“You’re very direct. I like that.”
“And I would like it if you left me alone now.”
He leaned back in the chair and crossed his arms. “Ah, but we need to have a conversation, Miss O’Shea.”
She sat very straight, exhaled loudly, and stated in an ostensibly calm voice, “I’ve already told you over the phone that I am not going to try to convince my brother to work as a police informant.”
“Informer?” He clucked his tongue. “That’s a rather harsh term. The way I see it, your brother has the opportunity to render a service to society. That would be a nice change from investing his time in criminal activity.”
“My brother,” she explained through clenched teeth, “has done his time and is not going to render a service that involves letting you abuse and exploit him as a spy. Leave him alone!”
“I think you’ve misunderstood me,” the portly captain replied in a low voice as he leaned forward. “Your brother is in the fortunate position of being able to help us, Miss O’Shea.”
“And I think you’re deliberately misunderstanding me, Captain Greene,” Thorne shot back, struggling to maintain her composure. “My brother is not interested in cooperating with you or taking the fall for you when things go wrong. He just wants to be left in peace.”
“It would be quite easy for your brother to get back and regain ground in his former gang.”
That was the last straw. She’d had enough of the man’s pushiness. “You know what? Why don’t you go speak to my brother in person? Why don’t you go see if you can convince him, instead of keeping me from doing my job?”
“You’re working in a lawyer’s office, so you should know the precedence of the law.”
She balled her hands into fists under her desk. “Oh, yes. And that law includes my brother’s right to refuse any participation in your half-baked plan. There are many good reasons to give you short shrift.”
“Your brother would surely listen to you, Miss O’Shea.”
She suppressed the urge to laugh. “Tell me one good reason why I should convince him to work with you,” she demanded of her unwelcome visitor.
“That’s easy. Your boss wouldn’t be too happy to learn that your brother is a convicted criminal, would he?”
She inhaled deeply and shook her head. “Your attempt at blackmail isn’t going to work. My boss is not an idiot and already knows about my brother’s past from my job interview—because I told him myself.”
The man’s superior air faltered for a moment, and Thorne was satisfied to see that she’d caught him red-handed. Nevertheless, she was livid over his presumptuousness and pondered calling security if he didn’t leave after this last altercation. On the other hand, a police officer of such high rank would probably not be intimidated by a private security firm, which consisted mainly of uniform-clad retirees and donut-lovers on the verge of heart attacks.
“I must ask you to leave now, Captain Greene. My boss doesn’t like to see his employees being kept from their work.”
The man rose with a scowled obviously meant to impart upon her the weight of his disappointment and anger. “And here I thought Fitzpatrick would manage to make you see reason.”
She suddenly felt icy cold. For a moment, she thought she hadn’t heard him correctly, but then she realized what the disagreeable man in the ugly brown suit was trying to tell her.
She stared at him in bewilderment and forced herself to ask, “What do you mean?”
He straightened his jacket and snorted. “I fully expected Detective Fitzpatrick to succeed in making you see how important your brother’s cooperation is for us.”
When she didn’t reply, instead looking at him with a stunned expression, he snorted again, louder this time. “Based on your history with the detective, I was under the impression that you’d be more open to what he had to say, Miss O’Shea. Good God, you two were engaged!”
She felt numb as she looked into his sneering face, reminding herself over and over again that Shane had told her of his former boss’s attempt to enlist him to talk to her. She knew he hadn’t wanted to do so, because he didn’t think it was a good idea to get her brother to be an informant, either. Shane no longer worked for that department and was a member of the Boston Police homicide division now.
Even though she knew all of this, she still felt as if someone had just slapped her hard across the face.
Shane might not have worked for this sleazebag any longer, but what if he was playing her for a fool again? What if he was only pretending to have deeper feelings for her, when it was really only about Brady? Maybe she was only the avenue to some other goal, namely more time and a closer relationship with her son. The old story all over again. Could she ever really be certain that he and his feelings were real?
When Captain Greene had mentioned the sham engagement, all the doubts she’d been harboring against Shane since he’d told her his real name came crashing back down on her like a tsunami wave. After the last few weeks, she’d come to believe all that was behind her.
And after their night together, she’d been convinced that she could live with the past.
But now she wasn’t sure of anything.
“Miss O’Shea, once you’re less wrought up—”
“Get out!” She pointed to the door. “Get out before I report you for harassment!”
He laughed and put his hands in his pockets, showing off his protruding beer belly. “I’m Captain—”
“And I know a really good lawyer,” she cut him short. “Good day!”
“Good day, Miss O’Shea.” He tapped his forehead and smiled innocently, but Thorne sensed that Captain Greene had accomplished exactly what he’d come here for.
Chapter 14
The fact that Brady showed up with his uncle instead of his mom had Shane confused, but not alarmed. Of course, that changed quickly when Aidan gave him a grim look and told Brady, “Why don’t you go ahead and check out your dad’s apartment, little man? He and I need to have a quick talk.”
“Okay.” The boy raised his hand so Shane could give him the usual high five and then walked confidently into the apartment, while his dad and his uncle stayed outside in the corridor and studied each other with wary expressions.
