4. Shane
“Where is he?”
Linc looks over his shoulder. “Where do you think? Downstairs.”
I scowl as he rolls his eyes and turns back to the game. Pulling my shirt over my head, I walk into the kitchen to grab a water bottle from the fridge. It’s been three days with no word from Athena or Lex, and the tension in the house is palpable.
I met the Wilde boys in middle school. Declan walked up to me at recess and asked me to help him keep an eye on his little brother. I’d agreed immediately, knowing firsthand the class bully was a real shithead. Our playground understanding turned into friendship, then brotherhood, and the three of us have been inseparable ever since.
“He”s been down there this whole time?”
“Yeah, he went down about three minutes after you started your run.” Frustration is evident in his tone, as it has been for weeks, particularly about Dec.
I’m getting fucking sick of playing middleman.
“About the same time you sat your ass on the couch?”
Linc throws up a middle finger, not turning from the TV. Shaking my head, I go to the basement stairs and jog down. The space is surprisingly quiet as I emerge onto the unfinished landing, the bare concrete cold under my feet.
“Dec?”
“In here.”
I wander toward his voice, ducking the plastic sheeting hanging from the ceiling and skirting the tools strewn across the floor. We’d lived in the house in Los Altos Hills for three and a half years after moving to the Bay from Seattle. It was close to our facility, with just enough wrong with it to keep Dec mostly sane. Anything home improvement related was his preferred outlet for stress. Linc liked to yell at sports on TV, and I ran. And we’ve all been using those outlets overtime this week.
I find Declan standing by a makeshift table built with sawhorses and plywood. He has a pencil in hand and a notepad in front of him with a rough diagram of the next section of framing to build.
“You’ve made more progress in the last two weeks than the two months before,” I observe. He ignores me. “I wonder why.”
“You come down for a reason, Dr. Phil?”
I drop my shoulder and throw it into his. He stumbles to the side, then rounds on me. His temper has always been on a hair trigger, but it’s only gotten worse since Anne-Marie blew up his dream. Dec’s entire focus has always been on achieving something great–for himself, for the family we’ve created for the three of us. Any deviation from the path he’s set in his head sends him into a tailspin before he recovers.
“This,” I point to his scowling face, “is a shit look on you, you know.”
Dec’s eyes flare in annoyance before he blows out a harsh breath. “Stop baiting me.”
“Take the bait and I will.”
Declan had been in a foul mood since Anne-Marie pulled her bullshit, but it had been decidedly worse since we’d all gathered to watch Lex’s interview. His attitude and unwillingness to get on board put our chances with Athena in jeopardy. I know he feels guilty for not seeing Anne-Marie’s duplicity, but it’s misplaced. We all played a part in failing to recognize her selfish ambition. But if he fucks this up, it’s on him. And I’ll fucking tell him so.
Some of the fight leaves him. “Not today, Shane.”
“Then when?”
“Excuse me?”
“When are you going to deal with all that guilt you’re carrying?”
His eyes narrow. “I said not today.”
“And I asked when.”
“You pushing Linc like this, huh? Or am I the only lucky one?”
I ignore his sarcasm. “You’re the boss.”
He stills and his expression pinches.
“And yet,” I continue, “the kid is the one who got us a second chance, then stepped up in the room to make the most of it.”
“I’m aware,” Dec growls. “But Athena isn’t our only option.”
My eyebrows raise. “What else you got?”
He’s breathing heavily despite standing still, tension filling his limbs as he clutches the pencil so tightly I wonder if it’ll snap.
“We could go to another VC.”
He’s grasping at straws, his pride getting in the way of admitting we’re out of options. It’s a familiar conversation. “None of them have reason to believe us about Anne-Marie. She’s got quite the reputation now.”
“Fuck that bitch,” he scoffs. “We don’t need to tell anyone about that. We can just pitch our product.”
“Right, because no one is going to question why it sounds eerily similar to hers.”
“Fine, we tell them. Make them sympathetic to our cause.”
I understand his concern over trusting someone new after Anne-Marie fucked us over, but he’s taking it too far.
“Right. I’m sure they’ll believe her former business partners have no ulterior motives for bad-mouthing her.”
His jaw clenches, the muscles flexing. “We go to Greenstar and tell them the whole story and take our files as proof.”
I chuckle and his face goes red. “What reason do they have to believe us over her? Our files and the ones she pitched to them are nearly identical.”
He throws his hand up. “Fine, let’s just sell the house. Cut our losses and leave California.”
“Yeah, okay, drama king. Homelessness sounds like a great option.”
