Of course, she forever gave him the unexpected.

Stepping forward, she wrapped her arms around him for a big hug. When he resisted, she hugged him tighter, staying close until her warmth seeped in, and her scent filled his head.

Finally she levered back and smiled at him. “Somehow, it’s all going to be okay.” And with that, she walked out.

Dazed, he stood there a minute before he realized Trace dissected him with an analytical stare, and Dare looked impatient to get on with it.

Out of the blue, Dare said, “It’s not a competition, you know.”

“What?”

Trace made a sound. “You’re always a show-off. But with my sister?”

Jackson stared at them. His muscles clenched, and even knowing he was defensive for no reason, he growled, “What the hell does that mean? Stop being so cryptic.”

“Four times in a day?”

He shook his head.

“Sex,” Dare supplied. “Seems the women have been gossiping.”

“Oh.” He sorted through all that, and then it dawned on him what they meant. “Oh.” Alani had talked with Priss and Molly? About them, in the sack?

If it was anyone else, under any other circumstances, he’d grin, brag a little, even exaggerate some. But not now, not with Trace wearing such a black frown.

Jackson shrugged. What else could he do? “I’ll have a talk with her.”

Grinning, Dare shoved Trace. “Since Alani wasn’t complaining, you might as well get used to it.”

Knowing how new things were to her, Jackson didn’t begrudge Alani a little girl talk—except that he wanted to be more to her than a good lay. A hell of a lot more.

“I guess so.” Not so severe now, Trace shook his head. “Excessive bastard.”

“Yeah, well…” Jackson knew he had been excessive, but then, he didn’t know how long it’d last with Alani, and that pushed him to take as much as he could, for as long as he could. “This is a damned awkward conversation.”

Trace went for a cola. “I expect there’ll be more of them to follow.”

“I guess.” He hoped. Cracking a grin, he said, “She keeps me on my toes.”

“They all do.” Dare watched him. “Kind of nice, isn’t it?”

Jackson didn’t bother to pretend confusion. “It’s scary as shit, actually.”

Trace relented enough to say, “It gets better.”

Not sure that he wanted it to, Jackson grabbed up his food and dug in. Around a big bite, he said, “There’s stuff I haven’t really told you about Arizona.”

Crossing his arms over his chest, Dare said, “Now would be a good time then, don’t you think?”

“Yeah.” He swigged back half a cola. It wasn’t like he had much choice at this point. They had to know. Better to get it out of the way while the women were otherwise occupied. “You guys might want to take a seat.”

CHAPTER NINETEEN

WHEN THE MEN REMAINED standing and impatient, Jackson saw no hope for it; he went right to the point. “Arizona has skills.”

“That could mean a lot of different things.” Carrying his drink, Trace took up his position against the fireplace again. “What are we talking about here?”

“When she got caught by the traffickers… It was because they busted her stalking them.” Sandwich in hand, he gestured between them. “Much like we do. She’d uncover them, make a few calls, and if things didn’t go the way she wanted, she took matters into her own hands.”

Disbelief destroyed Trace’s casual pose. Appalled and incensed, he took two steps forward. “She hunts traffickers?”

“Something like that.” The story was so sad, Jackson hated to repeat it. And he wouldn’t, not all of it. It was her story to tell. But he could share the bare bones. “When she was seventeen, her dad traded her in a drug deal. When her mom tried to stop it, they killed her.”

“Jesus.” Dare inhaled sharply. “They probably killed the dad, too, then.”

“Yeah.”

Trace didn’t say a word; he was too furious to speak.

“They had her for a few months before she escaped.” They all knew that under those conditions, a month would feel like a lifetime in hell. “She says it took her a year to realize she needed revenge. From then, until she got nabbed again and I found her, she’d been tracking them. She knows what to look for, how to recognize the signs. She’s one hell of a driver, good with weapons and a more than adequate thief.”

“Still?”

“I don’t know.” He finished his sandwich. “I gave her money, but she hated that. She’d rather steal from a dealer or take it gambling, than let me help her. It’s been an uphill battle all the way with that girl.”

“You trust her?”

“Completely. At least, her motives.” Though he spoke calmly enough, inside Jackson raged. “Her methods… I have no f**king idea what she’s done or what she’s up to now.” He didn’t want to betray Arizona’s trust by telling the others that she’d called him her number one guy. He knew she said it as an affectionate joke, that in some unreasonable way she felt beholden to him.

Just as he knew that in other ways, she resented him for doing things she couldn’t.

“It bugs her that I saved her.”

“She wanted…” Unable to say it, Dare shook his head.