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

by Stella Williams

  Molly sank further down into her desk chair with a sigh. Her hands sliding down her thighs in an effort to push her arousal away. It was insane. She didn't have time for this. Didn't have the space left in her life to entertain the thoughts circling in her head. She needed to focus on making sure she maintained what little status she had left with the Council. Yet the more she tried to push the thoughts away, the clearer and more intrusive they came.

  Molly had planned to go visit Shane at the mansion once her shift was over. Had assumed he would stay close to home upon his return. Still, Molly wasn't at all surprised that he'd come straight to her club, straight to see her. Not with the way he'd acted before. That familiar bloom of romance filled her heart as she stood and headed for the door. He'd come for her, a little late but better late than never.

  When Molly returned to the front of the house, Shane was nowhere to be seen. She should have gone to him sooner. Molly hadn't really needed to continue chatting with the new Council liaison that had come to check in on her. He'd been more interested in getting her number than ensuring she was complying with the Council's edicts.

  As if Molly would make that mistake again. No more Council flunkies for her. Hell, no one could ever replace Shane. It had taken time and separation for her to realize it but she finally had. Now that Shane was back she would make sure he knew it too. Maybe he'd taken her hesitation earlier as dismissal, as a sign that she hadn't been ready. Honestly, Molly didn't even know if she was prepared to fully forgive him, but the feeling in her heart and between her legs didn't care at that moment. She nodded at Mack before heading out the door. She was just rounding the corner when she spotted him, or rather them.

  Molly saw them walking away from the club, arms linked and genuine smiles on their faces as they gazed into each other's eyes. She quickly ducked into the alleyway to avoid being seen. He hadn't come for her after all. That thought brought Molly to her knees as once again heartache ripped through her. Her pain quickly turning back into anger so intense and damningly familiar. She never thought she'd ever reach that level of fury a second time. The same burning rage that had allowed her to be manipulated by Maura into torturing her own best friend.

  Molly gasped for air as the flames of her anger engulfed her, blinding white light filling her vision. She couldn't feel anything else but somehow was aware of everything around her. The brick wall next to her popping and cracking under the extreme heat that she was exuding, the smell of asphalt hot and bubbling beneath her feet. Then suddenly a vision of Mack walking towards her. His mouth was moving, but she couldn't make out the words as his hands reached out to her, beckoning her to him.

  Molly shook her head unsure if she was hallucinating or not. She hoped she was because if she wasn't, Mack was in grave danger and he was stupid to put himself in harm's way. Molly couldn't control what was happening to her, couldn't make it stop. Mostly because she didn't want to. She was tired of holding it all in. Tired of being afraid of being made to feel ashamed for things out of her control. She succumbed to the rage letting it all out into the blinding white light that she now realized was coming from her, emanating from her pores.

  She closed her eyes and just when she thought it would all be over, just when the rage she was projecting began to turn in on her she felt a hand on her shoulder. That small contact was like a bucket of water over her head. Her eyes flew open as she gasped for air. The light slowly faded away as she huddled shivering in the dark alley behind the club. Mack stood over her looking both concerned and relieved.

  "I think it's time you and I had a little chat," Mack said pulling Molly to her feet.

  He draped his coat over her shivering frame, but instead of taking her back into the club he guided her to his car. Molly got into the beat up old SUV and turned out the window. She had no idea what to talk about. Her mind was completely blank as if everything but what just happened, was entirely inconsequential. Mack didn't seem to mind the silence as he drove. It was like he sensed she needed a moment to pull herself together before anything more could be accomplished.

  Molly studied Mack's car. The exterior was covered in dents and scratches that were only partially obscured by the peeling and faded paint job. Yet the inside was immaculate, not a crumb, a wrapper, or a receipt could be found anywhere. The only thing that gave any hint to his personal life was the weird signet ring that hung from his keychain. It swung back in forth with the motion of the car every time they stopped at a stop sign or light. It was hypnotizing to watch.

  Molly had seen the ring many times before but this was the closest she'd ever been to it. Mack was a secretive person, which was okay with Molly. She understood the need for one's privacy, but now she just needed a distraction. Any kind of diversion from her thoughts. The ring looked to be made out of bronze, the design swirled and looped in a way that hinted at Latin, Celtic, and maybe Arabic influence. Molly was no expert. She could only guess at its origins or even its meaning. For all she knew, it was something he'd gotten from one of those prize machines where you put in a quarter and got some little trinket. It seemed a bit too sturdy for that. Maybe Mack was into cosplay, and the ring was a replica from some comic book or video game character.

  As it swung, Molly could only catch snippets of detail, but her mind seemed to have no trouble at all filling it in. Like the symbol was one she had seen before, a long time ago. That made the most sense as to why the design seemed so familiar. After years of Cat dragging her to comic conventions, something should have stuck. A brief flash of memory slid past her conscious thought process. A shadow of a woman standing regally before her. A pitying scowl on the woman’s face before a shimmering purple door slammed between them. It didn't register as anything she'd seen at the conventions but something older, from before Cat. Maybe even before becoming a foster child. It was strange indeed. Maybe Molly's powers were just mini seizures each episode bringing her closer and closer to madness. She shivered, wondering if that is what made Maura the madwoman she was today.

