“Oh, not again with this letter writer bullshit. I think if we go another week with nothing new, she can work remotely. There’s no need to have her right beside me twenty-four/seven.”
“I disagree,” Shane said.
Haley sighed angrily as she looked out the window. She’d never wished for a tour to be over, but this time, she was done. She wanted to go home and forget about the letter writer, the accident, losing Fizzy, and ever meeting Shane Crowley.
***
Shane was standing nearby when Haley stepped off her bus wearing jeans and a tight-fitting green and black flannel shirt. The top three buttons were open and dangerously close to allowing her breasts to spill out. She was in rare form, still fuming from the morning radio show. She knew the band and entire road crew had listened live. They were unaware of the death threats until now, and she was dreading facing them. She regretted ever doing the show to begin with.
“Can I go to rehearsal now?” she said, crossing her arms, looking at Shane.
“I don’t know. I’m just a rental cop that isn’t needed.”
“Oh, for fuck’s sake.” Haley shook her head and began walking into the arena. Shane fell instep next to her, but a little back so she wasn’t in her line of sight.
The band was waiting on stage when Haley entered.
“I wish you would’ve told us about the threats, Haley,” Vince said when she walked up the stairs. “We’re not just acquaintances, we’re your damn band. We’ve been with you since the beginning. And as the band leader, I feel a little pissed about being completely left in the dark.”
“I know. You all have a right to be pissed. We were trying to keep this is as quiet as possible. It’s not a huge deal. There’s no need to be concerned. I told Rich to keep it quiet.”
“We knew he said he was beefing up security, which was why Shane joined the tour, but I’m mad too. Damn it, Haley. We would do anything for you. You’re our sister from another mister,” Joey said. “We should kick his ass after the show tonight.”
“Personally, if you were a lesbian, I think that would be cool as shit. Country music would flip their damn lids!” Stiles laughed. “I mean, I know there have been a few others, but no one as popular as you. Shane’s not a bad catch either.”
Haley shook her head and sighed. “Come on, we have work to do.”
Vince smacked him in the back of the head like a father scolding a child. Stiles shrugged and picked up his guitar.
***
Halfway through rehearsal, Haley needed a breather. She couldn’t get focused. Her mind kept playing the radio interview. She was waiting for Rich to come to her with the label’s harsh words any minute, and every time she saw Shane, it just made it worse.
“I know you’re out there,” she growled into the mic. “Can I please have an hour without you up my ass?”
“Is she talking to me or you?” Rich whispered, looking at Shane.
“That would be me,” she mumbled, getting up from her seat.
“She can’t possibly see you.”
“She doesn’t have to,” she added. “Make sure someone calls me when she’s done. I’ll be around.”
Rich nodded. He felt bad for her. He’d been on the sharp end of Haley’s lashings more times than he could count. He simply couldn’t understand why Shane’s mere presence was enough to set Haley off. If they’re not sleeping together, maybe they should be, he thought as he continued watching the rehearsal while texting and emailing on his phone.
***
If Shane was a smoker, she would’ve inhaled an entire pack while waiting for Haley to finish. She was finished with the back and forth confrontation. Haley Nielsen was literally making her crazy “She’s either going to move on, or I’m out of here. Someone else can deal with her,” she mumbled to herself.
When rehearsal finally ended, Shane walked Haley to the bus and stayed outside, hovering around the arena and the stage, anything to avoid seeing her until the start of the show when she’d have to walk her back again. No words were spoken between them. In fact, neither woman looked at the other at all.
“The rattlesnake’s back,” Rich said, stepping up behind Shane, who was outside of the arena, staring at the bus.
“I have a feeling it may strike tonight,” Shane replied slowly, her voice sounding a little deeper than its usual tone.
Rich felt like he was standing in a landmine, waiting for one of them to explode.
“I take it you haven’t told her about the insurance company,” Shane said.
“No.” He shook his head. “I was going to today, but the radio show blew that for me.”
