Chapter Twelve

Danny

I wasn't thrilled to hear the knock at the apartment door a couple of hours after the guys had left, but I let myself out of Shae's room, closing the door carefully behind me. Fishing my phone out from my back pocket, I just about groaned out loud when I saw who was at the door.

I was having the week from hell.

No, I mentally chided myself. I'd already had that and survived, but the sight of Tony Farland was enough to make me wish I'd taken Diesel up on his offer to permanently relocate. I knew if I didn't open the door he would just keep coming back and Shae was still asleep, thanks to the drugs. I didn't want Tony to come back when Kane was here, which slowed my already reluctant steps. Why did I want to keep Kane private? There was the obvious answer. I didn't want Tony to know any of my business, but I knew I'd be kidding myself if I tried to say it wasn't more.

And I chose not to question my reasons for that as I unlocked the door.

"Hey Danny," Tony smiled, and I gazed dispassionately at his flawless, pale brown skin and unusual hazel eyes, thanks to his Italian mother. Esmella had been sweet; shame her son didn't take after her. Not that he couldn't turn on the charm. I should know. It hadn't been the first time I'd seen him after he'd betrayed me in the worst way I could think of, but I'd really hoped the last time I'd laid eyes on him had been the very last.

"What do you want?"

His face fell, and his sigh was a touch dramatic. "Danny, I don't know how many times I have to tell you—"

"I'm not interested." I heard footsteps from the private stairs and knew it had to be one of the team.

"I was hoping we could grab a coffee." He reached out a hand to pet Sadie and, much to my surprise, she growled, and the footsteps halted immediately. And shit, I knew that had to be Kane. Any of the others would be rushing as soon as they heard Tony's voice. All Kane had heard was the growl. I was surprised he hadn't run the other way.

"Danny," Tony said, whipping his hand back. "I told you I would have gotten fired. I did my best to keep it anonymous, but the editors insisted."

I wanted to rage. I'd had this conversation with him ad nauseum. "You need to go. I'm not interested, never will be."

"But baby," he whined and stepped forward. I did my best not to step back, but it was really hard. At the moment, the only thing blocking him from coming inside the apartment was me, and Tony was huge. Funnily enough, it had been his size that had once upon a time made me feel so protected, and now I avoided big guys like the plague. Which was hard around the team, but I knew them. And I had an image of a large body pressed against me not too long ago, and knew in that moment, if I ever got that chance to be that close to Kane again I wouldn't panic. Which made me smile a little, until I realized as Tony leaned closer he'd taken that to mean I was changing my mind.

"I told you I'm not interested," I gritted out and Sadie whined, feeling my rising distress.

"But," he clasped my arm.

"Let me the fuck go," I snapped, yanking at my arm, feeling the walls starting to close in on me.

"Hey, sweetheart."

Tony nearly dropped me like a brick, and I was so shocked at Kane calling me sweetheart as he appeared that the panic fizzled out. He pushed past Tony, threw his arm around me and clicked idly at Sadie, telling her she was a good dog.

"Do I know you?" Kane said, leveling his eyes on Tony with nearly as much gravel in his voice as there was sand in the Sahara.

Tony blinked. Looked between us, taking in Kane's protective body language, and his smile fell. "I'm a friend of Danny's. A good friend," he rushed out, the words almost tripping over themselves.

"Nah," Kane said and angled his body so I was almost tucked against him. "Friends don't touch what doesn't belong to them."

Tony shook his head like I was insane, turned, and marched away.

Kane's arm fell from my shoulders immediately, and he turned and walked inside. He took two steps, then realized I wasn't following and turned. I could see the worry on his face and knew instantly he thought he'd screwed up.

"Thanks," I said, squirming internally. "Tony is a little persistent."

He nodded once, then gestured to the door. "How's Shae?"

I appreciated that he didn't ask who Tony was. "Vitals are good. Wound looks good. I think the best thing for him is sleep."

"Diesel will be along in a few. He's gone for food." I wrinkled my nose and Kane laughed.

Actually laughed.

His eyes lit up and his lips widened, and I fell headlong into something I hadn't even realized I could anymore.

Anymore?How about ever? I'd fallen for Diesel first. Hero or Daddy issues, you name it, I was gone on it. The problem was Diesel was straight. I turned my attention to Gray next—or my libido did—and we had a short thing, but pretty much decided we were better as friends. Then I gave up. When I crawled out of my hole after I thought my life was over, I tried to live. Give it one more shot. And fell stupidly for Tony.

"He was—is—a reporter."

Kane tipped his head sideways as if trying to figure me out. "Like a newspaper?"

I shook my head, but then shrugged. "Independent now."

Kane frowned. "But I heard him say he would be fired."

"He went on his own when he got his big story." Betrayal, sadness, and shame all clutched me all at the same time. "I was stupid."

"No," Kane said. "You trusted. Totally different." I glanced up. He almost sounded envious.

I walked past him to the kitchen and flicked on the kettle, more for something to do. I was wound up enough without coffee and I'd been experimenting with some teas. Shame over Tony licked at me like a cold flame and made me shiver, but because I knew Kane wouldn't ask, I suddenly wanted to tell him.

