Something in the frantic way she spoke and pulled at him finally registered through his haze of rage. Swinging his leg from across Ollie’s supine body, he shuffled backward and landed on his backside, as his vision began to clear.
Memories of Molly’s voice merged with Crystal’s and he finally looked at what he’d done. Ollie’s face was a blood encrusted mess. His eyes were already beginning to close and his once patrician nose was now twisted and broken.
“I’m sorry, Crys. I didn’t ever want you to see me like this.”
“He looks bad, Shane.”
He didn’t look at Ollie again. Instead, his gaze turned to his hands and all he saw was his raw, bruised reddened knuckles. He looked at Crystal. He had always known something like this might happen. That was why he hadn’t wanted her here. He never wanted her to see what he was capable of. Shane waited for feelings of remorse for his actions to wash through him. But they never came.
“He may look bad, but he should be thankful you were here, or he’d be much worse!”
“Will… have… arrested,” Ollie gurgled as his blood spurted into the air. “Join …worthless brother… in jail.”
A feeling of resolve encapsulated him, as the voice he had long tried to suppress whispered that prison was where all Tierneys’ ended up.
“No, he won’t!”
“Stay out of this, Crys.”
“He’s hurt and threatened you for the last time. He’s going to say nothing. Isn’t that right, Ollie?”
“You too… end up with him… prison!”
“Get out of here, Crys. Take the car and leave!” Searching his pockets for his keys, Shane held them out to her.
She didn’t take them. In fact, she wasn’t even looking at him. All her attention was on Ollie.
“We came here together and we’re leaving together. Ollie is going to say nothing about our visit—isn’t that right, Ollie?”
“Stupid bitch–”
“What did you just call her?” Shane demanded, his fist already bunched with Ollie’s jacket. When Crystal grabbed hold of his arm, he released him, but not before he’d slammed his head against the floor.
“No more, Shane. He’s not going to say a thing. Because if he does, I will have to play this recording of him confessing to having your throat cut. I’m not sure, but I think his actions would be considered much worse than ours. Either way, we know a pretty good lawyer.”
“You recorded him?”
“Why, yes, I did. I had to do something while he was running his mouth.”
Shane was in shock. Here he was, imagining a life behind bars and Crystal had the situation completely in hand.
Pushing himself to a sitting position, Ollie glared in their direction. “Don’t… believe you.”
“I thought you might say that, so listen carefully.”
As the sounds of their conversation carried around the room, no doubt remained that she spoke the truth.
“Bloody hell, Crys. Remind me not to piss you off!”
“Oh, I’m not done with him yet. Should you,” Crystal pointed at Ollie, “in the future consider calling my bluff, I will ensure that both Dara and Emmie give the police statements about the way you blackmailed them.”
Seeing her in a whole new light, all Shane could do was watch on with a new found respect. “Are you finished now, Crys?”
“No, there are two more things I have to say. If you’re contemplating using those images you have of my cousin—forget it. If you do, we will ruin you!”
“Get out of my house!”
“I always wondered why you disliked me so much and I think I finally understand. I feel sorry for you do you know that–”
“Keep your sympathy, I’m the last person who wants or needs anything from you.”
“That might be the case, but you have it all the same. You were handed so much by virtue of your birth. Yet, here you are, riddled with jealousy of a man who has worked for everything he has.
You didn’t need to manipulate Shane to get your way. All you needed to do was speak to me and I could have made it happen. Well, everything apart from getting him into your bed that is.” Looking over at Shane, Crystal smiled. “Now I’m done.”
At the door, he turned back and looked at Ollie, who had yet to gain his feet. “Oh, by the way, the meeting you attended in Switzerland was only for you to show your hand. All the important discussions took place while you were busy playing with your boys and girls.”
“What?”
“You’ve made a lot of enemy’s at the team. Nobody wants you there. They’ve been complaining to me for years. Wanting me to back them to get rid of you, I finally agreed.”
“Team Sinclair is my mine!”
“Actually, it’s not. Between the other shareholders and me, we hold eighty percent of the company. I know I’m the better driver so when you nearly ran me off the track, although it pissed me off, I let it go. But what you did to Crystal and me, that I refused to let go.
You’re no longer the CEO of Team Sinclair. In fact, you’re not even the second driver. You should think yourself lucky that there wasn’t a way for me to strip you of your shares. But I know the loss of the fame and attention of not being a part of the team is going to hurt you for the rest of your worthless life.”
“Let’s get out of here, Crys.”
“You can’t do this,” Ollie tried to shout.
“Actually, mate, it’s already done!”
~~~
Ollie was furious. Who did those people think they were coming into his home and treating him this way.
He didn’t give a fuck who that bitch or her mother was. Being in possession of her little recording meant nothing to him. They were going to pay for every insult they had thrown his way.
Standing before his bedroom mirror, Ollie studied his reflection as an idea began to take shape. He already knew he would kill them. Crystal would be first and he would make Shane watch. For the second time that night his cock hardened at the contemplation of taking a life.