“Has there been any word from her label?”
“Oh, hell yeah. They aren’t happy, not with the radio show, not with her, and certainly not with me. They’re pissed they were kept in the dark about the threats, and they demanded to know if she’s gay,” he sighed. “I have a feeling they will drop her if they find out.”
“Wait…” Shane cocked her head to the side. “You know?”
“I had a feeling. I wasn’t certain until you came along.”
“Whoa. Wait a minute. There is nothing going on between her and I.”
“There doesn’t have to be. You have chemistry. I’ve never seen her like this with anyone.”
“Like what?”
“So…I don’t know…back and forth, I guess. It’s almost like love and hate. I’m not saying she is gay, but I wouldn’t be surprised. That’s all.”
“I don’t know and don’t care. She’s never mentioned it to me. Hell, we’ve barely talked about anything.”
“Come on. She’s almost finished,” Rich said, nodding towards the arena door.
Shane hadn’t missed a show yet, but this time, she’d chosen to stay outside. She looked over at the mingling people who were slowly turning into a crowd, before following him inside.
***
Haley was playing her Telecaster guitar and singing Finish What Ya Started by Van Halen, when Rich and Shane walked up to the back of the stage. The rest of the band played with her and sang backup vocals.
As soon as the song was over, the audience continued cheering loudly as Haley traded guitars, going back to her acoustic one. She strummed the first bars of her next song as she stepped up to the mic. “Jolene, Jolene, Jolene, Jolene!” she began singing. “I’m begging of you please don’t take my man.”
After a few more lines, the band slowly joined in. The arena hummed as if everyone in there was singing. Chills ran down Haley’s spine. She loved it when the crowd sang along. She strummed her guitar harder, playing louder and dragging out the lyrics as she lost herself in the music. It was the last song of the night, and she was going to make it a good one.
***
As soon as she was finished, Haley walked off the back of the stage, glaring at Shane as she pranced past her, and straight down the hallway towards the exit. The air was heavy and thick between the two of them. Rich raised a brow in Shane’s direction. He sure as hell wasn’t going after her. Shane’s sigh sounded more like a growl as she took off in Haley’s direction, reaching her just as she was opening the door.
“Try not to stand in one place too long. Keep moving down the line,” Shane said as Haley began signing autographs and taking selfies with the people outside.
Haley ignored her.
“Are you finished?” Shane asked sarcastically after giving her all of five minutes, which was way too long in her mind.
“The warden says I have to go,” Haley said to the crowd, then turned her gorgeous eyes on Shane.
Once they were both on the bus, Shane slammed and locked the door. Haley had disappeared to her room. “Oh, no you don’t!” she yelled. “Come out here! We need to talk!”
“What’s your problem?” Haley snapped, opening her door and stepping out into the hallway. She’d removed her boots and socks, and exchanged her jeans for cutoff shorts.
“You!” Sh
ane squeezed her fists to keep from touching her. “I’ve had enough with being treated like a piece of shit! I’ve done nothing but try my best to keep you safe. What the hell happened when you boarded this bus? You were…normal at your house. Now, you’re back to being…” Shane clenched her teeth together. “You’re a bitch!”
“Fuck you! You have no right to talk to me like that!”
“You have no right to treat me like that either! I’m tired of apologizing and tiptoeing around you! You’re a grown damn woman. It’s time you act like it!”
“You’re fired!” Haley shouted.
“You’ve tried that, remember?! I’m not some dumb rental cop or a stupid radio disc jockey. Look at me damn it!”
Shane’s eyes were at least two shades darker when Haley looked into them. Blood raced through her veins and her heart thumped in her chest as Shane moved closer. She’d never been so turned on and angry at the same time.
“You make me crazy,” Shane murmured in a low tone.
Haley swallowed the lump in her throat as her back touched the wall.
