Fearless: (McIntyre Security Bodyguard Series - Book 2) Page 23

  “Shane told you?”

  I smile apologetically, wishing now I hadn’t said anything. He looks painfully uncomfortable. “Yeah. I was trying to think of a woman to set you up with, and he told me. Are you mad?”

  He gives me a guarded smile. “No, honey. I’m not mad.”

  “Why didn’t you tell me yourself?”

  He shrugs it off. “I was in the military for 30 years, and ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ was in force for a good part of that time. It’s not something I speak about openly.”

  “Do you mind that I know?”

  “No, you’re family. Everyone in Shane’s family knows.”

  “Does this mean you’re in the closet?”

  He shrugs. “I don’t go around publicizing my sex life. If that means I’m in the closet, then yeah, I guess I am. Is that a crime?”

  “No, of course not! I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to offend you.”

  “You didn’t, honey. It’s just, I’m old school. I’m not comfortable discussing this with folks, that’s all.”

  “Things have changed, you know. Same-sex marriage is legal – ”

  “That’s fine for the younger generation. But how I grew up – and where – it just wasn’t talked about, you know?”

  My heart is breaking for this man, this proud, amazing man. I jump down from my barstool and walk around the counter to hug him. “I love you, Cooper. You’re family to me.”

  He hugs me back, wrapping me tightly in his strong arms. “I love you too, Beth. And yeah, you’re family to me too.”

  I had no idea how closed off he was from his own identity, how alone he must feel sometimes. “You still need a boyfriend, Cooper.”

  “It’s just not that easy, kiddo, especially for someone like me. Where I was raised, if someone came out of the closet, he was tarred and feathered and run out of town, and that’s if he was lucky. Other times he ended up face-down in a ditch.”

  My heart aches for him. “It’s different now, Cooper. It is.”

  * * *

  Two days later, on a Friday afternoon at four-thirty, I surprise Shane in his office at five o’clock. He looks up when I knock on his open door and waves me in. He does a swift double-take when he sees what I’m wearing... a gorgeous, flirty little swing dress I found on the clearance rack at Sylvia’s Boutique.

  The dress falls to mid-thigh on me, and it’s sleeveless with a high neckline. There’s a sheer black, sequined layer floating over a black silk shell. I’m wearing sheer black stockings and mini-boots with a tiny heel. Shane will get one of his presents once we’re home tonight – I’m wearing a matching silk garter belt with stocking clips, which I know he’ll appreciate. The man does have an avid appreciation for fine lingerie.

  He leans back in his chair and grins, his gaze following me as I sashay toward him. When I come around to his side of the desk, he turns his chair to face me, his expression appreciative.

  He opens his legs and I step between them, bringing my hands up to cup his beautiful face.

  “Hello, sweetheart,” he says. “To what do I owe this unexpected pleasure?”

  Cradling his face in my hands, I lean forward and kiss him sweetly on the lips. “Happy birthday, darling.”

  His hands come around to the backs of my thighs, and he draws me closer. “Thank you. You look gorgeous, honey.”

  His hands slip beneath my dress, running up the backs of my thighs, and when he encounters the garter clips, his gaze darkens. He tries to pull my dress up for a peak at my garter belt, but I swat his hands away.

  He pouts. “You’re my present, right? When do I get to unwrap you? Now?”

  “No, later. Do you like my dress?”

  He has a wry grin on his face. “I think you already know the answer to that.” He cocks his head toward the door to his private apartment. “Let’s duck inside the apartment so I can show you how much I like it.”

  Now it’s my turn to grin. “Not so fast, mister.” I grab his hand and pull him out of his chair. “Come with me. I have a surprise for you.”

  He chuckles. “I thought you gave me my surprise this morning.”

  I woke up early this morning – at the same time he awoke – and gave him a birthday blowjob. I sent him off to work a very happy man. “Well, that was your first present. I have more. But you have to come with me. Are you done here for the day?”

  “I can be. Just let me save this file and shut down my computer.”

