But wanting her and being right for her were two different things. Shane could not seem to get Cam to understand that.
“Nope.” Cam shook his head as he glanced at his shoes. “You can’t sell that level of denial. It’s not believable.”
He would never let this go, no matter how much Shane wanted that to happen. “You should go home and get some sleep and—”
Cam pushed away from the post. “Do you really think her working for the site is irresponsible?”
He loved her for it. That was what shook Shane so hard. How much everything she did resonated with him and how devastating it would be to lose her for good. “It’s dangerous.”
“So you’ve said. Repeatedly, which is annoying, by the way.”
Maybe he needed to find a new word, because that one wasn’t convincing anyone of anything. “Go ahead. Make your point.”
“You care about her, and it’s coloring everything you say and do.”
Shane had figured that out long ago. “She’s Holt’s sister and we need—”
Cam groaned. “Stop.”
“I’m not the marrying kind. Not anymore.” He’d tried it once and it suffocated him. They had grown apart almost as soon as they walked down the aisle. Disappointment and hurt feelings led to a nasty divorce when it should have been easy. Shane remembered every soul-crushing moment. Remembered every vow he’d made not to travel down that road again.
“Who is talking marriage?” Cam didn’t use the word idiot, but it hovered in the background.
“You think we could just fool around?” The idea sounded so good in Shane’s head until he thought about the aftermath and how uncomfortable parties and every other group meeting could get.
“Maybe you should be asking her that, not me.” Cam blew out a long breath. “Look, I know your marriage was a disaster.”
“No worse than a few of my father’s.” Shane thought about the weddings...all four of them. His father didn’t take much seriously, including marriage. He fooled around, lied, got laid off and basically ruined everything he touched. Shane fought hard not to become the man who had raised him, but the worry lingered out there.
“You’re not him,” Cam said, as if he’d heard the worry running through Shane’s mind. “I know how this feels. You lose control and someone starts to matter more than anything else in your life. You make mistakes and bumble your way through them. I’ve been there.”
Shane thought back to those early days in Cam’s relationship with Julia. Cam, one of the most competent men on the planet, had turned into a complete mess. Shane didn’t want any part of that. “Just because you and every other member of the team have paired off doesn’t mean I intend to.”
“She’s not going to wait for you forever.”
“She should be dating. Other guys, I mean.” It hurt to say the words. He got them out over the sharp pain in his gut. Just the idea of her with someone else ripped him to shreds. He half expected to see blood on the floor. “I have to be careful how I deal with her.”
“You could start with being supportive.”
Shane closed his eyes. Just for a second to try to regain perspective and wipe the memory of that stupid kiss from his mind. “I don’t want her working there.”
“How do you think she feels about you walking into danger every day?”
Shane refused to think about that, because his job wasn’t up for debate. He could handle it. He’d been trained.
“That’s different.” Though for a second he wondered if it really was. He fought for what he believed in. She claimed to be doing the same thing.
Cam shook his head. “You’re headed for a tough fall.”
“What does that mean?”
“You’ll figure it out.” Cam started down the porch steps. “Have a good night.”
Shane stood there, watching the taillights disappear down the long drive. He wanted his mind to go blank and to have a moment without thinking or feeling. But the door creaked open behind him. He smelled the scent of her shampoo the second before she stepped out onto the porch.
“Did Cam leave?” She held on to the edge of the door as she peeked out.
Not ready for a civilized conversation, Shane tried to shut this one down. “I’ll send him the list of contacts.”
“I guess I should go write it, then.”
He did that to her. Shut her down. Sucked the life and energy out of her voice. Acted like a jerk.
“Makena.” He looked at her, drinking in the sight of her postshower. Dressed but still breaking his concentration. “You know I’m impressed with the work you’re doing at the website, right? I’m just worried about your safety.”
“I could tell from the way you were yelling and gritting your teeth together.”
She had him there. “I could have handled this better. Not...you’re not irresponsible. You’re the exact opposite, actually.”
Her head tilted to the side and her hair fell over her shoulder. “I’ve wasted a lot of time in my life doing stuff just because, being unfocused. Being a failure.”
He didn’t even know how to respond to that. That’s not how he viewed her at all. “You’re only twenty-six.”
“I need to do this.”
He knew all about need. He’d been driven to join the army for financial reasons and because he wanted a place of his own. “Maybe this isn’t a risk worth taking.”
“I have enough of those in my life.”
She meant him. He got it. “I don’t want to fight with you.”
“What do you want?”
She couldn’t ask that kind of question. It would open doors and send them down the wrong path. Being thrown together in close quarters would be hard enough without adding a new level of sexual tension into the mix.
“I don’t know.” The first time he’d ever lied to her. Right there.
“When you figure it out, let me know.” Without another word, she turned and walked into the house.
It took every ounce of his willpower and strength not to follow her.
Chapter Seven
Frustration still ran through Makena the next morning, making her movements jerky and her head pound with a ceaseless headache. It had been a restless night. She’d taken the bed and Shane had switched off between the chair next to her and disappearing into the living room. Each time he left the room, she let out a breath of relief. Not because she wanted him gone but because having him so close and not touching him made her nuts.
