Shae shook her head. “Don’t bother trying to defend your friend.”
“I’m not just saying it because he’s a friend. We both know he can be a dick when he wants to be. But I’ve left someone I love to keep them safe before.”
That had Shae’s attention. She turned to look at Hunter. “Was she mad?”
“Knowing her? I’d bet my life on it. But I never saw her again, so I never felt the wrath.”
“Wait. If you loved her, why didn’t you go back?”
“Long story.”
“Well, why don’t you go back now?”
“What’s different about now?”
“Now you have me telling you to go back.”
It was Hunter’s turn to scoff. “She doesn’t want to see me.”
“You said you loved her. Isn’t it worth a chance?”
“You’re talking a lot about love for someone who just met Tristan. Exactly how serious are you?”
Shae knew he was changing the subject, but it worked. She immediately shut up about his love life even as she pondered his question. How serious were she and Tristan? She kept trying to convince herself they were a phase. A really fucking hot and passionate phase.
But as Hunter turned onto the road leading to Seaside Escape, she knew for certain that if she ever lost Tristan, she’d lose herself as well.
Tristan stepped through the door cautiously. Considering the back door was still unlocked, it was by far the easiest place he’d ever broken into, but getting inside was only the first hurdle. Finding what he was looking for would be something else. It would be relatively easy considering the small amount of furniture inside the house. It also helped that he’d searched his share of homes.
Usually when he started a search, he had a better idea of what he was looking for. But he wasn’t clueless either. Something probably fireproof. Something inside the house. And, for whatever reason, something that Damask was unable to have his men remove.
As he stepped farther into the house, he listened carefully for anything to indicate that he wasn’t alone. So far he didn’t hear anything, but he didn’t let his guard down as he started on his search. There could be someone in hiding, and there was very likely a hidden camera alerting someone to his presence. He wouldn’t truly feel safe until he was looking at this place in his rearview mirror.
And that was exactly why he was here alone. Because he wasn’t about to let Shae put herself in the line of danger. Hearing her talk about leaving him had pushed him over the edge. He wanted to fight. To say this wasn’t just a one-off thing. That he had no intention of leaving her.
But to do that, they needed to solve the Damask problem. And he needed to solve that in a way she didn’t get hurt. He was sure she’d be pissed at him, but if she was alive, she’d be much more likely to get over it than if she were six feet under. It was apparent now more than ever that he couldn’t let her go. And he sure as hell wasn’t about to let Damask take her away from him.
He started upstairs. In his experience, most flame-proof safes were generally in bedrooms. People liked to sleep close to their valuables and dirty secrets. He went through the rooms carefully, checking for hollow spots in the wall or floor. He’d just finished the second story and was heading to the main floor when he heard someone enter the house. Automatically, he reached for his gun and held it at his side. He stood utterly still. From this angle, he wasn’t exposed on the stairs, but if he moved, he knew he’d make noise. Holding his breath, Tristan prepared himself as the footsteps got closer.
But there was no preparation for the death stare that Shae gave him as she rounded the corner. “You son of—”
“Let’s pretend we’re civil.” Hunter came up behind Shae and looked up at Tristan. “What the fuck, dude?”
Before Tristan could answer, he heard the sound of glass breaking, and the next thing he knew, Hunter was collapsing to the ground. Tristan immediately ran forward until he tackled Shae to the ground. It was only once he confirmed that she wasn’t hit that he could look around. Hunter had been hit in his left side, and from here, he couldn’t tell whether the bullet had pierced the heart.
“Tristan....”
Her voice brought his priorities home. He needed to keep her safe. If Hunter had found him, that meant Hart and the rest of the team would too. The bullet had come through one of the giant windows overlooking the ocean, which meant the shooter was out there somewhere with a high-powered rifle. Keeping his body between Shae and the windows, he rushed her to the closest door he saw, which apparently led to the basement. Shit. They were basically backing themselves into a corner, but he wasn’t about to go back out there.
He could just see Hunter’s shoulders and head. It looked as if he were still breathing, but he was definitely unconscious. Tristan repeatedly hit the stress beacon on his watch.
“Tristan,” said Shae from behind him. “I need to tell you something.”
“Not really a great time.”
“It’s about Damask. I know what he’s after.”
He turned to look at Shae, who was a few steps below him on the stairs. “Since when?”
“I had an idea yesterday, but I wasn’t sure. “
“What is it?”
Before she could answer, more footsteps sounded upstairs. Tristan hoped like hell it was backup, but he wasn’t going to hold his breath. With a jerk of his head, he and Shae went down the stairs as quietly as possible. He ushered her to the darkest corner of the basement. “Stay here,” he warned.
