by Nana Malone
4
A couple of hours later, Shane kissed Tris’s shoulder as he held her tight to him. After the balcony, they’d taken a shower and he’d dragged her to bed.
Now that she was back where she belonged, he wasn't letting her go easily. "Do you want to tell me why you've been torturing the both of us for the last few days?"
Tris stiffened and tried to move away.
He held her still. "Oh, no you don't. No more running."
She sighed, then relaxed into him. "You're going to be pissed when I tell you."
"I won't be pissed, I promise. I just want to understand." He held perfectly still, his biggest fears playing for him on a reel. "Did I hurt you? You have to tell me."
She placed her hand over his, the one that covered her breast. "No, you didn't hurt me. I…what we did…that was the kind of thing I read about in books. I just figured having anybody I trust that much was never going to happen. You didn't hurt me." She cocked her head, "I mean, I was sore because, well, you know, but—"
"Thank you for the ego stroke, sweetheart, but I don’t need it."
Tris giggled. "Who me? I can think of something else I'd rather stroke." To punctuate her point, she reached behind her and wrapped delicate fingers around his cock.
Shane cursed and squeezed his eyes shut. One touch, and she owned him. She was dangerous as hell, and he wouldn't survive. But he'd have a hell of a time going down.
Gently, he stilled her hand, even though his cock throbbed in protest. "Baby, I know what you're trying to do, and while I'm all onboard with that, I need you to talk to me. I want to know why you pushed me away. I need to understand."
She released him and rolled to face him. This way, her breasts rubbed against his chest, and man, did he like that feeling. Focus Shane. "Talk to me."
"On Monday, I got back from the gym with Sydney and Xia, and I had an email waiting."
Shane's muscles bunched. He knew where this was going, but he forced himself to shut up and listen. "Okay."
"I didn't recognize the send address, but it was an email with photos of us in L.A. at the concert. In them, we were holding hands and kissing. There were so many of them. Some of us leaving the hotel too. And there was one of your car at the rest stop." She ducked her head. “Not that they got a shot of us, you know, but they could have if the windows hadn’t been tinted."
So that’s how Caleb had known. Tris must have gone to Ricca for help. Shane had been too busy playing happy families that he hadn't considered this possibility. He forced himself to drag in a calming breath, and when that didn't work, he dragged in another, and another. Finally, he said, "Do you still have the email? We should take it to campus police." When they found the fucker, he'd tear him apart with his bare fucking hands. Stay calm. Do not freak her out.
"Yeah, I still have it, but there's more."
Shit, there was fucking more? "More?"
"There was a message. It told me to break up with you or"—her voice broke—"or they'd kill you. I was told if I went to the cops, they'd kill you. I didn't know what else to do, so I did as I was told. But it pissed me off how easily I could go back to being that weak girl. I also called Micha’s fiancé, Caleb."
She’d done it to protect him. No one had ever tried to protect him like that before. Shit. They needed to have a conversation. An honest conversation. And he couldn’t do that with her naked. "Tris, listen to me. I need you to get in the shower, get dressed. We need to talk."
She sat up and pulled the sheet across her chest. "No. Shane, whoever this is, you don’t understand what you're dealing with. They'll hurt you. If he's anything like that—“ Her voice broke again.
He dragged her to him and kissed her forehead. "I know you're scared. And thank you for wanting to keep me safe, but it’ll be okay. Remember, we don't hide anymore? What was that you said to me that night?"
"No one controls my life but me."
"That's right. So let's get dressed and get you back in control of your life again. This asshole doesn’t want you to call the cops because he's scared of being caught. So he's using your fear against you. Besides, I'm hard to kill."
"Shane—"
He stopped her with a drugging kiss. He poured all of his desperation, and his need, and his own fear into it. When he pulled back, she blinked up at him dreamily.
"I can take care of myself. This is your life. We're going to stop this asshole from dicking with you. You hear me?"
She nodded. When she finally scooted into the shower, he dressed hurriedly and dragged his phone out of his pocket.
