CHAPTER THREE

Shelby took some time off work, unable to even show her face. She was so humiliated. She just knew that everyone could see her shame. But sitting at home stewing over spilled milk wasn't getting her anywhere. Instead, she started to look into what had happened to her. What she found was disturbing and sad.

She was not alone.

On a blog site started by a woman who had been swindled on another dating site, she found hundreds of victims, male and female. Their stories were similar, but the outcomes were the same. Bank accounts hacked, credit cards stolen, social security numbers used, they were all victims, and it pissed Shelby off.

As the sun began to set, she stepped out onto her porch, enjoying what little breeze was available. Her apartment was part of a beautiful complex that had recently been renovated. Tonight, none of the beauty was appealing to her at all.

"Miss Shelby, I can feel your sadness, girl. What's wrong?" asked her neighbor, an elderly blind man.

"Hi, Mr. Houston. You're amazing. I'm about as sad and disappointed as a woman can be." Using his cane, he moved closer to her patio, and she guided him to a seat beside her.

"Tell me what happened."

For thirty minutes, Shelby told the older gentleman of her divorce and then her co-worker's idea of using a dating app. Although Mr. Houston didn't understand the concept, Shelby wasn't sure she did either.

"I just don't know what to do, Mr. Houston. The bank is investigating everything, and I'll get my money back, but I have to get new credit cards, a new license, everything. It's just a pain in the butt."

"Well, I'm afraid I ain't gonna be much help, but I think I know someone who could be. The fellas that helped me keep my apartment. They ended up buyin' the whole place, remodelin' it, makin' it what you see. Fine men. All of ‘em fine men. They run an investigation company."

"I'm open to anything at this point. I just don't want these people to get away with it. I found an entire website of people who have had similar experiences. I know that not all sites are bad, but the ones that are just make it awful for everyone else."

"Call these men. They'll help you."

Shelby waited in the small reception area of the Gray Wolf Security offices. It was too damn hot to dress in a suit, so she hoped they didn't have a dress code. Dressing for the heat, she was wearing a pretty yellow sundress and sandals. When the door opened, she thought someone might be coming to get her.

"I'll talk to you tonight, Grandpa," said the familiar voice. The big, tall, handsome man turned, and Shelby's stomach dropped. Great. Just fucking great. "Shelby? Shelby Allen?"

"Oh, my gosh," said Shelby, standing to see her high school crush. "Dan Robicheaux. You look amazing! And it's Shelby Zevers now, but I'm divorced. It's good to see you. How are you?"

"I'm great," he smiled. She noticed the ring on his finger and smirked to herself. Of course, he was married. "I got married not long ago and work for my family now."

"Is this place owned by your family?" she asked. If it was, she might have to run the other way. She was not going to humiliate herself in front of everyone.

"Sort of. My grandfather and a few other men own this security agency. They're the best, Shelby. Is everything okay?"

"I-I don't know," she said, shaking her head.

"Shelby Zevers," said Antoine, stepping into the waiting area.

"Oh, that's me. Nice to see you, Dan."

"You too, Shelby. Take good care of her, Grandpa. We went to school together, and Shelby was always a great friend."

"We take care of everyone," smiled Antoine. "Come on back, Shelby. So, you went to school with my grandson?"

"Yes, sir. I have to admit I was a little startled when I saw him. I had a big crush on him in high school." Antoine laughed, nodding his head.

"He's a nice-looking young man, and yes, I'm biased. But you're a beautiful woman. I'm sure you had no trouble finding a man."

"Well, sir, that's why I'm here. I might not have trouble finding them, but they're all the wrong kind."

Antoine frowned, opening the door to the conference room. Inside, the other men were seated around the table, trying to look friendly, smiling at the young woman.

"Shelby, I'm Gaspar. Antoine's older brother. This is the rest of our team."

"H-hello," she said slowly. "Do you have any idea how intimidating it is to walk into a room with all of you?"

"Did we do something wrong?" asked Antoine, frowning at the young woman.

"No," she laughed. "It's just – you. It's your size, your beards, your look, your tattoos. It's your aura. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to offend you."

"You didn't offend us at all, Shelby. Take a seat. My name is Nine Dougall, and we'd like to help you with your problem. Mr. Houston explained a bit to us, and we've read your submission. We're going to ask you to repeat everything just so we can be sure we have this right."

"Of course, not a problem at all."

Shelby sat calmly at first, then began twisting and shredding a tissue that was in her hands. She tried to control her emotions, but occasionally, tears would creep through.

"The credit stuff, the credit cards, the banking, all of that will be taken care of. It's a pain in the ass and terribly inconvenient, but it can be fixed. I think what I'm most angry about is that they're doing this to good women. Intelligent women who are only looking for companionship. I've done nothing wrong, and I would never do something like this to anyone."

"You haven't done anything wrong," said Ian. "You're right. Unfortunately, not every person has the same morality that you have. They're out for a quick buck."

"It's not a quick buck, sir. These men, or women, I don't even know. They've taken thousands of dollars from people. There was a woman on the blog site from Wisconsin. She's a single mother of two small children. The man she met online stole her car, her life savings, and caused her to be evicted from her home."

