Tamed

“That sort of thing is not that out of the ordinary for me.”

Scary thing was she knew he wasn’t lying. Any sane woman would run. Take off in the opposite direction and not look back. She’d tried that. She honestly had. She’d dated other guys and pretended her heart didn’t do triple time whenever she saw him. None of it worked.

The big tough-guy thing, the pretty face and linebacker body all combined to knock her off balance. She’d been attracted to him from the start, and the feelings refused to die. But right now she needed him to be more than the man she wove wild dreams about each night. She needed him to back off on her secrets but stay close in case someone really was after her.

She dropped back against the ripped booth and stared him down. “Your work scares me.”

“It’s fine.” He waved her concerns off without ever breaking eye contact. “Back to our deal. I believe you have something to say to me.”

She glanced up, about to tiptoe through the facts, when the words clogged in her throat. She could make out one face in the diner. Wasn’t tough, since he walked directly toward her, in a line right behind Shane. Slow and steady steps with a face filled with fury.

A ball of anxiety started spinning in her stomach. She had to sit on her hands to keep from fidgeting. “Were we followed here?”

Shane picked most of the toppings off his burger. “You’ve been watching too much television.”

She couldn’t move. All of a sudden her body froze and her mind went blank. The guy could have a gun or...she needed Shane on high alert. “You don’t understand.”

Shane’s expression changed as he shifted in his seat and glanced behind him. “What are you—”

The unwanted guest stopped right at the end of the table and stared at her. “Heard you had some trouble at your place tonight.”

He looked far too happy about the idea. He’d also just painted a target on his chest as the lead suspect in her attack. “How would you know that?”

Shane stood up, shoving his way out until he seemed to take up most of the space around the booth. “Who are you?”

“You on a date with her?” Jeff barked out a harsh laugh. “Dude, you should run. This one is—”

“That’s enough.” Shane didn’t even raise his voice. Didn’t have to. The vibration of menace would have been tough to miss.

Jeff took a step back. “You going to fight me?”

“You do not want that.” Shane shook his head as he eyed Jeff up and down. “Trust me.”

The mood in the diner changed. People openly gawked and the waitress backed away from their table. Blame it on testosterone or whatever, but a battle was brewing and clearly everyone felt the danger. Except Jeff. He didn’t back down. He outweighed Shane by at least thirty pounds, but Shane was all lean muscle and lethal fighter.

This would be a bloodbath, and while Jeff deserved to be pounded into the floor, she didn’t want to witness it. “Shane, stop.”

“Listen to the woman, Shane.”

“One more time. Who are you?” Shane’s voice dripped with disdain.

“Just one of the men she screwed over.” Jeff threw out an arm in her direction, nearly hitting her.

She pulled back just in time. “You can’t blame me. You’re the liar.”

With each word, her anger rose. She seethed with it. This guy had tracked her down, showed up at her house more than once. He’d been in the wrong and now pretended to be the victim. She despised him and everything he stood for.

Jeff’s face flushed red and he took a threatening step toward her. He reached his arm out but never touched her. Shane moved with lightning speed to stand between them and pushed the guy back. Kept pushing over Jeff’s protests and swearing until his back hit the wall. Shane held Jeff there with a hand around his throat. That was it. One hand had him pinned.

Shane didn’t even move as Jeff punched at his arm and moved his whole body, trying to break loose. When two men got up at another table, Shane held up a hand. Didn’t say a word, but the gesture was enough to get them sitting back down again.

Makena’s heart lodged in her throat and wouldn’t slip back down again. She wanted to stop the madness, but it had spiraled so fast and so furiously and she could only stand there, openmouthed and stunned.

“We seem to be having a miscommunication issue here. Let me be clear.” Shane’s voice sounded deadly cold and even. “You don’t go near her. Not to talk with her or touch her. Ever.”

Jeff tried to pry Shane’s hand off but failed. “She’s been asking for it.”

“That is the line said by every abusive male on the planet.” Shane’s grip tightened. “She dumped you. Move on.”

The idea of dating Jeff made her stomach roll. “That’s not what this is about.”

Jeff scoffed. “As if I would date that piece of—” His words choked off as his eyes bulged.

