Chapter 33
CHAPTER 33
CHANCE
I should have known Tank would be late to dinner again. My boyfriend was normally punctual to a fault. Lately, he’d been struggling to remember things and had taken to working even later than I did.
Granted, my work was remote since my office wasn’t able to be used anymore.
Marten looked up from his desk across the room. “Are you going to keep sighing because he hasn’t shown up yet? Maybe you could just call him?”
“I’ve already texted twice. He’s not answering.”
My friend rolled his eyes. While I’d been terrified the fire would change him, it had only slowed him down a bit. Once they got him straightened out, he was able to come back like nothing happened.
Though he did have more snark than usual.
That might have had to do with how pitiful I’d been today. It was supposed to be a quick workday and then Tank and I were going out to dinner for the first time since things settled.
When everything went down two weeks ago, we swore to be better about carving time out in our schedules. I’d worked to ensure I kept up my promise.
“Ok, that’s enough,” Marten said a few minutes later. “We’re done for the day. This is more annoying than when the nurses checked on me a million times a day. How do they expect me to actually get any rest when they do that?”
I shrugged. “Don’t ask me.”
“Eh, it’s whatever. I’m going to head home for the day. Why don’t you track down your man? Maybe you two can talk about whatever is bothering you so much aside from his absence. We both know it’s more than that.”
Damn.
“Way to call me out, Marten.”
“Someone had to! You’re really good at faking it.”
I waved my hand as I watched him stride to the door. “It was necessary at the time.”
“And now? You’re just fine with everything blowing up?”
“If it means I get to have Tank in the end, then yes. I’d give everything up for him.”
Marten scrunched his face as he made a gagging noise. “Ugh! You’re so sickening. Also, I didn’t want to tell you this now, but maybe it will cheer you up.”
I waited for his dramatic pause, then he motioned to my computer.
“Sent you an email. Take a look at the polls.”
With a gulp, I clicked over to my inbox. We hadn’t been checking the polling numbers lately because things were chaotic to say the least. Add in the fact that someone had outed me to the newspapers, and it didn’t look like it would be good.
I still held my seat on the city council; however, my chances at mayor felt slimmer than ever. I’d come to terms with the fact this city wasn’t progressive enough yet to handle my role in leadership. There would always be another chance later if it was something I still wanted. It just sucked after all the work I’d put in.
But the email Marten sent wasn’t what I thought.
“Is this real?!”
He chuckled as he leaned against the doorjamb. “Sure is. The people love you, Chance Sheppard. The real you is even more popular than the previous version. There’s been lots of talk about how it’s more authentic to know about your relationship with Tank and how none of it matters because you’re behind the important issues. Honestly, I don’t know how they didn’t figure it out before given how progressive your stance is.”
“It’s not that progressive. We’re trying to do baby steps here.”
“Baby steps look like leaps to the close minded. You’re doing good work. I’m proud to be a part of your team.” With that, he drummed his knuckles on the door and left.
I heard the sound of the elevator, signaling he’d left. After reading over the numbers one more time, I decided to be done with my work too.
Tank would be so happy to hear the news. He’d felt guilty for the pictures that came out with us in them. They’d been blurry enough to hide Tank’s identity, though there was no mistaking it was a man I’d kissed.
From there, the media had been having a field day. Marten had fielded calls left and right, while my father had remained blessedly silent. Seemed there was something to keep the elder Sheppard away after all.
I left the office, intent on heading downstairs to find my boyfriend. My phone rang as I rode down in the elevator.
Answering without looking, I was surprised to find Emmett on the line. “Mr. Sheppard, sir?”
“Emmett? How can I help you?”
He coughed, then cleared his throat. “Um, well, sir. Your father told me you weren’t going to be campaigning anymore. I know that makes my job irrelevant, but I was hoping I could maybe come work for you in some other capacity.”
I stepped off on the main NightShade floor and threw a wave Jared’s way. He was also on the phone, though I doubted his call was as baffling as mine.
“You were employed through my father. Why would you want to come work for me?”
There was a pause, then he said, “To be honest, sir, I’m also gay. Not that you’re gay! You might identify as something else. I’m just… I’m trying to say that I like the idea of working for an openly gay candidate. It would be an honor to still help you should you need it.”
