by Mandy Harbin
“Yep. I think you’ll find they’re not the type to hold grudges, though.”
“Except for the mafia.”
“Except for the mafia,” Anna agreed.
“And people coming after their families.”
“That too.” Anna smiled, then stood and grabbed her cell phone off the counter. “Want some pizza?”
Shelby nodded. “And then what?” she asked, not talking about the food.
“We’ll make ourselves sick on pepperoni,” Anna replied anyway. She leveled a stare at her. “We’ll worry about what happens next later.”
Shelby could get on board with that.
What was that old adage? Red sky at night, sailor’s delight. Red sky in morning, sailor take warning. Shelby wondered as she drove to the garage, the rising sun turning the sky a dark shade of blood.
She could call her brother, Axle, and ask him. He’d surely know how the saying went. The man wasn’t just a sailor but a SEAL. She reached for her phone out of habit whenever she thought of him, but decided against calling him right now. She needed to be sure to talk to him while he was stateside, but she’d make it to the garage in a few minutes. Axle could wait. The Bang Shift guys couldn’t.
Maybe that’s why the sky looked so ominous. It was foretelling her future. Not just everything going down with Mason, but facing the men she worked beside not that long ago in an effect to gather intel for the government.
There was a disturbing pattern in all of this.
When she pulled into the parking lot and got out, she took one last look at the sky. Red…but beautiful. Dark, but somehow still light. Two contrasts competing for dominance and both winning.
The sound of an impact drill drew her attention to the shop. Someone was already here and working. She hoped it was Blade. He’d come in last night after she and Anna had been too tipsy to talk about anything important, but he’d at least been welcoming. She had no idea what faced her inside this morning. Gathering her strength, Shelby forged ahead. Voices echoed in the closed bay, signaling there was more than one of them in. She tested the front door, which was unlocked.
“…haven’t even had a cup of coffee,” Brody said.
“Quit your bellyachin’,” Roc muttered from underneath an old Pontiac. “None of us wants to be here this fuckin’ early.”
“Roc,” Bear said, exasperated. “Please.”
“Just how the ladies sound,” Roc said suggestively.
It reminded her of all the easy ribbing that had gone on while she’d been stationed here on assignment. Without any conscious effort, she jumped right in. “What?” Shelby quipped. “Full of disappointment?”
Tools dropped.
Roc rolled out into view.
Brody, Hunter, Gauge, and Bear stood from the various cars they were working. Blade stared at her, too, as he wiped grease from his hands, but at least he was smiling. He was the only one sporting anything of the sort.
“Glade to see you finally got outta bed,” Blade said.
“Wasn’t easy,” she muttered before rubbing her head. Looking to the side, she spotted the coffee pot, both a distraction and a blessing. “Feel like shit.”
“You look it, too,” Roc said as she made her way to the carafe. She smirked as she poured a cup.
“Dude,” Gauge said. “Don’t be an ass.”
“Not a lie, though,” Shelby said, and faced the men, cup in hand as a shield. She shrugged. “Too much to drink.”
“And too much bullshit,” Roc continued.
“Roc,” Bear barked.
“Not a lie either.” She sighed. “Look, I want to apologize for what happened—”
“Don’t,” Gauge said. “It was a job. Not a choice.”
She looked at him for a long while. “Still doesn’t feel right. None of this feels right.”
“None of what?” Hunter asked, narrowing his gaze a little.
She took a sip of coffee while she contemplated her response. She could keep hiding behind her badge or she could come clean. She hadn’t wanted to talk much last night, but now, with these men she’d worked so closely with, she felt an odd sense of acceptance no matter what she divulged.
“Working for an institution that makes me lie to people who matter.”
“Even if it’s for the greater good?” Gauge hedged.
“Who defines that?” She certainly wasn’t qualified.
“The government,” Brody said, crossing his arms.
“Even if you know it’s wrong?”
“But do you know that?” Blade asked.
