by Shandi Boyes
Man in Queue
Shandi Boyes
Illustrated by
SSB Covers And Design
Edited by
Mountains Wanted Publishing
Copyright © 2019 by Shandi Boyes
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All rights reserved.
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No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
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Cover: SSB Covers and Designs
Editing: Mountains Wanted Publishing
Created with Vellum
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Also by Shandi Boyes
Perception Series
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Saving Noah (Noah & Emily)
Fighting Jacob (Jacob & Lola)
Taming Nick (Nick & Jenni)
Redeeming Slater (Slater and Kylie)
Saving Emily (Noah & Emily - Novella)
Wrapped Up with Rise Up (Perception Novella - should be read after the Bound Series)
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Enigma
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Enigma (Isaac & Isabelle #1)
Unraveling an Enigma (Isaac & Isabelle #2)
Enigma The Mystery Unmasked (Isaac & Isabelle #3)
Enigma: The Final Chapter (Isaac & Isabelle #4)
Beneath The Secrets (Hugo & Ava #1)
Beneath The Sheets(Hugo & Ava #2)
Spy Thy Neighbor (Hunter & Paige)
The Opposite Effect (Brax & Clara)
I Married a Mob Boss(Rico & Blaire)
Second Shot(Hawke & Gemma)
The Way We Are(Ryan & Savannah #1)
The Way We Were(Ryan & Savannah #2)
Sugar and Spice (Cormack & Harlow)
Lady In Waiting (Regan & Alex #1)
Man in Queue (Regan & Alex #2)
Couple on Hold(Regan & Alex #3)
Enigma: The Wedding (Isaac and Isabelle)
Silent Vigilante (Brandon and Melody #1)
Hushed Guardian (Brandon & Melody #2)
Quiet Protector (Brandon & Melody #3)
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Bound Series
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Chains (Marcus & Cleo #1)
Links(Marcus & Cleo #2)
Bound(Marcus & Cleo #3)
Restrain(Marcus & Cleo #4)
Psycho (Dexter & ??)
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Russian Mob Chronicles
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Nikolai: A Mafia Prince Romance (Nikolai & Justine #1)
Nikolai: Taking Back What’s Mine (Nikolai & Justine #2)
Nikolai: What’s Left of Me(Nikolai & Justine #3)
Nikolai: Mine to Protect(Nikolai & Justine #4)
Asher: My Russian Revenge (Asher & Zariah)
Nikolai: Through the Devil's Eyes(Nikolai & Justine #5)
Trey (Trey & K)
K: A Trey Sequel
The Italian Cartel
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Dimitri
Roxanne
Reign
Mafia Ties (Novella)
Maddox
Demi
Rocco
Clover
Smith
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RomCom Standalones
Just Playin’ (Elvis & Willow)
Ain't Happenin' (Lorenzo & Skylar)
The Drop Zone (Colby & Jamie)
Very Unlikely (Brand New Couple)
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Short Stories
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Christmas Trio (Wesley, Andrew & Mallory -- short story)
Falling For A Stranger (Short Story)
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Coming Soon
Skitzo
Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Also by Shandi Boyes
1
A collective gasp rolls through the church when the deranged woman’s weapon of choice is exposed. Thankfully, it isn’t the dangerous arsenal I expected—but it is the reason her Sunday shoes are covered with vibrant red splotches.
Regan stops talking when a dissected pig’s heart rolls across the pristinely clean church foyer. Her eyes lock with mine for several long seconds before they lower to the woman squealing like a banshee. I can tell she is grateful her stalker has been detained, but she is confused as to what it all means.
She’s not the only one lost. Her stalker’s threat was highly graphic, one of the most disturbing I’ve ever seen, so I expected her to be more creative than harassing Regan with a pig’s heart. Her arrest is simple and done without harm to either Regan or herself. It almost seems too easy.
When the lady I have pinned to the ground spews vitriol in Regan’s direction, I scan the muted church for the gentleman I spotted earlier, hoping for some assistance. I can’t keep the assailant contained and comfort Regan at the same time. I also have no jurisdiction in Texas. A local cop needs to arrest her to ensure all the loose ends are adequately tied. The last thing I want is for her to slip prosecution because I failed to follow protocol.
Although I don’t know the man I am seeking any better than the churchgoers staring at me, I’ve lived amongst law enforcement officers my entire life, so I know a cop when I see one. He is one of us; I’m certain of it.