“I had no idea you felt that way,” I admitted.
“It never came up. Plus, your father was clearly homophobic. I thought you would be as well. It was too good a chance to pass up.”
I laughed at the play on words. He did as well, though I could still sense his nerves.
“Let me think on it for a bit, ok? I’m heading into an urgent meeting. Marten or I will get back in touch soon, ok?”
“Thank you, sir! This means a lot. I appreciate you greatly.”
Shaking my head, I told him it wasn’t a big deal as I hung up. Jared finished his call right about the same time.
“Hey, Chance,” he greeted.
“What’s up, Jared? Have you seen Tank around? He’s late for our dinner plans.”
If anyone in the office would know where he was, it would be this man. He had an eye and ear on everything that went down at NightShade. It made him far more powerful than people understood.
“He’s not in his office. I know they spoke of going to handle something…” His voice trailed off as he looked around.
I moved closer, leaning over the desk. “You can tell me.”
He nodded at my whispered reply. “They went to deal with Lune and Pratt.”
My brows rose at that information. He hadn’t mentioned that he was still questioning them. Though we both knew questioning meant something else.
Tank was the type to talk with his fists when an enemy arose. He’d never raise them at me, but he was a menace to those threatening his way of life.
Since he hadn’t come home with bloody knuckles or any bruising, I assumed things were fine. He and I were doing ok, and since we’d become intimate again, it felt like the before but better.
We were no longer hiding. No longer living on borrowed time.
Except for the late workdays.
Now I had to wonder if they were all centered around him getting his revenge.
“Can you tell me where they are?” I asked Jared.
Despite all the information I had about NightShade, where they tortured people wasn’t something I’d gained access to. Clearly, I should have asked before now. Then again, I didn’t think I’d need to mention it.
Tank usually told me everything. The fact that he’d avoided telling me about this meant something.
Jared bit his lip as he looked around once more. Then he rose on his toes and leaned over to whisper. After he told me what I needed to know, he dropped into his chair and got back to work.
To ease the strain I saw in his jaw, I made a bit more polite conversation with him. “You sure are working late. Shouldn’t you be home by now?”
He shook his head quickly. “It’s not — I don’t like being in the house alone for long. Things are different now.”
The way he spoke about it, as if I were familiar with his issue, let me know he was referencing the incident where we were all drugged. It was a shared trauma in a way. We all handled it differently, of course. It seemed Jared’s was avoiding being alone.
“You know one of the guys would absolutely walk you home if you needed it, right? They could check things out too.”
“No!” he shouted, before getting ahold of himself. “Please don’t mention it. I’m working on something to help. I think it will be good for me overall.”
I stared at him, assessing how truthful he was being with me. It could very well be a lie to get me to stop asking questions. Jared was smart enough to deflect when need be. It’s what made him so good at his job.
But I didn’t detect anything like that now.
He was truly working on a plan to make his situation better. I had to trust him until he proved he needed help otherwise.
I wouldn’t stand by if he were hurt or in need. He was part of NightShade, which made him family. We had to work together to take care of each other.
I’d learned that lesson ten times over since everything went down.
“Alright, then. Only if you’re sure.”
He smiled. “I’m positive. Why don’t you go hunt down your man?”
At his raised brows, I chuckled. He and I both knew what would happen when I found Tank. The fact that he hadn’t been telling me where he was and what he was doing meant he didn’t expect me to find out.
Surprise, baby!
I couldn’t let him handle this alone. Not when it was something I knew he still felt guilty over.
It didn’t take long to get to the place Jared told me about. While it wasn’t what I expected, I knew this made sense for its purpose. Discreet, easily accessible, and temperature controlled—all of it made the perfect torture chamber.
“Tank!” I called out as I knocked on the door.
Silence was all that followed. I waited a moment, but when I went to knock again, the door opened. Takeshi stood there with a grim look on his face.
He signed a greeting to me, then motioned me inside.
“I’m here to see Tank,” I told him plainly.
With a nod, he led me through the building. Even though I only knew a few basic signs so far, it felt odd to not be communicating with him as we went. I’d learned through Tank through the years that Takeshi could be introspective. The man had a lot of opinions on things, though he never shared unless it was necessary.
