She sucked in a sharp breath. “You mean the same bed?”
“Yeah. The same bed.” He wasn’t about to give her a chance to protest and scooped her into his arms again. But she didn’t seem to be in a protesting mood, which was troubling. Shelby always had a comeback ready. Her sharp tongue was one of the things he loved about her.
He deposited her on the counter by the sink and opened the linen closet for a towel to warm her up. She’d gone pale, and he didn’t like the glassy, shell-shocked look in her eyes, but who could blame her? Although it had ended on a high note, the rest of the day had been one devastating blow after another. She had the right to a bit of distress. He wrapped her in the biggest towel he owned and briskly rubbed her arms until some color returned to her cheeks.
She finally stirred, pushing him away. “I can do it myself.”
“Okay.” Reece went back for a second towel, silently cursing as he dried himself with a lot less care. He’d bungled the whole I-love-you thing. He knew it, didn’t know how to fix it, and that bugged the hell out of him. He was good at fixing things, but this was completely uncharted territory for him.
Reece discarded his towel in the laundry basket and turned to see Shelby had hopped down from the counter. The towel now wrapped around her was as big as a dress, swallowing her up in folds of terry cloth. She always seemed bigger than life to him, and he often forgot how petite she truly was until a moment like this came along and smacked him with the realization.
Someone could so easily hurt her.
Someone had already tried to. Multiple times.
He swallowed the growing lump of dread in his throat. No matter how things shook out between them, tomorrow he was going to put an end to her problems. He wanted her safe and, if The Headhunters wanted money, he’d pay them every dollar in his bank account to keep her that way.
She stared across the bathroom at him as if she wasn’t sure what to say. She even opened her mouth, but no sound emerged.
He wished he knew how to reach her, but the gap opening between them was more than the few feet of physical space separating them. She was on guard now, closing down, shutting him out.
“Shelby,” he began and stalled. Last thing he wanted was to spook her more than she already was. “Don’t feel pressured. If you’re not comfortable sharing my bed, I won’t make you.”
She pressed her lips together in a thin line and hugged the towel tighter around her. “Why?” she blurted after another long silence.
“Because I’m not a complete asshole. Despite recent evidence to the contrary.”
She rolled her eyes, a hint of that old Shelby spark. “No. Why do you think you love me?”
“Why do you think I don’t?”
Uncertain again, she picked at a loose thread on the towel. “Nobody’s ever said those words to me before. I didn’t think anyone could.”
His heart cracked. “Jesus. You think you’re unlovable.”
She breathed out in a soft, tear-choked laugh. “I think you’d have to be crazy to love me, and you’re not crazy, Reece Wilde. Not even a little bit.”
Fuck this awkwardness. He strode forward and wrapped her in his arms, hugging her tight. “You’ve been hurt. I believe in ways I don’t—can’t—understand because before my parents—” He stopped, had to clear away the sudden roughness in this throat. “I came from a good, strong family with a solid foundation. I know what love looks like, feels like, and I know it’s what I feel for you. I also know it scares you because it’s not something you’ve had a lot of experience with.”
Her breath shuddered out, hot against his bare chest. “Can we talk about this tomorrow? I-I need to sleep.”
“Okay.” He schooled his features to keep his disappointment from showing and dropped his arms to his sides. “Okay. I’ll see you in the morning then.”
“Wait.” She captured his hand before he turned away. “Your bed. Please. I’d like to stay in your bed with you.”
Chapter Twenty-Five
A phone’s buzzing woke Reece from a dreamless sleep. Text message. Had to be because the vibration stopped a half second later. Shelby was still in bed with him, wrapped around him with her head resting on his chest. Surprising. He’d half expected her to slink back to her room after he fell asleep.
He liked waking up like this, with her hair tickling his neck and his arm numb from cradling her all night long. All mornings should start like this.
He craned his neck to see her face. She was still sound asleep, completely relaxed. She looked fragile and, although he knew she was anything but, a fierce protectiveness heated his blood.
He’d keep her safe.