“I went out of my way to take you to Graceland. I saved your life when the bus crashed. I comforted you when you were in need. I’ve done nothing…NOTHING, but be respectful to you. All the while, you stomp around barking orders, acting as if you can’t stand me. Now, what is it, Haley? Do you hate me that much? Am I that much of a burden on you? What the fuck is your problem?” Shane snarled, her face inches from Haley’s.
“You! Goddamn it, you’re my problem!” Haley replied angrily, staring back into her eyes. “You think I make you crazy,” she sneered. “You have no idea what you do to me. Everywhere I go, everywhere I turn, you’re there. I can’t get away from you. I can’t work. I can’t sleep. You want to know the truth? Fine. I hate you, Shane. I hate the minute you walked into my life and turned it upside down! I hate the fact that I want you so bad I can’t think straight anymore!” she growled, twisting her hand in the front of Shane’s shirt and pulling her close as their mouths came together roughly in a blazing hot kiss.
Shane nipped at her lips, tasting a hint of tequila and lime on Haley’s tongue as she licked it. Haley moaned, pushing her mouth harder into Shane’s before they both pulled away to get air into their lungs.
Shane grabbed Haley’s hands and held them up above her shoulders, pinning her to the wall as she pressed their hips together. “Is this really what you want?” she asked, her tone still low and demanding. Her eyes traced a burning path down Haley’s neck to the soft skin between the top of her breasts, watching her chest lift and fall with each rapid breath, before moving back up to the glassy eyes staring back at her.
“I want you. I want to feel you…touching me…inside of me…everywhere,” Haley breathed.
Shane let go of her wrists and ran her hand over her shoulders, moving down her chest to cup her breasts. Haley moaned, tilting her head back to offer more of herself. Shane grabbed the open sides of her shirt and pulled them apart, ripping the buttons in one swift motion, revealing a lacy black bra. She pressed her lips to Haley’s once more in a fierce kiss that laid claim to her mouth, before pulling away and running her lips from the delicate skin under Haley’s ear, down to the baby smooth skin of her breasts. She still had her bra on, but Shane kissed all the way down to the lace, dragging her tongue across to the other side as her hands slid down to Haley’s abdomen. She spread her hands on either side of her belly button, feeling the taut muscles jump with every panting breath.
Haley could do nothing but surrender herself to the hands working their way lower, and oh how she wanted them lower. She’d dreamed about giving herself to Shane so many times, she almost already knew what it would feel like when Shane took her. Her knees knocked together in anticipation as Shane unbuttoned her cutoffs, tucking her thumbs inside the waistband at her sides. She pushed them over her hips, drawing her panties down with them as they fell to her ankles. Shane’s breath tickled her sensitive skin as she moved to her knees, dragging her lips over her stomach.
In one swift motion, Shane pushed her legs apart and licked her swollen wet center with her flattened tongue. Haley bit down on her lower lip, tasting the metallic tinge of blood as she cried out. Shane kept her tongue moving over and over, suckling every fold as she teased her opening with the tip. Then, keeping her mouth on Haley’s body, she slowly moved back up, standing as she reached her breasts, then her neck…all the way to her mouth. Her hands followed, sliding up the top of Haley’s thighs, resting on her hipbones.
It drove Haley wild tasting her own salty sweet aroma on Shane’s tongue. She was so close, Shane’s demanding kiss was liable to push her over the edge, but her body hummed with arousal. She wanted more, and she was going to get it as Shane’s hand began to move down her thigh.
Haley whimpered through their kiss as Shane pushed two fingers inside of her and teased her clit with her thumb. Her body was pinned to the wall by Shane’s, otherwise, her shaky legs may have dropped her to the floor.
Shane kept her mouth on Haley, moving from her lips to her neck and upper chest, then back again. All the while, her fingers slid in and out of her slippery, hot center, working in a circular motion and pounding deeper with each thrust. With her free hand, she reached down, lifting Haley’s thigh up to her waist to give her more leverage. She continued sliding in and out of her until the warm muscles surrounding her fingers squeezed painfully tight, stilling them deep inside.