I appreciated the impact he’d had on their lives. It didn’t mean I felt any less awkward trying to keep up with his long strides while also taking in the space around us.
A door at the end of the hall led us into a room that was even colder than the rest of the building. It was there we found Tank.
And Lune.
And Pratt.
Along with… well, the whole fucking NightShade team.
Every single guy was there, dressed in all black with weapons in their hands. A few knives, a gun, a bat, and even a whip.
That’s when I took in the men strapped to poles in the center of the room. Their arms were raised above their heads and hooked in a way that kept them from touching the ground.
Blood covered their bodies from various wounds. Their heads hung down, and their chests only moved the slightest bit.
They were alive. Maybe just barely.
“What in the world is going on here?”
At the sound of my voice, they all turned. Tank was the last to look my way. When he did, I watched in real time as the fire in his eyes burned away. As he came to realize who I was, he shook his head.
“Chance? How did you find us?”
I rolled my eyes. “Don’t worry about that. Why didn’t anyone tell me this was going on? I can’t believe you left me out.”
Tank blinked at me, then turned to the other guys. He gave them questioning looks, to which each of them simply shrugged.
“Are you — are you mad I didn’t invite you to this or that I didn’t tell you? I’m confused.”
I threw my hands up. “Both, you big idiot. I want to know what’s going on in your life. And I want to support you through good and bad times. And even torture times, I guess.”
His shoulders shook with laughter as he turned off the blowtorch in his hand. I hadn’t even noticed the damn thing until he handed it to Ronan.
Then he was in front of me, a smirk in place. His clothes were drenched in blood. I couldn’t tell from looking at them with how dark they were, but the scent of copper was overpowering the closer he stood.
“I didn’t want you to see this side of me,” he admitted.
“Baby, I’ve seen every part of you there is. Even this side, which I’ll admit is kinda hot despite the blood, is something I want to be a part of. I love you. That’s not going to change just because you’re bending the law a bit.”
“More than a bit, some might say.” I turned to see Mindy spinning a longsword around. She wore a big grin, the sight more fierce due to the blood splatter across her face.
I shook my head. “No Stabler?”
“He’s off convincing the director to make me his partner. We figured it best to keep the team together, you know. It worked so well the first go round.”
Tank cleared his throat, which made me look back to him. His smile was timid. More so than I’d seen in years. Maybe not even since that night in the bar when we first met.
Back then, I was concerned he’d know who I was and that my political career would end before it began. Now here we were, and I didn’t give a fuck who knew. I’d buy out all the ads I could to share our love with the world. He was mine, and I was damn proud of the fact.
The murderous side of him wouldn’t be advertised, of course. There was only so much help I could provide if he got into trouble.
Which reminded me — “We should get married,” I told him.
“Married?!”
I nodded. “Yes. It’ll offer you better protection. Plus, there won’t be eyes on you if we’re legally connected. They’ll assume that I wouldn’t dare marry someone with criminal ties.”
“Or maybe they’ll start to see you as corrupt? Did you ever think that?” Tank threw back.
“If they assume that much, then that’s on them. I’m half tempted to drop out of the race anyway. I’m sure I could get a job with a certain security company if I wanted to.”
At my words, the group around us laughed. Cohen told me, “Absolutely not. If you’re at the office, all you’ll do is fuck. It’s not fair to the rest of us.”
Ronan grunted. “I hate to agree with him, but you two do have a bad habit of not keeping it in your pants.”
I blushed at the pointed look he shot me. So maybe we’d been caught a time or two at the office. It was hard not to when Tank’s place was in the same building. I’d never had such easy access to my boyfriend. It was like letting a sugar addict loose in a candy store.
“We’ll work on that,” I told the team. “Besides, I think there might be some new developments to handle if I win the election.”
I thought of Emmett’s call and how he believed in me for change. It made me wonder how many people assumed I was just like my father. Granted, I’d been trying to emulate him for a long damn time.
Now though, I saw how fruitless it was. The man was miserable. So much so he’d tried to control my life to be what he missed out on.
Never again.
I’d live my life on my terms from now on. Anyone who didn’t like it could fuck right off.