A Whole New Crowd(29)

I frowned and pulled away, but he didn’t let go. “Krein,” I warned.
He pulled me close and yelled into my ear, “He’s not back there.” Then he let me go and nodded towards the dance floor. “Follow me.”
We moved through the crowd, and he pointed to a corner. Jace was standing in a corner with two girls pressed against him while he was nodding to another guy speaking into his ear.
Krein leaned close again. “Stay here.” Then he muscled his way over to them. A guard let them through, one that I hadn’t known was there, and the other guy moved back so Krein could talk to Jace. A second later he was pointing at me. When Jace spotted me, I saw the slight widening around his eyes. The rest of the world would see the same poker face, but they weren’t privy to the storm that was brewing in his eyes. Great. His jaw tightened and I got ready. He was pissed.
Jace broke away from the group he had been standing with, leaving the two girls disappointed until Krein went over to them. One girl glared at me, as Jace grabbed my wrist, pulling me behind him. He wasn’t nice and gentle like his second in command had been. He didn’t wait for his guards. He shoved through the crowd and kept his cement hold on me. When a drunk stumbled in front of us, Jace lifted me in the air and placed me in front of him. He didn’t pause. He swept the guy out of the way, then ushered me forward and kept his arms on both sides of me until we were at the other end.
Then two guards materialized out of nowhere. They took point and led the way down a back hallway.
“Jace,” I started.
“Don’t.” He didn’t let go of my arm, but I was transferred to his side. He held onto me as we went to his office. As we neared the office, a girl left the room and ran in the opposite direction.
“Get her. I don’t want her going that way.”
The guard nodded and went in pursuit. When we were at the door, the guard passed us, holding onto the girl’s arm in the same manner that Jace was holding onto my arm.
“Hey!” she protested, trying to twist her arm free. “Let me go.”
She was ignored and then Jace had me in the office and the door was shut.
I prepared myself. He was working. I had known that the second I saw he wasn’t happy to see me. That meant I had about two minutes until he would kick me out. He’d done it countless times to Brian over the years. Jace never liked us showing up on his territory, and this was the second time I had broken that rule.
Jace kept the room dark and my eyes strained to adjust themselves. He didn’t say anything. He brushed past me and disappeared inside his bathroom. Emerging a second later, he pulled off his shirt and grabbed another one that had been laying on the chair. Pulling it over his head, I diverted my eyes when I saw his stomach muscles ripple from the movement.
Here I went. “Jace,” I started.
“What are you doing here?” His tone was all-business. There was no family warmth, and I shivered, missing it.
“I came for a friend.” My heart was pounding in my ears. “My friend, Gray—”
“You’re here about his dad.”
“Yeah.”
“You want to know if he’s working for me?”
“Yeah.” I willed myself to look up and hold his gaze. Even in the darkness, his eyes could pierce their way through me. “Is he?”
“Why should I tell you?”
I flinched. He was so harsh. “Because I’m family.”
“You’re not, Taryn. Not anymore.”
Another slap across my face; his coldness hurt. “Why are you being like this?”
A hollow laugh came from him. “Don’t fool yourself, Taryn. I’m not you. Brian’s not you either. You’re out. Why do you keep coming back?” He strode towards me and I was unsure what he’d do. “I told you to stay away the last time you were here.”
“Yeah.” I rolled my shoulders back, ready for whatever was about to happen. “Then your brother showed up in my town—”
“Your town.”
I heard the mocking from him. “Yes,” I clipped out. “My town. You’ve made that abundantly clear. My town. My life. My future. You want the lines drawn and you want me on the other side, don’t you?” I sneered. “Screw you. I came back for one thing. Gray. Is his dad working for you or not?”
There was silence for a beat. Then a soft laugh came from him and the cold from it sent chills through my body. This was the gang leader Jace. This was the mastermind behind the Panthers who kept them from being touched by the police. Cunning. Ruthless.
He said, “Leave, Taryn. You were given an out and if you don’t take it, it might not be there anymore.”