Haley pulled her mouth away, crying out like a wild animal owning the night as she gasped for air. Her body writhing between Shane and the wall as the powerful orgasm building inside of her finally exploded.
Shane waited until Haley came down from the intoxicating high, then she slowly released her fingers and put her leg down. She ran the knuckles of her clean hand up Haley’s torso, lifting her chin when she reached it, so that they were eye to eye. Then, she leaned in, kissing her softly.
“Consider this my resignation,” she sighed, pulling away. “I’ll stay on through Atlanta, then I’m out,” she added before going into her room and closing the door.
Haley felt completely raw as she rearranged her clothes and walked into the bathroom. This was it. Shane had given her exactly what she’d wanted. She should’ve been anything other than lost, which was what she truly was as she turned on the shower and stepped under the hot spray. A single tear ran down her cheek. She casually wiped it away, unsure of why it was even there. She wasn’t hurt, not physically, not mentally…not at all. She felt like a drug addict who had just come down from the high of a lifetime. In a way, she had experienced that…to a certain extent at least, as the euphoria of the most powerful orgasm she’d ever had slowly faded away.
When she’d finished going through the repetitive motion of washing her body and shampooing her hair, she stepped out and toweled off. She avoided the mirror, knowing her own eyes would give way to the things she didn’t want to think about right now. Entering her room, she dried her hair as much as possible with the towel, then crawled under the covers of her bed as naked on the inside as she was on the outside.
For the first time in nearly a month, her mind was blank. She closed her eyes, allowing herself to fall sleep.
***
Shane contemplated taking a shower when she heard the water stop, but the last thing she wanted to do was see Haley. It was over. They’d both given and taken what they’d wanted from the other. There would be no more fighting; no more treading softly; no more anything…really. In forty-eight hours, she’d be gone. The thought of never seeing Haley again stung a little, but they were both better off. Rich would get someone new to track down the letter writer. She’d give him or her all of her notes. Haley would be able to go on and finish her tour, and she could get back to her life and her regular work. Following some star around wasn’t exactly her idea of fun to begin with. She was happy to get back to the peace and quiet of her apartment, and the silly nonsense of working low key cases with a bunch of guys
who told dirty jokes all day.
As she slowly drifted off to sleep, she thought about her old cases, wondering how many were still open.
Chapter 28
Haley pulled the covers over her head when the early morning sun peeked through the blinds, sending slivers of orange right into her face, because she’d forgotten to close her blackout curtains when she went to bed. She could tell they were still on the road, which meant she couldn’t escape the confines of the bus. What she really wanted was a hot cup of tea with honey, but decided to go back to sleep instead.
In the other room, Shane tossed and turned until she finally just lay awake, staring at the ceiling. Her stomach growled like a grizzly bear, reminding her that she hadn’t eaten since lunchtime the day before. Checking her watch, she knew they still had several hours to go because the buses didn’t pull out until just before dawn. “The hell with it,” she muttered to herself, slinging the comforter off. She dressed in a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt before leaving her room in search of something to eat so her body would stop acting like it was starving to death.
In the galley, she found the refrigerator and cabinets somewhat filled with groceries. She had no idea when that had happened, but was thankful for Rich for coming through. She went to work making the coffee she’d found, using the one cup machine. Then, she grabbed a box of cereal from the cabinet, with some kind of marshmallows and corn flakes in it and poured it into a medium-sized bowl. She dumped enough milk to make it float, grabbed a spoon, and began to chow down while she waited for her coffee to finish.
As soon as the brew was done, Shane took the remainder of her cereal and her coffee to her room and turned her laptop on. If she couldn’t sleep, she might as well work. She was more than halfway through with the Christian magazine subscriptions for residents of Nashville and the surrounding area. Nearly fifty percent of the subscriptions were in the names of churches, hospitals, and businesses, and the other half was women’s names. “He could’ve gotten this magazine anywhere!” she huffed, nearly spilling her cereal in her lap. She quickly grabbed her phone.
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