Obsession 2.5: Loving An Alpha Male Page 7

  I pulled a stool away from his counter and sat down. I hated being questioned like this, but again, I needed to keep my composure. I still needed to show a bit of frustration too or Shane might become suspicious. With that in mind, I automatically furrowed my brow, but I made a huge effort to remain as calm as I could. “Shane, I didn’t go in there with the purpose of beating some truths out of him. I had no choice. I’m sure you were told about the security breach and the fact that he wasn’t chained to the D-rings as protocols suggests. Unfortunately, the security feeds were destroyed or you could have seen how he went after Sweets. I had to put him down.”

  Shane didn’t reply right away. He threw the beer bottles in his recycle bin in the cabinet underneath his counter. He then shifted to the fridge and grabbed us two fresh bottles. He opened one bottle and handed it to me. I took it, thanked him and sat it down in front of me. “What information did you get from him?” he finally asked as he opened his bottle.

  “Tons actually. He told me that he and Perchenko had been in business for years. Perchenko funded his auctions and got him in touch with buyers. And when Perchenko needed him to smuggle something or someone in and out of the U.S., Noah would do it.”

  That bit of information caused Mr. Angry Face to perk up a little bit. “Did you ask him if he knew how to find Perchenko?”

  “Of course, I’m not an amateur at this. He told me that he didn’t know much about the man. They had never met in person only dealt with each other through the bank. They had worked together on countless occasions behind the scenes and made each other tons of money. That, however, was the extent of their relationship.”

  “And you believed him?” he asked me.

  I took a large sip before answering. “Yes and no. I believed he was hiding information from me, but I didn’t get a chance to ask him before the lights went out. Besides, I was too busy asking him how in the hell he knew Emily.”

  Shane froze and his eyes grew wider than my ass. Hell…, that was my own reaction when Sweets had mentioned her to me and when Noah confirmed the connection.

  Shane moved to stand directly across from me and placed his beer next to mine. He leaned on the island counter, resting his forearms on the cool granite surface. “What in the hell does Emily have to do with any of this?”

  “Well, according to Noah, Emily is a member of Perchenko’s list of assassins.”

  “Bullshit!” He stood abruptly, eyes wide.

  I shook my head. “No bullshit. Apparently, Emily had been working all this time as a member of Perchenko’s hit squad.”

  “Are you implying that when Emily shot Josh, it was possibly a hit ordered by Perchenko?”

  “I don’t know and neither did Noah.”

  Shane wrapped his arms around his chest and rubbed his chin with his fingers. “What else did Noah say about Emily? Did he know where we could find her at least?”

  “No, he didn’t say. I can't be certain that he was telling the truth about it. Like I said, he had claimed that he only dealt with these people through the bank. The only reason why he knows so much about Emily was because he was fucking another bank member’s family, some senator’s daughter, who loved to run her mouth.”

  “Did he have any information that would be immediately useful?”

  “A little bit of background information that I have already given to the geek squad. Hopefully, they’ll find something that we can use.”

  Shane grew quiet for a while, the faint sounds of the city coming through open windows from his amazing sunroom to my left. Finally, after a few seconds had passed, he broke the silence and asked, “Have you told any of this to Josh? Has Sweets?”

  I shook my head. “No, not yet. I figured we could do it at the briefing tomorrow. It would be better in that circle than one on one.”

  “The meeting was pushed out. Something came up on the CIA side and we postponed it for a few days. But that doesn't mean we let up. We need to find these people before they find Josh.”

  “Yes, of course. I’ll keep the geek squad on their job. We will find them.”

  Shane nodded his head absently but didn’t reply. He stood there probably swimming deep in his head. I could only imagine what he was thinking; fucking Emily. Suddenly, this case had gone from bad to worse in a matter of a day. I drank more of the beer and began thinking of next steps.