Shane crossed his arms and leaned against the doorframe. “Did you send him away so you can punch me again?”
His former buddy shook his head. “Your face is made of iron. My hand is still stinging from the last blow I gave you.”
“Good to know.” Shane smirked a little. “Just so you know, though, I did deserve it.”
“No need to tell me that.” Aidan O’Shea scowled at him. “What you did to Thorne seven years ago is inexcusable.”
“I know.”
“I’m serious,” Aidan warned him.
Shane nodded in agreement. “Me, too. I’m dead serious.”
“Thorne must have been awfully hurt when she found out who you really are.”
Shane clenched his teeth and lowered his head. “No need to tell me that, either, Aidan. I know full well that I screwed up. And trust me, if I could do it all over again, I would do it all differently.”
“Oh?” Aidan mirrored his stance and crossed his arms in front of his chest now, too. “You would leave her alone and stop pretending to be someone you’re not?” he asked pointedly.
Shane frowned and shook his head. “Back then, yeah—not now. I’m not pretending to be anyone. And why would I leave her? Now that I know we have a son, and I want to be a father?”
“How is now any different than back then? When you screwed her over so badly, pretending to be in love with her just to get close to me?”
Shane didn’t exactly want to bare his heart to Aidan but felt obliged to be honest with him. “I may have pretended to be someone I wasn’t, but I did not have to pretend that I was in love with her, Aidan.”
If he was surprised by Shane’s words, Aidan didn’t show it. He just kept staring at him with an inscrutable look in his
blue eyes, the same look Thorne often wore.
After what seemed like an eternity, Aidan sighed. “Maybe you should’ve told her that.”
Shane tipped his head back with a dry laugh. “What do you think I was planning to do when she came here today?”
Aidan rolled his eyes. “And you couldn’t have come out with it just a tiny bit earlier?”
“Why?”
“Why? Maybe because my sister is sitting in her apartment, bawling her eyes out because of you.”
Shane’s arms dropped. “What are you talking about?”
“I’m talking about the fact that she asked me to bring Brady over today because she wants some distance between you and her.”
Shane was shocked and dismayed, and he didn’t understand. It felt as if a heavy rock was suddenly lodged in his stomach. Then the panic set in.
“I don’t understand.” He swallowed hard. “We were getting along great! Last Saturday she even stayed …” He abruptly fell silent.
Aidan must have understood him well enough, though, because his lips curved downward and he narrowed his eyes. “I’d rather not hear anything about my sister’s sex life, if you please.”
Shane didn’t reply to that, but hastily asked, “Why does she suddenly want to put distance between us? I don’t get it.”
Aidan snorted disdainfully. “You’re asking me?”
“Come on! You’re her brother—”
“Exactly,” Aidan cut him short. “Seven years ago I couldn’t protect her from you. Do you really think I’m going to help you now?”
“Yes, I do.”
“Not a chance. I don’t know what game you’re playing with her, and I may be able to tolerate you as Brady’s father, but why should I help you make up with my sister and risk you betraying her a second time?”
With a frustrated groan, Shane tilted his head back. “Aidan, your sister is an adult.”
“Right, but I’m her brother. If I had busted your ass all those years ago, we wouldn’t be in this predicament now.”
Shane narrowed his eyes. “You, of all people, should know that people make mistakes.”
“Yeah.” Aidan took a threatening step forward. “But some people never learn from their mistakes.”
Shane didn’t let the man intimidate him and lowered his head belligerently. “I’ve sworn that I will not hurt Thorne ever again, Aidan, but that doesn’t mean that I won’t kick your ass if you mess with me.”
“If you swore not to hurt my sister again, why did you let your old boss set you on her a second time?”
Shane flinched, lifting his head, aghast. “What the hell are you talking about?”
When the man was silent, merely scowling at him darkly, Shane was close to losing his cool and hitting him. “Dammit, Aidan! What is going on?”
Thorne’s brother shrugged. “Your former boss visited Thorne in her office today, and whatever he said, he rattled her pretty good.”
“He did what?” Hot anger bubbled up in Shane like lava. He had called Captain Greene only a week ago, telling him in no uncertain terms to leave Thorne alone. He hadn’t wanted to disconcert Thorne, so he didn’t tell her that he’d been ready to jump through the receiver and wring the man’s neck. He had railed and yelled on the phone, however, threatening his former sergeant with a disciplinary complaint. He’d also said he would talk to the Chief of Police about Greene’s questionable procedures.
“My sister is completely shaken up because of you, Fitzpatrick.”
“Goddammit,” Shane swore. “Trust me, I did not allow Greene to set me on anything. The man is an asshole!”
“Hear, hear,” Aidan muttered. “Exactly when did you realize that? Seven years ago, you didn’t have scruples like that.”
“You know what? You can fuck off,” Shane spat, grabbing his jacket from the peg next to the door.
Alarmed, Aidan stepped in his way. “Where do you think you’re going? You’ve got your son here.”
“You can watch him for a bit,” Shane decided angrily. “I need to pay a visit to my former superior.”
“Oh, no, you don’t.”