"Around two years ago, I met Tony at the park while I was out with Sadie." I always tried to take Sadie out for a decent walk at least once a day. Never forgetting my headphones, though. It had taken a long time for me to be able to go on my own, but I liked the wide-open spaces of the park closest to us, and I never cared what the weather was like. I often got smiles or polite nods, but I managed to keep my distance as Sadie wore a service dog vest when we were out. It was essential in case I ever had a panic attack, but I'd been fortunate so far here and the headphones protected me against sudden noises.

"This guy was jogging and seemed to turn his ankle and stumble right in front of me." I rolled my eyes at the obvious setup, which still grated. "We got talking and for the first time in a long time, he made me feel normal."

I looked at Kane, who had simply sat at the table and was listening, but I saw compassion, not pity thank fuck, just a general understanding. Maybe the biggest thing connecting us was a desire to be normal? To be accepted?

"We'd caught someone's attention while we were deployed. They called him Jack Painter, and he was the real deal as far as journalists go. Name a war—any war—and he'd be there. And he had a lot of respect for soldiers. Got his story, but never put anyone at risk. The brass had agreed to him following us as we pulled out. PR, you know. Well, he knew when we were taken, and he was following our story. We got out, and he was all set to publish and then he died in a wreck of all things. He'd survived every war zone possible for twenty years, and a drunken kid flipped a car right into his cab.

"Half the story was done and from what I gathered, Tony was trying to make a name for himself with the same editor and was given his notes to finish the story. Except Tony had never been near so much as a training exercise, never mind actually in a war zone. And it was obvious. The editor refused three attempts and said he was going to get someone else, but Tony persuaded the editor he knew one of us and could get a personal account."

"But he didn't," Kane said.

I scrubbed a hand over my face. "It wasn't hard to find out who we were, and he decided the one that had spent three months in some sort of recovery and registered a service dog was the easiest target." I pushed my fingers through Sadie's fur. "I told him stuff. Things I never told my mom and dad, and yet they had to read about it in the papers. It was big news." I glanced at Kane and Kane shrugged.

"Like I said, restricted TV and activities. I didn't see any big news other than what I might have heard the guys talking about."

Was that good? I gazed at Kane's honest expression. Could I trust it? I'd trusted before and look where that'd got me. And the kiss. It was still there. My panic. My want.

"I don't know how he got inside the building, but there are people on the other floors, and he probably waited until someone left." I had to say something, even the obvious, to avoid what I really wanted to say. "So, thanks. Like I said, he's a pest."

"Anytime," Kane said gently and unable to do any more sharing, I escaped to my computer.

Kane

I watched Danny practically flee into Shae's room and didn't know what to make of it. I also didn't know what had possessed me to interfere. I'd spent most of my life not standing up, just keeping quiet, so what was it about Danny that had made me jump in?

I followed him into Shae's room to take a turn at babysitting. "What do I need to look for?"

Danny nodded as if agreeing to the complete change of subject, and briefly explained, showing me the slow-running IV to give him fluids. "If you're going to stay in here for a while, I'll go see what I can find on the idiot that did this."

I nodded and sat down next to the bed. I glanced at the wound covering and noted no blood, even though Danny had only left like thirty seconds ago, then looked up at Shae, startled to see his eyes open and him watching me.

"Hey, remember me from the gym? You're safe," I hurried out. "We brought you back here because you said no hospital."

Shae didn't reply.

"You got stabbed with something in that guy's sneaker," I carried on.

"Hi Shae," Danny said quietly from the doorway and Shae turned his head to look at him. "I'm the guy that patched you up. How are you feeling?"

I relaxed and thanked fuck Danny had heard him.

"You're a doc?" Shae whispered, sounding like he was going to bolt.

Danny grinned. "Sorry, no. I guess you could call me an army medic, but just to reiterate what Kane said, you're safe. Just let us know if you want us to call anyone or lend you a phone."

I saw Shae's eyes widen at the trust, and I fished my phone out, simply placing it on the sheet next to Shae's hand, but he didn't touch it.

"Thirsty?" Danny asked and Shae nodded. I grabbed the water bottle from the bedside table and twisted it to break the seal and added a straw while Danny eased Shae up a little so he could drink. He winced at the movement but drank gratefully. "You probably need to pee soon," Danny said gently. "I don't want you out of bed with the meds, so I have some disposable urine bottles."

Shae looked horrified and I couldn't help the chuckle. "I can help or turn my back," I offered, and I could see the indecision written all over him. I glanced at Danny. "Is it safe to sit him up?"

He sighed. "It'll just hurt like hell." But I saw Shae grit his teeth and between us we managed it with as little fuss as possible. Shae looked gray when he lay back down, though.

"How long do I have to stay here?" Shae asked and Danny opened his mouth, but I interrupted, knowing Shae wasn't asking for a medical opinion.

"You're not a prisoner. You can leave as soon as you can stand without falling over."

"And why should I believe you?" he asked defensively.

I gazed at him and decided to take a gamble. "Because I've seen you point a gun at someone twice, rob them, and not called the cops on you."