AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Thereisno defense for that, Wade.”
Boy, he’d expected to see the disappointment from Brielle, but to hear it coming from Shane was a completely different matter. He shrank back, his fuse only a smoking ghost of what it had been moments earlier. “I know,” he mumbled.
“For heaven’s sake, Wade! You can’t go around beating people up with your record.”
“Don’t you think I know that?” Wade snapped. “I’m pretty sure he’s already figured out that I have a record.”
“Has he pressed charges?”
“Not yet. I can’t figure out why, though. It would play into his hands perfectly to get rid of me.”
Shane shook his head. “Not necessarily.”
“What do you mean?”
“If he wants to do the most damage, he needs to split us up—divide us. He needs to pull Brielle out of your life—and out of mine.” Shane’s words made a lot more sense than they should have. Whatever reason Tad had for keeping this scuffle under wraps, it couldn’t be good.
Shane’s gaze shifted toward the house, and Wade followed the motion. Eloise remained on the porch, watching them with her shrewd gaze.
Wade shook his head, facing Shane again. “You need to rethink some things. We’re both guilty right now.”
“What are you talking about? I didn’t hit anyone,” Shane shot back.
“No, but you’re keeping secrets again.” Wade saw it immediately in the way Shane’s whole body went stiff. His guard came up and he moved a fraction of an inch closer. “You didn’t tell Eloise anything about Tad, did you? As far as she’s concerned, the guy showed up after Madeline alerted him to Brielle’s presence just as he’s said.”
“Of course I didn’t say anything. But you’re lucky it didn’t come up. I thought you were through keeping secrets.”
Shane raked a hand down his face. “With Madeline, it’s a touchy subject. Plus we’re dealing with Marc—he’s getting restless with his house arrest, and I’m not one hundred percent sure Marc wasn’t aware of this little plan.”
Wade lifted his brows. “What? Why?”
The man shrugged. “I don’t trust easily. Can you blame me? All my life they’ve been lying to me. The only one I can trust is myself.”
It was hard not to take offense at that statement. They were both targets of the chaos that seemed to be surrounding them.
“I do think you have a good point. We can’t sit back and let this guy snoop around until he finds whatever it is he’s looking for. But I’ve already got a couple guys on it. One will be on his way to Vegas when he’s done with a case he has in New York. The other guy is keeping tabs on him while he’s here.”
Wade straightened. “Where is he?”
“You don’t know?”
“If I did, I wouldn’t be asking, now would I?” Wade ground out.
“He’s on his way to Colorado Springs with Brielle. I thought you knew.”
Wade’s heart sank. That was what he’d been afraid of. The drive to the city was only worth the trip when someone planned on staying for a few hours. The two of them could be gone all day. And if something were to happen to her, he’d never forgive himself. “You said you have a guy tailing him?”
“Yeah, why?”
“I need updates on where she is.”
“You’re not going after them.”
Wade’s exasperated groan did nothing to demonstrate just how helpless and frustrated he truly felt. “I wasn’t planning on it. But I need to know if Brielle is okay. If anything happens to her—”
“He’s not a security threat, Wade. What good would hurting her serve him anyway?”
Wade gave Shane a pointed look. “We don’t know what he’s got planned. You know better than I do how things could get with Madeline involved.”