“Last warning.” Shane leaned in closer to Jeff. “If you think I won’t rip you apart in front of an audience, you’re dead wrong.”

“Tough talk from a guy who doesn’t even know what’s going on.”

It was as if Jeff wanted Shane to kill him. She couldn’t believe Jeff missed the rage simmering there. That he couldn’t see the darkness in Shane’s eyes.

After a beat of silence Shane let Jeff go, but not before shoving his head back and knocking it against the wall. “Explain it to me.”

Jeff doubled over in a coughing fit. It took him a few minutes to regain his composure. When he did, anger thrummed off him. “Ask your girlfriend. She’s the one causing trouble.” He scowled at her. “You going to turn on this guy, too?”

She hated being put in the role of bad guy. Jeff took no responsibility for his bad choices. That shouldn’t surprise her, but it did. “Shane’s not a liar.”

“Makena, don’t help,” Shane said without moving his gaze away from Jeff.

“That won’t work. She’s ruthless.”

Shane pointed at Jeff. “And you’re done talking to her or about her.”

He batted the hand away. “You’ll find out. Just wait.”

Makena watched as Jeff stomped off. Pivoted around the tables, ignoring all the stares and the waitress rooted to the spot with the coffeepot dangling from her hand. The noise of the diner muffled. Makena could hear the creaking of chairs and the clanging of silverware, but it all sounded so distant.

Shane dropped back into his seat and stared at her. “So...”

“I never dated that guy. I would never date someone like him.” She wanted that clear from the start.

The waitress darted over and refilled glasses. Shane waited until she left again to start talking. “What’s his name? And do not hesitate. Tell me.”

She didn’t even have to wage an internal debate. It would all spill out now. “Jeff Horvath.”

Shane exhaled. “And who is Jeff Horvath to you?”

“That’s not exactly an easy question.”

He shoved his plate of uneaten food aside and leaned in on his elbows. “Lucky for you, I have all night. All day tomorrow, too. Talk.”

“He’s a fake SEAL.” The words tumbled out of her then. “You were in the military. Others weren’t. There are men who pretend to be war heroes, special ops guys, and...they lie. They live their entire lives lying and not caring that real people fought and died doing what the liars claim to have done.”

She expected to feel empty and frustrated at having the information pulled out of her, but no. A surge of relief hit her. She’d dealt with this huge weight and all the anger that came along with it for almost a year.

Shane’s eyes narrowed and stayed there. “This Jeff is one of those guys?”

“Yes.”

“Huh, I should have decked him.” Shane dropped his hands to the table. Just inches from hers. “What does any of this have to do with you?”

This was the part he’d hate. She steeled her body for the inevitable yelling. “There’s this website called Wall of Dishonor. It outs men who are pretending to be war heroes.” When he continued to frown, she tried again. “I work for the website. Do research, file Freedom of Information Act requests.”

“You work at a college. At a desk.” His expression went blank. “Didn’t you reiterate that earlier?”

The look on his face didn’t fool her. He was winding up. She could feel the tension twisting the air around them. “Yes, but—”

“What, Makena?”

That tone. Not helpful, but she decided not to point that out, since he looked half-ready to strangle her. “I do this on the side.”

“You tick off men who lie about military service. Men invested in their lies who have everything to lose when you uncover their deceit.” With each word he jammed his fingertip against the table with a thud. “Do you hear the tone of my voice? Can you tell how bad this is?”

“They deserve to be exposed.” She believed that to her core. She’d grown up with a military man. Her father had dedicated his life to his career more than he ever had his family. Early in his service, he’d been stationed in Hawaii and found the perfect military wife who put everything aside for his career. By the time Makena and Holt came along, their parents were entrenched.

Dad was tough and commanding and demanded excellence, something she’d failed at for almost all of her life. Holt had suffered their father’s wrath while she’d been spared. She’d been the disappointment. She flailed and tried to find her way, but got something of a pass from her parents, who never expected much of her anyway. Holt went into the army.

She’d gotten a lot of things wrong in her life, but she understood the military mind-set and the sacrifices. She hated the idea of someone claiming to have served who never did. It was an insult, and she’d spent most of her free time for nearly a year hunting these guys down.

