Chapter 8

Shane would be lying if he didn’t admit that he was impressed. But then again, he’d always been impressed when it came to Alex. He could still remember the first time he met his friend – it had been a hot Miami evening and he couldn’t believe someone as notorious as Alex Paine would have any interest whatsoever in him, but after they’d smoked a few weed cigarillos, the much younger Alex invited him over to his abode.

And what an abode it was.

At the time, Alex was living in the place his father bought for he and his mother when they visited the sunshine state – and it was larger and more grandiose than anything Shane had seen in his entire life. While his own family was fairly well off – Tommy and he had grown up in an upper middle class neighborhood- Alex lived the life of riches every young adult dreamed of.

And all because his father ran New York City.

While Shane hadn’t known precisely what that meant at the time, he damn well did now – but that didn’t mean Alex’s new pad impressed him any less. When he pulled up on his gleaming black Harley, he was immediately greeted by a man that looked like he’d been chiseled from a boulder. As big as Shane was, as big as Alex was, this man had to be close to seven feet tall. He asked Shane what his business was at the enormous gated estate behind him and Shane quietly mentioned his name and who he had come to see.

The man’s changed his demeanor immediately.

“My apologies, Mr. Wilder. I’ll buzz you in. Mr. Paine will see you immediately.”

And with that, he stepped aside, pressing a button on the ten-foot high wrought iron gate so that it slid back just enough to admit Shane and his bike. The dark-haired man re-mounted and made his way into a huge courtyard that rivaled some of those in Miami’s most expensive neighborhoods – not that this wasn’t one of them. It was simply a little further under the radar than most.

The man’s compound was immense – turreted and sectioned off almost like a castle, and there were armed men everywhere that Shane cared to look. One promised to keep an eye on his bike before directing him through an ornate, iron inlaid front door that led to the heart of the house.

If Shane had ever doubted that Paine had taken up the mantle of his father’s business, his doubts were very quickly assuaged. While he assumed that what his friend had offered him right out of prison wasn’t completely on the books, at the time, he thought the money might simply belong to Alex’s father in its entirety.

But no – only someone with power in their own right lived in a place like this – and if that was the case, Alex had definitely moved up in the world.

As he made his way towards an immense, high-ceilinged great room with a sixty inch, pristine television, he was stopped in the doorway by more security. Shane arched a brow when he was asked to raise his hands so that he could be patted down. He was wearing a wife beater and jeans- there was literally nowhere for him to hide a weapon.

“Guys, guys.” All at once, Alex appeared from the Great Room as his men were searching Shane. “What the hell is all this? Back up, back up.” He pressed his guards away from Shane, his expression displeased. “Guys, this is Shane Wilder. We don’t fuck with this man. I owe him my fucking life.” The guards immediately scurried back to their positions, apologizing profusely.

Shane couldn’t help but be slightly amused at the display, despite his current distress. “So what, you breaking fingers if these guys piss you off?”

Alex snorted, shaking his head. “I’m not my dad. Not by a long shot.”

And that was probably a good thing. In his time behind bars, Shane had learned more about Alex’s father than he might have cared to. Of course, before he’d been put away, he had some idea. Alex Paine was the son of Jackson Paine – one of New York’s leading crime lords. Of course, Jackson would argue that he was the leading crime lord. He’d probably had enough of his rivals killed to have earned the title on bloodthirstiness alone. The fact that at least twenty percent of the criminals Shane had done time with were somehow connected to the Paine Organization said a lot – especially considering that Miami was a long fucking way from New York.

But Alex was nothing like his father. He didn’t do shootouts on the streets and revenge killings. He wasn’t a cruel employer, and he didn’t commit violence when he didn’t find it absolutely necessary.

But when he did…well…then he could be just as ruthless as Jackson.

Or so Shane heard.

“Glad you made time in your busy schedule to come see me man.” Shane slapped him on the back, his grin pleased. “Heard you’re working at your Dad’s shop.”

“Yeah,” Shane ran a hand through his hair, recalling the ornery old man who never missed an opportunity to tell him how much he’d fucked up. He had to admit that the affection they showed for one another was fucked up – but theirs wasn’t the relationship that most needed help.

At that particular moment, he was pretty sure Holly was never going to talk to him again – and he was struggling to figure out why.

“Yeah. Trying to spend as much time away as humanly possible.” With a grimace, Shane scratched at the stubble on his chin thoughtfully and Alex nodded in understanding.

