Makena’s heart lodged in her throat and wouldn’t slip back down again. She wanted to stop the madness, but it had spiraled so fast and so furiously and she could only stand there, openmouthed and stunned.
“We seem to be having a miscommunication issue here. Let me be clear.” Shane’s voice sounded deadly cold and even. “You don’t go near her. Not to talk with her or touch her. Ever.”
Jeff tried to pry Shane’s hand off but failed. “She’s been asking for it.”
“That is the line said by every abusive male on the planet.” Shane’s grip tightened. “She dumped you. Move on.”
The idea of dating Jeff made her stomach roll. “That’s not what this is about.”
Jeff scoffed. “As if I would date that piece of—” His words choked off as his eyes bulged.
“Last warning.” Shane leaned in closer to Jeff. “If you think I won’t rip you apart in front of an audience, you’re dead wrong.”
“Tough talk from a guy who doesn’t even know what’s going on.”
It was as if Jeff wanted Shane to kill him. She couldn’t believe Jeff missed the rage simmering there. That he couldn’t see the darkness in Shane’s eyes.
After a beat of silence Shane let Jeff go, but not before shoving his head back and knocking it against the wall. “Explain it to me.”
Jeff doubled over in a coughing fit. It took him a few minutes to regain his composure. When he did, anger thrummed off him. “Ask your girlfriend. She’s the one causing trouble.” He scowled at her. “You going to turn on this guy, too?”
She hated being put in the role of bad guy. Jeff took no responsibility for his bad choices. That shouldn’t surprise her, but it did. “Shane’s not a liar.”
“Makena, don’t help,” Shane said without moving his gaze away from Jeff.
“That won’t work. She’s ruthless.”
Shane pointed at Jeff. “And you’re done talking to her or about her.”
He batted the hand away. “You’ll find out. Just wait.”
Makena watched as Jeff stomped off. Pivoted around the tables, ignoring all the stares and the waitress rooted to the spot with the coffeepot dangling from her hand. The noise of the diner muffled. Makena could hear the creaking of chairs and the clanging of silverware, but it all sounded so distant.
Shane dropped back into his seat and stared at her. “So...”
“I never dated that guy. I would never date someone like him.” She wanted that clear from the start.
The waitress darted over and refilled glasses. Shane waited until she left again to start talking. “What’s his name? And do not hesitate. Tell me.”
She didn’t even have to wage an internal debate. It would all spill out now. “Jeff Horvath.”
Shane exhaled. “And who is Jeff Horvath to you?”
“That’s not exactly an easy question.”
He shoved his plate of uneaten food aside and leaned in on his elbows. “Lucky for you, I have all night. All day tomorrow, too. Talk.”
“He’s a fake SEAL.” The words tumbled out of her then. “You were in the military. Others weren’t. There are men who pretend to be war heroes, special ops guys, and...they lie. They live their entire lives lying and not caring that real people fought and died doing what the liars claim to have done.”
She expected to feel empty and frustrated at having the information pulled out of her, but no. A surge of relief hit her. She’d dealt with this huge weight and all the anger that came along with it for almost a year.
Shane’s eyes narrowed and stayed there. “This Jeff is one of those guys?”
“Yes.”
“Huh, I should have decked him.” Shane dropped his hands to the table. Just inches from hers. “What does any of this have to do with you?”
This was the part he’d hate. She steeled her body for the inevitable yelling. “There’s this website called Wall of Dishonor. It outs men who are pretending to be war heroes.” When he continued to frown, she tried again. “I work for the website. Do research, file Freedom of Information Act requests.”
“You work at a college. At a desk.” His expression went blank. “Didn’t you reiterate that earlier?”
The look on his face didn’t fool her. He was winding up. She could feel the tension twisting the air around them. “Yes, but—”
“What, Makena?”
That tone. Not helpful, but she decided not to point that out, since he looked half-ready to strangle her. “I do this on the side.”
“You tick off men who lie about military service. Men invested in their lies who have everything to lose when you uncover their deceit.” With each word he jammed his fingertip against the table with a thud. “Do you hear the tone of my voice? Can you tell how bad this is?”
“They deserve to be exposed.” She believed that to her core. She’d grown up with a military man. Her father had dedicated his life to his career more than he ever had his family. Early in his service, he’d been stationed in Hawaii and found the perfect military wife who put everything aside for his career. By the time Makena and Holt came along, their parents were entrenched.
Dad was tough and commanding and demanded excellence, something she’d failed at for almost all of her life. Holt had suffered their father’s wrath while she’d been spared. She’d been the disappointment. She flailed and tried to find her way, but got something of a pass from her parents, who never expected much of her anyway. Holt went into the army.
She’d gotten a lot of things wrong in her life, but she understood the military mind-set and the sacrifices. She hated the idea of someone claiming to have served who never did. It was an insult, and she’d spent most of her free time for nearly a year hunting these guys down.
“I’m not denying that guys like Jeff should be exposed.” Shane shook his head. “He deserves to be shamed.”
