Vegas Virgin (Nevada Bad Boys 1)

If they wanted to avoid testimony, the price for that was my freedom, but there was no way I would let the past be completely erased. I knew it was foolish pride, but there was no way I was just going to pretend none of that ever happened to please them. I had no intentions of ever giving an interview, or talking to the press, so that part was fine, but they weren’t going to just pretend I never existed.

I didn’t feel like it was too much to ask for. I wanted to be left alone and I wanted to live in my cabin away from it all, but they didn’t get to decide who I was. My lawyer didn’t seem happy with the terms, especially when I had to be led back to my cell, but the next day I got word they agreed to what I outlined without question.

I talked with the District Attorney and entered my guilty plea, but since there was no testimony, they declined to prosecute it. A few hours later, I was sitting in first class on a plane heading back to Wolf Creek.

Fuck it. I might as well splurge since it’s the last time I’ll ever be on one.

“You’re him, aren’t you?” A stewardess moved her cart towards my seat. “You’re Shane Black.”

“Yes.” I sighed. “Can I get a whiskey?”

“Of course, absolutely.” She poured it into a glass and handed it to me.

“So, tell me...” She leaned in. “You didn’t spend all that time in your cabin just staring at the fire, right?”

“What do you mea

n?” I asked.

“I mean...” She winked. “You and that girl? Have you heard what people are saying?”

“A gentleman doesn’t tell.” I finished my glass of whiskey in one gulp. “Can I have another?”

“Sure...” She poured another one and put it in front of me. “Well just so you know, I’m hoping there’s more to the story.”

You and me both, but that doesn’t seem possible anymore.

T HE PLANE LANDED AND I got a cab back to Wolf Creek. I could have gotten one of the locals to drive me up the mountain, but I just had the cab drop me off at the bottom. I felt like I needed to walk and clear my head a little bit in the beauty of nature before I got to my cabin. The snow was mostly melted but the storm wouldn’t be our last taste of winter. I could already smell another one coming, but it didn’t seem like it would be as bad.

Too bad there won’t be a beautiful blonde goddess to keep me warm.

It felt good to be out in the woods when I started up the mountain and I didn’t care if it was going to take a while to get there. When I saw the cabin on the horizon, I was immediately met with a sense of relief. The years I had spent there wondering if there would ever be a time when I had to face the things I had done in the past were over. I was a free man and I was free on my own terms. There was a time when that mattered more than anything. The hands of fate had stepped in and gave me a chance to do that and I had Heather to thank for it.

I opened the door to my cabin and walked inside, immediately starting a fire. The bottle of whiskey on the counter called my name, but I didn’t even need a glass—I was definitely finishing the bottle. I sat down in my chair and lit a cigar as I unscrewed the top of the whiskey.

“Here’s to freedom...” I muttered to myself and took a drink.

The fire roared, the smoke rose from my cigar, and the whiskey settled into my veins. Everything should have been perfect. I was exactly where I had wanted to be with all the weights my past put on me finally lifted, but something was missing. Heather was missing.

She was immediately on my thoughts, consuming them in an instant. I had planned to make her mine and I had planned to do anything to accomplish it. I had no idea we would become celebrities. The world had nothing better to talk about in the wake of the storm, so they forced us into a role that neither of us really asked for.

I turned on the television and cringed when I saw the news still covering the story. It had been dramatized and exaggerated. They made it seem like she was frozen, to the point of death, and I spent the days nursing her back to health just so she could return to her family.

The real story is a lot better, trust me...

There were shots of her with them, the loving embrace of her parents, the cheers of her friends—everyone seemed so incredibly happy. When the image of Heather flashed on the screen, I saw something in her eyes. They reflected the same sense of loss that was present in mine.

I miss you too.

Chapter 11: Heather

My parents were so happy to see me. My friends acted like it was a miracle I survived the storm. There were tears and questions, but I tried to dance around them. I really didn’t want to talk about any of it. I just wanted to hide in my room until everything was forgotten.

The news made a big deal of the story, and I was in shock when I heard them spin our story to be one that continued to push headlines. My situation was never as dire as they painted it, but it would have been if Shane hadn’t saved me. They seemed to be willing to overlook his past because of his heroism, but the words I heard bothered me.

He wasn’t just a hermit in the mountains. He was hiding from the things he had done. It made me sick to my stomach to see him in handcuffs, but his crime didn’t sit right with me. There were a lot of conflicting stories—some even suggested the man might have been with his wife prior to the divorce, but there was no evidence to support it without Shane himself saying it was true. The injuries claimed by the man he hit sounded a little exaggerated to say the least.

I had to admit that I didn’t understand the situation and I couldn’t exactly ask Shane about it. I waited until my parents were asleep and I walked out to the back porch with a glass of wine. I just needed to feel something besides the melancholy of my own thoughts and the buzz would remind me of my time with Shane. As soon as I got the glass to my lips, I heard the door open behind me.