“Right, man. I feel you. Let me get us a drink and we can talk about this issue of yours.”

He led Shane into the great room, and the tattooed man gazed around the elaborate digs in awe. He’d be lying to himself if he didn’t admit he was tempted. Alex would probably never have money problems in his life – his illegitimate profession ensured that he would always be comfortable, even if he was always looking over his shoulders for the cops.

But Shane was trying to go straight – which was why he’d come to Alex for information he didn’t have access to.

The elder man made his way over to a pristine, marble-topped bar near a balcony with a breathtaking view of the city. He poured them two cognacs on the rocks before offering one to Shane, his expression sobering. “So let me see the text.”

Shane sighed, resisting the urge to swill his drink in one gulp. He handed his phone over to Alex for examination, his blood simmering with the memory of the previous week.

He didn’t appreciate threats. Never had. Of course, in prison, he’d been threatened every minute of every day – verbally and physically. And just when he thought he was home free, demands were issued. Demands that had very little to do with him.

Sipping his cognac, Alex looked over the text message. It was only two words, but he must have read it at least twenty times before he looked at the number, frowning deeply. “I take it they didn’t tell you who they were?”

“Nah.” Shane exhaled hotly. “Only said they wanted their product.”

Alex set down his glass before returning Shane’s phone, his dual colored gaze contemplative. “And they called you while you were at the hospital?”

Shane nodded curtly. That night had been a whirlwind of emotions he’d thought long repressed. There’s been anger, yes – absolute fury that someone would threaten him when he’d paid his dues…but more than that, there had been fear. If these bastards knew where he was, then there was a chance they could follow him to Holly.

Holly, who was mad at him.

Holly, who had no fuckin clue what he was running from.

Leaning against the bar, Shane downed his drink, trying to shut out the other memories from that night. The dinner he had with Holly that felt entirely too much like a date – the first he had in years. The way she looked when he came to see her in her office, torn up with grief over the hell Tommy left her in. Then…the way she clung to him, biting and kissing at his neck and shoulders until he lost his fucking cool and proceeded to pound her into Tommy’s desk.

God, she’d been so fucking wet…so warm…as if she’d done nothing but wait for him for the past eight years. Shane knew it was shit of him to think such thoughts when Holly had been married to Tommy all that time, but Jesus Christ…how many nights had he lain alone in his cell just thinking about how she would taste?

Actually having her on his tongue…God, that had been fucking heaven…

“You Ok, Shane?”

He was jolted back to the present when Alex addressed him again. He refilled his visitor’s drink an offered it to him, a brow raised. “You’ve got an unknown criminal organization on your back and you’re spacing the fuck out.”

Damn.

Was he that obvious?

“I’m just thinking about Holly,” he admitted lowly, every muscle in his body tense. “If they know where I am…maybe I should just stay the fuck away from her.”

Though he and Alex had been communicating ever since his friend came to find him, their calls had been few and far between. Alex was too busy ruling his father’s stakes in Miami with an iron fist, and Shane…Shane was too busy trying to reclaim what he’d lost. Except now, he was realizing what he wanted might never have been his.

“Holly....the chick you’re after now, right?”

Shane snorted. “She’s pissed as hell at me?”

“Why?” Alex immediately inquired, leaning back against the bar. “You didn’t buy her something? Told her you didn’t like her favorite restaurant?”

Shane didn’t answer simply because he himself wasn’t sure why Holly was so pissed. She wasn’t taking his calls, never seemed to be home, and Kelly wasn’t saying a word when he showed up at the restaurant. Somehow, he couldn’t bring himself to believe that this was all over her damn hip – which she needed attention for anyway.

“Wait, hold up…Holly Thompson?” All at once, Alex’s brows shot up as he looked over at his friend as if seeing him for the first time. “The same Holly you used to pine about when we were kids? Tommy’s widow?”

Shane’s mouth pulled into a tight line as he swallowed thickly, almost choking on his drink. Fuck. Why did Alex have to say it like that?

“Yeah,” he finally managed, as nonchalantly as he could.

Alex’s grin only widened as he set his glass on the counter. “Holy fucking shit man. Eight goddamned years…more than that, and you’ve still got the hots for one girl?”

Shane only glared at him. “Don’t start, Alex.”