“Then what’s the problem?”
“You...are you...” He wiped a hand over his face. “Does Holt know?”
“No.” Her big brother could not know. He would try to control her choices in the name of protecting her.
She understood the tendency, even appreciated the concern, but he had a hard time letting go of his protector mode and realizing she wasn’t a kid anymore. The fact that she’d transferred colleges twice until she found the right fit and moved around in jobs until she landed at the college only supported his point that she was not responsible. But she was. She had a career now, paid rent. She had a purpose.
“You didn’t tell him because you knew he’d lose his mind. That he’d forbid it.”
Forbid. The word sliced through her brain, bringing a wave of anger right behind it. “I’m a grown woman. My big brother doesn’t control what I do.”
This time Shane slammed the side of his hand against the table. “He wants you safe.”
There was a difference between safe and coddled. She wasn’t convinced Holt, or Shane for that matter, always saw the line. “I get that, but he doesn’t get to make choices for me.”
Shane’s back teeth slammed together. “I want you safe.”
Well... Her heart sped up and it had nothing to do with the argument. “I thought we were talking about Holt.”
“We’re talking about danger.” Shane closed his eyes as he visibly wrestled to control the anger bouncing around inside him. “That guy talked as if he knew where you live. He was here, a place you said you’ve never been.”
“Which is why I asked if we were followed.” She’d checked, looked and thought they were safe...until Jeff walked in the door. The idea of him being so close and staying unseen terrified her.
Shane’s mouth dropped open. “You’re blaming me?”
That was not what she meant. Not at all. She put a hand over his, letting the warmth of his skin seep into her and wipe away the chill. “I’m admitting that I do this job. On the side.”
“In secret.”
“It’s the only way to do it. The liars cover their tracks.”
He op
ened his hand and let her fingers slide through his. “Let someone else take over.”
She had to smile at that. “Says the guy who walks into danger every single day without asking someone to fill in for him.”
“I’m trained for it. You’re not.” He turned her hand over and rubbed a thumb over her palm.
The move, so gentle and sweet, had something fluttering inside her. She forced her mind to focus. “For the most part I sit and look things up. It’s completely safe.”
“Then why does Jeff Horvath know who you are and how to get to you?”
The diner started spinning. She’d fought so hard to control her life, and one moment months ago had ruined all that.
“Because I messed up.” She slipped her hand out from under his. “He was one of the first targets and I—”
“Targets?”
“—confronted him.”
“You did what?” Shane’s voice stayed flat and emotionless.
She looked away, but she could still see the moment. Filled with indignation and a sense of satisfaction, she’d stepped up to Jeff as he came out of church and told him, right there in front of his fiancée, that he’d been found out and now everyone would know. His business associates, his family, all the people he’d lied to for years, would know.
He’d claimed to be deployed while he played in Europe as a civilian. The tales of getting out early for some heroic act were even more ridiculous. She spewed it all in public instead of letting the website uncover him while she maintained her anonymity. A huge misstep she’d never made again, but the one time with Jeff was enough to keep her on edge.
She glanced at Shane again. Saw the rage bubbling under the surface and knew it was all for her. “Please don’t break out into a lecture.”
“I can’t, because I’m speechless.”
“You don’t need to exaggerate.”
His mouth opened twice before he spit out any words. “Do you have any idea what I’d do if someone hurt you?”
She’d waited forever for him to say something like that, and now he’d said it in a wave of fury. “No. You don’t exactly share your feelings. How am I even supposed to know you’d care?”
“I’d care.” He nodded toward her plate and the globs of now-cold cheese. “Fuel up, because we’re going to spend a lot of hours talking about this.”
She didn’t hide her wince. “I was afraid you’d say something like that.”
“You think fake military guys get angry? Wait until you hear this real retired army guy.” He stole a French fry off her plate.
“I should have gone with Cam,” she mumbled under her breath as she picked up her sandwich.
“Too bad, because you’re stuck with me.”
She wanted to hate that idea, but she couldn’t.
Chapter Five
Under the circumstances, Shane thought he’d stayed pretty calm. He somehow choked down a burger and drove them to his house without wrecking the car despite the anger shaking through him.
The idea of Makena putting herself in the middle of so much danger made his head pound. He could feel the thumping through every inch of him and had to clamp his mouth shut to keep from yelling at her. Yelling or kissing...one of those.
“Are you ever going to talk again or is this whole brooding thing as good as I’m going to get this evening?” she asked.
“Excuse me?” She just didn’t stop. Anyone should be able to see his nerves ran on the edge. Not her. She pushed and demanded.
He hated to admit it, but her refusal to back down from him was one of the many things he found so sexy about her. The face and how she looked in those jeans ranked pretty high as well.
She paced around the family room of his end-unit town house. The strip of houses sat up on a hill with a view of the Chesapeake Bay. He’d picked it because he could get to the Corcoran Team office in Annapolis quickly but didn’t live right on top of the place like some of the other members. He needed a break now and then.