“We sure he’s home?” Shane stared at the green house on the quiet tree-lined Annapolis street.
“The house always looks like this.”
“Empty?”
Makena couldn’t exactly argue with Shane’s point. The small house consisted of two floors. Had sort of a cozy dollhouse feel to it. Not what she’d expected the first time she met Tyler Cowls, retired navy guy and the owner of the Wall of Dishonor website. The bottom floor had a family room at the front and kitchen at the back, with a small room in between that Tyler used as a bedroom.
Upstairs housed the website office. An open space filled with files, computers and boxes. The neighbors would never know what happened inside from looking at the cute space with the white curtains.
“He’s a secretive guy.” They watched from across the street and down a few houses. Shane had insisted they approach with caution after she’d called Tyler’s unlisted number and hadn’t gotten an answer, something that never happened with Tyler. He was on call all the time.
Shane raised a small lens and looked through it. “I wonder if Jeff Horvath knows where Tyler lives.”
She wondered how Shane would like to swallow that lens. “I’ve already admitted I messed up with Horvath.”
Shane dropped the glass and stared at her. “I know. That wasn’t a shot.”
Yeah, right. “Are you sure?”
Standing there made her twitchy. She wanted to argue with Shane and get him to open up about last night, to admit the kiss had meant something to him. But that line of conver
sation only led to heartache, and she needed clear focus now.
Talking to Tyler might help. Clearing this up and finding out if he’d been threatened could give them a lead to follow.
Shane grabbed her arm and pulled her back. “Hold up.”
“Do you see something?” If so, that made one of them.
“Nothing.”
“Okay, you lost me.” Not for the first time and she doubted it would be the last, but it would be nice to have some idea what drove him.
“No movement at all.” Shane glanced up and down the street. “You said he works from home and rarely leaves, yet there’s no car in the driveway or out front. No shadows or signs of life in the house.”
“He didn’t answer my calls, either.” Dread fell over her. Either Shane’s question-everything personality had rubbed off on her or something was wrong. She hoped for the former. “We should go in.”
“Me.” He pointed at her. “You wait here and be ready to call nine-one-one.”
She let Shane take two steps before delivering the news. “Tyler will never let you in. He doesn’t trust anyone.”
“Sounds like a nice guy.” Shane took out his gun. “I’ll depend on this to convince him.”
“You think he doesn’t have his own weapon?” With any other guy that might work, but Tyler would shoot first and not care enough to ask any questions later.
He suffered from a serious case of paranoia. He assumed most people lied. After serving in the navy and returning from Iraq with an injury, he believed in service and country and not much more. Getting him to trust her had taken a long time and many hours of drinking coffee at the shop near where she worked.
Shane swore under his breath. “Fine, but you follow my lead. We’re also going to have a talk about your friends at some point.”
Because that wasn’t annoying or anything. “You want to be in charge of picking those, too?”
He actually smiled. “I probably shouldn’t answer that.”
She decided he was joking, or pretended he was, and started across the street at his side. They approached the house from the left with Shane constantly scanning the area. He didn’t talk, but his intensity vibrated around them. By the time they got to the front porch, he had her nervous and doubting and worried. Something about having him on guard all the time sucked all the calm out of her.
She stepped up to the front door and dialed Tyler’s number one more time, thinking to give him warning that she was about to ring the doorbell. She glanced over at Shane, expecting to see him inspecting the doorjamb for booby traps or something, but he wasn’t standing there. Her hand dropped and she turned around. It didn’t take long to pick him out. He paced the front lawn and stopped in front of one of the windows.
“We have a problem.” He delivered the comment the way other people would read a grocery list, in an even tone. No panic.
That was fine, since she sensed she was about to panic enough for both of them. “Another one?”
“Is Tyler messy?”
The question didn’t make any sense. “I don’t understand—”
“Yeah, we have company.” Shane raced past her, taking the porch steps two at a time and rammed his shoulder into the door. The wood cracked and the hinges creaked. On the second hit, the door flew open.
He stormed in and she followed. As soon as she stepped into the family room, her body froze. Ripped sofa cushions, smashed lamps. Someone had torn this place apart.
A bang sounded in the back of the house. She could see through to the kitchen and the open back door. Before she could yell to Shane, he was off. Her heartbeat sped up and fear clogged every pore. Oddly, she’d grown accustomed to the sensation—the rough breathing and anxiety slamming through her—and that scared her. She’d spent her entire life avoiding violence, and now it kept landing right in front of her.
She made it to the back door and stopped with her hands balanced against either side of the doorjamb. The backyard was empty except for the garage, and that looked to be locked. She needed some sign of Shane. To see his hair or those shoulders, anything to confirm he was fine.
But nothing bounced back to her but the usual sounds of a neighborhood. Cars in the distance and music playing in the house a few doors down. At least no gunfire. She winced and waited for it, but it never came.
