Whispers in the Dark - Maya Banks [76]
Donovan looked pointedly at the gun. “Planning to shoot us?”
Nathan gestured for them to hurry in and he shut the door behind them. “How the fuck did you get here so fast? I just spoke to Sam an hour or so ago.”
“We might have already been in the neighborhood,” Ethan said.
“You didn’t exactly cover your tracks that well,” Donovan pointed out. “We trailed you to Crescent City. We were there when Sam called us and told us you were here. We grabbed a faster gear and hauled ass up here.”
Swanny hung back, his silent gaze taking in his surroundings. While Ethan and Donovan were focused on Nathan, Swanny was checking out the rest of the room. Almost as though he were looking for someone. Shea?
What was Swanny doing here anyway?
When Nathan asked just that question, Swanny finally turned his stare to him.
“You didn’t expect me to just leave you in whatever mess you’ve gotten yourself into. If you did, fuck you.”
Nathan let out a sharp chuckle. “No, I guess I didn’t. I should have expected this. The real question is how you got these hard-asses to agree to let you come.”
Ethan and Donovan exchanged raised eyebrow glances.
“Hard-asses? He’s calling us hard-asses?” Donovan asked in mock incredulity.
“So where’s Shea?” Ethan demanded.
“In the bathroom,” Nathan said in a tight voice. “I’ll go get her.”
The moment Shea was mentioned, Swanny looked uneasy. He turned his face away so that the side that wasn’t scarred was facing the rest of them.
Nathan went to the bathroom door and knocked softly. “Shea? You can come out. My brothers are here.”
The door opened and she stood there, clutching the Glock, looking nervous as hell and so uncertain that he softened from head to toe. He reached in to take her hand and then pulled her to him, uncaring of whether his brothers could see or not.
“You have nothing to worry about,” he murmured.
“But they know about me,” she whispered back. “They’ll think I’m crazy.”
He pulled her back so he could look down at her. “Then I’m as crazy as you are. Swanny’s here too.”
“Swanny?”
She pushed Nathan aside and strode into the room, staring at the three men assembled.
Ethan and Donovan stared at her with open curiosity while Swanny kept his face averted. Donovan’s eyes widened when he caught sight of the Glock that Shea was holding.
“Swanny,” she whispered. She thrust the gun at Nathan and then hurried over to Swanny.
He wore a look of panic as she turned him to face her. She grasped his hands and stared up at him with soft wonder.
“Swanny, it’s really you.”
The poor guy looked terrified by the tiny woman standing in front of him. He acted like he didn’t know whether to shit or go blind.
Then she threw her arms around him and hugged him fiercely. Swanny’s dismay turned to bafflement and finally wonder. Shea pulled away and then put her hand to the scars on Swanny’s face. Shame crowded into his eyes but she was having none of that. She leaned up on tiptoe and kissed his scarred cheek.
“I’m so glad you’re okay. I worried so much about you and Nathan over the last several months.”
He stared at her with an open mouth. He closed it and reopened it multiple times but nothing seemed to come out. Then his entire expression softened and he reached tentatively to touch her hair, almost as if he wasn’t quite sure he wasn’t having a hallucination.
“Thank you,” he said hoarsely. “I’ll never forget what you did for Nathan and for me.”
She squeezed him again and gave him another kiss on the cheek. Then she seemed to realize that Donovan and Ethan were staring at her. She flushed and all but ran back to Nathan. He caught her hand, squeezed and pulled her into his side.
“Shea, I want you to meet my brothers, Ethan and Donovan. Guys, this is Shea.”
He wasn’t entirely certain how his brothers were going to handle a potentially awkward situation. To his surprise, Donovan stepped forward and took Shea’s hand from Nathan and held it in his own.
“I owe you a great debt,” Donovan said gravely. “You returned my brother