  "We're here," Mack announced, breaking Molly's concentration.

  She looked up to find them parked in front of her condo. She turned to ask Mack why he'd brought her home but he was already out of the car and walking around to the passenger side.

  "What if I don't want to talk," Molly asked as they walked to her front door.

  "Whether you want to or not, you need to talk to someone. If not me I can call Cat and have her come over. Gretchen is covering the bar for me," He said.

  Molly immediately shook her head and let him inside. The last thing she needed right now was for Cat to have any idea about what happened. Not only because it involved Shane but because Cat would ask too many questions about her powers. Powers she still had no idea how to control but at least now knew that they were tied to extreme emotional distress.

  "So what all did you see back there," Molly asked setting a glass of water in front of Mack.

  Mack was human, and although she hadn't lost her sense of taste, she didn't keep much at home in the way of food either. She was barely home anyway with most of her time being spent at the club.

  "I followed when you took off out the back door. You'd dropped your keys you were in such a hurry. After that just you seeing Shane with Carrie and having a uh... moment," He said.

  "So you saw the light," Molly asked.

  "The security light was brighter than usual for a moment if that's what you're referring to," He said before taking a sip of water.

  Mack eyed Molly over his glass in a way that made her feel as if he were skirting around the issue. Like he knew exactly what she meant but was avoiding the elephant in the room. The fact that she had powers, that he'd seen her powers and was somehow immune to the assuredly deadly force of it.

  "Okay. So what did you want to talk about?"

  "It's really not my business. I'd stay out of it, I've been staying out of it but after seeing you tonight." Mack paused and ran a frustrated hand through his hair. "Let Shane date Carrie."

>   "What! How do you even know her name," Molly nearly leaped up from her chair in indignation.

  "We met when I picked Shane up from rehab. Hear me out okay. For the last year, you've been all down Shane's throat about chasing after you. You wanted him to give you space so let him give you space."

  "But he came back for me! He was not supposed to fall for some pixie head tweaker!"

  Mack leaned back in his chair and eyed Molly for a moment.

  "He came back for himself. He made changes for himself because he needed to. Now he needs you to let him be a man without you. The obsession he had for you was unhealthy. You knew that then. You know it now. Shane's addiction wasn't to drugs, it was to you. He couldn't have you, so he turned to drugs to fill that gap. If you go back to him now, before he's redeemed himself in his eyes. That could be catastrophic. He needs to understand he can, in fact, live without you before he can live with you."

  Mack was so calm and yet Molly was furious. She stood from her chair and began to pace around the kitchen island to avoid jumping down Mack's throat. She didn't want to go too far and risk losing the one impartial person in her life at the moment.

  "Do you want me to be with him or not because right now you are giving me mixed messages?"

  "It's not about what I want. It's about what both of you need. What everyone needs. Just like you needed time to come into your own as a vampire, Shane needs his time now. Not with the whole vampire thing but with his confidence as a man. Just trust me on this. Let him date Carrie. Give him time to feel more like himself. I know that if you two are meant to be, you will come back to each other eventually. Hell, you're vampires, you have hundreds of years if not thousands to make this work. Why rush?"

  Molly stopped her pacing and leaned against the counter. Mack was right about one thing. Her feelings for Shane were too intense to be healthy. She couldn't risk her emotions getting the better of her. Especially not now when she knew it was her emotional state that triggered her powers.

  "Thank you, Mack, for that bit of perspective. I'll see you tomorrow night," She said.

  Mack stood and nodded before heading for the front door. Molly didn't move from her spot at the counter until she heard him pull off. When she was sure he was gone and not coming back, Molly pushed away from the counter. Her body felt heavy, and her legs felt weak, but Molly managed to make it up the stairs to her bedroom. She didn't bother changing clothes before falling face first into her mattress, too exhausted to stay awake any longer.

  Carrie smiled as she watched Shane walking down the steps of her front porch after wishing her a good night. She had taken a risk showing up in Shane's life like she had but there was no way she was going to give him up without a fight. She'd been enamored with him from the moment he'd walked into their group therapy session. She'd been able to see past the damage he'd done to his body through his addictions to see the extremely intelligent and gentleman that he was. It was a shame that bitch Molly had such a hold on him. She didn't deserve him the way she trod all over his heart. Blaming him for something he'd had no control over.

  Not that she knew the whole story but Shane had been too strong of a man to succumb to addiction so easily. No only a poisonous woman could have driven such a handsome man to destruction. Especially after the atrocities he'd faced as one of Maura's Men. If Molly had broken him in a way that Maura could not. Well then she was the devil herself and Carrie was duty bound to keep her from ever getting her claws back into Shane. No Shane deserved much better. He deserved a better love, a true love, her love.