From the first time he had seen Shane, he had wanted him. Finally, he was going to get his chance. Easing down his zipper, he palmed his cock. With his eyes closed, he began to think of all the ways he would take Shane once he was at his mercy.
A crash sounded at his front door and was followed by repeated blows. Fixing his clothing, he rushed towards the sound. Making it only as far as the top of the stairs, he faced a throng of uniformed and plain clothed police.
“What is the meaning of this?”
“Oliver Sinclair, you are under arrest for the murder of Lisa, Tiffany and Abbott Sinclair.”
How could they possibly know what he had done? Was Tiffany or his father still alive? No, of course they weren’t. He’d just been informed that he was being arrested for their murder.
“You do not have to say anything, but it may harm your defence if you do not mention, when questioned, something which you later rely on in court. Anything you do say may be given in evidence.”
“You have made a grave mistake in entering my house in this way!”
As they handcuffed him and led him away, Ollie overheard the mumblings of one of the officers’.
“Being rich enough to have staff bring you breakfast in bed every morning didn’t save them, but the old pervert’s secret camera came in handy!”
All protests died on his tongue. How could he have forgotten the existence of that camera. After all, on his rare visits home from school, those recordings had been his first lesson in the enjoyment that could be had with multiple partners of both sexes.
Chapter 19
While he negotiated the quiet streets, Shane wrestled with his thoughts. All he could think about was how Crystal now saw him because of his actions towards Ollie.
“Are you okay, Crys?”
“I’m fine. Are you alright?”
“Yeah. I’m sorry you had to witness what I did back there.”
“I know you are.”
Shane di
dn’t know what else to say so for the remainder of the drive they just listened to the radio in silence.
Inside her apartment, he still couldn’t get over the lack of warmth the place generated. By mutual consent, while they attempted to rekindle their fractured relationship, they had spent their time together outside of each other’s homes. For him, doing otherwise would have seemed as though they were playing house instead of dealing with the causes of their separation. And he didn’t regret their decision.
On the occasions he picked her up for dates, the first place his eyes travelled to, was the spot just above the mantel. But he never found what he sought.
Shrugging out of his coat, he dropped it on the sofa and threw himself down beside it. Crystal watched him as he stretched out his legs and folded his arms behind his head.
Closing his eyes, he followed her every movement in his mind. He heard her soft sigh and felt the ruffle of material as she picked up his discarded coat and placed it over the back of the sofa. Then she walked to the kitchen and switched on the kettle. Shane couldn’t help but smile as a cup of tea was her go-to drink for every occasion.
He heard the cupboard doors open, the clang of mugs being placed on the counter, followed by the sound of pouring water. At this point, he tuned her out, his mind returning to the events of the night and how she now saw him.
“I made us some tea.”
“Got anything stronger?”
“No, sorry.”
“Okay, tea sounds good.”
Reaching for the mug, their eyes landed on his hand. His knuckles still bore the evidence of his loss of control. Glancing at Crystal he saw her grimace and instinctively tried to hide his hand.
“I’ll go and get something to take care of that.”
Placing the mugs aside, she left the room. When she returned, she carried a first aid kit and a bowl of water. Sitting beside him, she gathered and placed his hand on her lap. He tried to pull away, but she wouldn’t allow it.
“I never wanted you to see me like that.”
“Has it happened before?” Crystal asked without any pretense of misunderstanding what he referred to.
“Once.”
“Tell me.”
Just thinking about the incident made his blood boil but he knew he had to tell her everything. “It was when I was around fifteen. Some no-mark came into our ‘ouse and tried ter disrespect me muvver–”
“What does that even mean, Shane?”
Taking a deep breath, he paused at her question. It was only then that he realized how he sounded.
“A man my mother knew when she was a young woman, before me… before she met my father came to our house and propositioned her for sex. I was sitting in the room, but that didn’t matter to him. I said something to him, I forget what, and he took a swing at me. Things ended much like they did with Ollie. That was the first and last time I was ever in trouble with the law.”
“I see.”
“Is that all you have to say?”
“If you expect me to judge you—I won’t. But, if we’re going to try to make a go of our relationship, this is the last time this loss of self-control can happen.”
“Okay, I promise.”
“Really, you can promise me that without even giving it a moment’s thought?”
Promising so quickly had been a mistake and he should have known she would call him on it. He had agreed so readily because so much was on the line. Glad she had questioned him, Shane felt relief at the chance to be completely open.
“Honestly Crys, I don’t know. If someone tried to hurt you… I’d probably rip their fuc… head off.”
Finished with his hand, he realized he hadn’t felt a thing while she had administered to him. Meeting her gaze, he was surprised to see the echoes of a smile. Unsure of what it meant, his brows furrowed in confusion.
“What’s funny?”
“I really like you, do you know that?”
“Bloody hell, Crys. I don’t want you to like me—I want you to love me.”
“In my opinion, that’s where a lot of relationships fall down. Couples don’t really like each other. They just get caught up in loving the idea of being in love.”
