Cocked: A Stepbrother Romance Read Free Page B

not staying?” She looked almost crushed.
    “I have a room nearby.”
    “But you’ll stay for dinner.”
    I shook my head. “I think you guys need time to get used to this.”
    “What about the authorities here?” Jeff cut in. “Aren’t you still wanted?”
    “Not exactly. I heard they arrested someone else for the car stuff.”
    “But you could be in trouble still,” Lacey said.
    “It’s a possibility.”
    “You can’t leave us so soon,” my mom said.
    I crouched down next to her and took her hand. “Listen, Mom. I promise that I’m not going anywhere anytime soon.”
    She nodded. “I’m so, so happy you’re home.”
    “Me too.”
    Jeff and Lacey both watched me suspiciously, but I didn’t care. I needed to keep my mom calm, or at least as calm as I could make her, before the shit really hit the fan.
    I stood up and looked at Jeff. “I’m glad you married her.”
    “Me too,” he grunted.
    “I should get going.” I started walking toward the door. My mom stood and followed.
    “How can I reach you?” she asked.
    “Room 101 at the Lincoln Motel. I don’t have a cellphone yet, but that’s where I’m staying.”
    “Come back soon,” she said.
    I hugged her again. “I will. I promise.”
    I moved out the front door before she could stop me, heading toward my car. All in all, that little visit went way better than expected. I figured there’d be more yelling, maybe some cursing, and definitely some thrown objects. Instead, my mom seemed shocked and happy, and Jeff was suspicious at best. Lacey, well, Lacey was a whole different issue.
    I didn’t hear her sneak up behind me until she spoke. “I don’t believe your story.”
    I turned and grinned at her. She was standing with her arms crossed over her chest, and I had the irrational and insane desire to kiss her. She looked so fucking sexy glaring at me angrily.
    I missed that pout. I missed that serious expression. Fuck, I missed everything about her. She had no idea how many times I had thought of her in the dead of night down in Mexico. 
    There’d been plenty of other women. There had to be, considering what I was doing down there. I couldn’t afford to look weak in front of my employers. But there hadn’t been a single woman that held a candle to Lacey, even the Lacey that I knew, the girl from high school.
    I regretted a lot from those days. I regretted the way I drifted away from her, the way I treated her. I hated that I couldn’t see what I had right in front of my face. Instead, I went looking for more exciting things, more drugs and more parties. I wanted to live life to the fullest. I wanted to burn out instead of fading away.
    But that was stupid.
    All of that shit, it all led me down to Mexico and into my current situation. It only got me more danger, more heartache and sadness, more pain and regret and death.
    “Why not?” I asked.
    “Seems too easy. You were in a jail for four years and we never heard about it?”
    “It’s Mexico. They’re not exactly great at keeping records.”
    “Still. Lynn and Dad tried to find you, even hired a private investigator. There’s no way he wouldn’t find you down there.”
    “Maybe he wasn’t as good as he said he was. Plus, I wasn’t using my real name.”
    “Still. White guy in a Mexican prison? Not exactly hard to find.”
    I shook my head. “There’s a surprising number of gringos in prison down there.” I stepped close to her, loving the way she reacted to me. “What do you want me to say, Lacey? That you’re right? That I’m lying?”
    “I just want the truth from you for once in your miserable life.”
    I sighed. I wanted to tell her so badly, but it was too soon.
    “I already gave you the truth. It’s not my fault you don’t want to listen.”
    “It is your fault, actually. It’s your fault you ran away and your fault you came back.” She paused and stepped back. “I wish you had stayed dead.”
    I reached for something to say but found nothing. Instead,