Shane had never liked anyone trying to give him orders. He balled his hands into fists. “Aidan, get lost,” he warned the man in his path.
“No.”
“You are Thorne’s brother, and I don’t really want to break your nose, but if you don’t let me by, I’ll have no other choice.”
Aidan snorted. “Fine then. Go beat up the idiot, if you think it’ll make you feel any better. But I don’t think Thorne is going to be won over by having to visit you in jail from now on, too.”
“I won’t go to jail for beating Greene’s ass.”
“But you’d be suspended.” Aidan shook his head. “Maybe you can placate your anger that way, but it wouldn’t work on Thorne.”
“What am I supposed to do then?” Shane ran a shaky hand through his hair. “I’ve never even liked the man! I even threatened to file a formal complaint if he didn’t leave Thorne alone! And now she thinks I tried to play her for a fool again.”
Much to Shane’s surprise, Aidan shook his head. “I don’t think she really believes that.”
Shane opened his mouth and stared at Aidan. “Are you trying to drive me completely crazy?” he ranted. “A minute ago, you said—”
“Why don’t you stop and think for a minute, Fitzpatrick?” Aidan rolled his eyes.
“I am thinking!”
Aidan buried his hands in his pockets. “The only thing Thorne knows for certain is that you played a role damn well seven years ago and that you betrayed her. Now you show up and find out about your son. What is she supposed to believe when you suddenly start spending your time with her and the little man, and when you start sleeping with her again?”
“I have no idea what your point is.”
“Figured as much.” Aidan shook his head impatiently. “My sister is a woman, and women want to hear a certain three words.”
Shane swallowed. “You don’t happen to mean Go buy shoes, do you?”
“No, those are not the words I mean.”
“I was afraid of that.”
***
As Shane waited for Thorne to open the door, he thought for a moment whether he should have brought Brady. But then he told himself that it was better he came alone. He wanted to make clear that Brady had nothing to do with his feelings for her. This time, it was not about their son, but about her and him.
He was prepared to finally tell her all the things he had been itching to say for a long time. So, when she opened the door in her bathrobe and gave him a dumbfounded look, he didn’t wait to be invited in. He pushed past her and stepped into the hall.
“What … What are you doing here?”
“We’ve gotta talk, Thorne.” He took her hand and kicked the door shut.
“But … Where is Brady?”
“He’s at my place.”
Her eyes widened in shock. “Alone?”
Shane gave her a sheepish look. “What do you take me for? Your brother stayed with him.”
She was even more confused now. “My brother is alone in your apartment?”
“No, he’s with Brady,” he corrected. “They’re won’t get into any trouble.”
“Are you trying to tell me that Aidan—”
“Aidan and I had a long conversation, Thorne.”
“But—”
He interrupted her by pulling her close, which silenced her immediately. Shane looked down into her face and could tell by her hesitant eyes that she wanted to avert her face. She probably didn’t want him to see her swollen eyes and reddened nose.
He lifted her chin gently, forcing her to look at him. “Why didn’t you come to my place tonight?” he asked hoarsely. “I’d been looking forward to tonight.”
She tried to avoid his searching gaze, but couldn’t. “I needed to think,” she explained in a thick voice.
“I’m sure I can help you with that,” he whispered, stroking her
cheek with his thumb.
“Shane,” she said in a very small voice. “There are a few things I need to get straight in my head.”
He stared into her moist blue eyes and failed to fight the half-smile that curved one corner of his mouth upward. He pulled her even closer. “There are also a few things I need to tell you.”
“Don’t make it so hard on me,” she whispered unhappily. “This isn’t easy for me.”
He shook his head. “You shouldn’t sit here all alone crying a river,” he said firmly, “because you need to know that I love you, Thorne.”
Her whole body stiffened. “What?”
“I’m in love with you,” he repeated hoarsely. He swallowed, letting the backs of his fingers caress her cheek. “I fell in love with you when you smiled at me for the very first time.”
She looked utterly incredulous. “Shane, please don’t lie to me anymore.”
“I’m not lying,” he promised with a sudden severity. “From the very first moment I saw you, I was completely enchanted.”
“That isn’t true,” she protested in a shaky voice.
He nodded and searched her eyes. “You brought me a Guinness. I was sitting at the bar watching you the entire evening. You had your hair swept up and held with this huge barrette, which you lost a few weeks later in some changing room. I remember there was a college football game on TV, and you whispered to me across the counter that your boss had fifty bucks on the losing team. Your smile knocked my socks off, and I was in love with you from that moment on.”
“That’s a bunch of bull,” she insisted, fresh tears spilling from her eyes. “It was only a job for you.”
Shane took a deep breath and shook his head. “No, it wasn’t.”
“But that’s what you told me just a few weeks ago!”
“Thorne,” he said regretfully, “it wasn’t just a job for me. That was the problem. I forgot that that was all it was supposed to be. Being with you was so … so …”
“What?”
He breathed heavily. “It was so easy. I felt completely at home with you. To me, you really were my girlfriend, even though it was supposed to be mere pretense.”
Blast From The Past (The Boston Five Series #2) Page 17