Quickly he typed a message to Caleb.
Tris told me. I’m going to suggest we get her somewhere secure for the time being.
Caleb's response was instant.
Good. Bring her to my office. We'll get her secured.
He'd been planning on telling her the truth anyway, but this sealed the deal. There was no delaying it—he had to tell her. As much as he wanted her, keeping her safe was more important.
She came out half-dressed in her leggings and a bra and looked disappointed to find him fully clothed. "You're in a hurry, huh?" She shook out her curls.
"Tris, there's something we need to talk about." But before he could say anything, his phone chimed twice. Three seconds later, there was a scraping of a key in the lock. What the fuck?
Quickly, he shoved her into the bathroom and dragged his gun out of his top drawer where he kept it. Her eyes went wide, and she stared at him blankly. He didn't have time for finesse; they'd talk it out later. He closed the door behind her and stayed in the shadows and waited for the front door to open.
It creaked open slowly, and three men entered. In the blink of an eye, his brain catalogued them. Big. But they moved gracefully. Maybe military trained but they were wearing street clothes. Not Caleb's guys. Roland's. One final man walked through. He wore a suit.
"You can put your weapon away, Mr. Atkins. I promise you I'm not here to harm my daughter."
The bathroom door swung open. Tris had slipped on one of Shane’s T-shirts over her leggings. “Shane?”
“Tris, I can explain.”
Her glare spoke volumes. "You work for my fucking father?"
5
Tris’s stomach twisted as her brain tried to reconcile what she was seeing. Shane, her boyfriend, the man who'd held her and told her he loved her...with a gun in his hand. Looking more than capable enough to use it. The way he'd moved with military precision. The ease with which he'd pulled her into safety. And all this time, she'd been worried about his safety.
A wash of shame poured over her. He'd lied. This whole time, he'd been lying to her. Making a fool of her. Making her love him.
She glared at him. "Was any of it true? Any of the things you said, were they true?"
He reached for her, and immediately, Roland's men moved to intercept the contact. But she held up her hand. "That won't be necessary. For starters, he won’t hurt me. If he wanted to hurt me, he could have any time while he was pretending to love me. I was dumb enough to believe him. Secondly, I want you all to get the hell out. Shane, my father and I have a few things to talk about."
The men slid their boss a glance, and he nodded and slipped his hands into his pockets. When they left, he turned to face her. "Now, don't sulk Tristia, it's not becoming. Did you really think I was going to let you go to university without the benefit of a secure team?" He slid his glance over to Shane. "Though, not secure enough it would seem."
"You hired him to pretend to like me?" Revulsion made her shiver. "So what? You all had a planning meeting about the best way to approach me? Tell me, Dad, did you pick him out of a line-up for me? Or is there a place called Hot Henchmen Are Us? I really must tell Syd about it, so she can get her very own."
She knew her voice was going shrill. She sounded hysterical. She wanted to be deadly calm, but her mind was on an ever-downward spiral, headed off a cliff.
"Tris." Shane's voice was soft. "I don’t work for your father."
She snapped her gaze to his face. "So, you're telling me you carry a gun for shits and giggles to protect yourself?"
Her father rolled his eyes. "I don’t have time for a lover's spat at the moment. Tristia, get your things. And Mr. Atkins, don't forget that while you are not on my payroll, your employer is."
Atkins...Atkins. "As in Micha's fiancé?"
Shane reached for her again, but this time, she didn't need Roland's goons to avoid his touch. "You work for him?"
He sighed. "Yes...but it's not what you think. It was never supposed to go like this. I fell in love."
"While this conversation is getting my heart rate up, mostly because I want to kill you, boy, I don’t have the time. Tris, don't make me repeat myself. Get your things. We're leaving."
Shane took a menacing step toward her father, and Tris didn't have time to think. Instead, she stepped between them, not sure who she was trying to protect. Besides, blood was a bitch to clean out of hardwood floors.
