14. Zane

Chapter 14

Zane

‘God damn it,' Zane seethed, stomping down the Eagle Ridge strip with the kind of glare on his face that would have made even the toughest guy in prison think twice about approaching him. ‘What the fuck did I just walk in on?'

Zane knew full well that he was teetering on the edge of losing control.

Suddenly the quiet streets of Eagle Ridge seemed far less welcoming and charming than they had previously. All Zane could see were prying eyes and gossipy looks on people's faces as he stormed down the streets, no idea where he was going but knowing that he had to get his ass as far away from Marshall's apartment as he possibly could.

I can't believe he had another Daddy over ahead of me.

That sonofagun Max too.

I should have known Marshall still held a candle for him …

Zane was so angry it was almost like he was back in the darkest moment of his life again. Except this time Zane wasn't looking at a custodial sentence and the end of his career in finance. What Zane was now facing up to was the reality that his relationship with Marshall might not have been as real as he had imagined.

‘Fuck,' Zane barked, infuriated as he almost tripped over a raised curb. ‘This town is a hellhole. I need to get my ass back to the city.'

Despite having not missed the city whatsoever, Zane was now fondly remembering the anonymity that the city gave him. There were no smiling faces. No waves of hello each morning. And best of all… no one in the city would know who he was.

‘I need a drink,' Zane seethed, realizing that he was only a couple of blocks away from The Tap House.

Zane was due back at the ranch to get on with his day's work but as far as Zane was concerned, all of that was out of the window now. What Zane wanted more than anything was to sink a few beers and drown his sorrows in a quiet corner.

Even as Zane grew nearer and nearer to The Tap House, his mind whipped and stirred more emotion inside him. And the more that Zane tried to remember the sight of Max and Marshall hugging on the floor, the angrier Zane became. Each replay of what Zane witnessed became worse somehow too – and no matter how hard Zane tried to control himself and put some perspective on matters, he always ended up conjuring an even worse scenario in his head.

What if I had walked in two minutes later ?

Or ten minutes?

Or half an hour? What would have I seen them doing then?

With the most awful thoughts and images in his head, Zane rounded the final corner and almost ran through the parking lot and into the bar.

It was time for Zane to sink some serious amounts of beer – and woe betide anyone who tried to stop him…

Zane was safely ensconced in his old seat in the corner of the bar, well away from everyone else.

Despite the fact that Axel and Trey were enjoying a beer by the bar, Zane had zero intention of joining them, despite both of them asking him to do so. This wasn't a social visit as far as Zane was concerned. Zane's visit to The Tap House was all about sinking some beers and drowning Marshall out of his thoughts for the time being at least.

He might already have been three bottles of beer in, but Zane had no intention of stopping any time soon.

‘ Urgh . Just quit thinking, and keep drinking,' Zane muttered.

No matter how much beer Zane poured down his throat, he couldn't help but torture himself with all kinds of images of Marshall and Max romping together. The very idea that Marshall might be with another man drove Zane wild with jealousy and resentment. And even though the rational part of Zane's brain told him that the whole situation with Marshall was never meant to be forever, he couldn't escape the reality that the feelings he held for him were incredibly real.

Why did I let my guard down?

I should have stuck to my old ways.

No trust. No emotion. Just me.

Before Zane could do anything about it, he found himself back in the exact emotional space he had been in during his time in prison. It wasn't a good place to be, but somehow it at least offered him the security of knowing that no one could hurt him.

Zane's life behind bars had been all about solitude, survival, and not giving anyone a single inch. It was true that being around Marshall had changed Zane's outlook, but the pain that he was feeling in this moment made Zane regret opening his heart in the first place.

Was Marshall stringing me along from the start?

Was I just a placeholder until Max returned?

Screw this. I'm out of here.

With that, Zane slammed his beer bottle down on the table and got up to leave the bar. Even the calls from Axel and Trey for Zane to come over and talk it over fell on deaf ears. As far as Zane was concerned, he was all alone now. It was best for everyone if Zane kept himself to himself, just like he always had done.

‘See you around,' Zane growled, opening the bar door and stepping out into the harsh sunlight .

However before Zane could make his move to leave The Tap House and head back to his barn, he felt a pang of regret, or possibly even guilt. It wasn't Axel and Trey's fault that him and Marshall were experiencing something less than positive.

The truth was that both Axel and Trey had been welcoming to Zane right from the get go, and whatever was going on in his relationship with Marshall was nothing to do with them.

