Page 75 of Shane
At last—finally!—the light came back on deep within the midnight blues she adored.
Shane planted a tiny, wet kiss on the end of her nose. He’d just been unmanned by Mother, but Everlee had his back, would always have his back, and she’d keep every last secret he wanted to share. Because she had hers, too, and someday, she’d tell him what they were.
“All these years, I’ve suffered in silence,” Tuesday commented sorrowfully from where she sat behind them.
Shane twisted Everlee around until they both faced her.
“Thanks for letting me share your burden, Agent Hayes. It’s an honor to know that you’re human, too. Like me. That you understand what I’ve been through.” She huffed out a throaty sigh and tossed a chunk of her tangled, dirty blonde hair over her shoulder. “I know this sounds corny, but because of you guys, I feel better than I have in a long, long time. You both understand what I’ve been through. I’m not alone anymore. Thank you both so, so much. I like you guys. I really do, and I haven’t had anyone I could talk with since Freddie died. But you two honestly get me, don’t you?”
Everlee hit Shane’s mouth with a small peck before she turned back and faced Tuesday again. If ever there was a time to reveal her own secret, this was it. Instead, she said, “You’re all right for a civilian, you know that?”
Shane stifled a grunt, even as his arm tightened around Everlee’s waist and his hand smoothed over her ass.
“And you…” she said as she stabbed her index finger into his chest. “Partners don’t keep secrets. We share everything but underwear, got it?” Stab went her fingertip again. “And we always, always have each other’s backs. We don’t gossip behind each other’s backs. We trust each other. You’ve got my back, and I’ve got yours, got it?”Stab, stab, stab.
He was smiling plenty by the time she finished poking him. Everlee took his hard head between her hands and pulled him into her face. “Anything you ever want to share is between you and me, got it? I won’t even tell Alex. And I know Tuesday will keep your confidences, too.”
“Well, duh,” he murmured, his voice soft and low, more like a purr. “She saved me, remember?”
Ev would’ve stabbed his chest again, because, well, it washischest, and she adored touching that thick set of pectorals and the ink on it—a lot. But he captured her mouth and her breath and… Everlee relaxed into the arms of the man she’d fallen for. They’d only known each other a few days, not even a full week. But yeah. She was starting to love this big guy.
“Hello out there! Hey, Shane! Everlee!” Mother called from Shane’s cell phone, which he’d fumbled when Everlee had launched herself at him. “If you guys don’t pick up in two seconds, I’m getting Alex on the line, and then shit’s gonna fly!”
Shane grabbed the phone off the ground and told her, “Thanks for outing me,Mom,but—”
“I’m a millionaire, Shane,” she sputtered, interrupting him. “I could’ve paid all of your mom’s hospital bills and your college tuition. But I couldn’t even save my only child’s life. How’s that for a secret?”
Everlee’s heart skipped to a full stop as Mother went on with a tearful, “And the entire time I’ve worked for Alex, I’ve kept my beautiful baby girl a secret. I never told him or Mark or Zack or my best friend Ember or anyone else.” By then she was sniffling so hard she could barely speak. Everlee was sniffling, too. Shane was still frozen like a rock. Tuesday just sat there, cross-legged, her eyes as big as saucers.
“After Dempsey died, I lashed out at everyone, even Justice, and I miss him so much, but I blamed everyone, and I was so, so mad, and…” Another round of sniffles, choking, and coughing came over the connection. “I’m not anyone’s mother anymore, not really. But I love you guys, and that’s why I take especially good care of you, all of you, okay?” She made that sound like a dare. “I can’t lose you kids, too. Is that understood?” By then she was all but hysterical, and Everlee wished she could hug Mother. The woman surely needed it.
“Yes, Mom,” Shane replied meekly. “You love us, and we love you, too.”
Everlee looked up at him. Her hand was still on his chest, and she knew darned well she had a sappy look on her face. Somehow, Shane had just given Mother precisely what she’d needed to heal. “You’re the best, Mom,” she told Sasha quietly. “Shane’s right. All us guys love you.”
She came back with, “But I’m not the best. And I didn’t kill my baby. If anything, I loved her too much.” More sniffling. More throat clearing. More nose blowing. At last, Mother said quietly, “I also know where Ms. Smarty-Pants Astor is right this very minute.”
“You do?” Shane asked. “Where?”
“Never mind. Get packed and ready to go. Heston’s thirty minutes out from your location. He’ll get you where you need to go. Stay safe. Bye.” The connection went dead.
Shane was still looking down at Everlee. She was still sitting on his lap, her index finger tapping the ink on his left pec. “That’s why the tattoo. Alex’s family is part of you.”
A tortured sigh shuddered out of him. “Yeah, Mom’s in my heart, and their names lie over it. The ink reminds me that I might’ve given some, but they gave all.”
“Aww…” she whispered. “You should tell Alex. He’d like knowing you love them, too.”
Shane shook his head. “No, never. I’ve hurt him enough. Let’s go meet Heston and get this job over with. I really want to go home.”
Everlee scrambled out of the warmth of Shane’s embrace, then reached for Tuesday’s hand and helped her to her feet. “You ready, girlfriend?”
Tuesday brushed her hands on the back of her pants. “Yes, I want to meet this Astor witch who killed Freddie. And then, I want to meet Alex and Mother and…” She ran a grubby hand over her dirty hair. “I am so glad you guys found me instead of the FBI. Thanks for believing me.”
Shane answered what Everlee was going to say, “It’s been our pleasure. Now let’s go kick ass.”
Chapter Twenty-Six
The night was darker and colder by the time TEAM Agent Heston Contreras arrived and expertly landed the Bell 429 corporate helicopter in the decrepit, weed-filled airfield next to the hangar. Shane liked the guy on sight. Dressed in a navy-blue flight suit, Heston was black-haired and olive-skinned in the way of his Mexican ancestry, and he’d definitely been blessed with Hollywood handsome features. From the way the rotor’s downdraft ruffled his short but thick black hair when he stepped out of the cockpit, to his tall, slender, but athletically muscled frame, he was one of those guys who made other guys look like clumsy trolls. He stood a good foot over Everlee, but only a couple inches taller than Tuesday. Everlee seemed a bit smitten if the sparkle in her eyes meant what Shane thought it did. Which irked him despite knowing Contreras had had his shot at Everlee and had obviously missed.