Which meant he had to see who that text was from. Hopefully Greer finally coming back from wherever he’d ghosted off to.
Reece stretched for the phone on the nightstand, doing his best not to disturb Shelby, and rubbed his eyes with one hand before pulling the phone close to his nose. Damn, even though he’d worn glasses since he was five, he still hated not being able to see like a normal person. Maybe Vaughn had a point about getting laser surgery to fix his eyesight.
He rubbed his eyes again and squinted. Yeah, not Greer. Cam.
Have news about fires. Get to WS office asap.
And time to go back to work. For once, he’d rather not. His bed was warm and comfortable, especially with his woman curled up beside him. He lingered a few minutes longer, playing with a strand of her hair as he convinced himself he had to get up, then finally kissed her forehead and slid out of bed.
She stirred and lifted her head, blinking up at him with sleepy eyes. He loved seeing her like this, all soft and sexy, cozy in his bed.
“Are you leaving?” she asked, her voice throaty with sleep.
“Just for a bit.” He leaned over and kissed her again. “Go back to sleep.”
She reached for his hand and pulled him to a stop. “Reece…”
The note of vulnerability in her voice cut through him, and he sat down on the edge of the mattress, stroked his thumb lightly across the back of her hand. “Everything will be fine, okay? Don’t worry about my companies. I can fix this.”
“It’s not that. I…” Hugging the pillow to her chest, she sat up. “You’re right. We’re good together and I’m not ready for it to end either.”
He couldn’t have stopped his grin even if he wanted to. “Are you saying you want to make a go of it?”
“I love—” She stopped. Drew a breath. “I love being here with you.”
Not exactly what he wanted to hear, but it was a start. He pushed her hair back from her face, kissed her forehead. “I love having you here.”
“You might not after I tell you—God, I don’t even know where to start, but we need to talk.”
His phone buzzed again with an incoming text, and he lifted her hand to his lips before he stood. “How about over dinner?”
She hesitated. Nodded. “Promise you won’t hate me.”
“Shelby.” Ignoring his phone, he leaned over again, placing his hands on the mattress on either side of her body. He met her gaze, held it. “Nothing could make me hate you. I love you, and I don’t say those words lightly. Whatever it is that has you so anxious, we’ll figure it out. We’ll make it work. We’ll make us work.”
The worry in her eyes softened as she reached up to touch his cheek. He leaned into the caress and sincerely thought about climbing back into bed with her. But his phone sounded again, and she yawned.
He gave her another quick kiss and straightened. “I can tell you’re still exhausted. Go back to sleep. I should be home for dinner, but I’ll call if I’m going to be late. I love you.”
“Okay.” She rolled over onto her belly and hugged his pillow to her head. Within moments, her breathing evened out, and she was asleep again, a small smile tugging at her lips. Sam the Cat, sensing an opportunity, jumped up into his vacated spot, kneaded the bedspread, and curled up next to Shelby, purring like a motor.
“Paws off. She’s mi
ne.” But he rubbed the cat’s head anyway, because he was actually going to miss the furry beast when Jude and Libby’s lease was up this summer and Sam returned to them. “Keep an eye on her for me.”
Sam blinked as if he understood and scooted his body closer to her side.
Reece made sure she was covered and strode to his closet. Started to pick out his usual—dress shirt, suit, tie—but stopped short. Jesus, he was an uptight bastard. He didn’t need a tie to go meet his brother. Instead, he grabbed a dark gray sweater. He didn’t even own a pair of jeans, and how ridiculous was that? The closest his closet came to the casual staple of men’s clothing was a pair of chinos.
He really needed to fix that. Among so many other things.
Reece pulled into Wilde Security’s parking lot, saw all of his brothers’ vehicles—minus Greer’s—in front of the office, and his gut clenched. What were they all doing here? This was supposed to have been a private matter between him and Cam. There was absolutely no need to get Jude and Vaughn involved. And, shit, was that Eva’s car?
There went his good mood. He had a few things to say to Eva, and it wasn’t going to be pretty.
He stalked to the door, unsurprised to find them all waiting right on the other side with Cam at the center of their semicircle. All of them were grim-faced, even Jude.
