And he wasn’t talking about the incredible sex with V.

No, unfortunately, someone else had made sure to ruin the night for him. After she had fallen asleep, Zane had walked Beau out, waited until he drove off, and then locked the door behind him. He checked the other windows and doors before climbing into bed and snuggling close to V. Sometime around two o’clock in the morning he’d awoken, startled by a noise. Whatever it was hadn’t woken V, so he climbed out of bed, slid on his jeans and went to check the house. Sure as shit, some motherfucker had thrown a brick through her living room window.

It took him all of thirty minutes to get the mess cleaned up, all the while hoping like hell V didn’t wake up to find what had happened. As soon as dawn broke, he called Kaleb, asking that he send someone over to replace the window that morning while V was at work. As far as Zane knew, it’d already been done.

He was hoping not to have to tell her what happened, at least not yet. Since he wasn’t about to let her stay at her house alone again, he figured he might have to tell her because convincing her to stay with him wasn’t going to be as easy as he hoped. Nothing with V ever proved to be easy.

Managing an hour on the treadmill at a much slower pace than he was used to prior to the assault, Zane knocked out a mild upper body workout before returning to his house for another shower. With that complete, he texted Sawyer, Kaleb and Travis and asked them to meet him at the construction office.

When he walked in, he found his three oldest brothers already there, as was Gage Matthews. Travis and Sawyer were engrossed in something on their respective computers while Gage and Kaleb were talking.

“What the fuck is going on?” Travis spouted the question as soon as Zane stepped foot through the door.

“Well, good morning to you too,” Zane snapped, turning to the refrigerator and grabbing a bottle of water before taking a seat in the small office.

He wasn’t quite sure what he wanted to talk to them about, but he knew after what happened the night before that they were all going to have to be on the lookout for Jake Sanders, or one of his punk ass buddies. It was evident from recent events that the man was no longer hiding. There was no doubt in his mind who had thrown that fucking brick and if he caught him, there was going to be hell to pay.

“The window was fixed, and I don’t think V knows anything. I didn’t say a word to Zoey either, just in case,” Kaleb informed him when he closed the lid on his laptop, turning his attention toward Zane.

Zane listened to his brother, watching Gage in the process. The man seemed worked up about something. Not nearly as laid back and easy going as he usually was.

“Know who it was?” Sawyer asked.

“I’ve got a good idea,” Zane said, glancing back and forth between his three brothers and Gage.

“What the fuck?” Travis was beginning to sound like a broken record. Zane could sense his anger, and he couldn’t necessarily blame him. If Jake Sanders wanted to play on an even keel, they’d have a chance, but since he liked to tip the scales in his favor, and go after an unsuspecting woman, Zane wasn’t even sure where to begin.

“No one has seen him since the other night, right?” Gage asked Travis directly.

“No,” Travis replied a little too quickly, glancing suspiciously over at Kaleb and not looking directly at Gage. “I’ve got eyes and ears everywhere, and no one has heard from him.” Travis sighed heavily, leaning back in his chair.

“I read the messages he’s been sending V. She’s been ignoring him for the most part, but they’re pretty nasty,” Zane told them.

“What’s the sheriff doing about this?” Gage asked, and everyone looked over at Sawyer.

“What the hell? Why the fuck would I know?”

“We know you’ve been talking to Kennedy Endsley, bro. It’s not a secret anymore.” This time Kaleb chimed in, earning himself a glare from Sawyer.

“I haven’t heard a damn thing. I’ve got a couple of people looking out for him too, but no one’s heard anything.”

Zane didn’t even know whether it mattered if Jake was back in town. He dreamed of his own vengeance against the mother fucker who damn near killed him with a tire iron, but at this point, he was more worried about protecting V than he was exacting his own revenge. And that surprised the shit out of him.

Zane was known for his short temper and his ability to instigate a fight, but he’d never done so without good reason. He didn’t tolerate bullying, and he’d found himself in a number of situations trying to defend someone against them. The same thing happened with Jake, only Jake took the pussy way out, attacking Zane when he least expected it. He hadn’t had a chance against four of them, regardless if they were carrying tire irons.

“I want his ass in jail,” Travis barked, running his hand through his dark hair, this time Zane noticed that his oldest brother looked right at Gage.

He wasn’t sure the dynamic between the two men, especially not now since he’d been out of the loop for so long, but there was a palpable tension between them. Gage looked... Zane wanted to say guilty, but that didn’t seem like the appropriate word.

Tense? Yes.

Concerned? Most definitely.

Hiding something? Possibly.

Zane wanted to know what.

“You and I both know he’s going to get off easy. His daddy will make sure of it,” Zane retorted, looking back and forth between Gage and Travis, trying to decipher the hidden conversation the two men seemed to be having.

“I bet his daddy doesn’t know he’s harassing women,” Kaleb added, looking just as perplexed as the rest of them.

“What the hell does his father have to do with this?” Sawyer questioned, seemingly oblivious to the tension.

“Pastor Sanders? That ring a bell?” Kaleb tossed the statement out, looking back down at his computer.

“Oh, shit.” Sawyer said the words everyone was thinking.

Zane hadn’t been out of the hospital for a week, and he was already tired of this game Jake was playing. No matter what, he was going to be prepared for the next time; he just wished like hell he knew when that was going to be.

“I expect everyone in this room to keep their eyes open. If you see or hear anything, I want to know about it. Immediately.” This came from Gage and Zane stared blankly at Kaleb’s friend. What the hell did he have to do with this?

