“Val?” Dani asked, but she knew the answer.
“Val wouldn’t.” Finn didn’t sound at all sure.
She would, Dani knew all of a sudden. Her little sister had been nasty before, but the last couple of months she’d been sweet. Val had been the one to prod her into marrying Jimbo. She’d pushed for a date and helped with all the arrangements. Dani thought she and her sister had been making some progress. Now she could see Val had just wanted her gone. And now that she thought about it, maybe Val hadn’t been so sweet during her engagement. More than once, Val had hovered around Jimbo. A dozen tiny incidents added up to one huge betrayal. Maybe he had been a horrible boyfriend.
“How many times did you sleep with my sister?” Dani asked.
Even in the dim light of the bar, Dani could see the way Jimbo blanched. She felt the way Finn tensed behind her. His hand went to the nape of her neck, a soothing reminder that whatever Jimbo said, Finn was with her.
“A whole bunch of times, Dani. I’m sorry. I just couldn’t seem to give you what you needed, and she was real good at making me feel like a man.”
She found she wasn’t all that upset with Jimbo. The whole relationship had been a mistake on both their parts.
“Julian turned her down,” Finn whispered in her ear.
He had, she remembered. And Julian would never go behind her back. Despite his kinks and outward coolness, there was a warm honesty to Julian. If he decided he wanted to sleep with someone else, he would more than likely sit down and lay out the ground rules. He wouldn’t lie about it.
“Where is my sister?” It was time to talk to her baby sis.
Jimbo pointed to the door. “She left with some skinny guy a while back. I ain’t seen him before. I wouldn’t expect her back until morning, if you know what I mean.”
She did. Then her talk with Val would have to wait.
“Danielle.”
Wow, that voice got to her. She turned in tandem with Finn to see that Julian had come for them. “Are you ready to go?”
Julian looked between the two of them and Jimbo, as though assessing the situation. “Have you said what you need to say?”
“Yes, Sir.”
“Then let’s call it a night.” He held out his hand, and Dani waved a little good-bye to Jimbo before taking it.
“I’m very proud of you, little one. You managed a conversation with your ex-fiancé without any violence.” He led the three of them through the crowded bar and out into the night.
“Yes, I’m saving my violence for my sister,” Dani admitted as they walked through the parking lot.
Now Finn took the lead, his hands on his keys. He led them to his SUV. Julian had come with Jack, Sam, and Abby. Finn would have to drive them. “It’s about time someone took her out, Dani. She’s been terrorizing the world since she hit high school. She was Medusa in a cheerleader skirt.”
“Yes, I do believe that the younger Miss Bay is more than likely due a bit of retribution. I’ll consider it.” Julian opened the back door and gestured for Dani to get inside.
Dani had no intention of allowing Julian to decide whether or not she had it out with her sister, but now probably wasn’t the best time to fight about it. Her ass was still tender as she sat down. Finn opened his door and slid in, but Julian left the passenger door closed. He got in beside Danielle. He immediately pulled her into his lap.
“Is my poor little one’s backside still sore?” He whispered the words directly into her ear, sending shivers down her spine.
“Yes, Sir.”
His hand slid over her knee. “That’s what happens when you disobey the big, bad Dom, Danielle. He does all sorts of nasty things to you. He might tie you down and force himself on you. You wouldn’t want that, would you? You wouldn’t want the big, bad Dom to take a whip to all that soft flesh before he fucks you senseless, would you?”
Did she? Hell, yeah she did. She was thinking about disobeying right now.
“That might have to wait, guys.” Finn didn’t sound aroused. Finn’s voice was quiet, thin, and reedy. Even from the backseat, she could see that Finn was tense. His eyes were focused on the seat beside him. “We have company.”
That was when she heard it. It started low, but quickly made a sound every Texas girl knew meant trouble.
Rattlesnake.
Chapter Twelve
Finn tried to keep his entire body perfectly still. It was hard, since what he really wanted to do was run away screaming like a five-year-old girl. Instead, he froze as that fucking awful sound continued. That sound seemed like the only thing real in the whole world. Time seemed to slow, to grind to a halt. The very air felt frozen as he forced himself to breathe.
It sat perfectly coiled on the seat beside him. How had he missed that? How had he climbed in next to a fucking rattlesnake and not noticed. He’d been focused on Dani and Julian, wishing he didn’t have to play chauffeur. He’d wanted to be back there with them. He hadn’t noticed a thing until he looked down to turn on the radio, and then he’d heard that sound.
“Finn, I want you to stay still.” Julian’s voice was perfectly steady, a calm, quiet anchor reaching out to him.
“On it, Sir.” He forced himself to reply, pushing the words out of his mouth. It reminded him that he wasn’t alone.
He stared at the snake, afraid to take his eyes off of it even for a second. God, he really didn’t want that thing to stick its fangs into him. He wished he hadn’t parked under a damn light. It might have been easier if he couldn’t see the thing. It sat there with dead, primeval eyes. He remembered everything his grandfather ever told him about snakes. They were supposedly more scared of him than he was of them. Bullshit. Finn was really fucking scared, and that snake looked perfectly happy. Maybe not happy, Finn amended, but content. It also looked ready. Its diamond-shaped head was standing up, taking in its prey. It was waiting for him to make one wrong move. Just one.
Julian’s voice broke through the tension. “Danielle, as carefully as you can, I want you to get out of the car. I want you to climb out, run back to the bar, and go find Jackson and Abigail Barnes.”
Finn heard Julian very slowly pushing his door open.
“I can’t leave Finn.” Dani sounded terrified.
Finn was willing to bet there were already tears running down her face. He had to stay calm for her. He had to keep it together for her sake, or she might do something very foolish. It wouldn’t be the first time she’d tried to save his ass.
He remembered vividly the day when he’d sprained his ankle. They’d been out at the swamp about a mile from Dani’s house. They were ten, and Finn had misjudged the sturdiness of the tree he’d been climbing. He fell at least twelve feet to the hard earth below. It was just before dark, and he’d been terrified of all the things that came out at night in the swamps of East Texas. Dani had carried him all the way home. She carried him through the mud and the dark. Her slender form had been strong enough, his weight no match for her will. God, he loved her.
“Dani, you get out of here now. I mean it.” Finn couldn’t stand the thought of her being hurt. If he let her, she’d put herself between him and the snake. That was not happening.
The car shifted, but only slightly, as Dani turned to get out. Finn let his eyes shift to get a glimpse of her blonde hair as she got off Julian’s lap and slid out of the car. When her feet touched the ground, she stumbled slightly and reached out to stabilize herself.
“Danielle.” Julian’s voice was a warning.
She caught herself, but the car moved slightly. It was enough.
The snake struck. Pain lashed like lightning on and up Finn’s arm. It happened so fast, Finn only got a second’s sight of the snake’s fangs before the pain hit. The snake recoiled like a boxer going back to his corner. Finn had no intention of going another round. He cursed a blue streak and got the hell out of the car, tumbling to the ground. There was no delicate movement, just an insane need to get away. He hit the ground on his back, all the air rushing out.