“Thanks,” Jackson said. “Me, too.”
“And you’re probably the best thing that has ever happened to Tara, so don’t fuck it up.”
Jackson chuckled, completely unoffended by Clay’s threat. “She’s the best thing that’s ever happened to me, and I swear I’m going to do everything in my power to make her happy.”
“Good,” Clay said succinctly. “Then we should be absolutely fine.”
They ended the call, and a few minutes later he arrived at Inked, had the car parked, and strode determinedly into the shop. Mason was standing at the front counter, and he lifted a challenging brow as Jackson approached. Oh, yeah, this guy wasn’t going to make any of this easy on him.
“Where is she?” he asked, far more politely than the demand he forced back down his throat.
“Who?” Mason asked, clear
ly feigning innocence.
Yeah, total asshole. “Tara. I know she’s here, Mason.”
His brother crossed his tattooed arms over his chest, not giving Jackson an inch. “What if she doesn’t want to see you?”
“Did she say that?” he shot back.
“She didn’t have to.” Mason gave a careless, one-shoulder shrug. “She came in here crying and upset. What did you do to her?”
“I didn’t do anything to her,” he said through gritted teeth. “Not that it’s any of your fucking business.”
Mason arched a skeptical brow, but an accompanying smirk lifted his mouth, as if he liked the fact that Jackson had challenged him right back. “Yeah, well, it didn’t look that way to me.”
Jackson’s aggravation rose another notch. “You know what, Mason? You’re being a dick right now. You do realize that, don’t you?”
The cocky bastard grinned. “Yeah, that’s kind of how brothers are.”
It was the first time Mason had referred to them as brothers. Realizing Jackson had cracked the toughest nut in the family—so to speak—made him feel as though he’d just gained entrance into a secret society. But this was even better, because it was everything he’d ever wanted and hoped for.
Mason relaxed his stance, a glint of amusement in his gaze. “Clay already called and told me that you were on your way and not to be a dick because you love Tara.”
Jackson didn’t know what he was more annoyed at. The fact that Mason had been jerking his chain from the moment he’d entered Inked or that Clay had revealed how Jackson felt about Tara. “Jesus, is nothing private?”
“Not between siblings,” Mason told him. “Get used to it.”
It was another subtle reference to being part of the Kincaid family, and probably the closest Jackson was going to get to any kind of acknowledgement from this particular brother. “If you don’t let me talk to her, everyone in the goddamn city is going to know that I love Tara before she does!”
Finally, Mason took pity on him and jerked his head toward his office. “She’s in there talking to Katrina. And I can guarantee that if you did anything stupid to Tara, Katrina will rip your nuts off.”
Jackson wasn’t sure if Mason was joking or not. “I find it hard to believe that your wife is more deranged than you.”
Mason laughed, as if Jackson had just complimented him. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
Done sparring with Mason, Jackson strode over to the office. Just as he reached for the doorknob—no, he wasn’t going to knock and announce himself and risk Tara refusing to see him—the door swung open. Katrina came to an abrupt stop right in front of him, and Jackson resisted the urge to cup his hands over his balls to protect them, just in case.
“I want to talk to Tara.” He wasn’t asking permission. His need to see her, right now, his feelings nonnegotiable.
“Okay,” Katrina replied easily, then slid past him to leave the office, while Tara was still inside.
Well, that was easier than expected, Jackson thought.
He entered the room, then closed and locked the door behind him because he wanted privacy and no interruptions. He studied Tara a moment to gauge her emotions. She twisted her hands in front of her, and her eyes were wide as she stared back at him. He returned her gaze, but try as he might, Jackson wasn’t able to pinpoint the emotions there.
He couldn’t figure out where he currently stood with her, but that was fine, because before they left this office, she was going to know exactly where she stood with him.