“But—”
“No buts! Hart will be here soon. We just need to keep them busy until then.”
The door above them was pushed farther open, widening the beam of light shining into the basement.
Tristan pushed Shae into the shadows as he stepped back. “Don’t shoot!” he called up. “I’m not here to cause any trouble!”
He expected the careful footsteps of a mercenary, but instead a calm, relaxed gait came down the stairs. The second he saw the expensive European leather shoes, Tristan knew who it was. “Damask. Nice of you to join us.”
“You see,” said Damask as his well-armored backup appeared at the top of the stairs, the assault rifle pointed right at Tristan, “I think you’re lying. In fact, I think you’ve caused me nothing but trouble.”
Tristan went through all the different ways he could play this. “You got me all wrong, man. I’m just doing a job here.”
Damask reached the bottom of the stairs and looked around. “This brings back memories.”
“You have a lot of good times in dark, deserted basements?” asked Tristan.
“Good is relative.” Damask gave a hand signal to the man behind him. “Let’s end this.”
The guy started to pull the trigger and Tristan held out his hands. “I—”
“You’re in my house.” Shae stepped out from her hiding spot. “I think you should leave before I call in reinforcements.”
Tristan’s body flooded with fear. What the fuck was she doing? Didn’t she realize what danger they were in?
Damask seemed shocked at her apparent misunderstanding of who had the upper hand here. “Miss, I believe you already know that the police don’t scare me.”
“Liar.” Everyone went so quiet, they would’ve been able to hear a pin drop. “I’ve been spending a lot of time with liars lately, and I like to think I’m pretty good at recognizing one now. I know what you want from this house. I know exactly where it is. Tell me, is it frustrating?”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” said Damask, but this time with something else in his voice. This time with a hint of fear.
“You’re so used to having other people do your bidding. You threaten them, force them, write them fat checks. But you don’t trust any of them. Not really. Not enough to do the one task you couldn’t do yourself.”
“You don’t know—”
“The barrel. I’m talking about the barrel.”
Even in the dark basement, Tristan c
ould see Damask pale.
“I found it my first week here. It was pretty well hidden in the storage room, but I do a thorough search of even the darkest places. I would’ve thrown it out if it weren’t so damn heavy. I bet you weren’t expecting it to be that heavy when you filled it. It’s why you left it here, hidden.” Damask started to say something, but Shae didn’t give him a chance. “You couldn’t let anyone else carry the barrel out because of what was in it. Your biggest mistake. The one thing they could hold over you.”
Finally Tristan caught on. “What did you leave in that barrel, Damask? Prints? DNA? I bet it’s a forensic team’s dream come true in there.”
Damask nodded. “You’re both smart. Too smart for your own good. But if there’s one thing I’ve learned over the years, it’s that I’m a winner. And the likes of you aren’t going to bring me down. We’re done here.” He lifted his hand and Tristan didn’t have to be trained to know he was giving a kill order. His first thought was for Shae and he went running for her. But the shot rang out long before he reached her.
Shae was shaking with the weight of the gun in her hands as Tristan reached her. She’d never fired a gun before, but when she’d seen Damask’s man aim at Tristan, she had gone on autopilot. She was pretty sure her aim sucked, but because she was just a few feet away from the stairs, she’d managed to hit the poor guy in the shoulder. She’d been aiming for a leg, but the gun had kicked up. Now that his giant rifle clattered down the stairs, she decided the shoulder was the better option.
Tristan took the gun from her and aimed it at Damask. “I think it’s time you learn your manners.”
“Don’t shoot!” Damask held up his hands. He suddenly looked so much smaller than she ever remembered him before.
Shae set a hand on Tristan’s shoulder. “Don’t,” she warned. “What we have on him is more than even Perlman can wash away. I think it’s time to call the police.”
Shae’s eyes drifted shut. The hospital chair was distinctly uncomfortable, but she was exhausted. She had barely done anything. The whole mess with Damask had only taken a few minutes, but the stress of those few minutes combined with the frantic rush to get Hunter to a hospital and making sure Damask didn’t cut a deal with a dirty cop had taken its toll.
She and Tristan had dealt with the police while Toni, Hart, and Gage had made sure Hunter got to the hospital as soon as possible. It was only when the police got there that her suspicions were confirmed. Inside the barrel was a body. Everything inside was so old and worn away that Shae didn’t know how they’d be able to get anything useful, but Damask had been so determined to keep anyone from getting to it that it had to be important.
“Hey there, Tiger,” said Toni.
Shae’s eyes popped open. “Hey,” she said in an obviously drowsy voice. “How’s Hunter?”