Even when they were younger, Alex hadn’t been able to lay off him about his choice in women. He’d been head over heels for his brother’s girlfriend then, and now, little had changed – though not for his lack of trying.

How many times over the years had he tried to blame Tommy for his troubles? Everything had gone downhill for him since he and Tommy’s falling out. He hadn’t been able to see Holly, he’d been shunned from his entire family, and ultimately…ultimately, he’d made the decision to get into shit he shouldn’t have touched with Alex.

And all after he and Tommy had parted ways.

“Jesus, you went ape shit over her. I remember all those threats you threw at Tommy when they got serious…I thought some of them had to be serious. Man…she was all you ever talked about.”

As if Shane could ever forget. When they’d been in high school, he and Tommy hung out with Kelly and Holly all the time. The girls were just as inseparable as they themselves were – two of the best looking in the school, and both cheerleaders for the football team upon which the twins played. Of the two of them, Kelly had always been more boy-crazy than her slightly older companion. She liked cheerleading because she got to be around football players and it meant she got excused from doing some of her schoolwork. Holly, on the other hand, enjoyed the exercise and only got pissed when her duties meant that she missed a test or something equally important.

While Shane would never deny that Kelly was gorgeous, he’d always been drawn to Holly’s drive- her zest for both learning and life. When they were all teenagers – young, naïve, and hopeful, she wanted to be a doctor. Shane himself was somewhere between wanting to be a mechanic and an engineer, but he’d never had the grades for anything like that. Holly, on the other hand…he never doubted Holly. She was stubborn and headstrong.

She was beautiful.

He’d never really been honest with himself, he supposed. When Tommy and he came to the agreement that he would be the one to date Holly, Shane had always been just a little bit bitter.

Hell, maybe more than just a little bit.

He was shocked when he heard that Holly was pregnant, and even more so at the news that they were getting married. What, Shane wondered all those years ago, happened to all that drive? What happened that Holly had just rolled over to be Tommy’s wife and an adjunct to his dreams?

“She’s pissed at me.” He shook his head to clear it, his voice a low growl. None of that mattered anymore. He might as well give up any chance he might have had with Holly. Their one fuck – however tight…however hot and gorgeous she’d been – didn’t make up for all the time she’d been apart. Didn’t change that she’d been married to his brother for eight goddamn years and certainly didn’t change the fact that she seemed just as headstrong and stubborn as ever.

…Goddamn, she was veritable fire.

“Don’t give up, man.”

Shane looked up at Alex incredulously. The dark-haired man had fixed him with a look that was half amusement, half empathy. “You been after her for this long. Why give up now?” Shane’s gaze merely narrowed.

“Aren’t you supposed to be telling me to move on to someone else? To give up the bullshit I’ve chased all my life?”

Alex merely smirked. “You’d think so, wouldn’t you? But, I have to tell you, my friend,” He rounded the bar to choose another bottle of cognac for them, “Eight years…that’s a lot of fucking dedication. You let it go and you’ll always wonder what might have been.”

Shane gazed around the great room, with its marble pillars, gigantic TV and breathtaking view. A heated breath of frustration escaped him. “Yeah. I could have had all this…if I’d just let the old me go.”

If anything, he thought Alex might be pleased with his admission. No sooner had the words left his mouth, however, than the older man scowled. “You can shut that shit up, Shane.” He immediately retorted, raising he bottle in his hand to gesture towards his companion with its neck. “You sound like me, and I swear to God, you don’t want to be me. That’s what I’ve always admired about you.”

The cognac bottle hit the bar with a thunk as Alex finished pouring both their drinks. “It should have been me in that cell, Shane. Me. And if I know you, you’re beating yourself up about some shit you didn’t do. You want Holly? Then you go after her. I’ll do my part, look up these cunts that are on your back, and you keep her safe. Do we have a deal?”

He extended his hand to the man on the other side of the bar, and, for a moment, Shane could only stare, dumbfounded. Alex admired him. For what? All he’d ever done in his life had led to loss. Loss and pain. What was there to admire in that?

…though he had to admit…seeing a niece he thought might never have accepted him…that was worth it. Simply getting to see Holly again…that was worth it.

If he was someone to be admired, Shane couldn’t help but think he was a damned fool.

But he’d never refused help from a friend – and Alex was about all he had now, son of Jackson Paine or no.

Reaching out, he clasped Alex’s hand in his own, his lips curving upwards slightly. “We have a deal.”