jack?

“Based on what Hunter said, seems to me like Pen handled it. I’ll still talk to him and make sure he knows I haven’t touched her, but I’m not worried about it.” My face is devoid of emotion. I mean what I say. Whatever comes my way as a result, I’ll handle it. Pen is worth that and so much more.

“So you haven’t touched her? There’s nothing going on between the two of you?” Matt’s brows push together while the other two Crown brothers stand back, looking bored.

“Like I said, what I do and don’t do with Pen is none of your business. All you need to know is that I would never hurt her. I’d never force her to do something she didn’t want to, and I sure as hell wouldn’t do anything that would make her feel uncomfortable. Especially not after what those fuckers did to her.” My face grows heated at the memory of her body trembling in my arms as she recounted her experience in Mexico.

“Speaking of which,” Hunter interrupts my tiff with Matt, effectively ending it and moving us on to the reason I brought them back here in the first place. “I think they’re the ones who messed with our gas tanks and my reserves.”

I nod. “I have the same suspicion, though I don’t understand why they’d take the gas instead of slashing tires.”

Jace jumps in, “It takes longer to syphon gas than it does to slit tires. I think they wanted us to know that they took their sweet time, right under our noses and we hadn’t the faintest clue. Sort of like showing us what they’re capable of doing and what they’re going to try next.”

My fists ball up and my body goes taut. “Over my dead body. Those assholes have another thing coming if they think they’ll take Pen and the kids.”

Matt cocks a brow, his lip curling up in a sneer. “I see you’re not lumping Pen into the kid category anymore.”

I roll my eyes and shake my head. Truth is, I stopped doing that as soon as I saw her exit the WRATH securities vehicle. One look at her and you know she’s all woman. Even the way she carries herself exudes more maturity than Georgina, a woman ten years her senior. Sure, she has her moments of stubbornness, but that’s something women Mary’s age still do.

“Enough,” I growl at Matt. “We need to focus on the threat, so stop picking at me and Pen. That’s none of your business.”

Jace speaks up, turning toward Matt. “You asked me if I wanted another Crown brother falling to a Garcia woman. Do you think that what happened in Mexico was Blanca’s fault?”

All of our eyes train on Matt, this new tidbit of information intriguing. “I’d been doing some digging. I think it was our brother’s wife who introduced him to the cartel.”

My head rears back, but it’s Hunter who speaks up. “And what makes you think that?”

“I looked into her background. She was born in the same town as one of Las Cruces rival cartels. She could’ve, I don’t know, known someone and introduced them to Austin.”

My nostrils flare as I take a step forward and get into Matt’s face. “Are you fucking kidding me right now? All you have is the fact that Pen’s mom was Mexican, and that’s what you’re using to pin Austin’s actions on her? I’ll ask you what you asked me. Have you lost your goddamn mind, brother?”

Matt’s jaw clenches, his body standing still, refusing to back down. “It’s a gut feeling, Jack. I know she’s tied into this somehow.”

I shake my head in disbelief. “Even if she had something to do with it, that has nothing to do with Pen. And you’re over here concocting stories in your head, meanwhile we have a real security threat that needs to be dealt with.”

Jace slaps Matt on the back. “I agree with Jack. We need to be focusing on keeping the kids safe while the men of WRATH continue their investigation.”

Hunter turns to me. “So what’s the plan?”

“All of you are coming back to the ranch and staying with us. The more eyes on them, the better. As soon as we get back home, we can talk to the men of WRATH and see if they’ve found anything new. Anything we can use to secure Pen and the kids’ safety.”

My brothers all nod in agreement. Thank fuck, because I was prepared to drag them all back if I had to.

Matt places his hand on my shoulder, his fingers digging into my traps. “I’m coming back with you and I’ll be keeping a close eye on you and Pen. Make no mistake, if you step out of line, I’ll beat your ass.”

Hunter outright snorts, an unusual expression for our brother. “You do that and you’ll be hearing from Pen. I can assure you of that. That girl has no qualms with putting people in their place when it comes to whatever that is.” Hunter waves his hand toward me.

His words have a sense of pride warming my chest. Despite the murky waters Pen and I are in, she’s still standing up for us.

“Alright. So how are we doing this?” Jace raises a brow, waiting on an answer.

“I say we take all of the vehicles. Hunter, take as much as you can because you aren’t leaving the ranch until this is over. I can put you in one of our cabins if the main house is too much.” Hunter nods, so I continue. “As for Ericson, I think I need to have a talk with him and fill him in personally. Even though Pen talked to him, I want to make sure there’s no animosity.”

Matt chortles. “You mean you don’t want him reporting your ass.”

I let out a tired breath. “That too. Alright, let’s get to it.”

Dismissing my brothers, I turn toward the door and my awkward as hell conversation with Ericson. One of many to come, I’m sure. Despite what I told Pen in the car, she isn’t a mistake.

I want everything with her. She’s mine. Now that I know what she tastes like, there’s not a man on this earth who could keep me from her. The only thing left is to figure out the logistics. Do I stay away until she’s ready for me? Let her live her life without me, or do I selfishly insert myself and refuse to let her leave my side?

God, this is all too much. Taking it one step at a time, I head toward my old friend. Keeping a lid on him is priority number one.