He groans, throwing his head back as he stares at the ceiling. “Goddamnit, Shane.”
His chest heaves with a resigned sigh as he meets my gaze. I stare him down, arms crossed, stance wide and relaxed.
“Listen, Dec.” My voice is calm, barely above a whisper, “You need to stop treating the rest of us like fucking opponents. No one has you on the ropes here; not Lex or Athena, and certainly not me and Linc.”
He blows a sharp breath through his nose, nostrils flaring. At least he hasn’t told me to fuck off. Progress.
“The more you face off with us, the more you’re setting Anne-Marie up to succeed. And that’s the last fucking thing any of us want.”
“I get it, Shane. Believe me.” His eyes close briefly as he runs a hand through his hair in frustration.
“Man, you’ve been acting like a cornered animal. To be honest, I’m tired of the defensiveness.” I’m also tired of playing peacekeeper between him and Linc, but I’m not going down that road. Yet.
His brows draw together and his breathing evens out, his color returning to normal. “You that tired of me?”
I point at him, lips tipping up. “Don’t put words in my mouth, asshole.”
He huffs a laugh and looks away. “Yeah, okay. I hear you.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah, asshole.” His lips twitch into a broad smile.
I grin. Before I can invite him to come up and have a civil conversation with Linc, I hear footsteps rattling the stairs.
“Dec? Shane? You guys good?”
Dec’s eyes close briefly before he answers. “Yeah, we’re fine. Be right up.”
The footsteps stop. There’s a pause, then, “Okay. Well, we got an email from Miles, so…yeah.”
The vein in Dec’s forehead pops. I give him a pointed look as the redness reappears at his collar.
He waves me off, eyes rolling. “Go. I’ll be up in a minute.”
“Deep breath, man,” I mutter, turning for the stairs.
It’s never been this tense between the three of us. I hate it. If Declan was anyone else, I wouldn’t tolerate his attitude, but I owe him and his family my life. They took me in when I had nothing to offer but friendship, then raised me like one of their own. Loyalty matters more than anything to me–I can give the man who adopted me as a brother some time to figure his shit out. But I’m not above drastic measures if he doesn’t get it together. Soon.
Linc’s in the kitchen when I get to the main floor, his back to me as he stands with his hands braced on either side of the sink, shoulders by his ears.
“What did Miles say?” I call, walking around the island.
He looks over his shoulder and turns, crossing his arms and slouching against the counter as he faces me. “Dec coming?”
Nodding, I slide onto one of the leather-upholstered barstools.
“He okay?”
Linc looks sideways at me, knowing Dec’s more transparent for me. He takes his role as big brother far too seriously to let Linc see all the cracks in his armor. Always has.
“No.”
“What are we going to do about that?”
I meet his gaze. “Keep going. He’s either going to get on board or walk away.”
“Dec doesn’t walk away.”
“I know.” I incline my head.
The loaded pause is broken by Dec’s heavy footfalls as he enters the room. He glances between us, a small crease forming between his brows. Yes, we’re talking about you.
“What did Athena say?”
Linc straightens, matching his brother’s tension. I push away the discomfort the strain between them causes, refusing to put words to my concerns for our dynamic. It feels fragile for the first time.
“It was a calendar invite. Dinner with Lex in two days.”
Interesting. “Just Lex?”
Linc dips his chin. “The four of us.”
Something about that phrase stirs a memory. I can picture the four of us around the table at Athena with perfect clarity; Declan across from me and Lincoln to my right, with Lex poised at the head of the room. Felt right then and feels right now.
Dec’s fists clench, and I watch as he forces them to relax. “Okay. Did you accept?”
Annoyance flares in Linc’s eyes, but he tamps it down. Atta boy. “Not yet. Wanted to make sure we were aligned.”
“Thank you.”
Linc flashes me a grateful look, then turns back to Declan. “Obviously, I think we should accept.”
Declan swallows, then nods once. “Agreed.”
Linc’s eyebrows climb as he glances at me again, seeking confirmation he heard correctly.
“Same,” I offer.
“Great.” He pulls his phone from his pocket, his thumbs flying across the keyboard. As he finishes, he meets his brother’s eyes. “Done.”
“Good. I’m going to clean up, then let’s talk strategy.” Dec glances my way. “Pizza?”
I smile and duck my head as the last of Linc’s tension leaves his body. “I’ll call it in.”
Dec grunts in thanks before turning on his heel and heading for the stairs. We watch him go, then Linc grins and reaches over for a high five. I chuckle and slap my hand against his, pulling my phone out to place our order. We were far from being back on track, but I’m counting the afternoon as a win. One step at a time.