Crystals

by Theresa L. Henry

  “I really thought you loved me,” he whispered.

  With rapid blinks, Shane’s vision cleared. When he looked back to the spot where Crystal and Owen had been standing they were gone. His imaginings had felt so real.

  Less than an hour after seeing Crystal and Owen together, Shane had instigated a new round of negotiations with Ollie.

  Now that his patent for his D.R.S. was in place, and with the adjustments he could make to the Sinclair engine, everyone associated with the company were clamoring to get him onboard.

  He had a lot to bring to the table. Shane knew Ollie was rapidly running out of money, and he had used the knowledge as a bargaining tool. Additionally, he also assured him that Team Sinclair would have two years exclusive use of the D.R.S. He wasn’t surprised when he got what he wanted—shares in the company.

  Vacillating between hatred and his love for Crystal, the latter won out. Calling himself all kinds of a fool, two days later, Shane rang her doorbell. It was 8:30 on a Sunday morning, and all he could think about was what he had witnessed right here in front of her house. The remnants of his waking nightmare still refused to leave him but he pushed it aside.

  “Hello,” a voice floated in from his right.

  Looking over he saw a little blue haired woman standing by the fence that separated the two houses. “Hello,” he said politely.

  “Are you looking for Crystal?”

  “Yeah,” Shane kept his reply short not in the mood for small talk.

  “She’s gone.”

  “What…what do you mean, gone?”

  “I saw her and that nice boyfriend of hers yesterday. All packed up she was. Going on holiday, they were. Or maybe she was moving in with him. Young people these days do that all the time, I’m told. Wouldn’t have happened in my day, I can tell you,” she finished with a sniff.

  “Mother, come back inside and mind your own business!”

  If he wasn’t so preoccupied with what the elderly woman had just said, Shane would have questioned their mother-daughter relationship. The only difference he could see between the women was the second one had pink hair.

  “Sorry love,” Pink hair rolled her eyes at blue hair before turning to him. “Just ignore her. She doesn’t get out much so she likes to poke her nose into other people’s business, even if she doesn’t know what she’s talking about!”

  “I know well enough, Jean. It was that kind young man with the locksdread hair. He’s gone two-toned now, you know.” Looking at Shane with a myopic gaze, she carried right on talking never realizing she’d mangled the word dreadlocks. “Do you suppose that’s what happens to hair like that after a while—the changing color, I mean?”

  Shane tried to hold on to his patience. The only information he was interested in was when the supposed exodus had taken place. “When did she leave?”

  “Who dear?” The older of the women asked seeming to have already lost her train of thought.

  Shane turned his attention to the daughter in the hope of getting some sense out of her.

  “Sorry, this is the first I’ve heard of it. But I haven’t seen Crystal for a few days now, so mum might be right.”

  With a small grimace that he tried to pass off as a smile of gratitude, Shane left. Sat astride his bike. He had done everything he could to contact her while she had done nothing. Having just lived through the worse period of his life, he had done so without the woman he loved, and who had assured him she loved him in return.

  Not wanting to have the conversation he knew they need to have over the phone, he had relented and called her. There was no answer. Against his better judgment, he’d left a message. But she never responded.

  He didn’t want to believe what he had been told, but everything he had seen and heard validated that she no longer wanted him. Feelings of humiliation at his blind trust in her washed over him, and he wanted to punch something to vent his anger.

  Even having seen her in the arms of another man, he had still been prepared to throw aside his pride. But no more. He was done. He could continue to torment himself, or he could move forward. Although he realized that not having her in his life would be hard, he finally accepted it was time to move on.

  Sifting through his pocket, Shane took out his phone and dialed.

  “Hello?”

  “It’s me. When do we leave?”

  “Splendid! You will not regret this, Shane,” Ollie laughed.

  Chapter 9

  Team Sinclair - Year One

  “Since resuming Formula 1 racing, this is the first time, Team Sinclair looks as though they may have a car that stacks up against the more established teams. It appears that under the mechanical leadership of Shane Tierney, good things are happening over there.”