  With Shane gone the cool breeze penetrated her thin shirt and she went inside. Making sure to lock every lock before running up to her room to daydream about Shane some more.

  She just hoped that she could convince him of her love before her secret was out. Carrie had maybe a month before her father found out she was no longer in hiding and sent his goons to collect her. She hated keeping any secrets from Shane, hated that she'd been forced to lie about her supposed turning but it was the only way for now.`

  Carrie picked up her new cell phone and started to dial her father's number. Maybe giving him a call would give her a little more time but then he would know for sure she wasn't at the facility any longer. She wasn't ready to give up her hand just yet. Dealing with her father was always a game of strategy. Something she'd learned from a young age. It had taken her months to figure out just the right way to phrase things to get her father to let her go to rehab in the first place.

  She'd argued its safety in anonymity and the fact that he'd be allowed to track her every move because of their therapy programs. He'd argued her exposure to unsavory vampires and worse, humans. She'd countered with the fact that she was just as messed up. That she'd needed counseling to overcome her grief over losing her mother at such a young age. He hadn't bought that line but she'd tried.

  It wasn't until the first threat had come that he'd agreed to allow her to go. She still had no idea what the threat was but it was enough to scare her father into letting her go if only just that little bit. It had also spurred her father to take the husband hunt a lot more seriously.

  Carrie thought of the Council liaison that her father had invited to dinner shortly before the threat had come. Brody had been handsome enough and charming but he had a slimy feel about his personality. Like beneath the polished surface there was a monster just waiting to be revealed at the most opportune moment. It also hadn't helped that her father listed all his attributes like he was reading off a menu entitled perfect mate material.

  Just remembering that evening made Carrie's skin crawl. No, she would wait before contacting her father. She didn't want to risk him finding her sooner than she was ready.

  Independence

  Mack stopped shelving the new liquor delivery to stare at something over Molly's shoulder. Molly might not have noticed except the rhythmic noise of bottles sliding onto the shelves was the only other noise at the moment. The club was closed, and most of the other staff wouldn't show up for another hour. Mack was only there because he acted as a liaison with the human suppliers that didn't accommodate vampire hours. With the stunned expression on his face Molly was intrigued and a little scared. Mack wasn't the type to be surprised by anything. Hell, it had been three days, and he still hadn't mentioned a word about her seeing her powers.

  Molly turned around and pressed her lips closed to keep her jaw from hitting the floor. The audacity of that woman to come here! Shane's new friend was standing at the entrance, hesitant to enter the empty cavern that the club was during nonbusiness hours. Molly stood and strode over to the woman fully aware of Mack scrambling around the bar to follow. His back up wasn't needed. She could control herself. Maybe.

  "Are you lost?"

  "May we help you?"

  Molly and Mack said in unison. The stupid girl didn't even bother to look fazed by the tension in the room as she smiled brightly.

  "Actually I just wanted to come and introduce myself, since I didn't get a chance to the other night. I'm Carrie."

  Carrie stuck her hand out for Molly to shake. Molly stared down at the woman's hand like it was diseased and crossed her arms over her chest. This Carrie was acting as if this visit was an innocent attempt to introduce herself but the spark of challenge was there in her gaze.

  "Molly, but of course you already knew that. Well, thank you for the introduction, but I don't have time for a frivolous chat," Molly turned to walk away only to run right into Mack's chest.

  She nearly fell backward from the collision. Molly hadn't realized he was so close behind her. It made her even angrier to think of how it looked to that Carrie girl. Her in Mack's arms, her lack of awareness of her surroundings. If Molly had wanted to portray that she was calm, cool, and collected about the whole situation, she failed. Molly righted herself and looked back to see Carrie already walking out the door.

  "Go talk to her. If you want to know why Shane's interested. It's best if you get to know the competition," Mack said.


  Molly glared and him and waved her hand in dismissal.

  "That girl is no competition."

  "Really, because Shane asked me about places to show her around. Date like places," Mack said with a wiggle of his eyebrow.

  "I thought you wanted me to give him space to be a man," Molly said.

  "Well, that was before she came here today. That was a serious power play. She wants a future with Shane, and she was putting you on notice," Mack said.

  "Are you seriously mansplaining women to me right now?"

  "No, I am just stating my opinion," Mack said.

  "Same difference. Get back to work, and next time, wait until I ask for back up," Molly spat at him before storming off to her office.

  She hated to admit it, but Mack was right. That little brat may look cute and innocent, but Carrie was definitely a game player. The poor thing just didn't know that she was playing a losing hand. Molly may not be sure what exactly she wanted with Shane at this point, but she did know that Carrie was not the girl for him. Carrie. What kind of name was that anyway?

  Carrie made it about two feet from the door of Molly's club before she let the rolling laugh escape her lips. Was that woman serious? That poor woman. Molly was definitely not the imposing force she'd previously thought. Sure she had the attitude and the body language, but it definitely wasn't backed up by her actions. If she'd wanted Carrie to believe she didn't care, Molly would have sat with her. Had a friendly chat even. Not try and fail at one-upping her power play.