Chapter 29
Shane punched in Josie’s phone number again from the passenger seat of Matt’s SUV as his brother broke the speed limit to get back to the cabin. “Malloy said she left with Marsh. She should be picking up her cell phone.” The spinning in his gut had to be from the surgery. No way was Josie in danger. Hell. She was probably already back at the hospital looking for him.
Matt gripped the steering wheel, stretching his neck. “Then why is the hair standing up on the back of my neck?”
Good question. The phone stopped ringing and silence came over the line. A silence heavy with expectation. Someone listened, breathing softly. Lifting his eyebrow, Shane pressed the speaker button and put the phone on the dash. “Josie?”
A loud exhale sounded. “Shane, my boy. So good to hear from you.” Soft and sexy, the voice dripped with false sweetness.
Rage ripped through every muscle in his body. “Dr. Madison. I’d hoped you were dead.”
Next to him, Matt went rigid.
“Oh, Shane. You were always such a naughty boy.” The girlish tone from the psychopath nearly made Shane puke.
Matt opened his mouth to speak. Shane shook his head, his gaze narrowing on his brother. There was a good chance they didn’t know Matt was with him, and they needed all the advantage they could get. “Where’s my wife?”
“Well now, she’s safe right at the moment. Though I have to tell you, my Tom seems to have a nice little crush on her. Thinks he can get her pregnant and give me little soldiers.” A high-pitched giggle escaped the doctor.
What the hell? Tom? How had Shane missed it? He’d been played.
Shane focused his fury until his skin prickled. Calmness settled his limbs into a state of readiness. Emotion had to go. He tuned in with his hearing, trying to get a location. No sounds echoed in the background. “Tell Tom he’ll die slowly if he touches her.”
“Oh. Looking forward to it, jackass.” Tom’s voice came clearly over the line. “Taking a dive the other night in my own hallway really pissed me off. Can’t wait to give you an honest fight.” He chuckled. “After I screw your wife, of course. Again, that is.”
“You haven’t been near my wife, dumbass.” Shane lowered his voice. “You tried, though, didn’t you? For two months, when she thought it was over with me, she still didn’t turn toward you. Who the hell trained you, anyway?”
“You sure about that?” Tom asked. “With her background, she’s quite the little liar. Are you sure she told you the truth about us?”
“Yes.” Shane snorted. “You’re junior league. Don’t think for a second the psychotic bitch standing next to you right now won’t cut your throat to get to me. To get to one of my brothers.”
“You know,” Tom breathed, “I think I’ll have your wife call me ‘Jory’ as I fuck her tonight.”
Raw fury threatened to blow Shane’s calm fa?ade. “I can kill you in ways you can’t even imagine.” Shane tightened his hands into fists, vaguely seeing Matt type something on his phone. Probably telling Nathan to trace the call.
Tom laughed again. “Think so? Well, I doubt it. We have the same training.”
No, they didn’t. Not even close. Matt had made sure his training beat anything the commander could come up with. At times Shane had truly hated his older brother. Now he thanked God Matt had been so ruthless in teaching them to survive. “You’re going to find out how wrong you are.” He needed to keep the line open for Nate.
“What’s the problem, Shane?” Madison piped up. “If I recall, you’ve shared a woman with more than one of your brothers.”
“The psychopathic whores you sicced on us don’t count.” He nodded as Matt gestured to keep them talking. “Of course, we wanted them far more than we ever wanted you. Not that we didn’t see how bad you needed it. Or wanted it. But you never got it now, did you? Bitch.” Though he had no doubt the crazy woman had screwed her way through several of the trainees through the years.
“Are you sure about that?” Her voice lowered to a breathiness that made his skin crawl. “You might want to double-check that fact with your brothers.”
Shane shook his head. If one of his brothers had fallen prey to the nut job, he sure as hell didn’t want to know about it. “What’s your plan here, bitch?”
“Calling names? That’s more Nathan’s style, not yours.” A rustling of paper came over the line. “How is good old Nathan, anyway? Killed himself with grief yet?”
Shane inhaled quietly, ignoring the pull at his fresh stitches. Forcing pain into a distant box, he slid calmness into his voice. “Nathan is married to a nice nurse with two kids. He moved on, Madison. Sorry to disappoint you.”
“You were always such a good liar,” Madison murmured. “You’ve lost the touch, I think. So who’s with you right now? Is it my Matt?”