  If Emily was indeed Perchenko’s assassin, it’s possible that we had a chance here. Maybe we could concentrate on finding her. Maybe Perchenko sent her here to the states to take care of Josh. After all, she would probably be the only one that could get close enough to take him out.

  I gripped the bottle tighter in my hand, shook my head and mumbled, “I should have killed her when I had the chance.”

  “Yeah, you should have,” Shane replied and I looked up at him realizing he had heard me.

  I took the last of my beer and slammed the bottle down on the counter. “Yeah, well, your little brother wouldn’t let me. He was all in love, remember?” I rolled my eyes. “I hated that bitch and didn’t trust her from the beginning. Josh, on the other hand, couldn’t see past her perky boobs and psycho smile.”

  “What about Jacks?”

  I scoffed and crossed my arms in front of me. I slouched down a little in the chair and gave him a frosty glare. “Jacks was sniffing her ass too. Most of the men in our unit thought the sun rose and set on her ass.”

  Shane smirked at me. “Even Junior?”

  “No, Junior wasn’t with us at the time. Josh had asked him to do a background check on her though and she came up clean but that was about it. He never physically laid eyes on her.”

  “And you could tell she was full of shit?”

  I nodded my head. “Yes, I could tell. Crazy recognizes crazy, Shane. I knew the bitch was crazy and untrustworthy. But Josh wouldn’t listen. And when he started banging her, well you men lose all common sense when pussy is involved.”

  Shane laughed and swallowed the rest of his beer down. He took my empty bottle and threw his and mine away. When he turned back around to face me, he leaned against the wall behind him and just watched me.

  I could tell he was revving up to say something that would no doubt piss me off and beat his ass. He thrived off pushing buttons. I refused to fall victim.

  “You seem a bit worked up about Emily? Were you a tad bit jealous of her?”

  See what I mean? He was playing with me. He wanted to get me all worked up.

  Not gonna happen, Shane Cooper.

  “I was not jealous of the girl,” I said evenly.

  Shane smiled at me. “No?”

  I sat up. “No. There wasn’t anything to be jealous of.”

  “Oh, really? From what I remember, Josh told me you and Emily were always battling each other. He said Emily was a bad ass in her own right. She could shoot a fly off a camel’s back with ease. She was skilled in hand-to-hand combat. He also said that you two were constantly bumping heads. You know, trying to one up the other.” He walked closer to me, with his sly smile growing larger as he moved. “He said you two argued all the time and he even had to break up a fight between you and her.”

  Don’t do it, King. Stay strong.

  “I mean, sure we fought a lot and disagreed on almost everything. She thought she knew it all. She was arrogant, cocky, and thought she was tough. What she was, was bat shit crazy.”

  “Did you two get into any fist fights?” he queried, his eyes intently on me.

  I squirmed a little in my chair but didn’t reply. I knew, just from the way he was looking at me that he knew we did. Finally, after a long few seconds had passed in silence, I decided to entertain him.

  “It happened one day at a briefing. We were working on locating this lunatic that was plotting a few attacks against our troops in Iraq. She thought we should do one thing and I thought she was going to get us killed. We argued while Josh and Jacks looked on amused right up until that bitch called me a stupid cunt cow. I showed her just how much of a cunt I
was and punched the shit out of her. As you could imagine, things escalated rather quickly after that.” I blew out a breath as my mind filled with the memory of that night.

  “If Josh and Jacks hadn’t pulled us a part,” I admitted. “She and I probably wouldn’t be here. She would have been twelve feet under and I would be in the wind.”

  Emily was almost as dirty and crazy as I was, but she was also very capable and deadly. Both of us were ticking time bombs waiting to be provoked to go off and that wasn’t a very good combination to have on one team. I actually thought about asking to be transferred out of the unit after that fight. There just wasn’t room for the both of us.

  She wanted Josh that was clear. She deemed me a threat to her getting him. Typically, I didn’t care one way or another who Josh was fucking. But I did have a problem with her and I told him so over and over again. He didn’t listen.

