He had planned on taking things slow with Lacie and seeing where they led. Courting her little by little with traditional methods that had proven successful over time – flowers, candlelight dinners, fun outings. But now, that didn’t seem possible. Now there was an urgency that wasn’t there before.
His mission was clear; he had no doubt of where things would lead. They were destined to be together, and getting to that point gradually didn’t seem as appealing anymore. The challenge now would be to progress as quickly as possible without doing any damage.
Croie
or not, they had met less than a week earlier, and Lacie was a respectable schoolteacher with a clear sense of propriety. Hopping into her bed and declaring her his for the rest of their lives was not part of any romantic hearts and flowers package that he was aware of.
Shane was, by nature, a very cautious man and Lacie was a romantic at heart. He knew that from the moment he met her. Little things - like holding the door open for her and bringing her flowers - had thrilled her, and he was only too happy to comply. Oh, there was no doubt she’d liked their date at the Goddess. His intention had been to impress her, and he felt that he had accomplished that several times over. But what really made him happy was when Lacie told him that just being with him was what had made the evening so special.
And his gift for reading people told him that beyond a shadow of a doubt, when Lacie had spoken those words to him, she meant them with every last cell in her body.
He loved that about her. There was a purity, an innocence around her that he had rarely seen. She was a woman who cared deeply for others, lived her life simply, and believed in everything she said and did with both passion and compassion.
She was perfect.
If there was one thing that worried him, though, it was that she might be a little
too
compassionate, especially where one particular former GI was concerned. Shane hadn’t liked Craig Davidson from the moment he’d laid eyes on him, and each subsequent encounter had only deepened his sense that something was not right with the guy. Even Lacie seemed to realize it; Shane hadn’t failed to notice the shadows in her voice and expression when she spoke of him, but she seemed loyal to him for some reason.
One thing was for certain – Shane would not share Lacie, not with anyone, but especially not with Davidson. The guy was a step off, and the little bit he knew had done nothing but raise red flags. There was a lot of history there, so he’d have to tread carefully for fear of alienating Lacie if he voiced his concerns too vehemently at this stage. But now that he knew for certain that Lacie was his, it was more important than ever.
And he knew just where to begin.
“What do you know about Craig Davidson?” Shane asked, perched on a stool at Jake’s Irish Pub. The public bar was on the first floor; living quarters on the second and third floors. At one time, all the Callaghan men had called the place home, but marriage and children had changed that, though they all kept space there.
Jake glanced up from the fresh keg he was tapping. “The ex-Army guy?”
“Yeah, that’s the one.”
“Not a hell of a lot,” Jake shrugged. “Joined up right after high-school. Came home a couple of years ago sliced and diced up pretty good, but he was luckier than most. No one else in his unit did. Most of them came home in pieces with a flag draped over the box that held them; a couple are still MIA, from what I hear.”
Ian emerged from the back, carrying several stacked trays of clean glasses. “I heard about that. Total ass fuck all around.”
“What are we talking about?” asked Michael, emerging from the private living quarters where he had just left his wife Maggie and their son Ryan with the other wives and kids. Jake poured him a beer. Shane felt a familiar humming in the pit of his stomach. Unless he was mistaken, and he rarely was, his brothers would be coming together instinctively as they always somehow managed when they were needed.
“The shit storm that took a couple of local boys down a couple of years ago,” Ian told him.
Michael’s brows drew together. “Lone survivor, right? Craig something.”
“Davidson,” Shane supplied. “Craig Davidson.”
“Yeah, that guy was a mess,” Michael confirmed. “Demolitions man. One of his own detonations blew him clear of the zone, tearing him up pretty good in the process.”
“Ended up saving his life though, didn’t it,” Jake commented. Something in Jake’s tone had Shane looking up sharply. “Why the sudden interest in Davidson, Shane?”
“Davidson?” Kieran piped up, joining them as he tossed his bag behind the bar, returning from his latest mission. The humming in Shane’s gut increased in pitch. “Craig Davidson?” When Shane nodded, Kieran said. “The guy’s a total douchebag.”