“I’m not denying that guys like Jeff should be exposed.” Shane shook his head. “He deserves to be shamed.”

“Then what’s the problem?”

“You...are you...” He wiped a hand over his face. “Does Holt know?”

“No.” Her big brother could not know. He would try to control her choices in the name of protecting her.

She understood the tendency, even appreciated the concern, but he had a hard time letting go of his protector mode and realizing she wasn’t a kid anymore. The fact that she’d transferred colleges twice until she found the right fit and moved around in jobs until she landed at the college only supported his point that she was not responsible. But she was. She had a career now, paid rent. She had a purpose.

“You didn’t tell him because you knew he’d lose his mind. That he’d forbid it.”

Forbid. The word sliced through her brain, bringing a wave of anger right behind it. “I’m a grown woman. My big brother doesn’t control what I do.”

This time Shane slammed the side of his hand against the table. “He wants you safe.”

There was a difference between safe and coddled. She wasn’t convinced Holt, or Shane for that matter, always saw the line. “I get that, but he doesn’t get to make choices for me.”

Shane’s back teeth slammed together. “I want you safe.”

Well... Her heart sped up and it had nothing to do with the argument. “I thought we were talking about Holt.”

“We’re talking about danger.” Shane closed his eyes as he visibly wrestled to control the anger bouncing around inside him. “That guy talked as if he knew where you live. He was here, a place you said you’ve never been.”

“Which is why I asked if we were followed.” She’d checked, looked and thought they were safe...until Jeff walked in the door. The idea of him being so close and staying unseen terrified her.

Shane’s mouth dropped open. “You’re blaming me?”

That was not what she meant. Not at all. She put a hand over his, letting the warmth of his skin seep into her and wipe away the chill. “I’m admitting that I do this job. On the side.”

“In secret.”

“It’s the only way to do it. The liars cover their tracks.”

He opened his hand and let her fingers slide through his. “Let someone else take over.”

She had to smile at that. “Says the guy who walks into danger every single day without asking someone to fill in for him.”

“I’m trained for it. You’re not.” He turned her hand over and rubbed a thumb over her palm.

The move, so gentle and sweet, had something fluttering inside her. She forced her mind to focus. “For the most part I sit and look things up. It’s completely safe.”

“Then why does Jeff Horvath know who you are and how to get to you?”

The diner started spinning. She’d fought so hard to control her life, and one moment months ago had ruined all that.

“Because I messed up.” She slipped her hand out from under his. “He was one of the first targets and I—”

“Targets?”

“—confronted him.”

“You did what?” Shane’s voice stayed flat and emotionless.

She looked away, but she could still see the moment. Filled with indignation and a sense of satisfaction, she’d stepped up to Jeff as he came out of church and told him, right there in front of his fiancée, that he’d been found out and now everyone would know. His business associates, his family, all the people he’d lied to for years, would know.

He’d claimed to be deployed while he played in Europe as a civilian. The tales of getting out early for some heroic act were even more ridiculous. She spewed it all in public instead of letting the website uncover him while she maintained her anonymity. A huge misstep she’d never made again, but the one time with Jeff was enough to keep her on edge.

She glanced at Shane again. Saw the rage bubbling under the surface and knew it was all for her. “Please don’t break out into a lecture.”

“I can’t, because I’m speechless.”

“You don’t need to exaggerate.”

His mouth opened twice before he spit out any words. “Do you have any idea what I’d do if someone hurt you?”

She’d waited forever for him to say something like that, and now he’d said it in a wave of fury. “No. You don’t exactly share your feelings. How am I even supposed to know you’d care?”

“I’d care.” He nodded toward her plate and the globs of now-cold cheese. “Fuel up, because we’re going to spend a lot of hours talking about this.”

She didn’t hide her wince. “I was afraid you’d say something like that.”

“You think fake military guys get angry? Wait until you hear this real retired army guy.” He stole a French fry off her plate.

“I should have gone with Cam,” she mumbled under her breath as she picked up her sandwich.

“Too bad, because you’re stuck with me.”

She wanted to hate that idea, but she couldn’t.

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