She shook her head. “I didn’t believe for one second you guys were dirty.”
Roc scoffed.
“Okay. You’re shady as hell, but it still doesn’t make what happened right. It was a major breach of trust, and for that I am sorry. The feds never should’ve sent me here on assignment. Or put Anna on Blade. It was wrong.”
“I don’t see it that way,” Blade said. “It brought me and Anna together. I mean, as a shady-as-hell taxpayer, the folks could’ve spent my dollars a little bit more wisely, but that’s on them.”
Blade had a point. If it hadn’t been for that assignment, he and Anna wouldn’t be together now. He had a bright side to this mess. The other guys didn’t have that perk.
“If we agreed with the feds’ methodology on everything, we wouldn’t be contractors. We’d be employees,” Bear said.
She chuckled self-depreciatively. “Guess that means I should just come work for you guys. At least then I wouldn’t be expected to fuck a suspect.”
Bear gaped at her. Brody’s gaze narrowed. Hunter stood taller. Gauge’s smile flattened. Blade’s mouth opened. Roc looked bored with this conversation already.
“Come again?” Bear asked.
“Oh, I came many times.” She half-smiled. “I shouldn’t be too surprised I also got emotionally attached.” That was putting it lightly.
“You need to start from the beginning,” Bear said.
“I don’t know where the beginning is.” She took another drink. “But it ends with Mason Showalter.”
“Jesus,” Blade said. “I don’t think I want to know.”
“Yeah. The SEC is still digging into his connections, and Rick is determined to see this assignment through no matter the cost. He sold Anna out to get to you. Then he tossed me right into the lion’s den.”
“He put you on Showalter,” Brody said.
“He put me under Showalter.” But she didn’t go into how much she enjoyed that aspect of it. She focused on the facts. Mostly. “He’s part owner of a sex club. The theory was I’d go in as a submissive, hoping he’d agree to introduce me to the lifestyle. Get what information I could on him. See if he was someone we could use as a source, or—”
“Someone to prosecute,” Roc spat.
“Yep, and pimping me out worked. Until Showalter learned the truth. I’m sure Rick is pissed. I didn’t stick around to find out just how irate he is. He’s probably sifting through the remaining team members to decide who he’ll offer up as collateral damage next. Good thing Viola went with me to the club one night, so he can’t use her. Although, that means she’s been made, too.”
“What the fuck?” Gauge whispered heatedly. His neck slowly turned a shade of red not unlike the morning sky. She wasn’t sure if it was because she’d just told him what she’d gone through…or if it was because she’d mentioned Viola. It was common knowledge the two of them had a history, but to what extent she wasn’t sure.
She sure as hell wasn’t asking him.
“So is he dirty?” Bear asked.
She opened her mouth to answer, but Roc snickered.
“I don’t mean like that!” Bear glared at him.
“I don’t know,” she answered. “It doesn’t look good. At all.” She was not going to cry. She looked around the shop, took a drink of her coffee, set the empty cup down, and picked up a wrench, blinking a few times to keep the tears at bay.
“I’m calling Rick,” Bear sai
d.
She gasped and looked at him. Sure enough, he pulled out his cell phone. “Why? He knows where I’m at.” There was no question about that. “And y’all aren’t exactly on speaking terms right now.”
“He needs to know if he doesn’t give you time to decompress, he’ll have us to answer to.”
She opened her mouth to say something, doubting she’d be able to stop the waterworks with whatever she said, but he looked at Brody. “Get her suited up and started on Harvey’s engine.”
“C’mon. We got you something.” Brody motioned for her to walk with him toward the shelves where extra gloves, coveralls, and other gear was stored. As she made her way over there, the other guys in the garage inched their way toward her. She glanced over her shoulder at them, but they gave nothing away.
“Here,” Brody said, drawing her attention to him again. He pulled out a shirt like the ones they all had on. It had a patch on the side with the garage’s logo on it just like theirs, but it also had something else.