“What’s wrong with just loving each other?”
“There’s nothing wrong with being in love and loving someone. I don’t know if what I’m about to say is true for anyone else, but for me, liking and respecting someone is my foundation for loving that person.”
Recognizing the importance of what she was saying, Shane took hold of her face and stared deeply into her eyes. “You already told me that you like me. So what about the respect part?”
“It’s there.”
“And the love part?”
“It never went away.”
Relief washed over him and he closed his eyes and breathed in her essence. “God Crys, me too. I never stopped loving you. I never stopped thinking about you. I didn’t even try to because you’re the part of me that I never want to forget.”
“I need you to say that you love me.”
“I love you, Crystal-Grace Buchanan—now and for always.”
“So what are you going to do about it?”
“I’d show you, but this room is too uninspiring.” Standing, Shane scooped her into his arms.
“Well, while you wait for inspiration, you should fill me in on some of the possibilities. Make them as graphic as you can,” Crystal finished with a cheeky grin.
“Bloody hell, does Princess Crystal want me to talk dirty?”
“Yes please,” she said with a wiggle of her eyebrows.
If he didn’t love her so much already, he would have fallen hard. She had been through so much because of him, yet here she was, still loving him. Although she had yet to say the words, he knew she would when she was ready.
“I’m game if you are. Where should I begin?” He mused. The shrill ring of his phone pierced into their intimacy and interrupted his train of thought.
Deciding to ignore it, he was pleased when the sound abruptly stopped. Turning his attention back to Crystal with every intention of picking up exactly where they had left off, the phone rang again.
“Go ahead and answer it. If someone is calling you this time of the morning, it’s probably important. I’m going to take a bath. You can join me when you’re done.”
Shane knew she was right, so he set her down and watched her until she left the room. Only then did he retrieve his phone from the pocket of his coat.
“Emmie, this had better be good!”
“Shane, thank God! Ollie’s been arrested!”
“Hold on, arrested for what?”
“He phoned, his assistant. Can you believe the man didn’t have anyone else to call? It doesn’t surprise me, but you would have thought–”
“Emily, don’t get on me nerves. I don’t give a shit about Ollie, so unless you get to the point in exactly two seconds, I’m hanging up!”
“Apparently, earlier this morning, he murdered his father and his wife.”
Shane’s blood ran cold, not because of Ollie’s situation, he didn’t care about that. Rather, he shuddered at the fact that he had inadvertently put Crystal in harm’s way by going to his house.
“Tell me what you know!”
~~~
Crystal’s bathroom was the only room in her home that wasn’t white. She had stolen space from the oversized hallway and extended the room to meet her exact specifications.
This was where she came after a long day pandering to exacting, never satisfied clients. This was her sanctuary. From her reclined position in the free-standing tub, she again took in her surroundings.
She loved the earthen hues that were such an integral part of the design. Her bathtub was a hollowed out granite slab that took pride of place in the middle of the room. Enjoying the tactile sensation, she ran her hands along the undulating sides as her fingers passed along the many indentations.
Lush green plants broke up the harshness of the granite van
ity tops and the flooring. But her favorite item in the room was a single piece of art she had commissioned years ago. The stonework depicted battle ready female warriors, their tall shields taking pride of place before them. The piece was made entirely out of polished Amazonite.
Pulled from her musings, Crystal watched as Shane entered the bathroom. He seemed lost in thought, and she said nothing as he stripped out of his clothes and stepped into the shower cubical.
Curious, she watched him as he stood perfectly still under what sounded like the highest setting of the shower. He didn’t move a muscle. Slowly the steam built and blurred the glass leaving only an indistinct outline of his body. Everything about his actions screamed that something terrible had happened.
When he came out, he walked to the bath and slid in behind her. Settled, he wrapped his arms around her and buried his face in her neck.
Reaching up, Crystal slid her hand around his head and stroked his hair. She said nothing as they held on to each other. She just gave him whatever time he needed.
“That phone call was from, Emmie.”
Hoping she hid the emotion from him, Crystal couldn’t help the tendrils of jealousy that gripped her.
“You don’t have to worry about, Emmie. She’s like a big sister to me.”
“What did she want?” Crystal asked embarrassed at her jealousy but pleased with his reassurance.
“She called to tell me that Ollie’s been arrested for murder.”
“Murder,” Crystal gasped attempting to push away so she could look at him. But he didn’t budge. “Who did he murder?”
“Apparently, when we met up with him, he had just got back from killing his father and his new wife.”
“My God, that man’s insane!”
“I realize that now, and I’m sorry I put you in danger by taking you into his house.”
“You didn’t put me in danger and you know it. But I love you for being so protective of me.”
“Do you… love me I mean?”
“You know I do.”
“How am I supposed to know, Crys? You haven’t said those words to me in five years.”
She knew remnants of the past had been holding her back. After what he had suffered, maybe he needed the words even more than she. “I love you, Shane.”
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