Upon discovering the man I’m hunting tucked in the far corner of the church, I jerk up my chin, wordlessly requesting his assistance. He briskly shakes his head before slumping low in his chair. His endeavor to hide comes too late. Numerous attendees’ eyes followed the direction of my gaze when I nudged my head. His hope to fade into the background was lost the instant he was spotted by a local, because he is one of them as much as he is an officer of the law.
Recognizing his cover has been blown, the blond-haired, brown-eyed man stands to his feet and heads my way. The gasps of the crowd keep coming when he unlatches a set of cuffs from his belt at the end of the aisle.
The reason for their surprise comes to light when Regan mutters, “Ayden? What the hell are you doing?”
Regan’s eyes dart to her father when Ayden kneels down to secure cuffs on the subdued woman. Hayden shrugs at Regan, as confused as every other attendee gawking our way.
Confident he has the woman contained, Ayden helps her stand to her feet. He dips his chin my way, his greeting more to hide his snarl than a formal introduction.
After an apologetic glance directed at Regan, Hayden, and Sally, Ayden guides the assailant down the church aisle. “Danielle Thomas, you are under arrest for breaking and entering a property with the intent to cause grievous bodily harm. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can
and will be used against you in a court of law . . .”
His words soften the farther he guides Danielle through the crowd of people glaring at her with the same disdain they issued Regan only an hour ago. I stop awarding him the same confused stare when Regan’s scent infiltrates my nostril cavities.
“What the hell is happening?” She stops to stand next to me.
“You tell me,” I reply, a little lost. “Do you know that man?” I nudge my head at the man who was reluctant to break his cover for the greater good.
Regan nods. “He’s my baby brother.” The dryness impinging my throat intensifies when her massively dilated eyes stray to mine. “Seems like we aren’t the only ones keeping secrets. As far as my family was aware, Ayden was set to graduate Lennington College next month.”
2
“You okay?” I ask Regan as my backside joins her on the two-seater couch in her family living room.
She halfheartedly nods. “It’s just weird, you know.” She stops cuddling her knees so her head can crank in the direction her family is seated. “I don’t know why he needed to keep his career a secret. We’re his family. If he can’t be honest with us, who can he be honest with?”
Her response surprises me. She’s been quiet since we left the church three hours ago, but I thought her wish for privacy centered around the detailed report local authorities drafted in front of her parents, not her brother’s secret. Regan is confident and forthright, but just like me, she keeps parts of her life hidden from those she cares about. She’s not doing it to be mean; she’s protecting them as I always will her.
Going off a hunch, I say, “Ayden may not have had a choice but to lie.” My last word muffles from Regan smashing a pillow into my face.
After a growl exposes her anger, she leaps from the couch and bolts up the stairs. I understand her annoyance—Danielle arrived at Luca’s memorial with the intent to publicly shame her. I just can’t fathom why all her fury is directed at Ayden. Although his break in cover meant confessing to a yearlong secret, he did that to protect Regan and her family, so she has no right to be angry at him.
Unless. . .
I take the stairs two at a time, barely crossing the threshold of Regan’s bedroom before her door slams shut.
“You’re supposed to be on the other side,” Regan snarls, exposing my intuition is spot on. She’s not mad at Ayden. She’s upset with me.
She stops wearing a hole in the carpet when I grip the top of her arms. She could pull away, but even someone as strong and unbreakable as Regan can’t deny the attraction teeming between us. The rise in her temperature when I grabbed her wasn’t from anger. It is the same reason her pulse is fluttering against my fingertips. She’s mad, but she’s still responsive to my touch.
I wait for my silence to coerce her eyes to mine before asking, “Why are you angry at me? I haven’t done anything wrong.”
Frustrated at my inability to read her every thought, she breaks away from me. Her angry steps move her across the room to her suitcase left open on her bed.
Although grateful she’s packing for our flight that leaves in under two hours, I have no intention of going anywhere until we sort this shit out. Our return to Ravenshoe means facing the biggest battle in our relationship to date. Hayden’s aversion to me getting cozy with his daughter will seem like child’s play when I come clean about mixing business with pleasure to Theresa.
I’m not willing to face that shitstorm without ensuring Regan and I are solid. If we don’t put our best foot forward, our relationship will be squashed before it’s official. That isn’t a probability. It is a certainty.
Regan stops shoving clothes into her bag like a madwoman when I say, “If you want to yell at me, Rae, yell at me. If you want to slam a door in my face, slam it in my face. But if you want me to help you with whatever is eating you alive, you need to talk to me. I am many things, but I am not a mind reader.”