"Stop it, the both of you. Let me make myself clear because maybe there is some confusion." She turned her gaze to Shane. "You're despicable. After everything we talked about, you lied to me."
"Tris, you know it's not like that. I fell in love with you from that first night when you ran into me after the club. That was before I knew who you were or that I was assigned to your case."
"Bullshit. You were a plant. And like an idiot, I fell for it. You know you wouldn't be the first plant they've tried on me. Years ago. Saul, Roland's brother. I smelled him coming from a mile away. You were far slicker, harder to spot."
"Tris, just listen to me for a minute, I'm sorry."
"I'm not interested in anything you have to say. I'm leaving."
"You might be pissed at me right now, but you're still in danger. You need to stay here with me, because I don’t trust your father's detail."
Her father stepped into her line of vision. "That's enough, Atkins. I'll be dealing with your boss after I'm done here. Tristia, I've had enough. Get. Your. Things."
She tilted her chin up. "That shit might work on your men, but I don't work for you. I am leaving. Just not with you. So unless you plan on physically restraining me and carrying me out, then you'd better find your way out."
"Stop being a child, Tristia. I'm trying to protect you."
"You do realize I'm a grown woman, right? I'm legally able to vote. You can't take me against my will. You will not lock me up for another second longer. I will not be your prisoner, and fear will not take over my life again." She slid her gaze to Shane, who had shifted so he could place himself between her and her father. "At least you were good for that."
"Tris." Shane pleaded.
Her body responded to him like it always did. But she wasn't putting herself through that again.
Her father held his ground. "You forget, Tristia, I can pull your money. If I don't pay for your next semester, then how will you go to school?"
She knew he loved her and that was the reason behind his complete inability to be rational, but he could be ruthless when he wanted. "I'm a smart girl, Dad. I can figure out how to get scholarships. I can get an apartment with friends. Take a smaller class load as I up my hours at work. Threaten me all you like, I'm not going to lie down and just take it. No more. I'm done."
Her father pushed out his chest. “Think about what you’re saying, Tristia. There are some things you can’t take back.”
Tris shook her head. “There is nothing I want to take back. I love you, Daddy, but you’ve gone too far. Please leave.” It didn't escape her that she was asking him to leave an apartment that wasn’t hers.
Her father’s chin ticked up, but he left without another word. She’d wanted him to go, but still, when she watched his retreating back, it made her want to cry.
“Tris, I’m so sorry.”
She shook her head, anger ruling her now. “What’s your name? Your real name.”
“It’s Shane. Shane Atkins.”
“Caleb’s your brother?”
“Uncle, actually. Tris, it isn’t what you think.”
“So you were a plant at the club. We didn’t actually have a connection.”
“That was real. I didn’t get assigned to you until that Monday. And then, it was too late. I should have told Caleb right away that there was a conflict, but I wanted to see you again, be near you again.”
Her shoulders shook, but when Shane tried to wrap his arms around her, she shrugged him off. “Don’t. I went to Caleb to try to protect you, but turns out I didn't need to do that.”
“Baby, this is what I’ve been holding back. This is what I’ve been trying to tell you.”
“You didn’t try hard enough.”
He shook his head, the anguish clear in his gaze. “Please, Tris, I need you to forgive me. I couldn’t tell you. I couldn’t blow my cover.”
“Fine, I get that, but did you have to make me love you?”
“You didn’t fall in love in a vacuum. I love you too. I was devastated when you pushed me away.”
The words simultaneously warmed her heart and pierced it in icy pain. “That’s the problem with liars. No one believes them even when they’re telling the truth.”
She managed just barely to hold the tears back until she was out of the apartment.
6
Xia rubbed Tris's back. "That's it, honey, let it all out. Let out the tears."
Another round of sobs overtook her body. She'd hated calling in reinforcements, but she was in full shutdown mode, so she'd gone to the only family she had, and Ricca had called them. She was furious with Ricca for her part in all this, but she didn't really have a choice. And staying in the dorm by herself wasn't really an option. So now, as she sat in Ricca and Beckett's apartment, all she could muster were sobs and the occasional coherent word.
