"I will," he says and sighs again. "Tucker is talking about getting a head tattoo. Do you really want to miss that train wreck?"
Smiling, I hear the humor in his question. I can even see him smiling.
"I'll visit when Mom gets back from the cruise."
"Good."
"Don't even think about forcing me to stay during my visit."
"Never crossed my mind," he says, and I know he's smiling again.
"Sure."
"Why are you handcuffed exactly?"
"Jace's lost his mind."
"You have a way of doing that to people."
"Shut up, Poop," I mutter. "Do you think Jace is a good man?"
"Yeah."
"Do you think he's a strong man?"
"No," he says too quickly.
"Why?"
Cooper sighs. "This is just you and me talking. No sharing with Mister Handcuffs, okay?"
"Okay."
"If he wasn't Tad's son, he wouldn't be in the club. He holds himself too tight. Does what needs to be done and follows orders, but he's like a ghost. I barely know when he's in the room half the time. He could be a badass. He's been trained by Judd and Vaughn. Hell, a retired assassin even trained him. Yet he's the least scary guy in the club."
"He's not the same guy I dated."
"Bullshit. He's exactly the same, and that's the problem. He's the same as he was as a kid. Closed off and only showing what he thinks people want to see. I know I can trust him because I know him, but I don't feel like I can trust him, if that makes sense."
Irrational or not, hearing Cooper crap on Jace pisses me off.
"If he's not good enough for the club, I'll just have him live here in Last Dollar. The McLaughlins like him."
"No, they don't. They don't like anyone."
"You say that like you know them."
Cooper sighs dramatically, and I picture him cracking his knuckles. "I'm getting pushback about Jace being in town. Some guy is coming to meet with your boyfriend. You might want to tell him to watch his back. If someone starts shit, I'm not sure what I can do from Kentucky."
"Jackass."
"Hey, I told you to stay in our territory where I could protect you. Did you listen? Of fucking course not. Now, Jace has a target on his back."
"I'll protect him."
"Who's going to protect you?"
"The McLaughlins. They like me more than anyone ever."
Cooper laughs, and I join him. I have no idea how the McLaughlins feel about me. They're friendly, but they're pretty friendly with everyone. I happen to know a few people they're friendly with who they'd love to kill. Doesn't really make me feel safe being in their care.
Hearing approaching voices, I tell Cooper goodbye and hang up. My emotions are all over the place. I'm ready to beat the shit out of Jace. I'm also thinking about hugging him for being a messed up kid who thinks he's a well-adjusted man. I'm mostly thinking about him naked and pumping his cock inside me.
Colbie opens the door and throws a bouquet of flowers at me.
"Stanley came. He held his ground. He got scared. He left. Here's your consolation prize."
"I have no idea what the fuck you're talking about, but get me out of these cuffs."
Colbie plops down on the bed next to me. "Bodie is going bossy bitch on Jace, so your boy is busy. I don't know where he keeps the keys."
"Bullshit. You're you. No way do you not have a way to get me loose."
"Sure, but Jace is having an ah-ha moment. If I free you from your sex game, you might find him and force him to think with his dick rather than the chunk of gray matter between his pretty ears."
"I hate you and your babble."
"Do you need a hug?" she says, climbing on top of me. "I'll smother you with the love you're missing."
I don't want to laugh, but she's such a pain in the ass. In fact, she's like Bailey with ten extra brain cells and several more mental problems.
"Be gentle with him. He's figuring shit out," she says, bouncing on me.
"I don't care."
"Yes, you do. You love him. It's sweet. I'm gonna love someone like that one day. Hopefully, I won't be as stupid about it as you two, but just as sweet."
Colbie removes a key from her bra. Smiling, she leans over and unlocks the cuff.
"Get dressed and we'll watch a movie," she says, pulling me off the bed. "No fighting with Jace."
Shoving her out of the room, I lock the door and look for my clothes. I hear her talking to her dog while I dress. She's still talking when I walk past her and downstairs. No longer with Jace, Bodie is playing with her cat on the floor. I glance around, but don't see him.
"He's thinking," Bodie explains. "This could take awhile."
"Funny," Jace says, appearing from a dark hall. "What's the plan for the evening?"
I balk at how he doesn't mention the handcuffs, Stanley, or anything that might mean I get to scream at him.
"Sunday is the only day of the week we don't nap," Colbie explains. "After the game, we watch a classic movie before going out for a nice dinner."
Bodie crawls with her cat to the couch. "Today's classic is Kingpin."