All right, then. If this was some kind of gauntlet he had to run before he got the information he needed, so be it.
“Care to tell me what this is about?” he asked the group as casually as he could manage.
Cam was the first to speak. “This is an intervention. We’re worried about you.”
Disbelief roared through him, and he stared at each of his brothers in turn. The disturbing hollowness in Vaughn’s eyes since Lark disappeared was even more pronounced. Cam looked exhausted and frazzled, probably stressed out from a mix of worrying about his twin’s increasing emotional distance and his wife’s emotional health. Even Jude was a bit haggard. Apparently baby-making was exhausting work.
Reece shook his head. “An intervention for me? Have you all looked at yourselves lately? I’m not the one who needs it here.”
Cam stepped forward and slapped a tablet against his chest. “You’re the only one here who’s lost his fucking mind.”
He caught it before it fell and looked at the picture on the screen of him and Shelby at the club last night, covered with paint. There were several other photos on the popular tabloid website, including one of him kissing her.
And he didn’t care. He. Didn’t. Care.
Holy hell, that was freeing.
He shrugged. “So what?”
Vaughn’s brows slammed together. “That isn’t you.”
“Uh, yeah, it is.”
“He means,” Cam said in exasperation, “that’s not like you.”
“How would you know?” He didn’t raise his voice, but the room went pin-drop silent. He set the tablet aside on Jude’s desk. “Really, how would any of you know? None of you know me. To you, I’m the workaholic, the uptight asshole who strangles himself with a tie every day because he feels powerless without one, and he’s so fucking afraid to fail. But I don’t want to be that guy anymore. At heart, I don’t know that I was ever him, and Shelby’s the only one who saw it.”
“Shelby’s a liar,” Eva said, a catch of emotion in her voice. “I’m sorry, Reece. I love my sister, but—”
“No. If you truly loved her, she wouldn’t think of herself as unlovable.”
Eva flinched and shut her eyes, sucked in a breath through her nose. “She makes it very, very hard sometimes.” When she opened her dark eyes again, they were glossy with tears. “Reece, I know she told you she owes The Headhunters money, but she doesn’t. They’d never come after her because her father is Alec Hudson. Their leader.” She nodded toward Cam, who held out a folder.
He didn’t want to take it, didn’t want to see what was inside, which was exactly the reason he snatched it from his brother’s hand and flipped it open. On top of the pile of papers was Shelby’s birth certificate, listing none other than the notorious Alec Hudson as her father. Her birth name had even been Shelby Hudson, and there were a few old photos from the 80s attached to the documents. A very young girl in pigtails—obviously Shelby—on Hudson’s shoulders or sitting in front of him on his motorcycle while he sported The Headhunters’ patch on the back of his jacket. There were other papers, including documentation of her name change from Hudson to Bremer, her mother’s maiden name, after her father was sentenced to life in prison for murder, drug charges, and a handful of violent racketeering-related offenses.
Reece suddenly couldn’t breathe. Needed some space from his brothers and Eva before he did something stupid like pass out from lack of oxygen intake.
Smacking the folder closed, he slapped it down on the nearest desk and walked to the back of the room, toward his tiny office. But he didn’t go in. Just stood there in front of the door, eyes closed against the riptide of betrayal threatening to suck him under. “Why would she lie?”
Eva pushed out a breath. “I don’t know. She’s been lying to me for years. It’s just…what she does, part of who she is.”
“No.” He couldn’t accept that Shelby was simply a pathological liar. Wouldn’t accept it. He’d seen her at her most vulnerable, had seen her beaten down and broken by her mother’s constant lies. “She has to have a reason.”
“C’mon, man,” Vaughn said on a groan. “She made up this sob story about owing bad guys money so you’d marry her. Look at the evidence in front of you.”
“You’re one to talk,” Reece snapped. “Chasing after a woman who doesn’t want to be found.”
“Yeah, well. You’re smarter than I am. Always have been.”
