Page 8 of Harboring Shantae

Her sentence was cut off by Camron's own cussing when he looked through the peephole. She figured he also didn't want to meet her parents yet, and would move away from the door now that he knew who was on the other side. But that wasn't what happened.

Camron was opening the door and snapping at her guests before she could see who was on the other side. "What the hell are you doing here?"

With her own curiosity piqued, she stepped up beside him. Her jaw nearly hit the floor for the second time that evening.

"Well, hello, Shantae. Long time no see, and what a small world it is."

Chapter 4

Toomanytimes,hehad envisioned how this meeting would go if he ever got the chance to meet the woman who wrote him. And just as many times, he didn't allow those thoughts to come to fruition because, in the end, he knew it would never happen. He wasn't destined to have the same happily ever after as his teammates. They all found women who understood his job, and Shantae just admitted they wanted different things. But here he was and nothing was what he would've expected.

Panther inwardly groaned. How did he not see this coming a mile away? There was no way that Trista wasn't going to keep her nose out of his damn business. But it was what came out of Trista's mouth that had him looking at her differently.

"You two know each other."

It wasn't a question. One glance between the two women, and he had his answer. He should've known. There wasn't an important person in the world that Trista didn't know. If not because of her business now, then from her modeling days.

"Mind if we come in?"

Trista didn't wait to be invited in and Falcon didn't look the least bit sorry that they were interrupting. Although, that could have more to do with the lack of expression than how his team leader actually felt. Falcon didn't express emotions other than anger. Even his wife was usually snarled at, but honestly, Panther was pretty sure she deserved it most of the time.

"How do you all know each other?"

Shantae's eyes were bouncing all over the place. Her expressions ranged from shock to intimidation. The latter was likely because of Falcon. Most people had that expression when they met the giant. His team leader didn't exactly let off the warm and fuzzy vibes.

Panther let out a frustrated sigh. "This is my team leader, Falcon. He flew me out here, and this is his wife, Trista. I've mentioned her before."

She knew all of his teammates by the names they used for each other. He also told her about the women they met. Well, up until Abby. They weren't talking at that point, so she didn't know about the latest drama on his team.

"I didn't realize when you said Trista that you meant Trista St. Clair."

For some reason, Shantae didn't look pleased by the notion. That was interesting. Most people actually liked the woman, despite her annoyance.

"How exactly do you two know each other?"

He pointed between the two women in case they missed who he was talking about. Panther tried to get a hint from his team leader, but Falcon's expression was still unsurprisingly neutral.

"We met at a few charity functions," Trista hopped in to answer. "And I believe you mentioned at one point that you attended one of my runway shows early on in my career."

Shantae nodded her head in agreement but still didn't look comfortable and it put him on edge. He might not want to be on Trista's radar, but he knew damn well she was one of the nicest people he had the pleasure of being friends with. She would kill for any of her friends. Probably had, and no one knew about it.

"How is it you knew where I was?" Panther asked Trista.

Trista had the audacity to scoff at his question like it wasn't a legitimate one to ask.

"I asked Ray for the information, and before you go and get upset that he told me, please know that I threatened his life."

Her answer was so matter-of-fact that it was hard to be mad at Ray. There was a reason everyone on his team caved to Trista. She was scary as shit when she wanted information and wasn't afraid to do what it took to get it.

"And you didn't think it was a good idea to stop her?"

This time, Panther's question was directed at his team leader. If he thought for a second that Falcon would look the least bit remorseful about the situation, he was dead wrong.

"It's no secret that I love battling with my wife, but this wasn't an argument I was going to win. It was either come along and make sure she's safe or tell her to back off and she would've attempted to sneak out. Either way, we would've ended up here eventually. I'm not an idiot, Panther."

He wished he could say that made him think less of his team leader, but he would be wrong. It took a hell of a lot of courage to admit that sometimes it was best just to cave.

"Why are you here, Trista?"