“Good idea,” Travis barked, glaring at Gage. “Care to tell everyone why you’re suddenly so fucking interested?”

Gage’s eyes narrowed on Travis, and Zane heard the growl that he obviously tried to suppress. “No, I’d prefer not.”

“Not an option anymore.” Travis seemed to be getting angrier by the second and Zane felt as though he was watching two fighters gearing up for a quick round.

“What the hell is going on?” Kaleb closed the lid on his computer and stared back at the two men who were currently in the middle of some sort of pissing contest.

“Care to enlighten them? Or would you prefer I do the honors? Chance?”

The last word was drawn out, and Zane didn’t take his eyes off of Gage. He had no idea what the hell was going on between the two men, but as soon as that word came out, Gage shot to his feet.

“You don’t want to do this, Travis.” Gage’s words were said through gritted teeth, his lips pulled back in a snarl. Zane wasn’t sure he’d ever seen the man this riled up.

“Don’t you think the boys deserve to know that you’re not who you say you are?”

Kaleb stood to his feet as soon as Gage moved in closer to Travis. Putting one hand on his friend, Zane watched as Gage slowly took a step back, a blank expression hastily sliding down to conceal the anger.

“What are you talking about, Travis?” Kaleb asked the million dollar question.

Zane glanced over at Sawyer, realizing his other brother was leaning forward, intensely focused on the three men across the room. He looked just as clueless as Zane felt.

“He’s a cop,” Travis ground out, saying the word like it was an expletive.

“What the hell is he talking about?” Kaleb looked at Gage, taking a step back as if Gage might grow horns and a tail and pull a pitchfork out of his ass at any moment.

Zane watched as Gage thrust his hands through his hair before dropping back into the chair he’d been sitting in. His head hung low, his shoulders hunched as though he’d been defeated.

“A cop?” Sawyer interjected.

“Fuck,” Gage growled, glaring back up at Travis. “This shit does not leave this room. You fucking understand me?”

Zane wasn’t sure he’d ever seen Gage this pissed off.

“I knew it!” Sawyer laughed. “A fucking truck driver, my ass!”

Sawyer’s outburst made Zane laugh, but no one else seemed to find it amusing.

“I’m UC.”

“UC?” Zane asked the question, hoping it wasn’t as stupid as he thought it was.

“Under cover. Thanks to dumbass over here, he just blew my fucking cover.”

Travis growled and lunged at Gage. In an instant, Zane had his oldest brother restrained. He was quite impressed with himself actually. He hadn’t even known he had moved until his arms latched around his brother’s torso.

“Sit down,” Kaleb barked, clearly taking control of the situation. “Both of you.”

When Zane felt the tension release from Travis’ shoulders, he let go, moving back to his chair. He knew Kaleb wasn’t talking to him, but shit, if this was going to get good, he was more than happy to sit his ass down.

“You’re not a truck driver?” Kaleb stared at Gage, propping himself on the edge of his desk.

“No. I’ve never been a truck driver.”

“What the fuck, man? I thought we were like family?” Kaleb sounded both angry and hurt, which Zane sort of understood. He couldn’t help but wonder what it would be like to find out Beau was living a secret life that no one knew about. He smiled, wondering if maybe he was.

Gage didn’t respond; instead, he glared over at Travis like he wanted to rip his head off and shit down his neck. Zane laughed at the visual but wiped the smile off his face as soon as everyone turned their attention to him.

“What? I’m not the cop.” There, throw the focus back to Gage.

“There’s nothing to explain. I’m a cop. Plain and simple. I don’t want this shit to leave this room. You hear me?”

Zane wasn’t sure who Gage was talking to, but he nodded his understanding. No point in pissing him off more.

As though the conversation had lost his interest, which didn’t make any damn sense because he’d brought it up, Travis stood from his chair and paced back and forth across the room for a moment, and Zane knew the man had something to say, but he couldn’t imagine what it was now. Shit. Did he have an arsenal of personal secrets that he was willing to expose? Zane sure hoped not.

“We need to get down to business.”

“Business?” Sawyer questioned, his feet now propped up on the desk, his hands folded behind his head as he leaned back in his chair. “This was just getting good. It’s like an episode of Cops or something. Only this time, the rednecks cornered the cop and not the other way around.”

“Shut it!” Gage demanded.

Sawyer laughed, but he didn’t say another word.

“The McCoy’s requested that we come up to Dallas,” Travis said, indubitably looking to rein in the conversation yet again.

“For what?”

“I think it’s a good idea for you and Sawyer to check out Club Destiny. It’s no secret that CD is one of the most popular fetish clubs in the state. We can learn from them. Get some ideas.”

“I thought Luke closed the doors?” Kaleb questioned, his attention riveted on the brother standing in the middle of the room.

“He did,” Travis answered as if that made perfect sense.

Zane wasn’t following.

If the doors were closed, what the hell were they going to see?

“I talked to him this morning, and he’s decided, thanks to Logan’s and Cole’s persuasion, to open the club doors on Monday nights until he decides what to do with the rest of it.”

“Mondays?” Apparently Sawyer was on the same page he was because Zane was wondering the same thing. “Why Mondays?”

“I’m the last person who could possibly explain Luke McCoy’s rationale. I don’t ask questions.”

“Don’t you have to be a member to get in?” Sawyer asked Travis skeptically.

“Normally, yes. He said he’s willing to make an exception for us.”

Zane was confused. Last he heard Club Destiny was a nightclub that catered to the general public. They also had some sort of swinger’s club that, according to the articles he read when McKenna Thorne had been doing her exclusive, wasn’t much to see.