  When we leave his office, Diane is already gone for the day, which is unusual for her. She usually leaves when Shane does. Of course, I happen to know why she’s gone already – she left early to organize everything at the pub. I rented their private party room, which is plenty big enough to hold our group.

  Shane accompanies me down to the front lobby and out the main doors where a cab is already waiting for us at the curb. I’m sure Shane will have a few drinks this evening, so we’ll leave his Jaguar parked here in the company garage and take a cab home tonight.

  Once we’re seated in the cab, Shane reaches for my hand, cradling it between his. “So, where are we going?”

  He’s got a grin on his face, and I think he likes the fact that I’ve kidnapped him. I smile back, doing my best to appear enigmatic. I’ll just let him wonder where we’re going. The cab driver already knows our destination, so I don’t have to say a word.

  It’s five-thirty when we arrive, but the bar isn’t overly crowded yet. Diane greets us at the door, giving Shane a hug, and telling me that everything’s ready. I lead Shane to the private party room and pull him through the open doorway into the darkened room. As we enter, someone flips on the lights, and a small crowd of boisterous well-wishers scream “Happy birthday!” at the tops of their lungs. I see his brothers and two sisters standing near the front of the crowd, along with Cooper, Miguel, Mack, Sam, and a few other familiar faces.

  On a table in the center of the room is a birthday cake that resembles Wrigley Field – in honor of Shane’s love of Chicago baseball. There’s also a table covered with a small mountain of brightly-colored packages of new toys.

  “The toys are to be donated to Children’s Hospital,” I tell him. Shane serves on the board of directors for the hospital and is very much involved with fundraising for the hospital.

  Shane takes in the cake and the toys. “This is absolutely perfect, Beth. Thank you.”

  When he takes me in his arms and bends me back to kiss me senseless, my face heats up amidst all the hooting and hollering that ensues.

  After enjoying hot appetizers and free drinks, our guests spill out into the main bar area, which is crowded now with customers. A dozen television screens are positioned around the pub, broadcasting a variety of sports programs, including a baseball game at Wrigley Field. Shane drags me with him to the bar so he can check the score, and he orders a whisky for himself and a Strawberry Daiquiri for me.

  When I see Miguel Rodriquez walking my way, I jump down from my barstool to give him a huge hug. I haven’t seen much of Miguel since right before the assault. He was my daytime bodyguard when Tyler first hired McIntyre Security to protect me from Howard Kline – although I never knew it. He protected me covertly – at least until the day Gabrielle spilled the beans and told me what was going on around me. That was the day I discovered that Shane – my then brand-new boyfriend – had been hired by my brother to watch over me. When I confronted Miguel in his car, which was parked outside my townhouse, he ended up driving me to Shane’s office, where I confronted Shane and had a total meltdown.

  Miguel witnessed it all, the ugly crying and the glorious panic attack – all of it. He was a good friend to me that day. He was also a good friend to me the day Andrew Morton attacked me – Miguel was the first one from McIntyre Security on the scene, and apparently, he rode with me in the ambulance to the emergency room. I don’t remember because I was unconscious.

  Shane leaves me with Miguel and goes to the end of the bar to talk to a couple of coworkers I don’t recognize.
Mack and Sam stop by to say hi, and we chat for a while. The place is bustling and noisy, and everyone seems to be having a good time. A stream of people stop by to congratulate Shane and wish him well. Even Gabrielle shows up for a few minutes on her way to work, dressed in her pristine, white sous chef uniform.

  I glance over at Shane, who’s still at the far end of the bar. He’s standing with Lia, and I can tell instantly that something’s wrong. Lia looks... gutted. Absolutely gutted. Her expression is bleak – her eyes radiating pain – I can see it even from where I’m standing. She looks like she’s just barely holding herself together.

  Shane lays his hands on his sister’s shoulders and leans down to get right in her face. This Lia is nothing like the snarky, opinionated girl I know. I’ve never seen her like this. She’s always so energized, so... indestructible. With a sick feeling in my gut, I start to walk toward them, but Jake catches my arm and stops me.

  He shakes his head. “Let Shane deal with her. He’s the only one she’ll listen to.”