Seeing her there filled him with a strange sense of calm. She’d been there before, but always with other people. For group get-togethers. That had been on purpose, but now it was just the two of them. He tried not to think about the big bed upstairs, waiting.
She turned around and faced him while she rubbed her palms up and down her arms. “I get that you’re disappointed in me.”
Not that. Not even close. “Wrong word.”
He actually viewed her secret work as brave and important. He just wished she didn’t do it. The idea of her in danger, of some idiot who thought lying about being a SEAL was a good idea tracking her down and taking his revenge, almost doubled Shane over.
“I’m worried about you being involved in something that could get you hurt.” He’d already blown it by saying he cared. He tried to write that off as the usual concern someone would have for his best friend’s sister. Nothing more.
He knew better.
She waved a hand and shook her head. Neither seemed all that believable. “I’m fine.”
“Yeah, you look fine.” She’d paled until her skin looked white. And the way she hugged her body, wrapping her arms tight around her middle, said she’d reached her end. It was the only reason Shane hadn’t launched into his mental list of a thousand questions.
“Admittedly, I’m a bit shaky.” She sat down hard on the armrest of his couch. The room stayed mostly in shadows. The light over the stove in the kitchen behind her cast her in its glow.
“Getting attacked will do that.”
Her leg swung back and forth as she stared at her hands. “And I fear you plan on lecturing me all night.”
“We got the time, so why not?” He aimed for a lighter tone, but he felt anything but and the words came out harsher than intended.
She glanced up, pinning him with an intense stare. “I can think of better ways to pass the time.”
He backed away until his heel hit the step leading up to the foyer and his front door. When he realized she had him running and jumping, he stopped. This was his house and he was in control. Had to be, and that meant maintaining his hands-off policy. “Don’t do that.”
“What?”
The smile. She knew. He’d bet money she knew. “Tempt me.”
She shrugged. “Didn’t know I could.”
No way he believed that. She’d caught him staring at her more than once. The way she looked. “Do you own a mirror?”
“Do you?”
He went out of his way to never mention any casual dates with other women when she was around. With his past and his record with women—with his family’s experience with marriage—she needed to stay in the hands-off category, but he didn’t want to hurt her. No matter how he fought it, the attraction zapping between them went both ways.
“We need some ground rules.” Seemed logical to him even though he had no idea what those rules would be except clothes on, no touching.
“Right.” She sighed and got up. Walked around to the bottom of the stairs and stared up. “Are we staying here tonight?”
She made it sound as if they were sharing a bed, and that was not happening. He’d sleep on the floor and stay awake. He’d be sensible.
All good thoughts, but they scrambled in his mind as he walked toward her. One second he stood in safety by the door. The next he waited one step below her with only inches separating them. Not a smart move, but his mind and body seemed to think otherwise.
“You’re going to get some rest and then we’re going to talk about your side job in the morning.” She was going to hate this piece. “We need to fill Connor in and let him look into Jeff.”
“Why only me?”
Sometimes she said something and lost him. Left him far behind her, coughing up dirt and trying to put the pieces together. “What?”
“Shouldn’t we both rest?” She laid a hand on his shoulder.
He concentrated on the danger and ignored how good the simple touch felt. It burned him through the cotton of his shirt and had him squir
ming. “I’m assuming you’re experiencing adrenaline burn off.”
“Are you talking about that sensation of having balls bouncing around my stomach?”
Not really. “Sure.”
“I did, but now I feel as if I could sleep for a month.” Her fingers moved into his hair.
He somehow managed to swallow. “That’s the one.”
“Are you going to sleep with me?”
He hit the breaking point right there. They were both adults, but she was so hot and tempting and...forget control. He dragged her off the step and down beside him. Before he could think it through or come to his senses, he lowered his head.
His mouth covered hers, and the ground shifted. He’d thought to wipe out the years of need with a quick kiss. Once and move on. Get back to work.
That backfired.
His mouth crossed over hers in a blinding kiss that had him wrapping his arms around her as his heartbeat hammered in his chest. Heat built between them, and a strange energy pulsed through the room. Forget staying detached and moving on. He fell in deeper. Tasting her, holding her, had every nerve ending zapping to life.
The noises she made went straight to his head. He debated taking her to bed and wondered how much they’d both regret it in the morning. The last thought had him lifting his head. He saw a flash of light off to his right and let go of her while he reached for his closest gun.
She stiffened. “What is it?”
“Visitors.” He’d caught the beam from the flashlight, thin and bouncing as the holder walked. His gaze zipped to the front door and he saw another beam right before it blinked out.
Two attackers with enough training to know to come in quietly and simultaneously. This was going to get loud.
Her fingernails dug into his arms. “How is that possible?”
Good question. The place didn’t trace to him and no one had followed them, so Shane had the same question. But he’d worry about that later. “Go upstairs.”
“Shouldn’t we run to the car?”
Time to fill her in on the bad news. “The easy ways out are blocked.”
Tamed (Corcoran Team: Bulletproof Bachelors Book 3) Page 4