Shane's Redemption (Maura's Men Book 3)

by Stella Williams

  Nothing seemed to be happening tonight, and with all three of the traitors in the building, the place reeked of hostility as the Vampires in the area went on red alert. It was time for Rod to leave. He wouldn't go unnoticed if he stayed any longer, especially with the other vampires being hyper-vigilant. Rod emanated Maura's presence like a red flag to a bull. The traitors weren't the only vampires he had to worry about.

  He ducked out of the club and headed down the street. With his spying gig over it was time to grab some munchies. Not for him of course. He had to wait until his mistress was satisfied before he could dare feed himself. He should have snagged a laced drink from the club, but with the Silence of the Lambs behind the bar, he hadn't risked it.

  The tension between the traitors had been palpable. Maybe, they would do him a favor and knock each other out of the running. Either way, it was something he could report back to Maura. Maybe now was the time to strike. They weren't as unified as she thought and that discord was just the thing to put an end to this whole mess. Get rid of the traitors, then get rid of Maura. Rodney nearly fell over as a sharp pain sliced through his brain and down to his toes. Nix that second part. The traitors had to go.

  Molly stood at the edge of VIP looking out over the crowded dance floor. She nodded at Xander and Claude as they entered and watched as they chose posts giving them a full view of the club while also hiding from the masses. Shane was at the bar serving the eager patrons. Gretchen as the floor manager was making the rounds. Checking in with the bouncers and the two waitresses that were gliding through the writhing bodies with tubes of neon escapism. It was calming to see everything running smoothly so far. One less thing for Molly to stress over.

  "You look ravishing this evening," Brody said, slipping his arms around Molly's waist.

  She stilled at the possessive nature of his embrace. Especially in front of Shane who despite his emaciated form was apparently gearing up for a fight. Shane's eyes danced with a crazed light that reminded Molly of the one and only time she'd seen a feral vampire. Molly turned to face Brody, taking a step back and out of his arms. She was pissed that he thought he could just waltz into her club like he hadn't been MIA the last month. It also didn't feel right. Being affectionate with someone else in front of Shane felt like a betrayal. A slap in the face to what they once shared.

  "Brody, long time no see," She said with a pleasant and professional smile.

  He smirked and took her arm.

  "Love, don't be clingy. It's not becoming," He said with a short laugh.

  Molly's smile faltered a little.

  "She's not the one who seems to have a problem," Shane snarled behind her before she could answer.

  Brody glared at Shane before shaking his head in disgust.

  "What happened to Mack," Brody said paying no further attention to Shane.

  Molly could feel Shane's anger peaking like flaming barbed wire on her back. A feeling she was unfortunately familiar with due to her more intense encounters with the Shadow. She needed to deal with Brody away from Shane. The last thing Molly needed was an altercation between the two. The Council would surely have a field day with that, and as much as she couldn't forgive Shane, he didn't deserve to be put to death over her.

  "Let's go to my office," Molly said.

  She walked away before either of them could say another word. Molly didn't miss Brody's triumphant smile or Shane's killing glare before Brody followed. As soon as her office door closed Brody was on her. Pressing Molly against her desk, his hands slid up her skirt to touch her. She pushed him away.

  "I didn't invite you here for that," She moved to put her desk between them.

  He smirked and took a seat.

  "Fine, if you want business first. The Council will be here in two days, and as their liaison, I came to make sure you understood the rules before their arrival," He said.

  "Since when are you their liaison," Molly asked.

  He raised an eyebrow at her.

  "Do you think I approached you just for my own jollies?"

  Molly felt sick. Of course, she had been the one to initiate their intimate relationship. Now his detachment made sense. It wasn't because he was okay with her non-committal terms. He had been keeping appearances. Feeling her out, quite literally, for The Council.

  "So you were using me," She stated.

  He leaned across the desk towards her.