Awkward emotions are an afterthought as soon as I catch sight of Pen and Ericsson, laughing over a game of chess, his hand resting dangerously close to hers.

The air shifts as soon as I step beside the two. “Well, aren’t we cozy?”

Pen looks up from the board, her face scrunching in question. “Jack?”

“Yeah, Jack.” Ericson raises a brow, begging me to give him shit for what I rationally know was nothing at all. But does my brain listen to ration right now? Hell no. All it knows is that it needs to get this man away from my Pen.

“Ericson. Outside.” I turn and head toward the door, not waiting for a response.

As I’m stepping out, I hear my old friend grumble as my brothers chuckle apologies for my behavior. Whatever. Just wait until they find the one that makes them lose all coherent thought. I’ll be the first to point it out.

Once outside, Ericson’s eyes narrow on mine. “Look, Jack. I have no damn clue what’s going on between you and that girl—”

“That’s right, you don’t. And despite whatever you think you saw, I can assure you that I would never hurt her.”

Ericson holds his palms up. “If you’d let me finish…” I nod, and he continues. “I have no clue what’s going on between you two, and at the first inkling that she’s being taken advantage of, I’ll be the first one to beat the ever-loving shit out of you…”

I growl, taking a step toward him and fisting his shirt up before walking him back into a wall. “Be careful with what you say next, friend. That girl in there is my world and if you threaten what I have with her, it’ll be the end of you.”

Ericson chuckles, even as I’m pinning him to the wall. “Like I was saying, if I see that, then I’ll have no problem stepping up. But from what I see, she’s a strong-willed young woman and you have your hands full.”

I drop my grip and take a step back, narrowing my eyes. “So what are you saying?”

“I don’t condone it. Whatever it is you have with a girl so young she could be your daughter. But different strokes for different folks, I suppose. She seems to have a good head on her shoulders and she sure as hell doesn’t seem like a little pushover you could bend to your will.” He laughs, shaking his head. “Good luck, brother. Like I said, you’re going to have your hands full.”

A grin splits my face, and heartfelt words are spilling out of me before I can hold them back. “Yeah, but I don’t mind. If I play my cards right, she’ll keep me on my toes until the day I die.”

Ericson’s brows raise. “Wow. It’s that serious?” I nod, while the look of shock settles on his face. “Damn. Who’d have thought that Austin’s stepdaughter would’ve been the one to bring you to your knees.”

“Definitely not me. I still don’t know what the hell this is or what we’re going to do. She’s so young and I don’t want to hold her back in any way. All I know is that I care for her more than I should, and if loving her means letting her go live her life, then that’s what I’ll do.” I’m running a hand over my face, wondering how in the hell I ended up here. Falling hard for a damn teenager. As if in answer, visions of my brother flash before me. Austin, that’s how. “But before we can even start figuring all that out, we have to deal with a very real threat. I’m not sure how much Penelope told you, but my brother and his family were abducted in Mexico. We’re still working on getting all of the information, but it looks like he was doing business with the Las Cruces cartel.”

Ericson blows out a low whistle. “Wow. I would’ve never pegged him for following in his daddy’s footsteps.”

I raise a brow. “So Hunter filled you in on his theories about that?”

Ericson nods. “Sure did. Said your old man was doing business with those fuckers. But with what happened with your parents, why on earth would Austin go and stir that hornet’s nest? Just doesn’t make sense.”

“Your guess is as good as mine. We have a team looking into it, but for now, all we know is that they took them and held them for a week. We were able to retrieve Pen and the kids, but it was too late for my brother and his wife.” My head drops back and I curse at life for being so damn cruel.

“Christ. Those poor kids. A whole week held by those assholes. I can’t even imagine.”

“Yes, and now we think they’re here. Wanting to tie up loose ends.” My eyes flit back inside to where Pen is smiling up at Hunter as he shakes his head. I love that she’s close to my brothers. She’ll always be protected here. Safe. “That’s why I need you to monitor Hunter’s property. He’ll be coming down with us and staying at the ranch until everything’s settled. I’m not sure if they’ll try to come back up here, but we could sure use an extra set of eyes.”

“Of course. He’s like family. You all are. Even you with your perverted ass ways.” He’s laughing and I’m glaring.

“What I have with Pen is far from perverted, asshole. Sure, there’s a physical component to it, but I’m drawn to her fire. Despite the shit hand life has dealt her, she makes the most of it, and all while being fiercely loyal and protective over those she loves. I’m in awe of her. Always have been, but now that she’s a woman, it’s different. It’s like a veil has been lifted and I see her in a completely different light.” My eyes are focused on the silhouette of her face when I get a shove from Ericson.

“Look at you getting all emotional. This girl has turned you into a pussy.” He’s grinning, eyes dancing with mirth and I know I’ll never live this down. The funny part is, I don’t care.

“Ha. Ha. Get your laughs in. You’ll get it when it finally happens to you.”

“Yeah, well, that’s not happening up here. Not unless by some miracle the woman of my dreams can be found on one of my hiking trails.” He shivers before turning to walk back inside. “Let’s get this show on the road. Temp’s dropping and I need to get back to the station.”

The wind howls as if in agreement, and it’s all fine with me. The sooner we get going, the sooner we’re all back home where it’s safe.