Her name.
They had a shirt made just for her.
“Oh my gosh.” She took it into her hands and caressed the stitching. “I don’t know what to say.”
“Just to be clear, we had that made after you left,” Hunter said.
“We were going to give it to you at the engagement party Anna’s planning,” Blade said, and rocked on his heels. “But now we don’t have to wait.”
“You guys,” she said, tears welling. The men all shuffled around, avoiding eye contact. It was almost comical how uncomfortable her emotions were making them. Rather than give in and boo-hoo, she decided to push it down and ease their discomfort. “But it doesn’t match my shoes.”
Roc chuckled and walked away.
The others smiled or shook their heads or rolled their eyes, all walking back to their respective bays.
And just like that, she’d been forgiven.
“So the government pimped you out, huh?” Blade asked as he loosened a lug nut. “How do we spread the word that we’re now a brothel and car shop?” He looked up and winked at her.
Not skipping a beat, Shelby said, “Offer two for one rimjobs.”
“Boom!” Hunter said. “Damn, it’s good to have you back.”
Chapter Twenty
Shelby’s few days off turned into a week. Being with the Bang Shift crew helped her more than she’d ever anticipated. Hanging out at the shop, working on cars, worked so well to distract her during the day, and visiting with Anna, Xan, and Roxie in the evenings had been crucial. Maya and Heather even joined them a couple of times after they’d gotten back in town. They’d been gone the first weekend she got there. Something about a planned weekend with Heather’s old friend, Caitlin Cooper. Shelby remembered the name since she’d seen some of Caitlin’s news reports.
It was during those moments with them all that she’d slowly vented more and more about what she’d gone through. With the men, they’d comforted her with threats of bodily harm to Rick and Mason. With the women, they’d forged bonds of sisterhood-out-to-destroy-men. If it wasn’t for all of them, she would’ve been holed up in a hotel room crying her eyes out.
Not that her time off changed anything. Mason had discovered she’d deceived him. How, she still didn’t know. Bear had reluctantly kept in touch with Rick, but there hadn’t been any new developments. Or so he’d said. What all he really knew she had no idea. She was just surprised she mattered enough to the guys for them to reach out to her boss.
Frankly, she hadn’t been able to find the strength to care about the details. All she could manage was focusing on one moment after the next. If she looked at the big picture, grief would creep over her. So she’d hidden, and she’d worked.
But her heart was still broken.
At night, the pain had been strongest. Whenever she’d shut her eyes, all she saw was Mason’s pain-ravaged face. She’d never forget the way he looked at her when he’d revealed he knew the truth. He’d been furious, but there had been more bleeding through, his soul open, and in that moment, she’d seen how much she’d truly hurt him. She would never forgive herself for destroying him like that. Her logical side tried to tell her she was just doing her job—just like everyone had told her over the last week—but her heart kept screaming in denial.
Being with them all had helped. Her pity-party was at a tolerable level now, but it was time to return and face the truth. She was nowhere near ready to see Mason again, wasn’t sure what she’d do when she did, but she’d deal with that when the time came. For now, she was ready to be back home and talk to her team.
Starting with Viola.
She’d missed having her around the last week. They’d chatted some, but it had been brief. They had a lot of catching up to do, so when she reached town, she decided to head straight to Viola’s house. It was Friday evening, so it was too late to go into the office anyway, and if she timed it like this on purpose, she wasn’t going to admit that. She wanted to speak with Viola without the scrutiny of everyone else at the office. When she reached a stoplight, she fired off a text to Viola to let her know she was coming over.
Shelby rolled to a stop in Viola’s driveway, immediately thrown off by what she saw. The front door was open, but Viola’s car was not there. Frowning, she got out and walked slowly to the door, cursing when she instinctively reached for a weapon she didn’t have. She didn’t see anything suspicious except for the door being ajar. She hoped Dave was home and had left it open, and nothing serious had happened. When he came jogging out, she started.