  "If you think for one second that I would agree to such paltry intimacy out of duty you are completely out of touch," He growled before pulling her into a kiss.

  It was different from the times he'd kissed her before. There was no seduction, no playfulness. It was all raw need. It scared her. Vampire men were notoriously possessive and while Molly had given Brody certain liberties with her body. She thought it had been clear that her heart wasn't in the bargain. Molly had no desire to be possessed by anyone. She'd vowed never to make that mistake again.

  "Hey, buddy. Turn it down a notch or two before you scare the precious few customers away," Gretchen hissed in Shane's ear.

  He tore his gaze away from the door that led to Molly's office and begrudgingly turned his attention to the pissed off humans anxious for their poison of choice. Not that he could blame them. He downed a shot of the most potent stuff on the shelves before taking a single order.

  Shane didn't care that Gretchen was glaring angrily at him. He never said he was a good bartender, but he had been the only option on such short notice. He didn't mention that it was because he'd scared the other applicants away. No, that would be his secret. He'd needed this piss poor position to get closer to Molly.

  The past few months had been torture not being able to see her. Rationally, Shane knew she needed space. Some time to come to terms with everything that had transpired in the last few years. However, in his present state Shane was far from rational. Fueled by a deadly cocktail of drugs, alcohol, and the primal need to possess her and only her; Shane would do anything for a moment in her presence. The sight of her gave him a better high than anything he could shove into his abused, emaciated body.

  Even seeing her flirting with other males in the club had been better than not seeing her face at all. At least it had been until the Council's henchman had arrived. Shane nearly crushed the shaker in his grip when he thought of the familiarity the man seemed to have with her. If Molly hadn't dragged the man away, Shane had no idea what he would have done. Even in his weakened state, Shane would have easily shredded the healthier vampire for touching his woman.

  "Shane," Gretchen snapped forcing him back to the moment.

  His emotions running so high and fast he hadn't noticed the feral snarl rumbling in his throat. Hadn’t realized his lips curled back in a gruesome snarl that revealed his long sharp canines. It drew the attention of the few vampires in the room as well as the humans crowding the bar for drinks. The humans were stupidly cheering as if it were some sort of show. The vampires were bracing for a fight. Shane was their worst nightmare. One of Maura’s Men had finally snapped.

  Shane had never felt so out of control in his life. Molly was his. There was no way he would just stand idly by while she was taken advantage of by another. He leaped over the bar and made it almost to the office before his friends Xander and Claude blocked his path.

  Each grabbed an arm as he struggled against them. Like a caged animal he jerked and snapped at them with his teeth. Scratched at them with his hands. Still, their combined strength held him at bay as they carried him out the club and away from prying eyes.

  Once outside he was pushed against the brick wall before Claude punched him squarely in the jaw. Shane lunged for him only to be driven back by Xander.

  "Your recklessness may have cost you Molly but if you ever put my female in danger like that again," Claude trailed off, the fire in his eyes enough warning.

  Shane seethed, itching for a fight. He struggled against Xander's hold.

  "Shane get a hold of yourself," Xander said as calmly as if he were asking him to
pass the salt at dinner, but the undertones were deadly.

  Shane hadn't been on anyone's good side as of late. He knew his friends wouldn't hesitate to put him to ground if they thought he was beyond control. The problem was he really couldn't help the primal energy coursing through him at that moment. His entire body had a mind of its own. A drive so intense that despite Xander's strength his grasp on Shane was tenuous at best. All it would take was a moment of distraction, and there would be no stopping him.

  As if sensing Shane's mood Claude grabbed either side of Shane's head and rammed it into the brick wall with enough force to knock him out. Shane slid to the ground, his friend's curses the last he heard before everything faded to black.

  Intervention

  "That was a bit excessive," Xander said hefting an unconscious Shane over his shoulder.

  Now back at the mansion, the two men could speak freely. They'd driven back in silence afraid that their voices might wake Shane sooner than they could get him back. The last thing they needed was an irate vampire in such close confines.