  “You’re right there, Tom. I’ve also heard through the grapevine that, come next year, Tierney will be number two driver for Team Sinclair.”

  “I’ve heard that too, Neil. There’s no doubt Oliver Sinclair is a good driver, but he’s got stiff competition from all the other major teams. In the drivers ranking, I’d put him at number seven at best. Factor in the car and he jumps around three places. That still keeps him off the winner’s podium. In my opinion, Team Sinclair still needs to find something extra. And if reports are correct—Tierney may be it.”

  ~~~

  Emily Carothers was Shane’s personal assistant. They had known each other since Detective Bilston had brought him to her father’s garage as a surly fifteen year old. Emmie was three years older than Shane and had taken an instant liking to him, so had her father.

  The only person who hadn’t liked him was her brother. But Alan was a waste of space so he didn’t matter. Her brother had run the business into the ground soon after their father had retired.

  Shane had only been out of the country for a short while when her father died. Hearing the news, he flew back to show his respects at the funeral. Shortly afterwards, he had offered her the job as his personal assistant. It was an offer she couldn’t and didn’t want to refuse.

  Rushing into Shane’s office, Emmie hesitated surprised to see Ollie standing by Shane’s desk casually leafing through documents.

  “Where’s Shane?”

  “Why?”

  “For God’s sake, what’s your problem, I need to speak to Shane!” The long-limbed brunette saw that her tone angered him, but she didn’t work for him, so she shrugged off his reaction.

  “He’s busy, so why don’t you tell me what you need.”

  “It’ll keep. I’ll speak to him later,” she said over her shoulder as she walked away.

  “Emmie,” Ollie called before she could leave. “I am not a man to toy with. Do not ever think to dismiss me. Should you do something that is not to my liking… you will deal with me.”

  Emmie wanted to tell him to piss off, but his words carried so much malice, she hesitated. With her back still to him, she took one more step before his voice halted her departure.

  “Quite the little matchmaker, aren’t you?”

  Stunned by his reference, she spun around. About to brazen out his remark, she forgot to school her features and her expression gave her away.

  “Nothing to say for yourself, Emily?”

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  “That’s right. You know nothing and it’s going to stay that way. If I hear, and make no mistake, I will hear, that you have been speaking to Shane about anyone from his past—I will be very displeased.”

  “Are you threatening me?”

  “Please, not that overused term. Why don’t you try again, this time with something a little more original.”

  “I’m not scared of you.”

  “Well, you should be. I’ve invested too much time and money in this venture to not have it succeed, and get what I want. And I want Shane’s undivided attention. Therefore, I suggest you forget all about Crystal Buchanan.”

  “But they love each other. Surely–”

  “There you go again, meddl
ing in matters that have nothing to do with you.”

  Emmie knew she was pushing her luck, but she wouldn’t allow Ollie to get away with manipulating Shane’s life. She knew Shane was unhappy, and in one of his less guarded moments, and a bottle of tequila, she had connected all the dots.

  Six weeks later, to her surprise, she received a message that a Crystal Buchanan was attempting to contact Shane. All her romantic instincts kicked in. That Crystal was reaching out, to Emmie’s mind, could only mean one thing—she still had feelings for him. For that reason she was prepared to put up a fight on their behalf.

  “Well, what if I tell you, I don’t give a flying fig about what you want. I don’t see how Shane and Crystal being together could hurt this business…” Emmie trailed off as Ollie narrowed his eyes and realization dawned. “My God, you’re jealous of her. You need Crystal out of the way because you want Shane for yourself!”

  Moving quickly, Ollie seized her upper arms, his fingers biting into her flesh. His grip tightened even more as he slowly raised her onto her toes. Then he shook her so hard she had to clamp her teeth together to avoid biting her tongue.

  “Mess with my plans and I will hurt you… or maybe I’ll turn my attention on someone close to you,” Ollie taunted with a smile that never reached his cold, expressionless blue eyes. “Ah, I see you finally begin to understand just what I’m capable of.” Releasing her, he shoved her away. “Oh, and Emmie, that look of defiance you tried so desperately to hide, it didn’t work. And because of it, I’m going to have to teach you a lesson. Well two lessons actually, but the second one can wait.”

  “You’re crazy!”

  “No, I’m determined,” Ollie corrected as he returned to the desk, sat down and hit a few buttons on the computer. “When external influences attempt to derail my plans, I always have a countermeasure. You really must come and see what that is.”

  Emmie hesitated, sure she was about to see something horrible. She was right. As he repeatedly clicked a button on the keyboard, image after image of her mother flashed before her.

  With her attention fixed on the last picture of her mother, she stiffened as Ollie pulled her down on his lap.

  “I can feel you trembling. Don’t tell me those little images was all it took for me to frighten the lioness?”

  “Let go of me!”

  “Frightened, but not yet tamed. I think I’d like to tame you, my little lioness,” he taunted as he ran a finger between her breasts. Without warning, he fisted a handful of her blouse and pulled her against him. He then plastered his lips against hers with a punishing pressure that imprinted her teeth against the inside of her lips.

  Revulsion washed over her at his touch, and Emmie realized that he hid his true self well. He was a monster—and he scared her. And in that moment she even doubted his sanity.

  “Looks like I should come back later.”

  “Shane!” Emmie cried, seizing the opportunity to pull out of the disgusting kiss.

  “Ah, Shane, impeccable timing as always. Emmie has just agreed to have dinner with me. Haven’t you, Emily?”

  When she remained quiet, he constricted his muscles. The pressure of the arm that still surrounded her waist was a stark reminder of the images she had just seen. Unwilling to give voice to her lie—Emmie nodded her agreement.

  Team Sinclair - Year Two

  “Well, Tom this is it. This is what we’ve been waiting for. From all accounts, Shane Tierney has done all he can with the car. It’s taken a year. But Team Sinclair says he’s finally trained and built the right team of mechanics. Now he’s turning his hand to racing. This transition from engineer to driver is definitely a first for me.”

  “Me too. But we can’t lose sight of the fact that this is the big time, and all eyes will be on Team Sinclair and especially, Shane Tierney. I suppose, all that’s left to be seen, is whether the car makes the driver or if it’s the other way around.”