“Jesus, you scared me,” he said, surprised.
“Likewise.” She chuckled nervously. “I was hoping to see Viola.”
He shook his head. “She’s working late on a case. I’m headed out of town. On business.” His eyes darted, giving her the impression he wasn’t being honest about something.
“Okay. I’ll catch her at the office.” But not tonight.
He turned and locked the door, not saying anything else. She guessed he was running late for a flight or something. Not wanting to delay him, she got in her car and headed to Darrell’s house. If Viola was a long shot, Darrell probably was, too, but she was not going to the office. Not yet. If Darrell wasn’t home, she could pat herself on the back for trying to reach out to not one but two people on her team, and then lock herself inside her apartment for the weekend.
It didn’t take her long to get to Darrell’s place. The bureau required they all live within a certain distance of their assigned office. She wasn’t sure if she was pleased when she saw his SUV in his driveway or not. She’d already started liking the idea of going home. He walked out of his front door as soon as she pulled in, killing that possibility. He knew she was here, and she’d have to at least visit for a little while before begging off. He crossed his arms and watched her as she parked her car and got out.
“’Bout fucking time you showed up, little bit.”
“Good to see you, too,” she muttered, walking up to him. He pulled her into a quick hug and stepped to the side, holding his screen door open for her. She walked in and sat on the old, comfy brown couch he had.
“Wanna beer?” he asked, trekking past her to the kitchen.
“No thanks.”
“You missed some serious shit during your disappearing act. I’m going to let Rick know you’re with me.” He pulled out his phone and started clicking away on it. “He was getting a team together to come get you tonight.”
“Um, why?”
“Because things changed about two hours ago.”
Maybe she should’ve had the beer. “What?”
He pocketed his phone and sat on the coffee table facing her. “A body was found matching the description of Carl O’Brian.”
She blinked. “And?” She knew there had to be more. A man matching the description of someone else was too vague. Hell, she matched the description of half the brunettes she passed on the street.
“He was found in a car registered to Carl O’Brian.�
��
“Oh,” she breathed. Her mind started was racing as Darrell continued.
“Yeah. He and the car were burned, so we couldn’t do an immediate I.D. Medical examiner’s pulling dental records as part of the autopsy.” He clutched her hand in between his, his face solemn. “A package was delivered to headquarters earlier this afternoon with the coordinates to its location, along with video of Showalter and another man carrying something large and stuffing it into the truck of the same make and model vehicle. We’re trying to identify the other man. It’s not William Baxter, but it’s definitely Showalter in the vid.”
“Oh God.” She was numb. She didn’t think things could get any worse…until they did. There was no doubt now that Mason was who they were after.
“Carson intercepted a recent transaction where Showalter transferred large sums of money from an account we believe is linked to the Culpepper Hedge Fund to an overseas bank. Rick’s worried he’s going to jet.” His thumb brushed over her hand. “That’s not all,” he said softly.
She yanked her hand away and steeled herself. How much more was there? The case being built against Mason was airtight. There was no way he wasn’t involved. She couldn’t even come up with a crazy scenario that’d explain his innocence.
“He’s coming after you.”
Shelby stood up. “What?”
“The package also had images from inside your apartment. One contained a note written on a pad and left by your key bowl that said, “I punish liars.”
She gasped, and Darrell ran a hand through his hair. “I’m sorry. We went to your apartment, but there was no sign of forced entry. No notepad. Does he have a key?”
She felt her head shaking no, but she wasn’t sure if it had actually moved or not. Everything was so surreal.
“You’re going to a safe house.” Darrell started to leave the room, and she finally found her voice.
“What?” Everything was happening so fast. She shook her head, trying to process it all.
“I’ll throw you over my shoulder if I have to. It’s too dangerous for you right now.” He took a deep breath. “He could’ve killed you already. Jesus, you were alone with him. It could have been so easy. I just thank God he didn’t.” He walked down the hall and out of sight.