  "The jerk is lucky that's all I did to him. If it had been Cat in there instead of Gretchen, you would have done worse," Claude said entering the foyer.

  His voice echoed a bit in the empty space. The house felt eerily quiet and more somber than it should considering it housed two mated couples and some extended family.

  "Cat would never be in that situation because she knows her place," Xander said but winced when he turned to find Cat standing behind him. With her hands on her hips and an angry purse to her full lips.

  "My place is wherever the hell I feel like and yours is the floor until I say otherwise. Now take Shane to his room before he wakes and does something we will all regret." She snapped.

  Xander took note that she was in the doorway and hadn't come from the direction of the stairs which meant she hadn't been home like he had expected. He wanted to question her whereabouts but wasn't willing to risk her wrath much further. Instead, he tucked his head and did as he was told, for now.

  Heading down the hall toward Shane's area of the mansion he could hear Cat doing a number on Claude's ego and felt instantly better about his odds of getting back into his bed later that evening. His mate had a temper that burned hot and fast. If she were fanning the flames in Claude's direction, she would be more amiable to him once the issue of Shane was taken care of.

  "Once again your hero complex rears its ugly head! What were you thinking slamming his head like that," Cat yelled at Claude who looked pissed and anxious to head right back out the door.

  Cat shoved at Claude's chest knocking him off balance a little. His head snapped around to face her.

  "What's got your tail tonight, Cat? Can't a man be protective of his woman without you biting his head off," He griped.

  Cat had been on her way to the club herself when the Claude and Xander had returned with an unconscious Shane. The Shadow had been on another one of its rants about Shane and Molly when it had suddenly stopped and demanded she go there straight away. If she hadn't seen their car pull up, she might have just missed them and their little chat about what had happened.

  "Look I get it, finding a mate for you guys is like a miracle, especially for your chauvinist ass but Gretchen can handle her own. If she needs you, she'll let you know," Cat said.

  "Are you done," Claude said and started to walk off towards the front door.

  "No, I wanted to talk to you about Gretchen's brother as well as Shane once Xander is done putting him to bed. I don't really want Gretchen to be there," she said.

  Claude whirled on her.

  "Why can't Gretchen be there? It's her brother," He said.

  Cat sighed.

  "Because I don't want to worry her if it turns out to be nothing," Cat replied.

  Claude softened a little in his stance. Cat of course had counted on it. He and the others didn't really need to know about her suspicions about the Shadow, but it was on her agenda to be more open about things. Lord knew secrets were what had made all of this mess in the first place. If they all just communicated batter so much could have been avoided. Felix would never have been missing for so long with none of them the wiser. Maura’s return would have been noticed sooner or may not have even happened.

  Maura would have been so much easier to subdue before now, and without Maura. Well, Molly may still have died but there is a chance Shane may have discovered the secret to bringing her back on his own. They could have had their happily ever after. Gretchen wouldn’t have had to suffer Declan’s violent attack. For all we knew she may have ended up with Felix instead of Claude, or better yet still alive and happy. Her brother Greg wouldn’t have been caught in Maura’s crosshairs either. The Shadow would have never infiltrated Cat’s life with her crazy demands. The thought of the Shadow brought Cat back to the present.

  "Look, I know you all are worried about him not being himself but he wasn't with Maura that long. Hell, I'd be more worried if he was acting as if nothing was wrong. The guy just learned about vampires and has had to give up his entire life because of it. You of all people should know how shitty that transition can be," Claude said.

  "I do, and it's not that at all. Look, let's just focus on the more pressing issue right now. We need to have a serious discussion about Shane, and it cannot wait a moment longer," Cat insisted.