“That’s half the problem, Alex. I don’t know who the fuck you are.” She points to her bedroom door as if it is a paradox to the universe. “Only two nights ago, you told me the only thing I’d ever do in your bed was sleep. Then we. . .”
“Fucked?” I fill in, hating the word, but not as much as I loathe her inability to describe what we have as something more than just a physical connection.
“Yes!” She throws her hands into the air, firmly holding her ground. “Then you were all alpha possessive with my dad like no one would ever come between us, before you went and. . .”
“And. . .?” I prompt, lost on the direction of her conversation this time around.
The anger on her face morphs to dislike. “You took Ayden’s side by excusing his lies the same way you do yours.”
“I didn’t excuse his lies. I accepted them. That’s different.”
She lets out of frustrated squeal before she starts packing again. “A lie is a lie; you’re not supposed to use them on the people you love.”
One word, and I’m feeling more emotional than angry. Her “L” reference could be directed at Ayden, but after the day we’ve had, it seems more aimed at me.
Testing a theory, I ask, “So you’ve never hidden a truth to save a loved one heartache? Or kept someone’s secret just because they asked you to?”
I know I’ve hit the nail on the head when the resentment in her eyes fades with each question fired from my mouth.
“Ayden was deceitful, Rae, but he didn’t intentionally set out to hurt you. I’ve only just met him, but I know protecting you and your family comes before anything else.”
“You don’t know that,” Regan barely whispers, her words forced through a sob sitting in the back of her throat. “You don’t know him. You barely know me.”
That hurts to hear, but it doesn’t stop me from saying, “I know you, and although I’ve only just met your family, nothing will stop me from keeping them safe, because I know how important they are to you. Furthermore, Ayden has your blood in his veins, Regan. That automatically makes you his number one priority.”
She remains quiet for several moments while my thoughts run wild. I’m skating on thin ice here. One wrong move and I’m either history or heading for greatness. I rake my fingers through my hair while contemplating what to do next. I could dismiss Regan’s frustration as a family issue, but deep down inside, I know Ayden’s confession isn’t the sole reason the little vein in her neck is working overtime. Some of the blame rests on my shoulders.
I exhale a deep breath. Fuck it. I’m already sitting in a very deep hole, so what’s a few more inches between friends?
After removing the designer garment from Regan’s hand, I dump it on the ground before pulling her into my chest. The annoyed grunt she releases when her beloved dress lands at our feet gives me an excuse for the extra thump of my heart when I say, “Don’t ever doubt someone’s love because they’re required to keep minor details from you. Let actions speak on behalf of the words they can’t express.”
I was originally referring to Ayden and his disclosure, but the heavy sentiment bouncing between Regan and me shifted my focus. I’m not surprised. I can’t have her this close to me and think rationally. It is impossible.
I silently will for Regan to open up to me. When she doesn’t, I plead, “Talk to me, Rae. Let me help you.”
The hope in my tone compels her head to pop off my chest. If I had any doubt about how profoundly this woman has crawled under my skin, I am certain now. I thought love was supposed to be blind, not smack you upside the head?
After a quick swallow, Regan faintly whispers, “My parents are good people; they don’t deserve to have all their children lying to them.”
As the truth smacks into me, I nod. This isn’t about Ayden, Danielle, or me. This is about Regan, and the secret she’s been carrying the past eight years.
“Did you lie to hurt them?”
Regan angrily swipes at a tear careening down her cheek before shaking her head.
“Then it’s okay. They’ll forgi
ve you—”
“They can’t forgive me if I have no intention of telling them I lied.”
I smirk, hearing the deceit in her tone a mile out. She is so close to cracking, she just needs a little more confidence. This weekend has been as good for her as it’s been for me. Peering down at her now, I barely see the hurt, tormented woman I witnessed staring at the sky every night at precisely 10:03 the past six months. That woman is nearly gone, almost vanished.
This may make me sound conceited, but I feel partly responsible for the drastic upshift in her personality. Not because I’m a giver and she’s a taker, but because for every boost she gives me, I return it. Despite social status or amounts in our bank accounts, we are even.
“If you don’t ever tell your parents what happened the night of Luca’s accident, that’s your choice, Rae.” She attempts to interrupt me, but I keep talking, “But if one day you want to get it off your shoulders, I’ll be right at your side, supporting you.”