  “I warned your brother countless times but Josh just ignored me.” I informed Shane. “He claimed that she and I were both jealous of each other and needed to get our shit together or else. I called his ‘or else’ and told him that one day he was going to have to make a choice between her or me and I had a feeling he was going to choose wrong. I had told him, ‘I just hope I get there in time to save your ass when you fuck up’.”

  I sobered in that moment thinking of how true my words turned out to be. I let out a sharp breath.

  “Honestly, when I said those words to Josh, I didn’t think it would come true the way that it did. If I hadn’t been so suspicious of Emily, I may not have gotten to Josh in time to stop him from bleeding out.

  “Look, was I jealous of her? No. She didn’t hold a torch to me and I believed she knew that, which was why she was trying so hard to get rid of me. Hands down, I’m prettier than her, sexier, and smarter than her. I'm a better fighter, better at yielding a knife, and I'm an exceptionally better shooter than she could ever be. Hell, I’m just better than her in everything. Come to think of it, maybe she was jealous of me.”

  I honed in on the smirk plastered on Shane’s face and rolled my eyes. I turned from him, getting ready to tell him I was sleepy when he opened his mouth and spoke blasphemy.

  “Josh disagreed. He mentioned that Emily was the better operator. He even said she was a better shot than you.”

  I shot to my feet, unable to hold back the seething rage billowing deep down inside. “Oh, that’s bullshit and he knows that. I can shoot circles around that hairy-balls-loving whore with my eyes closed and hands tied behind my back!”

  Shane started laughing and I realized what just happened. The fucker got me. Bastard!

  I gave Mister Funny Man the finger before I turned from him and started for his bedroom. “You know what, I don’t have to put up with this shit. I’m going home.”

  “No, you’re not!” I heard Shane yell behind me, but I kept walking into his bedroom. Once inside, I tore off the T-shirt that I was wearing and walked naked to my bag in the corner of his room. The second I bent down to pick up my bag, I was grabbed from behind, spun around to face him, and walked backwards a few steps until the wall careened with my back.

  I tried to push him back, but he managed to pin me with two hundred and forty pounds of pure muscle. He stretched my arms above my head and pinned my wrists together using one of his large hands. Now, please understand that he wouldn’t have gotten the better of me if I didn’t allow him to grab me in the first place and I told him as much.

  His reply was a smile right before he started kissing that soft spot on the side of my neck. I did my best to keep my mouth shut, in an effort to remain pissed at him. But I could feel a soft moan fighting to escape my tight lips.

  “Let go of me, Shane,” I said evenly, trying desperately not to concentrate on the sensation he was giving my body with his sort kisses.

  Shane ignored me, of course, and slowly traveled his free hand down the side of my body; caressing my hips, ass, before moving to brush his thumb over the underside of my breast.

  “Shane,” I said again, adding a warning tone to my voice. “I said let go.”

  “No,” he replied just as calmly and without malice as if I had asked him if he wanted to watch a movie or something. Shane straightened before me and met my eyes.

  We stayed like that for a few seconds, just staring into each other’s eyes. I was trying to read him, trying to see what he was thinking. And just like that I saw it, a transformation that had turned this situation into my worst nightmare. I felt my control slipping and something else entirely taking over.

  I tried again to move, to get away from him and his intense stare for very different reasons now, but I was pinned tight. I couldn’t even move my legs to try for his groin. Clever bastard… He had me right where he wanted me. I was naked, literally and figuratively, unarmed, and at his mercy.

  I took a deep breath and tried one more time to get him to let me go. I narrowed my eyes, putting as much malice and anger in them and my voice as I said, “I don’t want to hurt you, Shane, but I will.”

  I continued my unwavering and ferocious stare, hoping he’d understand that I didn’t want to play this game anymore. That I was serious, but he just watched me. He gazed heavily into my eyes and completely broke me down. I could feel my body weakening. The power behind his sea-colored eyes were sucking the fight out of me. It was as if I was Supergirl and he was my kryptonite.