  I’m totally confused, having no idea what’s going on. I’ve never seen her like this. Her expression is tense and her eyes are burning... with hatred? Or is that pain? I look up at Jake, hoping he’ll shed some light on the situation, but he just shakes his head.

  Lia glances over at me and catches me watching her, and immediately her expression changes, as if a mask has dropped into place, concealing her raw emotions. She pulls out of Shane’s grasp and stalks off toward the ladies’ room. Shane calls after her, but she flips him the bird as she keeps walking. I start to go after her, but Jake stops me.

  “Let her go,” he says.

  “What’s wrong?”

  Shane heads our way, and he looks like he’s ready to kill something or someone.

  When he reaches us, I grab his forearm, feeling how tense he is. “What’s wrong with Lia?” I say.

  Shane looks at Jake, his expression hard. “You want to deal with that?”

  “My pleasure.” Jake nods and steps away from us, heading toward a table of boisterous young men across the room who are well into an alcohol-fueled celebration of some sort.

  Shane watches Jake for a moment, then redirects his attention to me. “Lia’s fine, don’t worry.” He pulls me into his arms.

  “I’ve never seen Lia like that. What happened?”

  He shakes his head, exhaling hard. “I’m sorry, Beth. I can’t go into it. You’ll have to ask Lia.”

  I’m still haunted by the bleak expression I saw on her face. “I’m going to go talk to her.” I pull away from Shane and head to the ladies’ room.

  “Beth, wait!”

  But I shake my head and keep walking. Lia may be their sister, but she’s also my friend. And just now, Lia sure looked like she could use a friend. As I reach the ladies’ room door, it swings open and Lia walks out looking perfectly normal, with one glaring exception. Her eyes are bloodshot, and it’s obvious she’s been crying.

  “Are you okay?” I say, grabbing her arms.

  “I’m fine. Why?”

  She’s looking at me like she has absolutely no idea what I’m talking about. But I know what I saw. She was far from all right. She’d looked devastated. “I saw you talking to Shane. You looked... upset.”

  Lia shrugs. “It’s nothing. Don’t worry.” And then she pulls away from me and heads to the bar.

  I know what I saw, but now’s apparently not the time or place to pry. She’s such a guarded person – I get that. I step up beside her at the bar, but don’t say anything. The bartender hands her a shot glass with someone clear in it, and I notice that her hand is shaking slightly when she knocks it back. Her eyes are focused on the mirror behind the bartender’s head, her gaze hard and unflinching. It’s almost like she’s watching someone. I turn to see a group of college guys around our age clustered around a table. Then I notice Jake there, talking to one of them. Jake’s face is set in a rigid mask, and I can tell he’s restraining himself. The young man he’s talking to is half drunk and openly belligerent. Jake says something that angers the guy, who then turns and walks out of the pub without looking back.

  The bar tender hands Lia another shot glass filled with something clear, and she swallows it, grimacing.

  I’ve never seen her drink anything harder than beer. “What are you drinking?”

  She gives me a scornful look. “Water.”

  “Lia, come on. Don’t do this.”

  She sets the shot glass upside down on the bar, a little harder than necessary, and walks away from me without a word. I swallow hard, trying not to feel hurt by her dismissal.

  Before I can go after her, Tyler arrives, looking like he’s come straight from work. He’s wearing his typical black suit with a white shirt and black tie. My brother – bless his heart. My over-protective, control-freak brother. He doesn’t know how to cut loose or relax. He’s wound so tightly, I’m afraid someday he’ll just snap. But I love him dearly.

  Tyler opens his arms and I walk right into them, hugging him tightly around his waist. He kisses the top of my head. “Hey, kiddo. How are you?”

  “I’m fine.” I miss my brother. Since the assault, I haven’t seen much of him. We haven’t had our weekly Saturday lunch outing in two months. But now that Shane and I are living in the penthouse, I hope that will change.

  Shane walks up and offers Tyler his hand, and they shake.

  “Happy birthday, Shane,” Tyler says, giving Shane a curt nod.

  “Glad you could make it,” Shane says. “Let me buy you a drink.”