"I'm sorry you guys had to drop everything and come to me."
Syd sat on the floor in front of her. Normally, Syd didn't do tears real well, but for Tris, she just held her hand and handed her tissues. "Honey, I am so sorry. We had no idea."
Tris dragged her head up. "Of course you had no idea, otherwise, you would have told me. Because you guys know I'm not a moron and I can actually take care of myself."
Xia shook her head. "You are an adult, but as far as taking care of yourself for something like this, not so much. You need your girls. And rest assured, I will personally deal with lover boy, but you are dealing with some real shit here. You should have told us earlier."
"Xi, I wasn't trying to lie to you. I just didn't know what to do, and I didn't want you to worry. I wasn't thinking. I'm sorry."
Her friend held her hand. "I know you are, but sorry doesn't cover it this time. You are family. Something happens to you, and Syd and I are going off the deep end, so no more protecting us, deal?"
Tris nodded. “I don’t know what I'm supposed to do, you guys. I just want this all to end, but obviously, I can't trust my father, and Shane is out of the question."
Sydney cleared her throat. "I hate to point out the obvious here, but you have your own private team of commandos like at your fingertips."
Tris shook her head. "No. I’m not trusting Roland and his men. I mean, if Shane hadn't been there, they would have literally rolled me in a blanket and carried me off."
Xia rolled her eyes. "I get it; you've had a hell of a day, so I'm gonna forgive your thick headedness. We're talking about Captain Hot Stuff and his friends. He can clearly protect you. And you might hate him, but he's a lot more discrete than Roland's three-hundred-pound gorillas following you around."
"Except he's a lying asshole."
"Yeah, there's that," her friend agreed.
"The worst thing is the way he made me feel about him. He said he loved me. And like a moron, I believed him. God, how desperate am I?"
Syd's voice was soft. "It's not desperation when it's true. He's a lying asshole, but you can't deny the guy cares about you. I mean, I've seen him look at you. That's not to say
I think he shouldn't certainly pay. I, for one, say we all take turns kicking him in the nuts. I've been itching to try Krav Maga after I heard Micha does it. I think the first class is groin strikes."
Tris chuckled. "Yes, sign me up for that." Except what she really wanted was to crawl into his arms and ask him why he'd hurt her. If he was to be believed, that first night was important and magical. But he was clearly a plant and had lied to her for the last two months.
"Okay, more important things first." Sydney said. "We need a plan. What are you going to do about your father? Do you think he'll pull funds for school?"
"I don't know. He was certainly pissed enough. I've never told him no before. I'm pretty sure it makes him batshit."
Sydney nodded. "Okay, if he does, what are we gonna do? It's nearly November, so you have a couple of months to pay for credits and stuff."
Shit, the real world encroaching was so not what she wanted to deal with, but she had to. "Okay, I need a place to live. If he's pulling my housing, then that's the first step." It felt good to think it all through instead of focusing on the bad things that were happening.
Xia piped up. "Obviously, we'll all be roomies. We'll get a nice apartment or rent a house off campus or something."
That actually sounded great. She probably wasn't ready to live on her own just yet. "Okay. Next, I need a job."
Syd nodded toward the kitchen where Ricca bustled around making her favorite, callaloo. "You have a job."
"I prefer one that doesn’t have strings attached to my father."
"Well, even if it does, it's a good paying one, and one you like. It's not like your dad is paying you. And Ricca hired you because you're good at it. You might just want to pick up more hours," Xia said.
Sydney agreed with her. "It makes more sense. And your cousin understands your security needs, so it'll be secure."
Tris threw herself back on the couch. “I just hate the idea of it all. Dad will know how to track me."
Xia laughed. "As if he's not tracking your every move right now. He's mad at you, but he still loves you. So he's not letting you out of his sight."