“He’s gone.”
At the sound of Shane’s voice behind her, she spun around. He stood in the open front door with his gun down by his side. Not winded, but the severe frown suggested he wasn’t happy he’d lost the guy he was chasing.
“Did you see him?” she asked as soon as her ability to speak returned.
“Dark clothes. Male build.” Shane closed the door and came the whole way inside. “Nothing else.”
She glanced around at the open kitchen cabinets and shredded books and papers all over the floor. It looked as if a hurricane had moved through, but they had a bigger problem than bad housekeeping. “Where’s Tyler?”
“Good question.” Shane’s gaze went to the stairs. “What’s up there?”
“Everything.”
“I’m not sure what that means, but I’ll check it out.” Shane’s sneaker hit the bottom step just as the back door flew open.
Makena felt the punch of warm air at her back. She meant to pivot, but an arm wrapped around her neck and yanked her body back. A gun appeared right by her head and aimed at Shane. Not that it shook him. He maintained a fighting stance only a few feet away, as if daring the attacker to shoot.
“Who are you?”
The male voice whizzed by Makena’s ear and she nearly collapsed in relief. She recognized their guest, only he wasn’t that. “You’re okay.”
Shane didn’t even twitch. “Let her go or I will put you down.”
The band around her throat eased, but she didn’t step away. Not until she made sure Shane didn’t put a hole in the guy. It was his house after all. “Shane, it’s fine.”
Tyler frowned. “Who are you?”
“The guy who is going to shoot you if you don’t stand away from Makena.”
There were too many armed men in the room. Last thing she needed was to step into the middle of a battle between these two. She held up both hands. “Okay, let’s all calm down.”
Tyler stared at Shane for another second before turning to her. “He’s a friend of yours?”
That struck her as the wrong word, but now was not the time for that debate. “Yes. Tyler, this is Shane. Shane, this is the guy we’re looking for.”
Tyler finally lowered his gun. “No one should be looking for me.”
Shane didn’t reciprocate. “Too late.”
* * *
SHANE HATED TYLER COWLS on sight.
Shane had expected an older man, an off-the-grid oddball type. Instead, he got a guy in the suburbs. Not some wild-haired conspiracy guy. No, Tyler was about Shane’s age. Probably considered objectively good-looking with a serious staring problem, because his gaze followed Makena wherever she went.
Much more of that and Shane would punch the guy.
“Did you recognize the attackers?” Tyler circled his kitchen table and handed a water bottle to Makena before putting one in front of Shane.
“Thank you.” She shook her head. “But no.”
Shane continued to size up the other man. He had a name and now could start the team on a full investigation. If Tyler had a secret, Shane would find it.
In the meantime, they had a series of kidnappings and break-ins to resolve. “Petty criminal types.”
Tyler stopped staring at Makena long enough to turn to Shane. “Tell me what you do again.”
Shane really didn’t like this guy. “I never told you the first time.”
“Shane.” The chair screeched across the floor as Makena pulled it closer to the table.
He bit back the wince when her heel slammed down on his foot. Fine. Message received. He could play nice on the surface while he ripped the guy’s life apart behind the scenes.
“I saw the attacker coming, locked away what I could and escaped out the window.” Tyler pulled out a tablet and swiped his finger across the screen a few times. He turned it and laid it in front of Shane. “I like to be prepared.”
Shane stared at the screen with reluctant admiration. Tyler had a security system that rivaled Corcoran’s. Interesting choice for a guy who used to fly planes. “This is quite a setup.”
“The people we expose are not happy to be found out.” Tyler drew out the moment by taking a long drink of water and leaning back in his chair. “So I’m careful.”
Makena lifted her hand. “Don’t say it.”
That was where Shane’s mind had gone. Here Tyler sat in his house, all locked up with escape contingencies ready and a surveillance system that prepared him for the worst. Makena had a dead bolt on the door. Little did she understand how easy it was to break one of those.
But that was a discussion for another time...and they would have it. No way would he stand for her living without protection from now on. He didn’t know what he wanted to install, but he’d figure out something.
“Which brings us back to the attacks on Makena.” That was Shane’s main concern. His only one, actually. If Tyler wanted to wallow in danger, fine, but he could not drag her down with him.
Tyler sneaked the hundredth peek at Makena. “I’d look at Jeff Horvath. Frank might have some other ideas.”
Frank? Sounded like someone Makena had forgotten to mention. Another thing Shane planned to talk to her about later. “Who is Frank?”
She twisted the lid on and off her water bottle. “Frank Jay.”
That triggered a memory, but Shane couldn’t place it. “Why do I recognize the name?”
She didn’t give him eye contact. Not while she picked at the label and otherwise attacked the poor water bottle from every direction. “He’s on the site.”
Shane grabbed the bottle out of her hands and set it on the table. “He’s one of guys you exposed?”
Now he had her attention. She wore a wait-until-we-get-home scowl. “Yes, but he’s redeemed.”
Tamed (Corcoran Team: Bulletproof Bachelors Book 3) Page 6