Shane was nothing like that.
I sneered, recalling the time I’d seen him pick up a kid’s ice cream after the brat dropped it. He’d bought him a new one, even smiling at the pretty young mother who was drooling all over him.
Unfortunately, Shane didn’t go for women or men. It made it harder to catch him with his pants down. It made it harder to hurt him. No family to destroy. No sweet old mom or doddering dad. No hookups, side piece, club girls, or old lady to torture.
No way to cut out his heart unless I actually got my hands on him. But even though he was soft, he was still dangerous. Wiley.
Shane was way too good in a fight to guarantee I would win.
And I had to win.
I owed it to Dante. I knew without a doubt it was Shane who had taken him down. Dante had liked him. Trusted him. Not enough to let him in on our little murder games, but he’d been highly regarded even before he became club Prez. And Shane was the only one who might be remotely deadly enough to pull off Dante’s murder. Plus, I just fucking hated him.
I hated anyone who was different. Anyone who didn’t relish the smell of blood and fear. They were all sheep, except for a few wolves, mostly from the Untouchables.
Shane was one of the few wolves I had left to fear.
I turned to go, intending to follow Shane. Hoping he’d give me something, anything, any way to hurt him. Movement in the window caught my eye at the last moment. I lifted my binoculars and my jaw dropped.
There was a very young, very pretty girl in the window. She was staring out wistfully, following the direction that Shane’s bike had taken. She was there without him, which meant she was staying there.
Well, well, well. Shane finally got himself a woman.
He had good taste, I had to give him that. She was stunningly beautiful. She’d make an excellent canvas for my blade.
I started to smile.
If it was new, he might not care enough. If I waited a little while, let him get attached to his little plaything . . . it would be that much more satisfying to carve her up and deliver her back to him in teeny, tiny pieces.
This was it. I had my way in. I had my map to the very core of Shane’s innards.
At long last, I would make Shane pay.
Chapter Sixteen
Kelly
“What about . . . this?”
I held up an ultra-feminine dress in a rich blue. It had little flowers scattered over it with a nipped-in waist and a skirt that belled out gorgeously. It was perfection.
Parker, however, looked less than thrilled.
“I don’t think . . .”
“Oh, Kel, that’s perfect for you,” Cass teased. “Shopping for Parker, not ourselves, remember?”
I looked at it and shrugged.
“Maybe you’re right.” I bit my lips and tucked it under my arm. “I’ll just hold onto it for now.”
Cass shook her head at me as Michelle laughed. Parker even cracked a smile. The girl was gorgeous but in a tragically beautiful movie heroine way.
She looked like her heart was breaking.
“I’m a whole year older than you,” I said, linking my arm through hers. “So you should listen to what I say.”
“Okay.”
“Plus, fashion is kind of my thing.” I gave Cass a look. “Don’t listen to these two. Michelle is all legs. She could wear a paper bag and it would look stylish. And Cass . . .” She arched her brow at me as I continued. “Is the female equivalent of a schlub. She’s just too gorgeous for anyone to notice that she lives in the same pair of jeans and looks like a million dollars.”
Parker was smiling.
“Curvy girls like us need to stick together.”
“I have curves!” Cass protested.
“Hush! You only got them because of your babies,” I admonished her. “Now, Parker, tell me what kind of clothes you like to wear. Like to a party . . . ?”
She shrugged, looking away.
“You didn’t like dressing up and getting girly in high school? What about Prom?”
She swallowed and I could see I had hit a nerve. I exchanged a glance with Michelle and Cass. I usually lived for makeovers, but I didn’t want to upset the girl.
“Not really,” she muttered, looking forlorn.
Michelle put her arm around her shoulders.
“I think she had other stuff to worry about. Isn’t that right, hon?”
Parker nodded miserably. Cass and I looked on worriedly. Michelle smiled at Payton.
“Can you go pick out a few things for yourself, sweetie? Just stay in this section where we can see you.”
She was a smart kid. She nodded and took off about twenty feet, looking through the racks in the Misses section. Michelle guided Parker to a seat near the dressing rooms. Thankfully, this part of the store was deserted, so we had a little privacy.