Page 31 of The Fighter

I cleared my throat. “May I come in?”

He stepped back, opening the door wider. “Sure.”

His apartment was neat and clean. He took pride in his things. He worked hard for his money but didn’t spend it frivolously. I looked forward to the day he came to me to tell me he was done with the escort business which I owned. But for now, it was a job he knew, and because of Soto, he had the protection to work it safely. Each of Soto’s escorts traveled with a chaperone capable of punishing anyone who crossed a line.

Shane held his hand out for my jacket, which I slipped from my shoulders. He hung it on a rack by the door. “Do you want a drink? Something to eat?”

“Just a water would be great.”

He nodded and walked to the far corner of his apartment. He wore an oversized pair of jeans, bearing multiple holes and worn patches, as well as a large T-shirt. He looked comfortable, happy. His hair was a little longer than usual, stray strands falling down his forehead to catch on the dark lashes of his big brown eyes. Pretty as always, Shane was. But I never touched my employees. Shane had tried, and had tried hard, but I always refused. Eventually he let it go.

He handed me a glass of ice water, flicking the hair out of his eyes, shooting me the smile he reserved for friends, of which he had few. I was proud to be on the receiving end of it now. “How are you?” I asked him.

“I’m good.” He led me to the couch, where I took a seat. He curled up in the corner, his knees to his chest. “What’s going on? I’m not sure you’ve ever visited me.”

I looked around. “No, I don’t think I have. I like your place.”

“Thanks,” he murmured. “I-Is everything okay?”

I placed my glass on the coffee table and rested my hand on my knee. “I need to ask you about a man. I’d like more information about him.”

Shane dropped his feet to the floor, body straightening as he realized the importance of the conversation from my tone.With a little line of determination between his eyes, he said, “All right.”

I had agonized over this. This entire visit felt like a betrayal to Tav, to go behind his back, inquire about him, dig into his life. But after that first night, he’d willingly come to me twice now, each time with a desperation that bordered on panic. This last time, he’d slept in my bed. We’d held each other, broke bread together. The uncertainty of where we stood was what had caused anxiety for me. But I’d made a decision. Who he was to me was a real, tangible concept in my mind, so there was no more agony over Tav. Only a single-minded focus to fix and save and own.

This had never been me. He’d knocked something loose in my head, he’d yanked all the loose yarn until I was nearly unraveled ever since I held him as he shivered naked on my balcony. There was a reason he’d done that, a reason that made me want to put my fist through a wall until I remembered who I was. What I’d done. What I was capable of.

“He’s a couple inches over six foot. Big, muscular, Probably two-thirty or two-fifty. Dark hair. Handsome but… rough. Some scars. A crooked nose.”

I couldn’t look at Shane as I talked. I felt naked, vulnerable, rattling off Tav’s stats. And when I finally paused a risked a glance, Shane’s eyes were huge in his pale face. “Is that it?” he asked softly.

I waved my hand at my face. “No, he’s…his eyes. They’re unique. Two colors, one mostly brown the other mostly green. And a tattoo takes up his whole back. An angel.”

The flap of wings.

The muscles in Shane’s face were shifting. His gaze had gone out of focus. “His eyes, you say?”

I nodded. The geneticheterochromia iridiumwas somewhat rare. I’d looked it up—about six out of every one thousandpeople had it, although on most it wasn’t noticeable. Tav’s eyes were definitely noticeable.

Shane focused on me. “I swore I was talking to one of the other escorts, and he mentioned a friend of his knows a guy with eyes like that. Apparently they’d tried to hook up and it’d been… kind of a bust. But that was like a year ago.”

I curled my fingers into my palms until the nails dug into my skin. I wasn’t jealous—I’d had a previous sex life too—but knowing how badly Tav enjoyed sex made my heart ache for him that he hadn’t gotten what he wanted. His partner either.

I leaned forward, hope surging unwanted in my chest. “Doyouknow him?”

“No, I don’t. And I can’t remember who I talked to. Anthony? Nathan?” He chewed on his fingernail as he thought.

The hope still smoldered. “Can you ask around?”

“Yeah, of course. Give me some time, and I’ll check with the guys.” Shane looked upset as his fingers twisted in his lap. “I’m sorry I don’t know more, Conrad.”

Not Shane’s fault. He didn’t know he’d be quizzed later. “It’s all right. If you could make some inquiries, I’d appreciate it.”

“Of course, you know I’d do anything for you. What’d this guy do?”

Oh nothing, just pierced my fucking heart.“Don’t worry about that Shane.”

“B-but is it bad?” He was concerned.