“You know him?”
“Yeah, he comes into the gym every day. I’m thinking of cancelling his membership; he’s an asshole. Why?”
“Friend of a friend.”
“A female friend, by any chance?” Jake asked knowingly.
“Maybe.”
Kieran leaned forward in interest. As Shane was the only other unclaimed Callaghan male, he was intrigued. “Do tell.”
“Fuck off.”
Kieran laughed. Ian looked at Shane long and hard. “Wouldn’t be Lacie McCain by any chance, would it?” he asked quietly.
“Might be. Why?”
“Lacie McCain. She’s that cute little schoolteacher, right?” Sean asked, striding across the bar. At his twin’s arched brow he added, “What? She brings her Passat into the shop for maintenance. She’s nice. Nicki said she helps out at the shelter a lot, donates a lot of books and stuff, has crafts and activities she does with the smaller kids.”
Shane had no trouble believing that. Lacie was meant to be around kids. If he had his way, he’d give her a houseful. The very thought had him throbbing painfully again. Thankfully, no one else seemed to notice.
“McCain. Why does that name sound familiar?” Kane added, startling everyone. For as huge as he was, he moved as silently as the grave. The fact that they had all gathered here without premeditation was not lost on any of them. They sensed a mission.
“Brian McCain is one of those still listed as missing,” Sean said soberly. As men who had spent time in hell, they knew more than most what that probably meant.
“Lacie’s brother,” Kieran nodded. “I remember him.
He
’s a good guy.”
“And Davidson’s best friend. At least in theory,” Ian mused.
Shane’s spine stiffened. “What does that mean?”
Ian leaned in closer. “It means that McCain and Davidson were tight until Davidson started getting a hard-on for McCain’s little sister. Big brother wasn’t too keen on the idea, apparently.”
“Wait,” Shane said, shaking his head. “Davidson was married, has a kid.”
“Ever hear of a shotgun wedding?” Ian smirked. “Davidson wanted McCain’s sister, but that didn’t stop him from fucking other women, especially those that bore a striking resemblance to her. Word is that while Lacie McCain wasn’t interested, her best friend
was
, and Davidson took advantage of that. Got her pregnant. Her daddy – Pine Ridge’s very own Mayor Daniels – wasn’t happy. He forced them to get married.”
“Wasn’t she killed in a car accident a couple of years ago?” Michael asked.
“She was killed in a car
crash
,” Sean corrected, “not too long after Davidson left the service and was home for good.”
The silence was thick and heavy, until Shane asked the question they were all thinking. “You don’t think it was an accident?”
“Didn’t say that, did I?” Sean shrugged, but Shane knew his identical twin well enough to know that was exactly what he thought. It did absolutely nothing to soothe Shane’s worry that Craig Davidson was too close to Lacie.
Before he could ask anything else, Shane’s private cell rang. He took one look at the number and excused himself, walking to a quiet corner of the Pub where he could speak in private. “Lacie?” he said, accepting the call.
Except that it was not Lacie’s voice that answered. “No, this is her sister Corinne. Is this Shane?”
“Yes. Is Lacie alright?”
“Yeah, sort of. I’m here at the hospital with her now.”
“Her hand?” he guessed.
“Yeah. It was broken, and some of the bones already started fusing incorrectly. They had to re-break it to make things right. They shot her up pretty good with pain meds.”
“Jesus.”
“Hey,” she said hesitantly. “I’m not sure if I should even be asking you this, but you seem to care for her, and I was hoping that maybe you could do something. I didn’t know who else to call.”
“Anything.” He was already reaching for his jacket, pulling out his keys.
“They’re going to let her go in a little bit, but I don’t think she should be alone tonight with the meds and all. I’m supposed to drive our parents down to Philly tonight – they’re going on an anniversary cruise. They don’t know about Lacie’s hand; she made me promise not to say anything because she thinks they’ll cancel their trip if they knew. If you could - ”
“I’m there. What time?”
“Six? I should have her all settled by then. She’ll probably sleep most of the night, but I’d feel better if she wasn’t alone.”
“I’ll be there.”