No. He shook his head, pushed past his brothers and out into the cold bite of January. He wasn’t deluding himself here. He knew Shelby. She didn’t want his money, hadn’t even taken the credit card he’d offered when she went shopping with Libby.
No, there was another reason for her lie, and he’d damn sure find out what it was.
Chapter Twenty-Six
The apartment was empty when Shelby finally dragged herself out of an exhausted sleep. She wasn’t surprised to find Reece still gone and smiled, spotting the note he’d propped up on the nightstand.
Don’t worry about the living room. I called my cleaning service, and they’ll be by this afternoon to take care of it. Love, Hershey.
Her heart did a funny little dance behind her ribs. She picked up the note, reread it, and had to blink back a fresh rush of tears. Not only had he used the L word again, but he’d signed it with her favorite nickname for him.
Oh, she was in so much trouble. Because, damn it all, she loved him too. It meant she had to come clean about everything—and that wouldn’t be a pretty conversation—but maybe things didn’t have to end between them.
There was just one thing she had to do first. Well, two things. She wasn’t about to let him pay a cleaning service when she was responsible for the mess.
She threw back the blankets and ran into her room for some clothes. While there, she took the time to feed Poe and opened his cage to let him stretch his wings. Then she went to the kitchen to feed Sam and, sure enough, Reece had left the coffee on warm for her.
Yep. She loved that man.
As she fixed herself a mug, she called Jason and told him she needed him to stop by. He was reluctant to be seen anywhere near the apartment until she mentioned that Reece wasn’t home, and she had important new information for him. Which was true. She did have new information—it just wasn’t going to be the kind of information he wanted to hear.
She. Was. Done.
The doorbell sounded forty minutes later just as she finished straightening up the living room. She checked the peep and, yes, it was Jason. For once, he was dressed in a suit and tie. Must be he was done with his latest undercover operation.
She opened the door for him…
And her heart dropped l
ike a stone as, down the hall, Reece stepped off the elevator.
A bald man Reece recognized stood in front of his door. Dressed in a suit and tie now, but there was no doubt in his mind this was same man who had chased him and Shelby with a gun in Vegas.
And Shelby was inviting him inside. At least, she’d been about to until she spotted Reece. Now she stood frozen, every drop of color fleeing her complexion. She sucked in a sharp breath. “Reece, it’s not what—”
“Not what I think?”
“Yes. I mean, no, it’s not.”
“Then what the hell is it? Because from where I’m standing, this doesn’t look good. This guy was chasing us with a fucking gun in Vegas, and now you’re inviting him into our home?”
The bald man stared at Shelby for a long moment, contempt in his eyes. Then he turned and held out a hand. “Maybe I can explain. My name is Jason Mallory. I’m an agent with the ATF, and I’m Shelby’s handler.”
“Handler?” He looked from Mallory to her, but she was bent double, hugging her middle, her hair obscuring her face. She wouldn’t meet his gaze.
Mallory nodded and motioned toward the apartment. “Come inside and we’ll talk.”
The guy had some balls, inviting him into his own fucking home. For that alone, he wanted to remain in the hallway, but he had a feeling this was going to be a long story, one that could potentially rip his heart out of his chest. More so even than Eva’s bombshell had. And if that was the case, he needed to be seated when it happened. He walked past the two of them and found the living room had been straightened. Shelby cleaned it despite his note telling her not to worry about it.
He sat down in a chair and waved his hand in a get-on-with-it gesture.
Shelby sank to the couch, still refusing to look at him.
Mallory chose the spot next to her. “Six years ago, I busted Shelby for possession of around a quarter million dollars’ worth of cocaine.”
“It wasn’t mine,” she said softly. Almost too softly to hear.
“No, none of it was actually hers. Upon investigating, we discovered she was holding the merchandise for her father, Alec Hudson, the leader of The Headhunters motorcycle gang. My superiors and I realized we had a golden opportunity to get eyes and ears inside the club, so we made a deal to keep her out of prison. Nobody would suspect her. And it worked like a charm. She gave us enough evidence to put dear old dad away for life.”
Wilde at Heart Page 21
