Chapter 30
Guard Dog
CALLIE
“Not until we have a chance to talk,” Shane says. “We have unfinished business.”
I flinch and hate myself for it. I also hate his arrogant fucking face.
But he’s right. And there’s no way he has my mother’s emerald ring tucked away in the pocket of the joggers he pulled on after his fight. And the ring is half the point of even finding him. More than half the point.
Shane’s eyes drag up and down my body, and Wes takes another step toward him.
“Eyes on her face, fucker,” he practically growls at Shane.
Shane lets his gaze settle on me, then back to Wes. Then his eyes widen.
“Are you fucking him?” The rage that flares on Shane’s face terrifies me.
How the hell did he figure that out so fast? He’s going to hold that against me. He’s going to refuse to sign the papers or threaten me in some other way. He’s never, ever going to let me go.
Shane’s face is smug.
“Shut your mouth,” Wes says quietly. His words give me a rush of confidence.
“As if you didn’t sleep with other women.
As if—” I cut off my sentence as my voice gets squeaky.
I don’t want to acknowledge the way I felt when I found that pair of underwear shoved in his pocket.
It shouldn’t have hurt me, not after how long our marriage had been dead, but it did. And I shouldn’t sound so hurt now.
“You hated when I stopped fucking you,” Shane says in a low, cutting voice. He eyes flit to my breasts, as if he didn’t hear Wes’s warning before. I can’t help but flinch.
Wes is instantly in Shane’s face. Holy shit. I turn to watch Wes, the fury etched in the narrowing of his eyes and the disgusted turn of his mouth.
Movement to our sides catches my eye, and two giant men step behind Shane, glaring at Wes.
But Wes doesn’t even give them a courtesy glance.
I flash back to when he beat the shit out of Jones in Boston.
He might not have control over himself right now.
I’m not sure I care, except for the fact that I don’t want to see what Shane’s bodyguards do if Wes touches him again.
I look behind me just as Noah—who was apparently calmly observing the situation from the background—steps forward with his phone cradled in his palm.
He says something quietly in Wes’s ear, and Wes steps back from a frozen Shane and glances at his brother.
“Now?” Wes says, incredulous. Noah nods, and Wes waves his hand in the air. They exchange unintelligible words in hushed whispers.
“Jesus, Callie.” Shane finally finds his voice again—unfortunately—and nods to Wes. “Who the fuck are you associating yourself with?”
I’m torn between responding to Shane and trying to figure out what Wes and Noah are arguing about.
“Hello? You came here to see me?” Shane waves his hand in front of my face.
I return my gaze to Shane. “Yeah, I did.” I hate it here. I want to leave.
“Listen,” Shane says, his tone much calmer now that Wes isn’t fucking with him. “Can we talk somewhere else? Just us? About everything?”
“No fucking way are you getting her alone.” Wes jumps back in the conversation just as Noah disappears into the crowd. Wes is speaking to Shane, but watching his brother walk away.
He’s freaked out. I’m not sure I’ve seen him freaked out.
Meadow hesitates for a second, looking at me, then follows Noah without a word.
What is going on here?
“I’ll sign the divorce papers after I get half of your share of your father’s estate.” Shane’s glare bores into me. “Like we talked about. Because you owe me. Your father owes me for all I’ve done for him over the years.”
“It was your job.” I shake my head. He is the most self-centered human being I have ever encountered. “And you weren’t in his will. I was.”
“I went above and beyond the job,” Shane spits out and once again, I flinch.
“Wrap this up, asshole,” Wes says. “Callie, what do you want to do right now?” He touches my back, and I lean into the contact and take a deep breath. What do I want to do? We’re not getting anywhere right now. Nothing is getting signed tonight; no ring is getting handed over.
“I need the money, and I’m not letting this go.” Shane’s voice softens, and he now looks dead serious, the taunting expression gone.
He’s delivering facts, I realize.
“Why?” My mind reels. What does he need the money for? Want the money, I get. But need?
“Transfer me the money, and I’ll sign the papers.” Shane snaps out of his serious tone, the casual asshole vibe back. “I’ll get the money one way or another.”
“Don’t give him one dollar, Calliope.”
I look up at Wes, and my insides soften.
“Calliope?” Shane looks Wes up and down. “She is married. To me. Back the fuck off.”
This man has no sense of self-preservation. I wonder how he’d act if he knew what Wes and Noah do in their free time. He wouldn’t laugh or chide or poke. He’d cower.
I’m so focused on this thought that I startle when Wes punches Shane in the jaw.
Shane’s face jerks, and his legs fly out from under him.
I gasp and splay my hand on my chest. The thugs lurch forward and get between Wes and Shane.
