“I’m not calling the cops.” Tears blurred her vision. She’d given up so damn much, and now Leo was standing here telling her it had all been for nothing. If she’d gone with Leo that day, would things have turned out the same way? Or would Beth and Bo have been in an even worse position?
Misery washed over her. Regret.
“I’m glad to hear that,” Wolf said, his voice softening. He reached out for her, his big hands enveloping hers. “Shelley, this is what I want. This is who I am. I want to protect you. I want to be the big badass who stands in front of you. It’s all I’m fucking good at.”
“You’re going to have to work on his self-esteem, Shelley,” Leo said. “But he’s right, and if you try to get away from him, I’ll call your brother in. How do you think Trev will handle this? He’s trying to settle in and now Beth is having a baby. Do you really want him to have to leave his new ranch and his pregnant wife because you’re too stubborn to accept protection?”
“Damn it, Leo, stop being so hard on her,” Wolf complained, pulling her close. “She’s had a rough day. She’s not going to call the cops.”
But Leo’s words had formed a hard knot of guilt in her belly. Wolf hugged her, but she simply stood there in his arms. She’d been so happy when she’d heard Beth was pregnant, but there was a nasty kernel of envy in there, too. Trev had done everything wrong and still managed to build an amazing life for himself. She’d sacrificed everything for the people she loved and she was alone, and it seemed she always would be.
“I’d like to go home now.” The words came out in a flat monotone. “I think I just need some rest. Wolf can stay on my couch.”
“Shelley, baby, don’t be so glum,” Wolf cajoled. “I really can protect you.”
Leo took a step back. “And tomorrow we’ll all sit down and discuss it. It’s Saturday. We all have to have breakfast with the boss to discuss the weekend’s parties and scenes. We’ll discuss your situation. And we’ll put Ben and Chase on the case. It’s been forever since Chase got to hack something. He’ll be thrilled. It really will be fine. I won’t let anything happen to you. I didn’t before, and I won’t now.”
“What is that supposed to mean?” She looked up at Leo. “You haven’t talked to me for over a year.”
Leo frowned and looked like he wished he hadn’t said anything, but Wolf’s face lit up.
“Julian didn’t pay Finn, did he? You did. Finn was her lawyer.”
Shelley thought her heart might break. Leo had paid Finn? “I thought he was doing it pro bono. Trev told me he was.”
Leo wouldn’t quite look her in the eyes. “Finn would have done it, but I knew damn well that he wouldn’t be able to give it his full attention if he was still working on his other stuff. So I paid him to get you to the top of the list. Finn didn’t actually make the money. He used it to bring in the consultants we needed to hurry things along. Money is the only thing that talks, Shelley. If I hadn’t given Finn money to grease a few wheels, you would still be under a cloud of suspicion.”
“Why would you do that?” He’d acted like he couldn’t care less whether she lived or died. He’d utterly ignored her, refusing to take her calls and making up excuses to not see her.
“It doesn’t matter now. It didn’t matter then. But the point is this. I spent a lot of money making sure you were okay. I would prefer you didn’t blow it all by not allowing Wolf to protect you. And he can handle a few bullets. Half of him has been replaced by titanium rods and his skull is far too thick to ever let a bullet pass through it.” Leo turned and began to walk back into the locker room, retreating. “I’ll speak to you both in the morning.”
Wolf grinned down at her. “Wow, he is such a coward. He ran back to the men’s locker room because he doesn’t think you’ll walk in there with half the Doms in The Club down to their bare asses.”
“He’s right.” Her mind was reeling. What did any of it mean?
Wolf kissed the top of her head. “Well, it’s progress all the same. Now, let’s go get that drink. I could use a beer. There’s a store across the street. We’ll grab a six pack and head back to your place.”
She stared at him. It seemed to her it was time to start training her Dom.
He stopped, and she could see him thinking. “Or we could get a bottle of wine.”
He waited as if hoping against hope he’d penciled in the right answer.
“I would love a white, thank you.”
“And a six-pack of beer.” He was back to grinning as he led her down the hall.
Shelley looked back at the door Leo had disappeared behind. It seemed one of them was always closing the door on the other.
Wolf took Shelley’s hand as he walked past the security guard.
“Mr. Meyer? Do you want me to bring your truck around?”
Wolf wasn’t sure why this guy needed to bring his truck around when he himself had two legs, but he figured it was a “Julian Lodge” thing and he should get used to it. The same young man had insisted on parking the truck when Wolf had driven in, so he guessed this was the new norm.
He was going to have to start watching Leo and taking his cues. He’d been either in the Navy or on a ranch most of his life. He sure as hell wasn’t used to wealth and people doing stuff for him, but it seemed to be the way The Club ran.
“Thanks, Nelson. We’re going to run to the store across the street. Just have it ready when we get back. Give us ten minutes or so.” It seemed silly to get into the truck, drive across the street, and then look for parking when they could just dash over there.
But maybe Shelley didn’t want to walk. God, he was so out of practice. He’d spent the last freaking year of his life trying to get back into the Navy, fighting his discharge. He’d forgotten how to treat a lady.
He’d high-fived her. He felt a little flush go through him. “I’m sorry about the high five. I was feeling pretty good. I’ll be more formal next time.”
“Don’t you dare.” She stepped out of the garage onto the sidewalk. The streets were quiet at this time of the night, but there were a couple of restaurants and a bar that still seemed to be hopping. She turned her face up to his, her skin like alabaster in the moonlight. “Wolf, I want you the way you are. I really do. I get that you were in the Navy for a long time, but the man I’ve been talking to through e-mail and on the phone is one of the nicest, most charming men I’ve ever met. I can handle the occasional high five. And you’re obviously very smart, so I wish you would stop talking about yourself like that.”
He growled, but it was definitely not at her. “I get this way around my brother. I’ve kind of been in his shadow for a long time. Our dad left when we were young, and he took care of me. He really became the man of the house. He went into the Navy because he didn’t have the money for college. When he got out he whizzed through his undergrad and straight through to his PhD. He’s the smartest guy I know.”
They walked down the street toward the corner. “Well, you’re no slouch.”
“I just read a lot.” He’d gotten ribbed for his reading tastes by his teammates. He’d read in his downtime. Pretty much anything his mom or brother would send him. Thrillers. Mysteries. History books. Books on psychology and sociology. But he didn’t have a formal education.
“You can learn a lot from books. College is nothing but having a guide to reading the right books.”
Her hand in his felt so damn right.
She took a long breath. “Mexican food smells good.”
Well, he could fix that. “Come on. I’ll get you some enchiladas. And a margarita. You’ll see. This whole thing is probably nothing, but it’s best to be safe.”
A little cloud passed over her face, but he could see plainly that she had accepted the inevitable. “I will feel safer if you sleep over. But maybe we can talk about the couch thing. It’s really small and probably uncomfortable.”