  Cat had chickened out again. There was no bringing up the Shadow at this time. What the Shadow told her about the key to destroying Maura once and for all would stay a secret for now. Maybe it was for the best. The Shadow was still harping about Shane and Molly getting back together. She had yet to mention anything about the Greg plot twist in this whole quest to find love for all of Maura's Men. Then again that edict had also not been extended to the two douche nuggets that had fought alongside Maura in the last battle. Still, she thought it would be easier to discuss it with Claude since he was the most skeptical of all of this.

  "Fine just give me a minute to work off some of this negative energy, and I'll meet you guys in the library," Claude said.

  Cat smiled and gave Claude a quick hug before heading off to make sure Xander was taking every care with Shane. For all the butting of heads they did, it wasn't lost on Cat that she would be dead if it hadn't been for him. His blood had given her a new life. That made them family. They were all family, dysfunctional and full of drama just like any other. The Shadow and the question of Greg could wait. Shane's needs were definitely a priority.

  Xander hadn't set foot in Shane's area of the mansion for almost a year. The men had divided the mansion into four sections when they first bought it. Claude and Xander shared the upper floor while Shane and Felix split the lower. At least when Felix was alive. Now the lower east wing was a mostly empty guest space. Not that Felix had done much personalizing. He’d hired a decorator who’d made the place look “Martha Stewart Chic” as he’d said.

  Xander personally thought it looked like a cheap motel and wasn’t worth even half the designer's ridiculous fees. Not that Shane’s idea of decorating was any better. The late sixties, early seventies weren’t the best of design decades. At least Shane had the decency to keep the motif behind closed doors. The hallway itself matched the original design of the place. Clean white walls and marble flooring.

  Shane’s increasingly erratic behavior should have been enough warning. Yet, Xander's occupation with pleasing his mate had left Shane to wither almost unnoticed. His ordinarily clean workspace was piled with trash and paraphernalia. Pill bottles both empty and some tipped over onto a shard of glass. A few were still whole while others crushed and forming neat lines. Some glass tubes and burnt spoons that reminded Xander of the opium dens he’d hunted in during their time with Maura. Dried mushrooms and the antique water pipe that had disappeared from the study were by Shane’s bed.

  The sharp aroma of chemicals and body odor on soiled linens was unbearable. The entire scene reminded Xander of one of those awful hoarding shows that Cat and Gretchen were obsessed w
ith. Adjusting Shane's weight Xander took him down the hall to Molly's old room. The only place untouched by his apparent disregard for hygiene. Until his space was habitable again, this would be where he stayed.

  In the old days, Shane would never have been allowed to get so low. Shane would have been staked or worse at the first hint of mental illness. The vampire world wasn't nearly as forgiving as the human one. Especially to those like Shane, Claude, and himself whose image was already tarnished by the nature of their sire. The decision had to be made. There was no way Shane could continue to go unchecked. From that moment on, Shane would be monitored every minute of every day until they figured out a way to work out his issues.

  Once Shane was snuggly tucked into bed Xander walked back through each of Shane’s rooms. He surveyed the damage and opened the windows. The night breeze wasn’t strong, but any wind was better than none when it came to ridding the area of that smell. Even years of living amid the stench of death could not have prepared his nose for Shane’s rooms. With that done, Xander made his way to the study where he knew Claude and his mate would be waiting. Who Xander didn't expect to see were Mack and Greg. Greg had pretty much holed up in the guest room since he'd woken and Mack was supposed to be out of town because of the Council's pending visit. How Mack knew so much about the Council and their kind was a mystery that Xander had yet to solve. This, however, was not the time to speculate on that. Shane was a much more pressing issue. Mack, so far had proved himself not just trustworthy, but useful.

  "Mack forgot something at the club and saw you two lumbering away with Shane across your back. He was afraid something bad had happened," Cat explained coming to his side.

  "Something bad has happened. I've failed him, we have all failed him. As pressing as the threat of Maura is, Shane is now our new priority. He should have been our priority for a while now," Xander took a deep breath, feeling the weight of his words like a boulder on his chest.