  ~~~

  Ollie was riding high on his first win of the year, for him, nothing mattered as long as he took the company to the top. And with Shane’s help, it was already happening.

  He would have liked to have played with Emmie but decided against it. If he pushed too much she might go running to Shane and derail all his plans.

  He still had no regrets that Crystal was out of the way. From the day she had come into Shane’s life, she had been nothing but a distraction. The way he had allowed her to lead him around by the balls disgusted him. As far as he was concerned, the end had justified the means.

  Now he had the other man’s undivided attention, he was well on his way to showing his father that he no longer needed his money. His days of begging for financial help to keep the team going were a thing of the past.

  The only part of the equation he hadn’t banked on was relinquishing such a large portion of his company. But he had done it, if for no other reason than to show his father that he could succeed where he had failed.

  Showered and changed, Ollie made his way through well-wishers who slapped him on the back as they shouted their congratulations. Camera’s flashed all around him and he smiled and waved. He loved this life. This was where he was born to be—on top. A young man and woman caught his eye and he whispered something to his aide without breaking stride.

  Later that night, the couple arrived at his hotel door to help him celebrate his win. Ollie turned to the young dark haired man as soon as the door closed behind them and smiled. He could have been Shane’s twin. Deciding to wait to enjoy his company, he transferred his attention to the blonde woman. Blondes were his preferred choice when it came to women.

  Taking them both by the hand, he led them into his hotel bedroom. That they were in his room meant that his aide had explained what he wanted and expected of them. He didn’t fear trusting the man with his secrets. He paid him too well for that.

