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Chapter 2
“Is that Janey?” William leaned forward in the truck, trying to get a better look.
Rys didn’t need to try to get a better look, because he could spot Jane Silver anywhere. “Yeah, that’s her. What the hell is she doing walking at this time of night?”
“I don’t know, but it looks like she’s coming from outside city limits.”
Rys thought the same thing. William, his twin, ran a hand through his short hair. “Clearly something’s wrong, but what I don’t understand is why she didn’t call us. She’s smart enough to know it isn’t safe to walk alone at night.” He pulled the truck up beside her, and her whole body stiffened at his approach. He rolled his window down and waited for her to acknowledge them. There was no doubt in his mind that she knew it was them beside her, because the fact that she was purposefully avoiding them made it abundantly clear. A red flag went off inside him, because there should be no reason for her to avoid him. Something happened, and she was keeping it from them.
“Jane, stop and look at us.” His voice was raised so she could hear him over the rumbling of his diesel truck. She inhaled and exhaled deeply but finally stopped. It took her a minute to turn around, but when she did, he scanned her body up and down, checking for any injuries. Her eyes were big in her small, pale face, but other than the almost frightened look she was giving him, he didn’t see any injuries. Her slender throat worked as she swallowed. It was clear she wasn’t going to answer him right now, but she would. “Get in the truck, Jane.”
It took her a moment, but she finally nodded and made her way around the truck to the passenger side. William got out so she could slip into the center seat. When he was back in, Rys shifted the truck into gear and made his way through town.
“What’s wrong, Janey?” William’s voice was low, soothing. His twin might look identical to him, but they were two completely different people. He had always been the one to comfort her when she was upset or sad. He always knew how to make her smile, especially when all that shit was going on with her dad.
Rys didn’t say anything as William tried to get her to talk. It would only be a matter of time though, because once again, his brother had an uncanny knack for drawing little Jane Silver out of her shell. Rys, on the other hand, knew he was too rough around the edges. He didn’t mean to be, especially with Jane, but he didn’t know how to be any different. Where William knew how to coax something out of someone, Rys just beat it out of them. Both of their tactics worked, but his left more of a lasting impression.
Rys turned onto Main Street and then made a right onto East Market. He passed the fire station and continued to head north until he was on the outskirts of town. Jane’s small house sat atop a hill. The only light on was the one on the porch. The house had missing shingles, broken shutters, and an all-around poverty-stricken appearance. It was clear her mother had turned in for the night, and the very idea Jane would have to go into a dark house didn’t sit right with him. He pulled into her driveway but immediately backed out.
“What are you doing?” Her voice seemed small, and he didn’t respond right away. He was going to find out what the hell happened. They had known each other their entire lives and had never kept a thing from one another.
“I want to go get a drink.” He drove back into town and pulled into Rowdy’s. It was ten o’clock on a Saturday night, which meant the night was just starting at their town’s local bar. His truck was too big to park in one of the spots up front, so he pulled it around to the side of the small brick building and shut it off. The three of them sat there in silence for a solid minute before Rys exhaled.
“Come on, Jane. I know you could probably use a drink too.” He looked over at her and saw her playing with a frayed piece of material along the hem of her skirt. A light on the outside of the building cast enough of a glow through the windshield that he could see her long, shapely legs. Just seeing all that smooth, tanned flesh was causing his jeans to become uncomfortably tight. A glance at William proved his brother was watching him with a scowl on his face.
Rys didn’t hide the fact that he wanted Jane more than he ever wanted another female. At least, he didn’t hide it from William. There was no way in hell he would ever make a move on her though. They had too much history together. She was their best friend, had tagged along with them since she was five years old. He had watched her grow into the beautiful woman sitting between him and his brother. He realized he wanted her years ago, and when he admitted as much to William, the look on his brother’s face told him there was no way in hell anything could ever happen between them.
Things would change, and neither of them wanted that. She didn’t need another asshole going after her, and despite the fact that she wasn’t favored in town, every fucking guy who lived in Ecstasy wanted in Jane Silver’s panties. It was a known fact, even if she didn’t realize it.
He pushed the door open and reached for her hand at the same time William did. Rys scowled at his brother and silently commanded him to back the fuck off. Even though William never admitted he wanted Jane, there was no doubt in Rys’s mind that he did. Hell, he had seen William stare at her with this intense expression. He knew it was the same expression that crossed his face whenever he looked at her. At first, he didn’t know what the hell was wrong with him, but after he told his brother he had feelings for Jane, the same emotions washed across his twin’s face.
William let go of Jane’s hand with a huff and got out of the passenger side. Rys pulled on Jane’s hand until she was sliding across the driver seat. Her legs dangled over the side, and he instinctively placed his hands on her hips. She was tiny compared to him and William, and his hands nearly engulfed her entire waist. Keeping his composure, he watched as she kept her head lowered. He didn’t miss how she bit her lip, and it took everything inside him not to groan at the sight. Did she even realize how fucking hot she was, that she drove men to their knees? Shaking his head, he helped her out of the truck and shut the door.
They flanked her on instinct. They had always been the ones to protect her, always been the ones who made sure no one fucked with her. They couldn’t stop people from talking, but they sure as hell could make sure they didn’t harass her. Rys and William had beaten enough asses over the years to make sure anyone and everyone knew that if they messed with Jane, they messed with the Holden twins.
Chapter 3
Ever the proper gentleman, William held the door open for Jane. Country music blasted through the jukebox in the far corner, and several people moved to the music on the makeshift dance floor. Rowdy’s was the only bar in the city limits, so it was safe to say it was the hottest spot in town, not just on the weekends but when the sun went down too.
The first thing Jane realized when she stepped onto the worn wooden floor was that half the town seemed to be crammed into the building. Smoke filled the intimate interior despite the smoking ban that had gone into effect in the state.
Jane never came to Rowdy’s alone, not when she got enough dirty looks and whispers behind her back everywhere she went. If Rys and William were with her, no one bothered her. Of course she knew the twins made sure she was safe and swaddled in bubble wrap, but they couldn’t protect her for the rest of her life. She didn’t want to be dependent on them like her mother had been on her father. Jane would not rely on a man, even if those men were the two most important people in her life. She might still be here because of her mother, but she wanted out.
She wanted to explore the world and leave behind the town of Ecstasy.
“Well, I’ll be damned. If it isn’t Jane Silver and the Holden boys.”
Jane smiled at the voice that pierced through the music. Brooklyn Iverson, the owner of Rowdy’s, pushed through the thick throng of people and smiled down at her. She might not be very popular in their small town, but there were decent people in Ecstasy, and Brooklyn was one of them.
He wrapped her in a one-armed embrace and kissed the top of her head. She knew if she did decide to come to Rowdy’s alone, Brooklyn would make sure no one bothered her, but she wasn’t blind or deaf. People didn’t have to call her white trash to her face for her to know that was what they were thinking.
“Hey, man.” Brooklyn and Rys clapped hands together in the way men do, and then William and Brooklyn did the same. “You guys thirsty?” Brooklyn gestured for them to follow him to the front of the bar. He slipped behind the scarred counter and grabbed two Sam Adams bottles for Rys and William. “What would you like, sweetheart?” He handed the beers to the guys on either side of her.
“Just a beer, Brooklyn. Thanks.”
He gave her the longneck and turned to help other customers.
“Come on, let’s find a table.” Rys grabbed her hand and gently steered her toward the corner and an empty table. She could feel William right behind her, his hand on the small of her back. She kept her head lowered, because she knew damn well if she looked at any of these people, they would all have the same expression. Disgust. Even though she knew they didn’t speak it out loud, she could hear their thoughts.
