Chapter 4
“Iwork alone,” Ashlyn said as she glanced back at Tristan only to end up frowning in confusion as she watched him reach over and grab hold of absolutely nothing before slowly pulling his arm back in a move that had the muscles in his arm straining before he suddenly “let go” and relaxed back against the couch as though it never happened.
“That’s not an option if you want my help,” Tristan said as her gaze shifted to Marty and noted the casual pose, the intent focus on the file on her lap, the way that the back of her knuckles turned white, and the fact that she’d been holding her breath for the past thirty seconds.
“And why’s that?” Ashlyn asked as she watched Tristan reach over and take one of Marty’s hands in his and entwined their fingers, but it was the way that she immediately relaxed against him and took a shaky breath that let Ashlyn know that she was missing something.
“It’s not up for negotiation, Miss Cambridge,” Tristan said as Ashlyn glanced to her left, noting the rigid way that Shayne was sitting before taking in the way that every muscle in his chest and arms seemed to be straining.
“Is he okay?” Ashlyn asked, pointing at Shayne as she met Tristan’s cold gaze again.
“He’s overwhelmed with joy,” Tristan said dryly.
Nodding, Ashlyn said, “It’s the glaring that really gives it away.”
“He can barely contain himself.”
“I can see that, which, of course, is just making it harder to turn down your generous offer to have him help me with this case so that I can experience more of that glare,” Ashlyn said with a sad shake of her head as she twirled the memory stick in her fingers one last time before she moved to place it back in her bag only to go still at his next words.
“What did you find out about him?” Tristan asked, watching her curiously.
“And what makes you think that I looked into the man that can’t seem to stop glaring at me?” Ashlyn asked as she went back to twirling the memory stick between her fingers.
“Because you’re thorough,” Tristan said, which she really couldn’t argue.
“I know the basics,” Ashlyn admitted, knowing that it was pointless to lie at this point.
“And they are...”
“That he was a company sergeant in the Irish Defense Forces until he was twenty-four. He then became a sergeant for The Guard, the Irish police force until a year ago when an injury caused him to retire early, at which point, it appears that he decided to find his long lost brother in the States and came to live with him,” she drawled, reciting the bullshit tale that she’d been able to uncover.
Everything looked official, from the birth certificate that she found online to his immigration paperwork, but she’d been doing this long enough to know when someone was hiding something.
If she had any doubts, the questioning look that Shayne sent Tristan told her everything that she needed to know.
“Then, you know that he’s more than qualified to help you with this,” Tristan said as a sudden gust of cold air washed over her only to immediately feel warmth envelop her seconds later.
“I did mention that I work alone, right?” Ashlyn asked, frowning as she quickly scanned the room, looking for a vent only to feel something bump into the back of her chair. She glanced over her shoulder, expecting to find someone standing behind her only there was no one there.
“Unfortunately, that’s not an option if you want my cooperation,” Tristan said, drawing her attention to find him watching her.
“I could always go above your head...” Ashlyn said, letting her words trail off as she watched his lips twitch.
“You could do that, but since the chief is my father-in-law, that might be a problem,” Tristan explained as she glanced at Marty to find the other woman worrying her bottom lip between her teeth as she watched Shayne.
“I can see how that would be a problem,” Ashlyn said, barely resisting the urge to follow Marty’s gaze and focused on the problem at hand.
Getting the asshole sitting across from her to cooperate.
“I’m also working on this unofficially, so I’m under no obligation to share information with you,” Tristan pointed out.
“Then, I guess we’re at an impasse,” Ashlyn said, biting back a sigh as she twirled the memory stick between her fingers one last time before she closed her fist around it and stood up.
“It looks that way,” Tristan said as she made her way to the door, painfully aware of the large man watching her go.
“You’re not doing it right!”
“He won’t stop moving!” the frat boy with a shingle sticking out of his fucking neck snapped as he tightened his hold around Shayne’s arm while another frat boy grabbed his legs.
“Hold him still. I have an idea!” came the announcement that had Shayne looking up and-
Aw, fuck...
-barely had time to brace himself when the little bastard dove through him, sending a fresh wave of cold dread and agony tearing through his chest before the dumb bastard found himself falling through the back of the chair.
When Aidan and Quinn moved to stop the next frat boy from taking his shot, Shayne discreetly shook his head, forcing his brothers to stay right where they were, between the frat boys determined to find a warm body and Ashlyn.
His gaze flickered to his left to find Liam, Declean, and Finn standing guard around Marty as another frat boy tried to make a run for her and-
“Oh, God,” came the softly whispered words as Finn placed his hand over the frat boy’s heart. A beautiful white light spread over his chest, sending warmth throughout the room seconds before he simply disappeared.
“Nate!” one of the frat boys screamed while the rest of them panicked, tightening their hold on him. “What the hell did you do to him?”
“Sent him home, lad,” Finn said, holding his hand out. “It’s time to join him.”
“No!” the kid said, shaking his head frantically as his wild gaze shifted from Marty to Ashlyn before landing on him and-
Fuck!
“Where the fuck is Connall?” Liam snapped when the kid tried climbing into Shayne’s body, the move causing agonizing pain to tear through his chest and spine. When Liam moved to stop him, Shayne glared at him until he took the fucking hint and stayed where he was.
Every time one of his brothers moved to step away, the frat boys would make their move, forcing his brothers to go after them while the rest of them went after Marty and Ashlyn.
If it had only been a few ghosts, his brothers would have already dealt with them, but with ten ghosts determined to find a warm body to take over while they were forced to pretend like nothing was happening, their hands were tied.
“Connall!” Declean yelled as Shayne sat there, grinding his jaw against the pain as he watched Ashlyn stand up.
Christ, she was beautiful, Shayne thought as he found himself thinking about another girl with long blonde hair the color of honey and warm brown eyes that used to light up when they saw him and-
He still couldn’t fucking think about her after all this time.
He watched Ashlyn leave before his gaze shifted back to Aidan and Declean. With a muttered curse, they followed her outside. As soon as the door closed behind her, Tristan was moving, making his way across the room as he said, “Get her out of here.”
Without a word, Finn leaned down and scooped Marty into his arms before he disappeared seconds before Liam and Quinn followed. He watched Liam reappear in front of him and grabbed the frat boy that had a hold of his legs just as someone grabbed him from behind.
“This is going ta hurt,” Quinn warned as he tightened his grip around Shayne and-
“Fuck!”
-pulled him free seconds before he found himself dropped on his bathroom floor, struggling not to pass out as the pain from being ripped free from eight ghosts determined to take over his body rippled through his body.
Just as quickly as the pain hit, the nausea followed. He barely made it to the toilet before he began vomiting.
“That’s...that’s just not right,” Quinn said, sounding like he was struggling not to vomit, and if he’d been alive, he would have joined him. He always had a sensitive stomach, Shayne thought, moving to stand up only to have his legs give out, dropping him back on the floor.
As everything faded to black, he found himself thinking about warm brown eyes pleading with his seconds before he was forced to let her go.