"Is she alright?" asked Ghost.

"She is now. Someone else in the community who went through the same thing brought her into her home, and they're actually roommates now. But it shouldn't have had to end that way. That poor woman lost everything. But all of it is just material things. They can be replaced. Her confidence, self-esteem, and trust will be a lot harder to come around."

"I couldn't agree more with you," said Ghost. "Shelby, this friend of yours from work that helped to sign you up on the site, what was her experience?"

"That's just it. She signed me up, but then admitted that she never actually used it. She was referred to the site by someone else. I was so angry when she told me that. I just felt stupid, and I'm not a stupid woman."

"No, you're not," said Antoine. "You're a smart woman, and you're fighting back, which is good. I see that you live in the same apartments as Mr. Houston."

"Yes. I moved in about three months ago, and it's been great. I'm in a corner unit, so I have a bit more space, and Mr. Houston is on the other side of me. He makes no noise at all."

"Did you add any additional alarms or locks?" asked Nine. Shelby opened her mouth, then closed it. Her face paled, and she realized that she hadn't thought of any of that.

"We're sorry to ask, Shelby, but they have your address, your phone number, everything. If you want my recommendation, either find somewhere to stay for a while or let our team install an additional alarm system and at least one new lock, if not two. Just to be safe."

"You can, I guess," she said, shaking her head. "I just worry that if you tell me they were already inside my place, I'm not sure I can go back in, and I have to be honest, I can't afford to leave and find something new."

"Listen, Shelby," said Antoine. "If you were my daughter, I'd tell you to get the hell out of there. It's a strong possibility that they may have already been in your home, and with you hiring us, it might come back on you."

"Well, if your goal was to scare me, you've accomplished that."

"We didn't mean to scare you, Shelby. Do you have a friend that you could stay with? Family?" asked Nine.

"Mama and Daddy moved to Colorado a few years ago to be near my aunt and uncle. I haven't told them and don't want to. They're doing alright out there, but they put every penny they had into a little campground that they run. They can't afford to help me, and they shouldn't have to. Besides, they'd be pushing me to move out to Colorado with them, and I don't want to do that. That's their dream, not mine."

"Any other reason you don't want to call them?" asked Nine.

"Honestly? I'd hear a long lecture. They were the ones who pushed for me to get married, and when that all fell apart, I think my folks thought I should have tried harder. I'm not sure how you try harder with a man who steals from you, cheats on you, and verbally abuses you as a form of torture. But that's what my mother thought."

"I understand, Shelby. We won't make you contact your parents or anyone else at this point. We've got a few places here you could stay in temporarily," said Gaspar. "There's a loft space above the dance studio. It's small, but there's a good bed up there, a nice little kitchen that we remodeled. Good appliances, a fireplace, air conditioning, and a couple of comfortable chairs with a television. We're happy to let you use it."

"Could we start with someone checking out my place?" she asked, nibbling on her lower lip.

"I'll send someone out there tomorrow," said Antoine.

"I won't be there. I have to go to work tomorrow. I've been using my sick leave to avoid speaking to anyone, but I need to go back. I could leave my key with Mr. Houston if that's alright."

"That'll be fine. We know Mr. Houston, and we can always use a visit with him," said Gaspar.

"I can't thank y'all enough. I feel so stupid," she said, shaking her head.

"Shelby, if we feel it's the right road to travel, would you be interested in helping us with this?"

"How?" she frowned.

"Well, we might want you to create another profile or continue using the one you have. It's a good way for us to get into the system and find out who is looking at your profile and what they're doing."

"If it's a last resort, I'd be willing. But I really don't want to be out there meeting strangers anymore. It scared me, and I always felt like someone was watching me. To be honest, I thought someone was watching and didn't like the way I looked and decided not to meet up. But after four times of that happening, you stop being embarrassed and disappointed and start getting pissed off."

The men all chuckled, nodding their heads.

"That's good. You stay pissed off. We'll send someone to your place to check it out tomorrow. In the meantime, don't speak to anyone about this. If your employer asks why you were off, just tell them you had the flu or something. It's not legal for them to pry into your business, but if they want medical releases or anything like that, we can provide it for you."

"I don't think anyone at work would have done this to me. I mean, there would be no reason. I'm friends with almost everyone, or at least friendly. I don't really go out with a lot of people other than my friend Amber. Even with her, I only go out once in a while. There aren't any men who have asked me out, no one that has harassed me anyway. I just can't think of anyone who would do this to me," she said, looking sad.

"I'm sure that whoever did this didn't necessarily have a reason. But they didn't feel the same way. Someone at the office helped to create your profile and knew about the site but didn't participate in it. That raises questions." Shelby stood, smiling at the table of handsome older gentlemen. She knew that most were old enough to be her grandfather, but at the moment, all she could think was, holy cow, sexy!

"Alright. Thank you. I really didn't know where to turn."

"We'll be in touch, Shelby."

Antoine walked the young woman out of the office, then returned with an angry face. The others mirrored his expression.

"I'm pissed off," said Ian. Antoine nodded at the other men.

"Brother, me too."