Toni shrugged. “He’s seen better days, but he’s out of surgery and seems stable. What the fuck do I know about medicine. But it’s Hunter. I don’t want to overstate someone’s ability to survive, but who else do you know who could get shot there and have it not hit the heart? That’s some kind of talent.”
“You don’t think it was luck?”
Toni let out a little laugh as her head fell back against the wall. “Luck. That’s rich. I don’t believe in luck.”
“Not even a little bit?”
“What would’ve happened if you hadn’t been locked in that closet with Tristan? Hell, what would’ve happened if you hadn’t bought the house Damask used to own and killed his mistress in? What would’ve happened if Scott hadn’t blackmailed my brother-in-law to work for him?”
“Wait, what?” Shae shook her head, not even sure what she should be taking away from that. “Go back to the mistress part.”
“Well, that is my quick guess. Apparently they found his prints on the inside of the barrel. The woman was stuck in there with a journal and what do you want to bet that journal mentions him by name?”
“And he buried her with it?”
Toni shrugged. “I’m going to bet Damask was a very different man back then.”
“How do you even know all this?”
“You know how some people bite their nails when they’re stressed? I hacked into the police station.”
Shae had to laugh at that. Of course that was how Toni would handle stress. “He told me that he loved someone. When Hunter was driving me to Seaside Escape. He said he left her to protect her and never saw her again. I got.... It sounds stupid but when he was shot, I was so worried that he’d never see the woman he loved again.” Shae was trying to sound cool and collected, but the day must’ve caught up to her because she felt a tear roll down her cheek.
“Yeah,” said Toni. “It would be a shame to never tell someone you love them again. Even worse to never tell them at all.”
Shae realized that they suddenly weren’t talking about Hunter anymore. She sat up straighter and shook her head. “No. Tristan and I just—”
“Oh, please, honey. I put you both in the same room for a reason. I’m just saying, there’s an easy job in Tampa that I can assign Tristan. You know, if he asks.”
Her heart leapt at the thought of spending more time with him. She contained her excitement before it got out of hand. “Do you think he’d ask?”
“If he had something to stay for.”
Just then, Tristan rounded the corner and walked toward them. Toni gave Shae a little wink as she stood up. “I’m rooting for you two crazy kids,” she said as she started to walk away. She gave Tristan a naughty smile as she passed, and Shae could feel her cheeks getting red in embarrassment.
Tristan’s brows were furrowed in confusion. “What was that about?”
“Nothing.” Shae bolted up. “Did you see him?”
“The nurse outside his room said visiting hours were over.”
“So.... That’s a yes?”
“I needed to see him for myself, you know?”
She nodded in understanding. She’d only known Hunter for a few days and she was desperate to check on him. That feeling had to be amplified for Tristan. She knew they’d been working together for years.
“You don’t need to stay,” said Tristan.
Oddly enough, he said the words almost... hesitantly. She didn’t remember the last time he’d sounded hesitant about anything.
“You’re a liar,” she said abruptly.
He was silent for a minute as he absorbed the sudden subject change. “You’re not wrong.”
“I don’t really know anything about you. Everything you’ve said could be a lie.”
“I guess that’s just who I am.”
She tightened her lips. This wasn’t going how she wanted this to go. “So I’m right? Was everything a lie?”
“Shae....”
“I just want to know. I mean, everything is confusing and nothing makes sense and I don’t know if I’m losing my mind or not and you’re going to leave now and I really don’t know how I feel about that and—”
Tristan reached out and set his hands on her arms, rubbing them up and down. “Hey, hey, hey, it’s okay. I’m not going anywhere.”
“Not yet. But—”
“I love the water. That’s true.”
She blinked, remembering the very personal reason for why he loved the water. That deeply personal story he had told her on the beach before everything had gone wrong. Before she had lost control of herself and kissed him.
“Really?”
He nodded, nudging in closer until he was nearly hugging her. “Yes. I love the water and I love you. You can bet your ass both of those things are true.”
A big grin covered her face and, just as though she were on the beach again, she couldn’t help from launching herself into his arms.
~~~THE END~~~
THE DEADLY THIEF
Coming April 2018!
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Billionaires In The City Series
Teaching The Boss
Teasing The Boss
Tempting The Boss
Devereaux Billionaires Series
Touching Jace
Trusting Michael
Testing Luke
Taming Rourke
Fractured Farrells; A Damaged Billionaire Series
Ruthless
Reckless
Remorseless
Restless
Relentless
The Stolen Hearts Series
The Cocky Thief
The Beautiful Thief
The Dangerous Thief
The Reluctant Thief
The Vengeful Thief
The Cunning Thief
The Cunning Thief (Stolen Hearts Book 5) Page 15