Shane (Damage Control 4)

Cassie. The kiss. The flashback.

The fact I’m getting worse instead of better and have no clue how to fix myself.

For a moment I wonder if it’s Seth. If the rift I opened between us when I punched him and told him I didn’t believe him back when I thought he’d betrayed the existence of our criminal record to Zane, if what I did is what’s driving me back to the past.

I don’t feel safe. That’s for sure. Anywhere. And for some reason, the feeling’s stronger here, at the construction site. The thought of coming to work this morning had me breaking out in cold sweat. I guess the accident I had falling from the scaffold affected me, too.

Scowling faces, hands reaching for me as I climbed…

Fuck. I shake my head as I carry another crater, a strand of hair that’s escaped from my ponytail annoyingly clinging to my face.

I fell. That’s what happened.

Stop seeing things, stop losing yourself in the past.

Hell, if just by saying it I could cure myself… I wish there was a magic spell to set the mess inside my head straight. Convince me the past is over and not repeating itself every night.

“Ho, Shane.” Ollie raises a hand in greeting as he trudges by, his face half-hidden under his yellow helmet. “You okay?”

I nod, shortening my stride. He was up there, on the scaffold, when I fell.

“Ollie. Wait up.” I put down the crate, wipe a gloved hand over my face, only smearing the sweat more. “Got a sec?”

He stops, gestures for me to talk.

Okay, here goes. “When I fell from the scaffold…” I swallow, my throat parched. “You were there.”

He frowns, heavy brows drawing together in the shadow of his helmet. “Yeah, I was at the top of the scaffold.”

“I know. Were you alone, or were there more guys up there with you?”

He scratches the back of his neck. “Yeah, there were two more guys. Why? Everett and Josh, I think they’re called. Newbies. Come to think of it, it was strange they didn’t come over to see if you were okay.”

Two guys.

The darkness edges closer. “Does one of them have a scar on his face?”

“Scar? Nah, I don’t think so.”

Shit, my heart’s hammering fit to burst through my chest. “And you sure about their names?”

“Yeah, pretty much. Look, I gotta go, man. Boss is staring at me.” Ollie scowls. “See ya around.”

There you go, I tell myself. Two more guys were working on the scaffold. They didn’t push me. I fell on my own.

So what if they walked away after I fell? Assholes. That’s all. They aren’t Marco and Christoph. No way has my worst nightmare followed me out of prison here.

Time I believed it.

***

“… and then the three little piglets had a threesome as the wolf watched.”

I frown. “What?”

“Told you he wasn’t listening to a word I said.” Zane doesn’t look pissed, though. He looks worried. He runs his ink-stained hands over the shaved sides of his head. “Fucking typical.”

Ocean grunts, and I bet he hasn’t heard a word, either.