‘Jeez, I'm such an asshole,' Zane said, the fresh air hitting him hard and clearing his head from the beer buzz. ‘I need to swallow my pride and tell the guys I'm sorry.'

Zane let out a long sigh and put his hands on his hips.

And not only was Zane having second thoughts about snubbing his Daddy friends, but he was quickly beginning to realize that perhaps he overreacted to what he saw when he arrived at Marshall's place.

‘I think I need to talk to Marshall…' Zane muttered, ruefully looking off into the distance as he came to see the error of his ways. ‘I didn't even give him a chance to explain.'

Zane might not have felt as happy as he had that morning, but the clouds did appear to be clearing somewhat as far as he was concerned. First, Zane would go inside and apologize to Axel and Trey for snubbing them. Zane had no issue with holding his hands up and owning his mistakes, and at that point it would be up to Axel and Trey to make their own minds up.

Following this, Zane knew that he needed to make the walk back to Marshall's apartment. Irrespective of the truth of the situation that he walked in on, Zane at least owed it to Marshall and himself to talk things through. And, hopefully, the outcome would be far less dramatic than the worst case scenario that Zane's mind had conjured in the heat of the moment.

‘Okay, let's do this,' Zane said, exhaling and steeling himself to head back inside the bar.

However before Zane could turn around and walk through the entrance door, he caught a glimpse of some movement over on the far side of the parking lot over by Axel's truck…

What the fuck is going on?

Someone's making a play for the truck.

And I'm willing to bet my last dollar they don't have Axel's permission…

Without a second's hesitation, Zane ran over to the truck and duly found Keith Clyde with a thin metal wire in one hand and a look of total guilt on his face.

‘You have to be fucking kidding me, Keith,' Zane said, exasperated. ‘Of all the towns. Of all the bars. Of all the trucks. Now this is my friend's ride, so you know I can't let you get away with this.'

Zane watched for any sudden movements from Keith. The reality was that Zane couldn't trust Keith Clyde even in the slightest. Keith was a liar, cheat, and a lifetime thief.

‘I don't think you're going to do a damn thing, Zane,' Keith said, cackling and running his hand through his greasy hair.

‘Excuse me?' Zane enquired, not sure precisely where Keith was heading with this but convinced that it wasn't anywhere good. ‘Care to expand on that?'

‘Don't make this weird,' Keith said, running his finger up and down the metal wire. ‘I've been asking around. You've got a good rep here. Most of the local folk don't know about your… past . So let's keep it that way. Let me get on with my business and no one has to know that there's a lying, cheating, financial fraudster in their wholesome cookie cutter town.'

Zane clenched his fists and felt his entire body grow tight and rigid from head to toe.

No one blackmailed Zane and got away with it. Zane was a man of pride and honor. If anything, the more he had learned about being a Daddy, the more Zane's values had become apparent to him. What Keith was attempting was so far beyond the pale of decency that it made Zane want to grab Keith and turn him to dust. But Zane knew that violence wasn't the answer, certainly not in this instance.

‘That isn't going to work with me, asshole,' Zane replied, standing tall and strong.

‘Oh really?' Keith answered, maintaining eye contact. ‘So you'll have no problem with me informing your boyfriend's parents what a rotten apple you are? I'm sure they'll be delighted.'

Zane hesitated for a moment. And Keith was quick to pick up on the doubt that flashed across his mind too…

‘It's just one truck,' Keith said, a slyness to his voice that made Zane's skin crawl. ‘Let me take this truck and you'll never see me again. I'll be a hundred miles down the road by night fall. I'll be gone and your rep in town will be untouched. It's not like whoever owns this thing doesn't have insurance. Come on, give a man a break. For old time's sake.'

Zane stared back at Keith.

They were never friends in prison and there was no debt to be settled between them either. The very thought of letting Keith take Axel's truck made Keith feel sick with anger, but he knew that Keith would happily ruin his reputation in Eagle Ridge purely out of spite – and if that also included making his name mud with Marshall's parents then that was something that Zane simply couldn't ignore.

As Keith leaned up against the truck with a cocky look on his face, Zane knew that he faced a big decision. It was probably the biggest decision since the fateful day Zane agreed to do what his old finance bosses told him to do – and whatever he chose, Zane would have to accept that his life in Eagle Ridge would from that point onward probably change forever…