Love's Taming(39)

Their DEA cover had been a woman, one that he had been involved with while they were both under and lonely. Rochelle. Fuck. She was gorgeous and it hadn’t been hard to get physical with her, but that was all it was for him. The last time he saw her it had gone badly and the idea of having to spend more time with her instead of Annie was eating at him.

Looking at the smug expression on the IA’s face as all the details were being hammered out, he gave them his own ultimatum. “I’ve given this force eight years of my life and two of those were in hell. You’ve got two weeks. Two more weeks to tie up this shit. For two weeks, I’ll stay away. For two weeks, I’ll continue to play your game. But that’s it. Non-negotiable. Two weeks. Then my life is my own.”

Now that it was just the two of them, Matt offered, “I’ll try to get some word to her.”

Dread began to circle Shane’s heart; the fear of something he could not put his finger on threatened to choke him. Sucking in a deep breath, he acknowledged Matt’s offer. “Appreciate it, man. Could you just let mom know I’ll be around in a few weeks?”

“You got it.” The two men sat quietly for a few minutes. “What’re you gonna do?”

“I’m spending the next two weeks on the edge of hell. Can’t go back in, but if they see me in a different part of town, acting like I’ve moved on, it’ll take their eyes off of Annie.”

“You’ve gotta be careful, man. The last thing you need is for Gerard or Xavier to see you with the doc or think you’re vice.”

“Yeah, but now they’ll be willing to make a deal. They may start rollin’ on each other. I honestly don’t give a fuck. As long as the rest of the force gets what they need – and I was serious about givin’ them only two weeks – then I don’t give a fuck if I make any deals at all. I’m doin’ this to keep her safe. I just hope she understands and gives me a chance to make it up to her when it is all over.”

“If she feels about you the way you feel about her, it’ll be fine, man.”

Glaring into his partner’s eyes, Shane just bit out, “How much more can she take? She’s felt used since I met her and now I gotta jerk her around again? Jesus fuck, Matt.” He rubbed his hand over his face, the fatigue no longer hidden. Please sunshine, when this is over, come back to me.





Chapter 13





After five days of not hearing from Shane, Annie was getting worried. Trying not to show it was wearing on her and it wasn’t fooling either Leon or Suzanne. As they finished their last appointments on Friday, Leon was not giving up on trying to spread some cheer.

“I’m telling you two, you need to go out with Shirley and me tonight. We’re meetin’ up and having a drink to celebrate the weekend. Come on…good food, good music…good company. What’s not to love?”

Suzanne looked torn. She never went out and Annie knew the idea did not appeal to her. And she didn’t really want to go…what if Shane called or came by.

Leon’s eyes cut back and forth between the two of them. “You two are not backing out! I’m not suggesting you go clubbing. Let’s just do something together that doesn’t involve blood, piss, or anal glands!”

Annie couldn’t help but laugh as Suzanne joined in.

Leon walked over to Annie, pulling her in for a hug. “Look doc, I know you’re upset that Shane hasn’t called. You’ll have your phone with you and you can leave him a message telling him where you are.”

“His phone is no longer taking messages. It says that it is not a working number.”

“Oh,” was the reply that Leon and Suzanne said in unison. They shared a glance then quickly looked back at Annie.

“I had a voicemail this week from some man, but the message kept cutting in and out so I don’t know what that was about, but it wasn’t Shane’s voice so I didn’t worry about it.”

“All the more reason to go out with us for just a little while. I promise I will see you home safely.”

Annie debated for just a moment before agreeing. “You’re right. I need a diversion and going out for drink together will be nice. And hanging with Shirley is always fun,” she said smiling.

Leon had brought a change of clothes since he had planned on meeting Shirley after work and since Suzanne was about the same size as Annie, they headed upstairs to quickly get ready. Soon the three of them headed out.

“Where are we going?” Suzanne asked.

“There are some good bars in the Brookmont area that aren’t pricey.”

“Brookmont?” Annie said incredulously. “That’s kind of a seedy side of town, isn’t it?”