They don’t, however, help Shane off the ground, where he’s now on all fours.
Shane is low-level. Too low-level to have thugs there to protect him. So what are they protecting?
My blood runs cold.
My inheritance? That’s what Jones freaked out about back in Boston. I wouldn’t tell him how much, and that provoked him into attacking me. In all honesty, I was so surprised by the question that I didn’t finish comprehending before he slammed me against the wall.
It’s about money. All of this is about money.
I still don’t understand, but I’m getting there.
Wes looks furious. Ragey. I’m a little terrified of him, but mostly because he’s so fucking gorgeous and solid and there for me. That’s the only thing he cares about. Me. Protecting me. My body aches for him in a way I’ve never experienced.
Shane gets up, holding his hand palm out to Wes in a gesture that begs him to stop. It doesn’t look like Wes could get through Jones’s thugs, but I bet he’d find a way.
“Watch your fucking mouth. You don’t know anything about me, or Callie, or us.” Wes looks at me. “You okay?”
I nod and my chest tightens at the intense way Wes looks at me.
The divorce papers are still gripped in my hand, and I know they’re not getting signed tonight. I slip them back into my jacket.
Wes glances in the direction that his brother disappeared, a stoic look on his face.
Then the realization slams into me, making me sway on my feet. Wes let Noah go off in New York City by himself. He’s tracking a target or staking out a building or something, and he’s doing it without his protector. His brother.
Wes chose to stay here with me.
I’ve gotta end this conversation and get us out of here so Wes can go find Noah.
“Fine. We’ll meet tomorrow.” My hate for this man festers in my belly. “Bring my mother’s ring.”
“If I can find it.” Shane smirks. “Come tomorrow ready to share, and I’m more likely to be able to.”
If he can find it? I take a deep breath and appreciate that I now know for sure that Shane has the ring. I was almost positive, but there was always the worry that it was lost. I swallow and rub my arms. I don’t want to meet Shane tomorrow. I don’t want to see him ever again.
And then it occurs to me. Maybe he brought Meadow here as a backup plan. If he couldn’t get the money from me, he’d figure out how to get it from my half-sister. A shiver runs down my spine.
I’m not sure how else to end this besides giving him some of my father’s money. Maybe I need to do it to protect Meadow and Jake and get Wes out of this situation and just move on with our fucking lives.
“I’ll text you the address of where to meet.” Shane crosses his arms on his chest. Sure, he can be brave with two beefcakes standing between him and Wes.
“Let’s go, Callie.” Wes grabs my hand and guides me away from Shane before I can say another word.
We walk side-by-side through the crowd and the first set of double doors.
The two thugs follow us but stop when we head through the second set of doors.
Past the bouncer, we step out of the building.
The street is blessedly quiet after the noise of the fight club.
“You okay?” Wes stops and turns to me, cradling my face in his hands. The way his palms feel on my cheeks makes my stomach flutter.
“Yes.” I nod and slip my hands around his waist. Relief washes over me that we’re alone. “But I don’t have a good feeling about tomorrow. What if he refuses to sign? Doesn’t bring the ring?”
“We’ll make him.” Wes kisses me, his lips soft and gentle on mine.
How will we make him? I have so many doubts, but in this moment, I force myself to trust in Wes’s words. He’ll make this happen. I believe him.
“Shit, Wes, where’s Noah?” My eyes fly wide open. How could I forget about Noah? Wes must be freaking out. I search his face.
“He got hotel rooms for us. Sent me the address. Said he’s checking out—” Wes stops talking and looks at me.
“Another target?” I suggest, keeping my expression smooth. I maintain eye contact with him and tighten my grip on his waist. It’s important that Wes knows I’m okay with this. I want to be a part of his life and that means accepting and understanding what he and his brother—
Wait, no, that’s not right. I don’t want to be a part of his life, not long-term. But for now. For now I’m okay with whatever it is he does with Noah.
At least for tonight. The last night.
Wes pauses, searching my face for something, then nods. “He said he’ll see us later.”
“But—are you sure? Should we go find him?”
This moment feels heavy. Wes should go find Noah. And the fact that he’s even considering not doing that means that for whatever reason, he’s choosing to be with me instead.
I’m not sure I like that.
“Don’t you want to go find him?”
Emotions pass over Wes’s face. “Yes. But I want to make sure you are safe. I don’t feel comfortable with you being alone. Shane and Jones are out there somewhere, and they know you’re here.”
“Wes, I’ll be okay. Or I can come?”
“No. I’m staying with you. I don’t want you in any more danger. You’ve been through too much.”
I throw myself into his chest, and he pulls me tight against him.
I’ve never felt safer than when I’m with Wes.
And that scares the shit out of me.