Shane

The conflicting emotions that tugged at Shane were rather overwhelming at times. His heart ached for Markayla’s loss while it leaped with a newfound hope that maybe, just maybe, if he took it slow and didn’t get too pushy, he would eventually have a chance with Markayla. She would need to be placed in the Witness Protection Program for the time being. The bastard that tried to kill her was still out there and the last thing the killer needed was Markayla pointing a finger at him in court. Things had gone far worse than expected. He and three other federal agents had been staking the place out. He had to fight with himself to make a point of not paying too much attention to Markayla and to treat her like everyone else was at the moment… part of a case he was investigating. Early on, she’d come up to him and said hello. She introduced her husband, who had accompanied her. He was ugly as fuck. How did such a beauty get with such a horrid-looking creature? He was glad to know he treated her well, envious of the guy or not, even if his appearance was a stark contrast to his gorgeous wife. Jack Seymour was a short, stout redhead with a severely receding hairline. Shane couldn’t help but wonder what Markayla saw in him. Was it his charming personality? His money? Both. Well, the guy didn’t make much, so he had to assume it was his personality. The suspects hadn’t turned out to be those they’d originally suspected. It was first thought that somehow, a couple of cleaning crew members were involved. It actually turned out to be more of an inside job without the usual suspects. Pedro Angeles and his distant cousin Enrico Demar had worked for the magazine company for many years as the magazine’s top graphic designers. No one had any idea that they could be involved with embezzling from the company, and when they’d spoken with Lu Chung, they’d asked her whom she thought might be responsible. Pedro and Enrico’s names had never even come up. The two had been squeaky clean and didn’t exactly fit their profile. Pedro had been engaged in a discussion with one of the undercover agents about falling upon hard times when he said he was going to go see if there was any more of his preferred brand of soda in the kitchen. He and another agent had seen him enter the kitchen and then they noticed his cousin follow him into the room a few seconds later. The next person seen going down the short corridor, heading for the restrooms just beyond the kitchen, was Markayla. Shane hadn’t seen her because some bimbo was trying to engage him in a discussion he wasn’t in the mood for. When Jack heard the commotion, he ran after his wife only to end up shot by Angeles just seconds after he shot Markayla. Only Markayla had lived. It was the first time Shane had felt some real fear on the job, but not for himself. He’d been horrified when she’d been shot. He wanted desperately to ride in the ambulance to the hospital with her, but instead, he had to force himself to focus on apprehending the suspect. The only hard part would be resisting the urge to return fire right into the bastard’s head if he could catch him. But even after several agents had chased the son of a bitch, he’d gotten away. Now Shane had real fear. Fear that Markayla wouldn’t survive the bullet she’d taken, and fear that she wouldn’t survive Angeles and whoever he may have helping him if she did. To his utter relief, however, medical personnel at the hospital assured him that she was expected to make a full recovery. “Can I see her?” He asked hopefully. “You can,” said the slender black nurse who slowly began to lead him down the corridor, “but do keep in mind that she’s very weak and very depressed.” “I understand that, but the sooner my partner and I can speak with her, the sooner we might be able to learn more about the guy we’re hunting.” “I get that. Just don’t push her too hard.” “We won’t.” “Where’s your partner, Agent Casseri?” the nurse asked, dark eyes sweeping the area. “I’m expecting him any minute. Who’s the officer at her door?” “Not sure what his name is. It’s some older guy.” “Well, whoever they are, I’d like to speak to them too, and make sure they know that they’re to post someone at her door at all times.” “Let’s head down there now,” said the nurse. “She’s way at the end by the elevator, so I can at least assure you that no one coming up to the floor will get by the officer unseen. She a personal friend of yours?” Shane glanced at the nurse. Was he that obvious? “Uh, well, no. I’m just a very concerned lawman with a very dangerous suspect to catch. He killed his cousin in cold blood and threatened to return to finish the job of killing Markayla, his only witness, if we didn’t back off. This was right before he escaped.” “Good lord,” said the nurse. “How long do you think she’ll need to be here?” “That’s up to the doctor. I don’t think it’ll be that long, but we can’t just fix her wounds. We have to make sure she’s mentally sound as well and not a suicide risk.” Suicide? Oh, damn. Shane hadn’t thought of that, but now that the subject was brought to his attention, the idea of the beautiful woman wanting to die greatly saddened him. Markayla was asleep when the nurse led Shane into the room. She left him to quietly wait at her bedside for her to awaken. The officer who sat just outside her door was a veteran cop he’d seen around but didn’t know very well. He studied the still form before him. She lay on her back with tubes and wires attached to her that did God only knew what. She looked pale and frail, but lovely as always. Her shiny black hair fanned out around the pillow. Her thick, dark lashes were beautiful. He wasn’t one for tears. In fact, he hadn’t cried since his dad died in the line of duty seven years ago. But if anything happened to this beautiful lady, he knew that would all change. He heard voices outside the room and rose from his chair. He stepped into the corridor to see that Willem had arrived. “She come around yet?” he asked. “She’s asleep right now,” Shane told him. “What’s the prognosis?” “Curable, but they want to make sure she isn’t a risk to herself.” Willem blinked in surprise and looked away for a moment. “God, Shane, do you think she could be?” “I sure as hell hope not. I mean, I’d like to think she’s stronger than that. She seemed pretty secure and confident, but who knows? That was before all this shit went down. Besides, suicide isn’t about being weak or selfish like a lot of people think it is, so only time will tell.” Willem thought a moment, then said, “You know, you can’t save ‘em all, buddy.” Shane shrugged. “Who else have I ever tried to save? I mean in this kind of way?” “Well, no one, but…” “But what?” “Are you sure what you have in mind is a good idea? I know you care about her, but you don’t know much about her either. Nothing all that personal, that is.” Shane got what Willem was trying to say. Just because he liked Markayla didn’t mean she’d automatically like him back. He would still take whatever he could get from her. Something was better than nothing at all. Rather than voice this, he said, “Right now our main concern is catching the guy that put her here.” “I agree. The sooner the better. Did the nurse give you any idea of when she’ll…” Willem stopped mid-sentence and Shane turned around to see what he was looking at. Markayla was awake.