“Thanks,” Corinne said, breathing a sigh of relief. “And Shane?”
“Yes?”
Corinne spoke slowly as if choosing her next words carefully. “It might be a good idea if you came in the back way.”
He was silent for a moment as he heard what she wasn’t saying. “Got it.”
“I knew I was right about you.” She hung up before he could respond.
C
orinne stared out the window, awaiting Shane’s arrival. Other than a non-descript silver sedan that disappeared around the block, there hadn’t been any other traffic on the small side street. She checked her watch again. It had only been ten minutes since she’d called him, but it felt like so much more time had passed. She hoped he remembered not to come in through the front. If Craig spotted him it would just make things more difficult –
A quiet knock on the back door startled her. She peeked through the peephole and gasped.
“How did you do that?” she asked, opening the door. He grinned at her as he slipped noiselessly inside, but didn’t answer her.
“Right,” she murmured. She’d heard the same rumors that everyone else had – that the Callaghans were a lot more than they seemed; it was impossible to live in Pine Ridge and not. They all had this quiet air of danger about them, but it was said that they were good men, fiercely loyal and incredibly protective of their family and friends. Corinne withheld a shiver from the waves of intensity rolling off of Shane, and was glad her sister was now included among that inner circle.
“Thanks for coming so quickly; I’ve got to haul ass or my parents are going to miss their flight. Lacie’s sleeping, out cold. Here.” She thrust a small bottle into his hand. “These are her pain meds. Give her one with some crackers and water or ginger ale if she wakes up. Here’s my cell number and I’ve written down the flight numbers and schedules and stuff. If everything’s on time, I should be back around three a.m. or so.”
Shane levelled those intense blue eyes at her. “Take your time. I’m not going anywhere.”
Corinne glanced down at the small pack he carried with him and grinned. “Gotta love a man who’s prepared.” His eyes sparkled.
“So listen,” she dropped her voice even further and leaned toward him a little. “I don’t know how much you know about things, but you strike me as the type of guy who catches on pretty quick. Craig’s across the hall. He wasn’t here when we got back, so he doesn’t know about any of this. Let’s try to keep it that way for a bit longer, okay? If he realizes he broke her hand he’s going to freak out and make things really uncomfortable for Lace - ”
Shane’s entire body tensed, his face hardened, his eyes grew cold. “He did this? Lacie told me she caught it in a car door.”
This time Corinne couldn’t withhold her shiver at the sound of his voice, glad that it was directed at someone else, and knew that she had done the right thing in calling Shane. He would not let anything happen to Lacie, and she could already tell that he would be a valuable ally. For this reason and several more of her own, she had no trouble telling him the rest.
“That’s what she told me, too. But the doc pulled me aside later – I used to babysit for him and his wife so I know him pretty well – and he said the fractures came from compression along the sides, like someone had squeezed her hand too hard, although there was some bruising on the back that he said was consistent with catching a hand in a car door like she said.”
“You think it was Davidson.”
She nodded. “I know it was. I’ll bet anything that he was waiting for her when she got home that night she had coffee with you. He tends to be a bit... possessive with Lacie.”
Shane flicked a glance toward the bedroom. “He does that often?”
“Too often. Thinks he owns her or something.”
“Why does she allow it?”
Corinne snorted, gathering her bag. “You don’t know Craig. He’s a born manipulator, and he knows all her soft spots. She’s tried to talk to him about it, but he twists everything around until she feels bad for saying anything.”
She hefted the bag over her shoulder and put her hand on the door. “Shane, I know you guys are just getting started and all. I’m sorry if I’m expecting too much or reading too much into it. I just thought ...”
She let the sentence hang, unsure how to express what she suspected was going on between them. There was simply no other way to interpret the look Lacie had in her eyes when she spoke of him, and she was fairly certain she’d seen the same in his when he looked at her. There was certainly no mistaking the almost-feral intensity surrounding him now, something starkly male and protective that sent a twinge of envy through her.
“You thought right,” Shane said, putting her fears to rest. “I’m glad you called. I’ll take good care of her.”