  Everything was exactly as he wanted it. For them, there was drugs and a promise of payment for their silence. For him, there was the prospect of looking forward to making love to someone who reminded him of Shane. But most of all, he would again be able to reenact, but just stopping short, how he had felt when his mother died by his own hands.

  Team Sinclair - Year Three

  “Shane Tierney equipped himself well last year by finishing second on the drivers table. But this is a whole new year and the other team’s cars are catching up more quickly than Team Sinclair would like.”

  “That’s true, but at the end of last season, Tierney pulled out all the stops. I think he was using his first year as a steep learning curve. This year everyone’s waiting to see what he’s really got.”

  “Let’s take a look at what we know so far. There’s no doubt he can drive–”

  “But is he too ruthless?”

  “Come on, Tom, we both know that all the best drivers have a healthy dose of ruthlessness inprinted into their character. Without it, they wouldn’t last a minute out there.”

  “Is that what we want to see in the sport?”

  “From where I’m sitting, yes. On second thoughts, I’m not going to call it ruthlessness. When his family background was plastered all over the press, as you know, he agreed to my interview request. That man isn’t ruthless—he’s determined!”

  “If you’ll excuse the pun, what’s driving him?”

  “In my opinion, he has a point to make. Let me qualify that. Until recently, this sport, for want of a better phrase, could be described as elitist.

  I’ve spoken to Shane, and while I can’t say I know the man, I got an insight into his character. He doesn’t care what the media says about him. He intends to stop the chatter with his performance on the track. And I believe he’ll do just that.”

  ~~~

  “This has been one of the most exciting Formula 1 seasons I’ve ever had the privilege to watch. Felipe Santiago needs to finish two places ahead of Tierney to take the championship. From the information coming in from Team Sinclair, it sounds as though we have a classic battle on our ha
nds.”

  “I don’t know, Tom, Ollie Sinclair has been especially vocal about his car. He seems to think there’s a chance of him taking this last race.”

  “I don’t understand his rationale. Between them, he and Tierney are majority shareholders of the team. Surely he should want what’s best for the team. But from some of his interviews of late, it sounds as though his priority is one of personal glory at any cost.”

  “I have to agree.”

  “Do you think that’s going to happen, Sinclair winning the race I mean?”

  “It all comes down to who’s the better driver. And in my opinion, both Tierney and Santiago are just that—better drivers.”

  ~~~

  “There goes the checkered flag. He’s done it. Shane Tierney has done it. He’s won the final race here in Abu Dhabi, and has taken the championship!”

  Team Sinclair - Year Four

  “Shane Tierney wins the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix and he’s world champion for the second time.”

  “That was some race. I’ve been commentating on Formula 1 for twenty years and I can honestly say, this has been one of the best races I’ve ever had the privilege to witness. It had skill. It had daring, but most of all, it showed a man’s sheer determination to win.

  He started third on the grid and before lap one was completed, he took and held the lead to the very end.”

  “That’s the mark of a real champion!”

  “As he weaves his way before this packed crowd, all I can say is, enjoy your celebrations, Shane Tierney. You earned it—and you deserve it!”

  Team Sinclair - Year Five

  “Oliver Sinclair has pole position on the starting grid, and in a change of fortune, Shane Tierney is down in eighth place. With this the fifth race before the conclusion of the season, a win here today in Sochi, could go a long way in tying up the championship for, Tierney.”

  “I don’t see how he’s going to do it, though. He’s a superb driver, but then so are six of the men between him and the checkered flag.”

  “And that’s not all, Tierney is going to serve a ten-second stop-and-go. That’s huge!”

  “It is, but he had to serve his punishment for the overuse of additional engine components at some point. Doing it in the fifth race of the season makes a lot of sense. This way, it shouldn’t impact too much on what he ultimately hopes to achieve—a third world title.”