  “Is that what you’re afraid of; hurting me?” he queried, his voice low and deep.

  Got damn him…

  I turned my head away from him and blew out a surrendered breath. Shane let go of my wrists but that was it. I was still pinned between him and the wall.

  “Grace, look at me.”

  I didn’t look at him, fighting the pull he had over me. I kept my eyes closed tight, doing whatever I could to remain in control of at least some parts of my body. I mean, this man had so much power over me. I had no idea just how much until this very moment. I wanted to let go. I wanted to give in, but I just couldn’t take that last step. I was holding onto that thin thread of will, praying for strength to do the right thing. I wanted him, God knows I do. I just knew that I couldn’t have him.

  “Grace,” he called to me again, using my first name as he often did when he was serious, and this time his voice was soft and filled with such fire that I was done. The thin thread that I had been holding onto just broke in half.

  Shane touched my chin with a lone finger, turned my head and lifted my chin up. When I finally got the courage to open my eyes, I found his penetrating gaze looking back at me.

  “Is that what it is? You’re afraid of hurting me? Because I guarantee you that won’t happen. You won’t hurt me.”

  “How do you know that?” I replied softly. “You can’t know that.”

  He sighed as I placed my hands on his chest. I tried, feebly, to push him back, but he didn’t budge. Damn brick wall.

  Confession time.

  “Shane, I’m not the woman for you. I’m not who you think I am.”

  Yes, I know I said I would tell him my secrets. I just… I couldn’t make my mouth form the words. I decided to stick to the plan to push him away.

  “Grace, I beg to differ. I know everything there is to know about you.”

  I shook my head. “No, you don’t.”

  “Yes, I do. Baby, you’re not as hard to figure out as you think you are. Trust me. I know everything there is to know about you. Believe me, there is nothing you can tell me that I don’t already know or that would change the way I feel about you.”

  I didn’t reply. I just shook my head, looked up at the ceiling and let my head lull back against the wall in abject frustration.

  “Okay,” Shane began. “If you think there’s something that I need to know about you, tell me now.”

  Again, I didn’t reply.

  “Grace…”

  “Oh, for fuck’s sakes, Shane!” I blurted out, letting the frustration of my weakness for him bleed through my voice. “What do yo
u want from me?”

  Shane trapped my face between his palms and leaned in closer until our noses were inches from each other.

  “I want you, Grace.” He paused and I swear my heart stopped. “I want you to stop running from me, running from what’s going on between us and let me in. I want you to admit to yourself that where you are right now, here in my arms, is where you belong. Dammit, if you would just let your walls down for one second, baby, I can show you that you don’t have to be afraid.”

  Damn him and his words. I could feel them penetrating my soul, melting the iced wall around my soulless heart.

  Shane seemed to back up from me, only slightly, and steadied his stance. His hands remained where they were and so were his determined eyes.

  “Baby, give me that chance to show you that I’m the only one for you. Let me prove to you that no one can take care of your needs better than me. No one knows just how to touch you, kiss you or love you better than me.” As he said that last part, his voice lowered and deepened with so much passion, so much finality, that I felt my heart drop to my stomach. It felt like the first time I had to parachute out of a plane.

  It had been exhilarating yet scary as hell. My heart had dropped to my toes as I free fell, but the only reason why I didn’t pass out from shear panic was because of the parachute on my back. Looking in Shane’s eyes right now, I knew that this time if I jumped, there was no parachute to break my fall. And that scared me the most.

  “No one knows you better than I do, Grace,” Shane went on. “And no one could ever please you better than me. Stop denying what you feel, baby, and let me in. Let go, Grace, and let me in.”

  This was going to be hard. I couldn’t get my mouth to work or my lips for that matter. Even if I was able to formulate a thought, I didn’t know what to say. I was speechless.