“You hated when I stopped fucking you,” Shane says in a low, cutting voice. He eyes flit to my breasts, as if he didn’t hear Wes’s warning before. I can’t help but flinch.
Wes is instantly in Shane’s face. Holy shit. I turn to watch Wes, the fury etched in the narrowing of his eyes and the disgusted turn of his mouth.
Movement to our sides catches my eye, and two giant men step behind Shane, glaring at Wes.
But Wes doesn’t even give them a courtesy glance.
I flash back to when he beat the shit out of Jones in Boston. He might not have control over himself right now. I’m not sure I care, except for the fact that I don’t want to see what Shane’s bodyguards do if Wes touches him again. I look behind me just as Noah—who was apparently calmly observing the situation from the background—steps forward with his phone cradled in his palm. He says something quietly in Wes’s ear, and Wes steps back from a frozen Shane and glances at his brother.
“Now?” Wes says, incredulous. Noah nods, and Wes waves his hand in the air. They exchange unintelligible words in hushed whispers.
“Jesus, Callie.” Shane finally finds his voice again—unfortunately—and nods to Wes. “Who the fuck are you associating yourself with?”
I’m torn between responding to Shane and trying to figure out what Wes and Noah are arguing about.
“Hello? You came here to see me?” Shane waves his hand in front of my face.
I return my gaze to Shane. “Yeah, I did.” I hate it here. I want to leave.
“Listen,” Shane says, his tone much calmer now that Wes isn’t fucking with him. “Can we talk somewhere else? Just us? About everything?”
“No fucking way are you getting her alone.” Wes jumps back in the conversation just as Noah disappears into the crowd. Wes is speaking to Shane, but watching his brother walk away.
He’s freaked out. I’m not sure I’ve seen him freaked out.
Meadow hesitates for a second, looking at me, then follows Noah without a word.
What is going on here?
“I’ll sign the divorce papers after I get half of your share of your father’s estate.” Shane’s glare bores into me. “Like we talked about. Because you owe me. Yourfatherowes me for all I’ve done for him over the years.”
“It was your job.” I shake my head. He is the most self-centered human being I have ever encountered. “And you weren’t in his will. I was.”
“I went above and beyond the job,” Shane spits out and once again, I flinch.
“Wrap this up, asshole,” Wes says. “Callie, what do you want to do right now?” He touches my back, and I lean into the contact and take a deep breath. What do I want to do? We’re not getting anywhere right now. Nothing is getting signed tonight; no ring is getting handed over.
“I need the money, and I’m not letting this go.” Shane’svoice softens, and he now looks dead serious, the taunting expression gone.
He’s delivering facts, I realize.
“Why?” My mind reels. What does heneedthe money for?Wantthe money, I get. But need?
“Transfer me the money, and I’ll sign the papers.” Shane snaps out of his serious tone, the casual asshole vibe back. “I’ll get the money one way or another.”
“Don’t give him one dollar, Calliope.”
I look up at Wes, and my insides soften.
“Calliope?” Shane looks Wes up and down. “She ismarried. Tome. Back the fuck off.”
This man has no sense of self-preservation. I wonder how he’d act if he knew what Wes and Noah do in their free time. He wouldn’t laugh or chide or poke. He’d cower.
I’m so focused on this thought that I startle when Wes punches Shane in the jaw. Shane’s face jerks, and his legs fly out from under him. I gasp and splay my hand on my chest. The thugs lurch forward and get between Wes and Shane. They don’t, however, help Shane off the ground, where he’s now on all fours.
Shane is low-level. Too low-level to have thugs there to protect him. So what are they protecting?
My blood runs cold.