  “Thanks. I’ll have a beer.” Tyler gives his order to the bartender.

  Tyler and I receive a lot of curious stares from Shane’s co-workers. Tyler’s dark, like our father was, with midnight black hair and lightly bronzed skin. I take after our mother, with my pale blond hair and light complexion. Some people have trouble believing we’re siblings, especially since Tyler, who’s 44, is old enough to be my father. Our blue-green eyes are the only physical trait we share.

  Jake comes up and slaps Tyler on the back. “Detective, how’s it going? You arrest any murderers today?”

  “Hello, Jake,” Tyler says, not rising to the bait.

  My brother is a homicide detective in Chicago. Naturally, he takes his job very seriously. I guess you’d have to, when you deal with death and tragedy day in and day out. It takes a toll on a person, no doubt.

  The bartender hands Tyler his bottle of beer.

  After a little polite talk with Shane and Jake, Tyler asks me to join him – alone – at a table in the corner of the room, away from the distraction of the television screens and the McIntyres. Shane remains at the bar with Jake, but I notice him glancing my way periodically as if keeping tabs on me.

  Tyler is less than thrilled with my relationship with Shane, to say the least, and Shane knows it. Tyler’s main complaint is that Shane’s too old for me. But I don’t think ten years difference in our ages is that big of a deal. My parents had an even bigger age gap between them, and they were very happily married for twenty-two years before my father was killed in the line of duty.

  Tyler and Shane are cordial around each other, but I suspect they’re both putting on a show for my sake. I know Tyler wants me to move in with him, at least while Kline’s a free man.

  “How are you, really?” Tyler says, drawing my attention away from Shane.

  “I’m fine. Really.”

  He nods at my newly-liberated arm. “I see you got the cast off.”

  “Yes, finally. How are you?”

  He shrugs. “I can’t complain. Work is busy, as usual. Tell me what you’ve been up to. Have you decided when you’re going back to work?”

  I nod, taking a sip of my daiquiri. “I’ve started working at the bookstore. And I signed up for classes at UC starting fall semester. I’m going for an MBA. Wish me luck.”

  Tyler raises his brows, and if I’m not mistaken, I think he’s surprised. Or maybe even impressed? Deep down in his heart, my brother still thin
ks I’m twelve years old. I think I’ll always be a kid in his eyes. He nods in approval. “You always do well in school. I’m sure you’ll do fine. How are things with you and Shane? Is he treating you well?”

  “Of course he is, Tyler.”

  Tyler asks me that question every time we see each other.

  “Why don’t you come stay with me for a while?” he says, and then he takes a long swig of his beer. “I’ve got plenty of room. You know you’re always welcome – my home is your home. It’s a well-secured building.”

  I lay my hand over his and squeeze it. “Tyler, I love you. But I’m not coming to live with you. I’m an adult, and I’m in a committed relationship with a man I love.”

  He nods, as if he expected my answer. “As long as he’s treating you right. If he’s not – ”

  “Tyler, don’t worry. Shane and I are fine.”

  He frowns. “Beth, the man had a reputation as a serial dater long before he met you. And the type of women he’s always dated... well, they’re... let’s just say you’re not his usual type. Tigers don’t change their stripes overnight, you know.”

  Tyler takes another long draw on his beer and scrutinizes me. I know my face is flushed, because I can feel the rising heat. “All right,” he says. “I’ll shut up now. I just stopped by to say hi – not to give you a hard time.” He sets his half-finished bottle on the table. “I need to get back to work.”

  “This late?” By now, it’s well after seven. “Stay and eat. Have some cake.”

  He shakes his head. “Can’t, kiddo, sorry. I’m working a time-sensitive case.” He stands and inconspicuously adjusts his gun holster beneath his suit jacket. “Since you’re out and about again, how about having lunch with me tomorrow?”

  I stand and hug him goodbye. “That sounds great.”

  “I’ll pick you up at eleven – where? At the Lake Shore apartment building?”

  “Yes.” I walk Tyler to the exit and wave as he heads off to his car.

  Shane comes up behind me, slipping his arms around my waist. “Everything okay?”